For the last 10 issues, Kelly Thompson has made her mark on the Birds of Prey series, introducing a cast and plots of her own and putting her brush over this fan-favorite concept. The problem is, that mark hasn’t been particularly noteworthy.
The first few issues of the book felt more focused, having a plot in mind and a larger one looming. Since the start of the second part of the book, the team became more interesting as a cast of characters, but the plot has become jumbled. It’s almost like Kelly Thompson had trouble picking what she wanted to do and is juggling a little too much at once, leaving none of the plots to really feel that noteworthy at this point.
This issue, we see the mindscape of Big Barda, which is 1950s America inspired. If you’re thinking “wow some ’50s time travel-esque story/setting is extremely unoriginal,” and that that concept isn’t at all something that feels like a Birds of Prey comic, then you feel the same way I do. Between the supernatural and time travel elements of this run and the overall vibe of the team itself, this book just isn’t a Birds of Prey book in the least.
And that’s the most upsetting thing about this Birds of Prey run because you can tell it wants to be, but it has no clue what makes the Birds of Prey what they are. In this issue, the newest “cool badass woman” who feels interchangeable with a Borderlands-esque video game character makes note of how much the team “loves each other” and it feels so incredibly unearned. Thompson knows characters remarking about the team’s bond is something you could find in Birds of Prey, but she doesn’t know what makes it work. When characters say that to Babs, Dinah, and Helena, we’ve seen them go through ups and downs together, seen them borderline hate each other, wrong each other, and put their lives on the lines for each other – there was no question they loved each other. But these characters and this team have not earned that fondness; it’s like the book is telling me they love each other before I’ve seen it in action, making those scenes lose weight entirely.
The reason those scenes worked in the original Birds is because by the time we had them, readers already knew and saw firsthand how much those girls loved each other.
Towards the end of the issue, the story remembers there’s also a Barbara Gordon plot going on and shifts back to her, now fully clad in her Batgirl uniform because of course she is. You can really tell how much this book could not wait to get Barbara out of her wheelchair and how much it looks for opportunities to make sure she won’t stay in one for long. Because of course it does.
One thing this book has done really well is how skillful it is with its artist changes to show a point of view/mood change. This time, during the issue set in Barda’s mind, Robbie Rodriguez and Gavin Guiday take over the art. Their style works perfectly for this setting and in the larger setting of artists for this Birds run. Each artist shift is incredibly unique and leaves their own mark on the story, but none are so jarring in their differences that it makes it an unpleasant shift that doesn’t match the vibe. The artwork in this issue is once again the star, while the writing struggles to find its footing and settle on the plot.
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