Gotham City Sirens #2 – Leah Williams, Writer; Daniel Hillyard, Artist; Triona Farrell, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: DC is bringing the band back together for a one-month-only event by Leah Williams, and so far it seems to be paying tribute to some of the more madcap adventures this trio has gotten up to over the years. Last issue saw the three under attack from a strange conspiracy that involved a mysterious energy drink, cowboy gamers, robot bison, and kidnappers targeting other vigilantes like White Rabbit. The culprit? None other than Harley’s evil counterpart, Punchline, who had engineered herself a social media empire centered around kidnapping and brainwashing. Punchline has been an odd character – starting out as a sensation as Joker’s new henchwoman, and then going on to a solo career that resulted in much more mixed reception. This issue is probably her best spotlight since the beginning, giving her a plot more interesting than her generic crimelord days.
However, the convoluted nature of her plot and all the evidence lost me a little. I wouldn’t have been all that into this issue – if it wasn’t for how fun the trio are together. Harley and Ivy are deeply in love and often distracted, while Selina is just suffering and using her money to buy her way out of awkward situations. Along with White Rabbit’s alter ego, they manage to get a tip from Harley’s favorite bodega guy, hijack a shipment of the energy drink, and try to get into the base – only for it all to blow up in their faces. I think this issue struggled a bit with middle-chapter syndrome, as it has a lot of blanks to fill in, but it does work as a great character spotlight for the Sirens. It does feel like Selina doesn’t have as much to do here, which makes me think maybe Harley and Ivy should just be regular guest-stars in each other’s titles in perpetuity to keep the fun going. The weekly format of this book helps to keep the momentum rolling.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
