Birds of Prey #2 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Leonardo Romero, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The first issue of this new title was one of the best DC comics I’ve read in a long time. That sets an almost impossible bar for this issue to meet. Does it match the first issue? Not quite, but that still leaves a book that puts almost everything on the stand to shame. Last issue put the team together—including a huge surprise of Meridian, a future Maps Mizoguchi, as the secret sixth member. The team’s mission? To break into Themyscira to rescue Black Canary’s sister/foster daughter Sin before the Amazons can kill her or she can be possessed by an unknown and horrible force. This mission immediately causes some fractures in the team, with Zealot being unwilling to go to war against the Amazons and Harley having some surprising ins that might just make the mission possible. But before the barely-formed team can take on the Amazons, they have some loose ends to tie up.
Normally, when it’s two issues in and the team is still assembling supplies, I would say it was a bit decompressed. But this doesn’t feel like that at all. Rather, the mission to collect hidden tools highlights the team’s dynamic and introduces some other players. Zealot and Harley’s rivalry is a lot of fun, and the Barda/Cass fightmance is easily the most enjoyable new DC dynamic in a long time. One is giant, one is tiny, but they both like to beat up everything in sight! Dinah and Constantine, meanwhile, go on a secret mission at the Oblivion Bar and the hidden market in its realm that leads to another one of those amazing Romero/Bellaire fight splash pages. It’s just pure fun from beginning to end, and that’s even before we get into the reveal, which brings in another surprising ally from the team—one that Harley knows, and one that is basically the funniest thing imaginable given Kelly Thompson’s Marvel past. Decent chance this winds up becoming DC’s best book.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
