Gotham City Garage #10 – Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Writers; Aneke, Artist; Kelly Fitzpatrick, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7.5/10
Corrina: Canary Cry
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: In a change of pace, Gotham City Garage #10 is a full-length story focusing on Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Ra’s Al Ghul as they jockey for power in the wild and confusing world of the Garage. Dinah was a former member of the Garage and a hero, but now she’s apparently loyal to the Demon’s Head. As Ra’s Al Ghul’s right-hand woman, she’s in line to potentially inherit the throne – but to get there she’ll have to take down her close ally and lover Oliver Queen. This is a good take, in that Ra’s comes off as sort of a necessary evil in the world of Luthor’s destructive takeover. You can see how otherwise heroic figures might feel the need to jump on with Ra’s instead. However, I do think the issue suffers a bit from the feel that you’re coming in in the middle of the story. There’s little buildup for how Dinah and Ollie became Ra’s servants and pitched rivals for the throne.
Harley Quinn, meanwhile, has found herself in a tight situation trying to infiltrate the Demon’s Head, as she usually does, and finds herself captured in the middle of Dinah’s battle with Ollie. She wants to take Dinah back to the garage with her – while Ra’s wants Harley executed as an intruder. This plot could just be another generic “evil counterpart of a good hero” story, but it’s not because Lanzing and Kelly obviously have a good handle on the character of Dinah (which bodes well for their Green Arrow run, hopefully). As such, we get a tense, exciting issue with a compelling dark mirror version that’s still recognizable as Black Canary. Ending with a life taken, although maybe not the one expected, and a bittersweet resolution, this issue is a strong one. I just wish – and this extends across the Gotham City Garage universe – that we got to know these characters a little bit before their dramatic, defining storylines.
Corrina: Each story seems to reveal another piece of the worldbuilding in this universe. The last issue, it was the Blackhawks and Lois Lane, and this one is the tale of how Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assasins survived. Regular continuity Dinah has some romantic history with Ra’s but I’m guessing this tale drew more on Sara Lance/Black Canary’s history with the League of Assassins that’s been featured on Arrow.
Either way, I was initially skeptical because I think Canary belongs with the Birds of Prey, not Green Arrow., with whom she usually plays sidekick. And, a few times during the story, I was shaking my head. But, at the end, as Ray said, it works and Dinah is still recognizable as the Black Canary we know and love. I kinda love that while Ollie/Dinah continues over multiple alternate realities, it’s clearly Dinah who’s at the center of the story in this one.
Note: When the review files arrived in my inbox, this was the first issue I opened. Yep, I’ve gotten that hooked on Gotham City Garage.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
