Birds of Prey #4 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Leonardo Romero, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The invasion of Themyscira is finally here—and it’s going about as well as expected. As we saw last issue, Diana now knows about the Birds’ assault on the island—and she’s headed back in a fury. What ensues is the single best extended issue-long fight sequence I’ve seen in a long time, with every Bird getting their chance to shine against the Amazon army. Big Barda does most of the heavy lifting, brutalizing Amazon warriors before eventually going up against Diana herself. Zealot has set herself up to not have to hold back, bewitching her sword to not be able to kill but to be able to wound. Harley mostly seems to bounce around making homoerotic comments, Meridian and Sin are both involved but not really fighting, and then there’s Cass. The smallest and most agile member of the team, who manages to outfox the Amazons in some great scenes. But they’re up against Wonder Woman, and we all know how this ends.
The thing I like about this conflict is that no one is really villainized. The Amazons are seeing an invasion of their country by some crazy ladies in the middle of a war, and are reacting accordingly. The Birds are trying to prevent an apocalypse and for some reason can’t tell anyone. And Diana is just thoroughly confused and annoyed, but tries to sort things out. But eventually, the villain who has been pursuing Sin and looking to take over her body makes its presence known, and it lives up to the hype with some truly monstrous visuals. From kinetic fight sequences to cosmic horror, Leonardo Romero is turning in the best work of his career every week here, and it’s paired perfectly with Kelly Thompson’s story. Four issues in, I’m ready to say this is probably the most consistently excellent DC book at the moment, and I’m hoping it’s just the start of Thompson’s DC tenure.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
