FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE + DIGITAL (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before… split up with and independent from the Joker, Harley Quinn takes to the streets of Gotham, teaming up with vigilantes Huntress, Black Canary, and cop Renee Montoya to bring down a gang of violent, vengeful criminals. Following in the footsteps of last year’s Harley Quinn spin-off Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of… no, still a stupid title, not writing that), Brian Azzarello brings the Birds of Prey to DC Black Label. Having created some of the darkest, grittiest Batman stories ever told, Azzarello is a great comic book writer – but is he the right person for a Birds of Prey book?
Off the bat (heh), this is a lighter, fluffier story than readers might be used to from Azzarello, similar in tone to Cathy Yan’s film. It’s also one of the least try-hard Black Label books, and feels more like the DC Universe proper than any of the other Joker/Harley-centric comics out there. At 100 pages, Birds of Prey feels truncated, and Azzarello is forced to squish a lot of story into relatively little space. This, to the detriment of the book’s villains – a gang of boring cartel stereotypes with no personality or dimension. The book’s stars are given more to work with, but it’s all surface-level, without much to say. Those hoping for more of a dive into the Birds of Prey’s personalities may be disappointed… nope, it’s just Harley Quinn, taking the spotlight again.
The book’s biggest success is in the artwork by Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy, whose action is slick and cinematic, and does a great job in creating a blend of both movie and comic book universes. This is essentially just a rehash of the film, created to entice fans into picking up a comic book – but it’s a very good-looking one. Birds of Prey is a gorgeous, fun action romp, but doesn’t do much to challenge its characters or writer. Movie fans looking for a quick fix are in for a treat, but otherwise, this book is disappointingly superficial.
