Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 – Tom King, Writer; Ryan Sook, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Tom King has been all over the place at DC and beyond lately, and no two books are alike. He’s done slow-burn noirs, spy thrillers, and epic superhero adventures. And for this new Black Canary series, he does a bare-knuckle brawl. A fight comic, based around a massive title fight between Black Canary and Lady Shiva. The best fighter in the DCU according to many, and the most underrated martial arts master. They’re not only fighting for the entire world, they’re fighting for the entire universe – the fight is being livestreamed in hundreds of alien languages around the galaxies. And of course, the League is watching as one of their own pivots to pay-per-view combat to go up against a trained assassin. They’re as puzzled as she is – because no one, and I mean no one, thinks Canary can win. In fact, most commentators don’t even think she can get out of the first round.
But of course, this wouldn’t be a Tom King comic if it didn’t have a lot of hidden depth. The fight is just a small part of this issue, with the heart of it being between Dinah and her trainer – the original Black Canary, her mother. Dinah Drake is usually long-dead in the comics when her daughter is on the Justice League, so this is a big surprise – and one that’s explained later in the book, when it becomes clear what this comic is actually about. Because again, it wouldn’t be a King comic if he didn’t have a lot on his mind. This comic has some absolutely brutal fight segments and brilliant art by Ryan Sook, but it also has a fascinating and suspenseful mystery at its core, and a brilliant sense of tension that should play out over the next few issues. King gets a lot of rope from DC, essentially getting to borrow any character he wants for a stand-alone series – and when they’re this good, why shouldn’t he?
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
