Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Birds of Prey

Just read the latest issue and absolutely loved it. I'm still not sure what's going on (the ending is a little scary) but there are just so many things to enjoy here. Four women (Dinah, Babs, Helena and Vixen) all being fabulous without having to lose their femininity or conversly have to rely on men to help them (nice cameo from Superman though and it makes perfect sense). I also have to say i think the Savant subplot is pretty interesting. Some of the funniest dialogue in the whole issue was in there ("Hello! We wish to purchase illegal drugs, please" and "you have a shuriken in your shoulder") but Dinah and Supes made me snigger muchly too (BC having dirty thoughts about the Man of Steel? Whodathunk it? ). The humour was really nicely counterbalanced by the action and the intrigue and it's especially worth noting that even though lots happens in the issue Gail manages to leave as much hidden as she answers but doesn't leave you feeling like you're in the dark. r, well, she does only it's a good thing that you still don't know what's going on. Sort of puts you in the same position as the Birds I guess.

The art was nice (Superman did look quite sexy actually in a bog standard hansdsome way. Hmm, that sounds a bit like damning with faint praise, it's not really) with some really nice visual story telling going on and very good facial expressions. Still a little too much perfect big round bazonkas going on all over the place, but I've sort of come to expect and excuse that. The writing of the women makes up for almost any failings in the way that they're drawn visually (I've no objections to cheesecake, I'd just like to see a little less of it and more variety in female shapes. That's something that Land was always very good at without losing any of the sexiness of his Birds). Also a very clean fill-in for Benes' work. I know that Adrian is Benes' assistant so it makes sense that he has a similar style, but it's especially nice to see two artists working on one arc and the art still remaining visually consistent.

Basically an all round pretty near perfect issue. There are things about the art that i could ideally stand to see done differently but none of it's actually bad, if you get what I mean (a personal taste thing rather than a quality one) and the writing is so darn good that I can't really complain.

Actually the only other comic I got this week was Queen & Country which is another fine example of a lead female character. Quite nice to see the other parallel in the two titles that they have gay male supporting cast members who's sexuality doesn't really seem to be an issue. Speaking of which though, does Savant actually realise that his muscle (I forget his name darn it) is in love with him? And would it make any difference if it did? It'd be nice to see a gay couple doing the whole villain to hero thing, especially if written by Gail. I just hope one of them doesn't end up getting killed as per usual.

I have always liked Vixen. Cool name and powers. Hope she gets to stick around for awhile longer.

I doubt Helena's gonna volunteer...

Birds of Prey is the BEST monthly ongoing series out there. Gail Simone has crafted a remarkable set of bonds, tensions and schemes that push the Birds of Prey.

I gave the first arc to my 10 y.o niece and she LOVED it, took it to school and showed all the kids some kick-ass smart comics. BOP impressed the mostly manga crowd at her school. (Due to the sex in the Huntress date issue, I'm not forwarding that to her.)

While I think the artist is talented, his cityscapes are lacking. Gail has a great sense of who the women are and the world they operate in. The cities - primarily Hong Kong and Gotham thus far - are known for their personalities. I don't think Benes has captured that life yet in his cities. As a result, some of the 'reveals' have been lacking, at least for me.

I love how Gail incorporates the rest of the DCU effortlessly and smoothly into each arc. A competent Vixen? Shiva as a complicated & dangerous combat artist/legend? Katana disarming a battallion of soldiers by meditating? Cheshire as a beautiful manipulative psychotic? I don't know how long Simone plans on keeping these characters around, but so far, her characterization and use are right on. Even if they're just rotated in for specific stories and not kept beyond that arc (allowing for Oracle, Black Canary and Huntress to fill up the transition issues), Simone's doing a great job at maintaining and growing the DCU.

I agree that Birds of Prey is one of the best comic books on the market. And like Andy just said, it's the characterization does it for me. She made me really like the Huntress, something I thought was impossible, and has written Babs extremely well.

As I just said in another thread, seeing Vixen is a big plus too, I hope we see more of her. Savant is interesting, Shiva was shown as very complex but still the most bad-ass martial artist alive, and Dinah written by Gail is the most likeable female heroine in comics today (wow, that's a bold statement ).

Wow-- I was *surprised* by the villain who appeared towards the end of the most recent issue!

Any comments? Oracle looks to be facing ch-ch-changes!

I was focused almost completely on Huntress and Vixen... wasn't expecting *this*.

Seeing Geo-Force in action (even while mind-controlled) makes me wish he'd get a berth in the JLA or the OUTSIDERS or something.

Todd

The villian was a huge surprise! I didn't see it coming at all, and I loved it! Talk about the big time!

I just read the last two issues, and loved them both. I can't praise this book enough. Dinah, Babs, and the Huntress are too likeable for words. The writing/pacing/dialogue is top notch and the art is unbelievable.

The Huntress/Vixen scenes were great, and the surprise villian really was a big surprise. I can't wait to see what happens next.

nice issue. Bit unsure about the "deamon seed, saturn 5" plot line. A sentient computer trying to get born as a living thing by taking over a female/. And on a side note is that rape?

But i agree Des, the writing here is top notch. the artwork is stunning and i want to see more.

I still adore this book. I read the two latest issues together last week and found them a nice, concrete read. The new fill-in artist compliments Benes style very well! I'm loving any scene with Huntress & Vixen together, and like how their cult mission seems to finally be coming together.

Dinah's loyalty to Babs is great and her diffusion of the potential suicide jumper has all the qualities of a heroic woman who refuses to sink to using weapons or sometimes even her own power!

Very intrigued by what Oracle is going through. She seems to be more 'in-control' in the cyberspace of her mind than she is in reality at the moment. The new villain definitely will be interesting to see how he can be overtaken. I can't wait to see how the two gals back in Oregon manage to hold back Geo-Force and the others....let alone save the hundreds of suiciders. Something else else tells me things will tie in a lot closer (and faster) than we think.

BoP is NOVA-hot lately. Here's a vote for VIXEN to be a permanent addition to the cast.

Oh, and I can no longer tell the difference between Benes and the new fill-in guy... EXcellent!

Just bumping this thread again because of #74.

He he he he, oh Gail, you spoil us you really do. I have to say that this issue in particular is one of the most enjoyable comics I've read in a good long while. More a character piece than a plot one, but that's not a complaint at all. Dinah and Helena both come across as being the formidable fighters that we both know they are but also as fully rounded, believable women too. Their banter is fantastic. Dinah's actions and her reasons for them this issue make perfect sense, even if they might come back to bite her on the arse in the future, and I just love her all the more.

Plus Savant. OK, he's twisted but ya know, his logic does make sense in a way. He he he.

Nice art as well. OK so the girls do appear to be nothing but leg in a couple of places, but the facial expressions and the sense of action mean that the shortcomings are more than made up for in the good points. Plus, a *fabulous* cover. Could have so easily just been a cheesecake shot but in the hands of Greg Land it isn't.

Isn't this another case of everyone getting their pants in a frenzy just coz Gail's posting here?

Huntress's costume is crap and so is Vixen's. And Geo Force's powers were written wrong. But at least I understood thsi issue. The last BOP I read was the end of some 5 part story and I couldn't understand what was going on. What happended to the maxim that "every issue is someone's first issue"? Eh? Pah!

Oh gods, I completely agree about Huntress' outfit. Lee shouldn't be allowed to redesign anything ever again. But Gail has said that that's going to be fixed soon. Can't bloody wait.

As for whether it's a Gail-love-fest because she posts here... nah, I don't think so. Certainly not on my part or Lash's since we've both been raving about how good Gail's run has been since she came on bpoard, which is way before she started posting here. There porbably is a bit of a tendency to be more lenient with crits of issues since she does, but honestly her stories have been some of the most enjoyable in this or any other title. Not to say there haven't been flaw (some aspects of #73 left me going 'huh?' but not drastically so) but compared to the stories Dixon was churning out at the end of his run on BoP and some of the other pish that is being flung at comics readers at the minute Gail writes stories that are fun, engaging and believable (or as believable as any superhero comic can be). And that's all I ask for in my comics. If they have that bit extra (which I think BoP does at the moment) then it makes me all the more happy.

BOP #74
Writing - consistent, satisfying to get some resolution to a couple issues that have emerged since Simone began (Savant and things related to him mostly), funny at times, definitely enough action in the script

Pencils - guest penciler, totally unfamiliar with his work, not sure how much time he had for this but it doesn't look like much, TOO cartoony (a couple eye-crossing 'U SO CRAZY LUCY' faces when there should've been grit), pencils don't convey suitable amounts of action IMO for when it explodes on the script, backgrounds get progressively spottier as issue progresses until it's just color washes by the end

Also, there's some weird process done on the art making it less-sharp and more-cartoony all the way around. Someone more familiar with inking/penciling/coloring differences could describe it better.

All in all... first time in a long time, this book has been ugly. Usually, I re-read BOP issues all the time (leaving them well-used and wonderfully bent from being such world travellers). This one is painful to look at. For me anyway.

I agree that the art in this issue isn't up to the high standard we're used to Andy - but 'painful'? It was extremely mediocre, yes, but not 'painful' IMO. Do you remember Bill Jaaska on the New Teen Titans post-#100 - *that* was painful!

Re: Huntress' outfit - I LOVE IT! I have no idea why everyone hates it so much. Is it just because her stomach is exposed? Is that really that big a deal? I love the pre-Crisis look to the mask especially but am also very fond of the white trim and the bike-shorts pants too. As well as the cape and belts and well, basically everything. Its probably my favourite new costume in ages. And this is from someone who's never even liked (the post-Crisis) Huntress before Gail got her hands on her.

If you want to talk about bad outfits though - let's start with Dinah's non-costume! Its a blue swimsuit with fishnet stockings... and thats it. UGH! Gail wants to make Dinah DC's #2 heroine - well its NEVER gonna happen in that outfit. She needs to go back to her 'Satellite' days threads. Then she can still have the stockings which people seem to love so much but since they'll be shaded blue she won't look so much like a street-walker. And she'll also get back that little jacket to make her top half more visually interesting. That costume is a classic!

Ouch! Why'd you have to go and poke my eye with that memory? That was very mean and I could have gone for the rest of my life never remembering those issues of Titans. Why do you hurt me like this?

And the BOP issue was painful - when you compare to what I'm used to. It doesn't draw me into the book, it pushes me away pretty effectively. Unfortunately, cuz I definitely been enjoying Ms. Simone's orchestrations with those crazy birds.

(no i don't know what tacky club jazz singer spirit has possessed me)

well, it's not the most practical version of her costume, but we grew up with hot pants/fairy shoes Robin as a guide

also, i like it A LOT better than Huntress's last outfit - the one where every inch of her Catholic is covered in shame and purple kevlar

Why stop at #2?
If she's thinking of sales, Wonder Woman ain't so hard to beat.

If she's thinking of fighting rank, Shiva is that hard to beat (Batgirl got easy solutions by a creative team that rigged it for her).

If Simone's thinking of pattern recognition in public - forget about it. The last good chance for BOP making the mainstream eye limped pathetically into a gutter drain and began rotting, laying claim to the title BIRDS OF PREY on primetime television (UGH).
Wonder Woman got Linda Carter (amongst others) for 3(?) madcap fashion-frenzy popular seasons of Amazon action and beauty queen smiles on primetime. Birds of Prey got "what if Marvel's Merry Mutants and the Mutant X production team created the WB's Birds Of Prey?". Even the presence of Shemar Moore - topless most episodes - couldn't save it (and probably would have confused people before long about which one was Black Canary).

Newsarama has just announced that Ed Benes is off to be the artist for one of the Superman titles which obviously means he's not doing BoP any more. Instead BoP is going to get Joe Bennett as it's artist. He's the new artist on Hawkman and if his first issue is anything to go by he should work very well on BoP too. Very sexy men and women and really good visual storytelling. Surprisingly he's also going to carry on as the regular penciller on Hawkman too, but apparently he's very quick, which sort of surprises me since his work is also very detailed.

As I say, if his first Hawkman issue is anything to go by I think we're in for a treat.

Oh, and he did BoP #68, the issue with Dinah training with Wonder Woman and Helena going on her date with the geeky parking attendent dude, plus the Huntress/Black anary story from the Secrte Files with Penguin in it.

I read both books, and I'm looking forward to his work. Bennett is a great artist. I do worry about his detail, but I can't imagine him wanting to do the books simultaneously if he didn't think he could do it.

Loved Bennet's debut on HAWKMAN, so this pleases me when normally news of Benes leaving would make me livid.

*dreamy sigh* This kinda reminds me of the glory days of multiple-title George Perez artwork!

What's next-- ULTIMATES 2 coming out SEVEN times a year instead of four?!?!?!

When I first saw this thread, I thought it said "Jon Benet to be the new Birds of Prey artist."

Anyway, I am looking forward to Joe Bennett's run.

i was sad to hear ED leaving "BOP" but it'll be cool to see him do SUPERMAN again, and his SUPERBOY was hot !!! love to see his version of MIKE MCKONE's version of SB !!!

and i too loved Joe Benett's first issue of "HAWKMAN" !!! the Hawks looked fit, loved those new battle costumes !!!

Matthew.

In a perfect world, BoP would be a Top 10 selling book. I've tried and tried to get my comic reading friends into it, but so far, no dice. Their wives like it, though. :-)

Sometimes that's all that counts. Did you sugest a TP for Christmas?

I guess I need to re-buy the BoP TPs. I've loaned mine out and I can't remember where...I also think some people are prejuidiced against it because they associate it with the God-awful TV show.