Birds of Prey has been one of the unsung DC titles since the first issue, and issue #22 continues the strong characterizations and team dynamics that Kelly Thompson’s had from the beginning. Focusing on classic team members Barbara Gordon and Black Canary alongside new members Batgirl/Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, and a revolving door slot for characters like Harley Quinn and current member Sin, Birds combines espionage, superhero action, and mystery into a comic that consistently provides superhero entertainment in the same vein as classic team books like New Teen Titans and Secret Six.
However, the team is strained in our latest issue, as they struggle to locate Big Barda. Having your strongest member mysteriously taken off the board by someone equally strong (or stronger) isn’t a great scenario, and it doesn’t help matters when the two leaders of the team are at their wit’s end with one another. As Barbara and Black Canary hash out their differences, Sin and Cassandra suit up, ready to tackle their latest lead to find Barda. They quickly wish they hadn’t found her so quickly, as Barda has been infected by some sort of black film, which leads to her attacking the team. At the same time, Oracle’s tech is short circuiting, leading to her getting knocked unconscious and without her tech skills to provide backup. Just when things seem to be at their worst, an explosion rocks the Birds’ headquarters, leaving Black Canary, Sin, and Cassandra to watch helplessly as the last location Barbara was in goes up in flames.
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The biggest strength of Birds of Prey is writer Kelly Thompson. Her scripts are able to balance the action, intrigue, and interpersonal dynamics of the team in ways that don’t short any particular member, and shine a spotlight on some lesser known parts of the DC Universe (this is a book that is currently dealing with Velvet Tiger as the man villain, a “Who’s Who” candidate if there ever was one). It’s a testament to Thompson’s strong character work that both the field investigation at Barda’s last location and the cyber sleuthing that Barbara conducts are equally engaging, especially when the latter involves the character just looking at screens inner monologuing. When the harsh words start flying between Barbara and Dinah, you feel for both characters because there’s a clear love and understanding between the two of them, and their frustration isn’t stemming fully from what the other is doing, it’s from the fact that they are equally worried about Barda, but trying to solve the problem in different ways.
Sami Basri handles the art duties this issue, which are completely in line with the style that began the series with Leonardo Bastos Romero. Like Thompson’s script, Basri’s art balances the superhero action and espionage perfectly, with excellent moody backup from colorist Adriano Lucas. Any other comic that goes from a desert to city location could run the risk of being jarring, but Basri makes it all work really well together. There’s an equal sense of weight to both the action and interpersonal drama here, and Basri makes the verbal punches land just as hard as the physical ones.
If there’s one thing about Birds of Prey #22 to knock it for, it’s that the issue definitely feels like a third part of a five part story. There’s just enough here plot wise to keep you engaged in the story and keep the mystery properly seeded, but there’s no huge revelations that will give you a sense of having the rug swept out from under you. But as another installment in a pretty stellar run so far, Birds of Prey #22 is a great issue that showcases why the book has been so well received for the past few years.
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