Birds of Prey #102

Writer: Gail Simone
Pencils: Nicola Scott
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Rob Leigh

I guess January was National Transition Month for comics. Seems like half the comics I read were set-up issues of some sort, either getting a new arc going or moving a few other threads ahead. The problem is that only a few of them managed to be particularly interesting. I already popped off about Aquaman, but today I'll be tackling Birds of Prey.

I will start off, though, with what this issue does very well, which is demonstrate the strength and power of the women in the DC Universe. Not only that, but it also plays up very nicely the variety of those women; from political persuasions (Spy Smasher to Huntress) to reactions in dangerous situations (Misfit to Barda), each woman featured has some sort of choice, some way of effecting the overall outcome. The terror evoked by Lois Lane's snooping around you for a story is fantastically put across in one panel as Oracle thinks, "I'd rather face the Joker. He's been known to give up on occasion." (The thought panels generally are very nicely done, giving each discrete thought it's own place and providing a look at the manner in which the characters think and process.) This might be a questionable line as the Joker is the man who paralyzed her, but it does emphasize Oracle's movement from the physical superhero into the master strategist and what it is she fears now: exposure (and, just by way of exposition, Oracle is Barbara Gordon, formerly Batgirl, who was paralyzed from the waist down by the Joker back in the day). But back to the main point, this series on the whole has done yeoman's service in fleshing out (hmm...Power Woman?) the possible roles of women in the DCU and this issue specifically expands on that with the injection of Lois Lane into the arc.

Generally speaking I enjoy Gail Simone's writing. She is certainly one of the more humorous writers around, with her particular style invoking an engaging blend of wit and double meanings. So far in Birds of Prey she has managed to keep the humor at the right level, allowing it to infuse a kind of authenticity to the dialogue without making the books one long yuk-yuk joke.

That said, Oracle and Lois Lane's conversation just did not quite work for me. Maybe it was Oracle's out-and-out hostility, maybe it was the notion that Lois Lane had no clue who Oracle was (I mean, c'mon, is Superman really that kind of a jackass?), but something, somewhere was throwing everything off. Unfortunately this applies to a good deal of the issue, the sense that there is something a bit off. From the odd melodramatic line to scenes that appear to be taking place side by side that the reader knows cannot possibly be taking place simultaneously, the issue tries to cover a lot of ground, though in something of a haphazard manner.

Certain actions taken by the characters also seem a bit discordant. At one point Barda throws a car at some of the Feds firing down at her from a catwalk. While that's not a bad way to get rid of them, there were non-combatants in the backseat. Is this Barda not thinking and grabbing the nearest thing at hand (and it is fairly cool when you can just sorta toss a car at your enemies, especially if it were a Pinto), or are we left to assume there was some other car in the warehouse...that we hadn't seen before in this rather tight space? Also, Oracle's plan to threaten Lois Lane by outing Clark as Superman I just don't buy. For one thing, Lane would probably perceive it as a bluff and for another what little I do know about Oracle mandates that she isn't going to totally screw over one of the planet's more important defenders just so others can go down with her. The simple point is that for a bluff to work the mark has to be willing to believe it. This all feels a bit too much like Oracle has to have everything covered 'cause she's cool like that or something. Again, these are missteps, but the overall tone of the issue is such that they come across as necessary missteps on the way towards the arc's conclusion.

The art in the series thus far has been perfectly fine and functional. If there is a criticism to be made it would probably be just that: it is fine and functional. It ain't gonna knock your socks off and it surely isn't going to be the engine for a weaker story. A nice distinction does exist between those who are superheroes or something more than ordinary (it's nice to see "Miguel the Metahuman," for instance, described as a metahuman considering his impossible physique, instead of just some 'roid ranger) and those who are just human. I don't much like Lois Lane's nose – there's something distracting about it – but other than that there is not anything really rotten in Metropolis. The same can be said for the coloring as it doesn't make the comic and doesn't break it either.

The thing is that I do enjoy this comic; it's just not at the top of the list. It's a fine series with an interesting premise and a very solid creative team, but this just happens to be kind of a blah issue. I do feel there are some problems (pacing, character decisions, etc.) that would earn a lesser comic a worse rating, but the book's conceit is strong enough and the team capable enough that even a boring and seemingly overly-drawn out issue remains reasonably middle of the pack.

Ranking: Gimli 'cause it's solid enough, just not leading lady-esque.