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Birds of Prey (1999) (First Editions)
Birds of Prey, Vol. 5: Between Dark and Dawn
A new volume collecting BIRDS OF PREY #69-75! Huntress goes undercover to infiltrate a religious cult with a dangerous secret, while Black Canary and Oracle uncover the true nature of Sovereign Brusaw's organization.
Finally, the Birds must face the aftermath of the Gotham Gang War, leading to a decision that changes the team's fate forever!
Finally, the Birds must face the aftermath of the Gotham Gang War, leading to a decision that changes the team's fate forever!
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Gail Simone
1,077 books1,237 followersGail Simone is a comic book writer well-known for her work on Birds of Prey (DC), Wonder Woman (DC), and Deadpool (Marvel), among others, and has also written humorous and critical commentary on comics and the comics industry such as the original "Women in Refrigerators" website and a regular column called "You'll All Be Sorry".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 1, 2021
Huntress goes undercover with a cult that is brainwashing teenagers, causing them to dress as dead superheroes and then commit suicide. Vixen is along for the ride too. The whole cult thing gets really out there with their beliefs. Then as part of the Batman:War Games event, the clock tower gets blown up without really explaining why in this volume. And Lady Blackhawk joins the team at the end. Yay.
The art in this book is still way oversexualized.
The art in this book is still way oversexualized.
January 21, 2019
"I just have to put my face on." - Helena 'Huntress' Bertinelli
"I wonder what that's supposed to mean?" - Barbara 'Oracle' Gordon
"With Huntress, I always figure it means someone's gonna get a pounding. I'm maintaining a 98% accuracy rating with that system, I'd estimate." - Dinah 'Black Canary' Lance
The poundings and much more continue in Vol. 5: Between Dark & Dawn. This time Oracle sends Huntress incognito to infiltrate a cult compound - three former teen members had just committed suicide in separate incidents - based in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. Mari 'Vixen' McCabe was sent initially as undercover operative, but has she been irreversibly 'turned' by the group?
I admire Gail Simone's skill in keeping the story trucking along with the non-stop action and suspense. (There was also a nice concluding chapter, introducing Zinda 'Lady Blackhawk' Blake with a brief bio.) It just doesn't get boring, and feels like a cut above other graphic novel series.
"I wonder what that's supposed to mean?" - Barbara 'Oracle' Gordon
"With Huntress, I always figure it means someone's gonna get a pounding. I'm maintaining a 98% accuracy rating with that system, I'd estimate." - Dinah 'Black Canary' Lance
The poundings and much more continue in Vol. 5: Between Dark & Dawn. This time Oracle sends Huntress incognito to infiltrate a cult compound - three former teen members had just committed suicide in separate incidents - based in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. Mari 'Vixen' McCabe was sent initially as undercover operative, but has she been irreversibly 'turned' by the group?
I admire Gail Simone's skill in keeping the story trucking along with the non-stop action and suspense. (There was also a nice concluding chapter, introducing Zinda 'Lady Blackhawk' Blake with a brief bio.) It just doesn't get boring, and feels like a cut above other graphic novel series.
January 3, 2019
This was a solid read though I had a few issues.
We finally get a more interesting storyline for Huntress. When she has to go undercover for Barbara and try to find out why kids are dressing themselves as superheroes before killing themselves we get a pretty solid storyline. This is also a volume filled with a self-doubting Babs and almost becomes something very evil. Then the watchtower gets blown up but we don't really know why, must be in a batman book. Then we tie up some more stuff of previous villains.
Good: I enjoyed the wrap up storyline from the first volume a lot. I think the dialogue is mostly well done and you get a different feel for each main hero. The ending works well and I think the pacing was steady throughout.
Bad: The jumps in time and events is annoying and hard to keep up with. I think the art still oversexualizes things.
Overall, a solid read. Better than last volume but not as good as volume 3. Let's see how it goes on! A 3 out of 5.
We finally get a more interesting storyline for Huntress. When she has to go undercover for Barbara and try to find out why kids are dressing themselves as superheroes before killing themselves we get a pretty solid storyline. This is also a volume filled with a self-doubting Babs and almost becomes something very evil. Then the watchtower gets blown up but we don't really know why, must be in a batman book. Then we tie up some more stuff of previous villains.
Good: I enjoyed the wrap up storyline from the first volume a lot. I think the dialogue is mostly well done and you get a different feel for each main hero. The ending works well and I think the pacing was steady throughout.
Bad: The jumps in time and events is annoying and hard to keep up with. I think the art still oversexualizes things.
Overall, a solid read. Better than last volume but not as good as volume 3. Let's see how it goes on! A 3 out of 5.
March 11, 2013
This book just didn't have the spirit of the previous volumes, except the Lady Blackhawk story at the end.
January 2, 2020
Another enjoyable volume!
I really liked seeing Vixen! She's a character I find very intriguing but I haven't seen her in a lot of other books I've read. It was interesting seeing her work alongside Helena who's, pretty much always, really prickly.
I had a few issues with the way Helena was presented in the Nightwing series that was coming out around this time because it seemed the pattern was that Helena was too cocky about her methods/skills, messed up and then refused to take any criticism. I generally really hate when strong willed female characters are presented that way but it seems this is a common view of the character? It's done a lot better in this series, in my opinion. Helena ends up trying to prove her worth here and coming into conflict with the moral views of other characters like Vixen, but she learns how to compromise. And in the end, she's still very much Helena.
I loved the intro of Lady Blackhawk! I love what she does later on in this series.
My favorite part of this volume was Dinah and Babs' relationship. Dinah is so protective and supportive of Babs and it's lovely to see! In another life, I like to think they would have ended up together, to be honest. They would have been one kick ass power couple.
I really liked seeing Vixen! She's a character I find very intriguing but I haven't seen her in a lot of other books I've read. It was interesting seeing her work alongside Helena who's, pretty much always, really prickly.
I had a few issues with the way Helena was presented in the Nightwing series that was coming out around this time because it seemed the pattern was that Helena was too cocky about her methods/skills, messed up and then refused to take any criticism. I generally really hate when strong willed female characters are presented that way but it seems this is a common view of the character? It's done a lot better in this series, in my opinion. Helena ends up trying to prove her worth here and coming into conflict with the moral views of other characters like Vixen, but she learns how to compromise. And in the end, she's still very much Helena.
I loved the intro of Lady Blackhawk! I love what she does later on in this series.
My favorite part of this volume was Dinah and Babs' relationship. Dinah is so protective and supportive of Babs and it's lovely to see! In another life, I like to think they would have ended up together, to be honest. They would have been one kick ass power couple.
March 20, 2010
Nice solid effort again from writer Gail Simone and crew. But only because I enjoy the Babs-Dinah-Helena interaction. Pus, Zinda was introduced in this volume. The Cult and Brainiac portions of the story were average at best.
August 9, 2021
Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn collects the next seven issues (Birds of Prey #69–75) of the 2003 on-going series and covers three stories: "Between Dark and Dawn", "Unraveled", and "Breathless and There Would Be No Spring".
"Between Dark and Dawn" is a five-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #69–73) has the Birds of Prey begin by investigating the seemingly connected suicides of three teenagers, all with rich parents, and all killing themselves in the costumes of already dead superheroes. The connection is a newly founded and tech-savvy cult, which has Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress sent there by Barbara Gordon as Oracle.
"Unraveled" is a one-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #74) has Dinah Lance as Black Canary and Helena Bertinelli as Huntress go undercover to a secret meeting where criminal sidekicks are trying to start a henchman's union – the two women start a brawl amongst the henchmen.
"Breathless and There Would Be No Spring" is a one-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #75) has the building containing the clock tower, where Barbara Gordon as Oracle is headquartered, is no more – it has been demolished. The Birds of Prey take down a drug house and establish a new base on an airplane, Aerie One, flown by Blackhawk pilot Zinda Blake.
Gail Simone penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. There’s slightly less mystery and ramping up the threat level removes some credibility. However, Simone's characterization is her strength as she instituted a camaraderie and a trust, but most of all a bond that runs deep.
Ron Adrian (Birds of Prey #69, 71–73), Ed Benes (Birds of Prey #70, 75), Eric Battle (Birds of Prey #73), and Jim Fern (Birds of Prey #75) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, the penciling was done moderately well. Benes can draw action, character scenes and a good environment, but is overtly sexualized, Adrian art is more detailed, but less accomplished, and he's far worse when it comes to objectifying women. Battle and Fern are also satisfactory pencilers.
All in all, Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn is a moderate continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
"Between Dark and Dawn" is a five-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #69–73) has the Birds of Prey begin by investigating the seemingly connected suicides of three teenagers, all with rich parents, and all killing themselves in the costumes of already dead superheroes. The connection is a newly founded and tech-savvy cult, which has Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress sent there by Barbara Gordon as Oracle.
"Unraveled" is a one-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #74) has Dinah Lance as Black Canary and Helena Bertinelli as Huntress go undercover to a secret meeting where criminal sidekicks are trying to start a henchman's union – the two women start a brawl amongst the henchmen.
"Breathless and There Would Be No Spring" is a one-issue storyline (Birds of Prey #75) has the building containing the clock tower, where Barbara Gordon as Oracle is headquartered, is no more – it has been demolished. The Birds of Prey take down a drug house and establish a new base on an airplane, Aerie One, flown by Blackhawk pilot Zinda Blake.
Gail Simone penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. There’s slightly less mystery and ramping up the threat level removes some credibility. However, Simone's characterization is her strength as she instituted a camaraderie and a trust, but most of all a bond that runs deep.
Ron Adrian (Birds of Prey #69, 71–73), Ed Benes (Birds of Prey #70, 75), Eric Battle (Birds of Prey #73), and Jim Fern (Birds of Prey #75) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, the penciling was done moderately well. Benes can draw action, character scenes and a good environment, but is overtly sexualized, Adrian art is more detailed, but less accomplished, and he's far worse when it comes to objectifying women. Battle and Fern are also satisfactory pencilers.
All in all, Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn is a moderate continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
October 20, 2020
Very well-written comic here. I have always appreciated Gail Simone, and she did not disappoint with this installment of BoP. I love seeing the whole trio of Oracle, Black Canary, and Huntress working together. They make a hell of a team, especially in Simone's writing.
November 7, 2014
Fantastic all around. The writing is top notch and the art is lovely. Birds of Prey comics are always something I enjoy, but Gail Simone's characterization is what makes Birds my absolute favourite comic series. Each character has their own unique personality and something special they bring to the team in terms of skills, as well as through social interactions. The relationship between Canary and Oracle is different from Oracle and Huntress, and is different from Huntress and Canary. And reading the three of them together is a blast. That idea of friendship and developing friendships is what makes Birds of Prey so distinct from other comics, and what makes it so enjoyable. This volume is no exception. It may even emphasize the aspect of teamwork and having friends/allies more than the previous trades. Also. Zinda AKA Lady Blackhawk is brought on board near the end! This is great stuff and you don't want to miss out on it.
August 6, 2013
I didn't like this trade quite as much as the one before it. I wasn't terribly interested in the cult storyline, and I didn't feel like Vixen was used quite as well as she could have been. That said, I am interested to see what will happen next, and I still like the way Simone writes her main characters.
December 25, 2014
The adventure continues and deepens in Gail Simone's run of Birds of Prey. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
February 17, 2013
I love the Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn collection because I feel like that when it really hits home that the Birds of Prey are a family. The dynamics and the relations between the characters feel realistic and like a real family. Oracle brings in Huntress and Black Canary. Both of them are troubled when they join the team.
The arc doesn’t cover Black Canary’s story since that happened earlier, but her connection to Oracle is already strong. Meanwhile, Huntress struggles to work in the field as she faces the cult. Then Vixen shows up and she’s like that good family friend you can depend on when you don’t quite want to go to somebody in your family. She helps serve as a voice of reason.
Meanwhile, Oracle also takes in Savant and Creote trying to rehabilitate them into becoming better people. She makes comments to how Huntress and Black Canary are rough around the edges. They’re a little bit off the charts compared to them. But Oracle is ready to care for them and look into giving them a second chance. Black Canary and Huntress struggle to trust them. It’s understood why especially in Black Canary’s case. I love how flawed all of them are especially when together. It’s not forced, but feels right. The way each of them handle each other and each other’s situation feels right.
Then Oracle always felt like a motherly figure to me in Birds of Prey. She’s probably the strongest out of all of them and she’s watching out for everybody. Yet in this volume, Oracle looses it. She’s challenged in a different way creating a trial for her. All the while this builds how strong Black Canary’s relationship to her is (yet Huntress is still iffy).
I like to think of them as a family. That might be just me. I like the idea of Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Savant (+ Creote, I want them to be mad crazy lovers all the time) being one family rather than just a team.
A lot of people have told me that the Fantastic Four is the only “family” in comics or that the Batfamily is the only important “family” in DC Comics. But the Birds of Prey family is the family for me and the fictional one that I need whenever I settle down read and relax.
The arc doesn’t cover Black Canary’s story since that happened earlier, but her connection to Oracle is already strong. Meanwhile, Huntress struggles to work in the field as she faces the cult. Then Vixen shows up and she’s like that good family friend you can depend on when you don’t quite want to go to somebody in your family. She helps serve as a voice of reason.
Meanwhile, Oracle also takes in Savant and Creote trying to rehabilitate them into becoming better people. She makes comments to how Huntress and Black Canary are rough around the edges. They’re a little bit off the charts compared to them. But Oracle is ready to care for them and look into giving them a second chance. Black Canary and Huntress struggle to trust them. It’s understood why especially in Black Canary’s case. I love how flawed all of them are especially when together. It’s not forced, but feels right. The way each of them handle each other and each other’s situation feels right.
Then Oracle always felt like a motherly figure to me in Birds of Prey. She’s probably the strongest out of all of them and she’s watching out for everybody. Yet in this volume, Oracle looses it. She’s challenged in a different way creating a trial for her. All the while this builds how strong Black Canary’s relationship to her is (yet Huntress is still iffy).
I like to think of them as a family. That might be just me. I like the idea of Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk and Savant (+ Creote, I want them to be mad crazy lovers all the time) being one family rather than just a team.
A lot of people have told me that the Fantastic Four is the only “family” in comics or that the Batfamily is the only important “family” in DC Comics. But the Birds of Prey family is the family for me and the fictional one that I need whenever I settle down read and relax.
June 28, 2020
Between Dark and Dawn is the third volume of Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey, continuing the character develop of the main three characters, Oracle, (Barbara Gordan), the Black Canary (Dinah), and Huntress (Helena).
Teenagers, dressed as super heroes, have been committing suicide. The information trail leads Oracle to send Huntress into rural Oregon to investigate a cult that worships superheros as gods. The plot becomes a little muddled: the leader of the cult has mind control powers, has captured out-of-play metas for a reason I'm not sure I follow, and is assisted by non-other than Brainiac. As Huntress and the additional agent Vixen battle it out in the cult, Barbara and Dinah cope with a Brainiac infestation in Gotham. Meanwhile Creote and Savant try to redeem themselves by cleaning up a derelict Gotham neighborhood.
Simone continues to introduce major female players from the greater DC Universe. Unfortunately, Vixen doesn't fare as well as Lady Shiva from the last volume. Vixen's power set is a little strange (she has the ability to summon animal attributes) and her job description is 'model'. I feel the inimitable Simone should have been able to do something more interesting with her character, and it's unfortunate she doesn't, as Vixen is the preeminent black female super hero of the DC Universe.
Brainiac is an excellent choice of villain for Oracle, and I deeply appreciate the close relationship between Dinah and Barbara being the crux of their plot line this volume. Barbara gets to be very present in these issues, and glimpses of her past life as Batgirl are to be savored.
The final two issues in this collection are separate from the main story line and are wonderful. I love the developing friendship between Dinah and Huntress, and who doesn't want to crash a unionizing effort of Gotham City's henchman? Dinah is finally cemented as a badass martial artist. The volumes ends with an intrusion of a comic event which leaves the Clock Tower destroyed (not collected in this volum,e merely summarized and inferred). This leaves Barbara to recruit non-other than Zinda Blake, Lady Blackhawk, and the Birds of Prey end up in a jet, ready to deploy operations throughout the country.
Ed Benes artwork continues to be as cheesecake as possible, and although his pages and character expressions are dynamic, I can't really get over the tits and ass shots. The skin tight costumes on Canary, Huntress, and Vixen are particularly hard to stomach in this volume. Vixen fares the worst, despite the fact she's showing the least amount of skin. So perhaps the costumes are less the issue, but the art choices that make it worse.
Teenagers, dressed as super heroes, have been committing suicide. The information trail leads Oracle to send Huntress into rural Oregon to investigate a cult that worships superheros as gods. The plot becomes a little muddled: the leader of the cult has mind control powers, has captured out-of-play metas for a reason I'm not sure I follow, and is assisted by non-other than Brainiac. As Huntress and the additional agent Vixen battle it out in the cult, Barbara and Dinah cope with a Brainiac infestation in Gotham. Meanwhile Creote and Savant try to redeem themselves by cleaning up a derelict Gotham neighborhood.
Simone continues to introduce major female players from the greater DC Universe. Unfortunately, Vixen doesn't fare as well as Lady Shiva from the last volume. Vixen's power set is a little strange (she has the ability to summon animal attributes) and her job description is 'model'. I feel the inimitable Simone should have been able to do something more interesting with her character, and it's unfortunate she doesn't, as Vixen is the preeminent black female super hero of the DC Universe.
Brainiac is an excellent choice of villain for Oracle, and I deeply appreciate the close relationship between Dinah and Barbara being the crux of their plot line this volume. Barbara gets to be very present in these issues, and glimpses of her past life as Batgirl are to be savored.
The final two issues in this collection are separate from the main story line and are wonderful. I love the developing friendship between Dinah and Huntress, and who doesn't want to crash a unionizing effort of Gotham City's henchman? Dinah is finally cemented as a badass martial artist. The volumes ends with an intrusion of a comic event which leaves the Clock Tower destroyed (not collected in this volum,e merely summarized and inferred). This leaves Barbara to recruit non-other than Zinda Blake, Lady Blackhawk, and the Birds of Prey end up in a jet, ready to deploy operations throughout the country.
Ed Benes artwork continues to be as cheesecake as possible, and although his pages and character expressions are dynamic, I can't really get over the tits and ass shots. The skin tight costumes on Canary, Huntress, and Vixen are particularly hard to stomach in this volume. Vixen fares the worst, despite the fact she's showing the least amount of skin. So perhaps the costumes are less the issue, but the art choices that make it worse.
October 2, 2022
Plotwise, not quite as solid as the previous volume, but Simone's characterizations and dialogue elevate this beyond the predictable "twisted superhero cult" stuff. In particular, I'm finding myself caring quite a bit about Canary and Oracle, both individually and as a duo. They fill each other out really well, like any classic dramatic pairing, but also have a palpable respect and admiration for each other that comes through despite their constantly making fun of each other. It's one of the better relationships I've seen in a superhero comic, and that alone is going to keep me coming back.
Huntress, on the other hand, I'm still waiting to feel something about. She's so aloof and is often siloed off on her own away from the other two, it makes her feel like a character in a different comic sometimes. Simone writes her well enough, but I think I need her to be hanging out with the crew more or something if I'm really going to care for her or fear for her life.
Anyway, this is still a standout comic series, particularly from this pre-Infinite-Crisis time period, and I'm excited to keep going with it and see what else the ole Birds get into.
Huntress, on the other hand, I'm still waiting to feel something about. She's so aloof and is often siloed off on her own away from the other two, it makes her feel like a character in a different comic sometimes. Simone writes her well enough, but I think I need her to be hanging out with the crew more or something if I'm really going to care for her or fear for her life.
Anyway, this is still a standout comic series, particularly from this pre-Infinite-Crisis time period, and I'm excited to keep going with it and see what else the ole Birds get into.
May 31, 2023
Huntress gets a solo mission that doesn't go as planned as Gail Simone shows how great this team-up can actually be. Oracle gets pushed to her limits and Canary is shown to be the team's glue here as Gail Simone gives readers another entertaining read. What started as an interesting story did veer off on an unexpected and less than stellar path. The decision to make the team mobile is a good one though. The art was solid throughout but many of the blondes look too similar. Overall, another good BOP book.
July 10, 2018
I always enjoy Simone’s writing. Better yet, I caught sight of flat heeled boots much more than high heels. I’ll let Vixen’s heels slide- she wears stilettos for a living so she knows how to pick a comfy heel.
February 20, 2020
Great story, so much to unpack, but seriously hindered by the sexist art.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2023
Some real great comic book stories featuring women. These are all written by Gail Simone. She knows how to write action and knows how to down shift for some character based stories.
January 30, 2025
The cult stuff was pretty scary and (spoilers) really freaks me out so not my favorite volume but that’s me and not the book.
December 2, 2011
This is the fifth collection of the Birds of Prey comic. It is the third one written by Gail Simone. I've loved the two collections before this one, but this one seemed a little off to me.[return][return]For one thing, the action seemed rushed. In the last two books, the relationships between the characters developed slowly. The action was well thought out and really hooked me in. In this book, a new character, Vixen, is introduced... but I never really felt like I got to know who she was. She was just there, and then gone. Disappointing after the nice story lines with Lady Shiva and Cheshire in the last book, Sensei and Student.[return][return]Things just happened too fast and left me with too many questions. Who the hell is Brainiac? and Is Vixen just crazy? and Wait... What happened to the clock tower... and now they're going to fly around in a plane?![return][return]I'm still going to read the comic, though. The next collection comes out in a couple of weeks. I like the story of Lady Blackhawk.
September 6, 2012
Gail Simone is one of the best reasons to read comics. Her current run on Batgirl is terrific and her Birds of Prey work is also a delight to read. Female characters! With personalities! Who don't need to be rescued! But are maybe flawed in interesting and meaningful ways besides "sooo klutzy!" and "insecure even though she is, like, really pretty you guys!!!" I also like the artwork, particularly the fact that Dinah is always drawn like a brick shithouse who could take you apart with her bare hands. I did feel the Brainiac plotline came to a climax a little too, quickly - kind of confusing, but not enough to mar the book seriously. More [strong characters (female)] like these and fewer [strong female characters], please.
February 15, 2009
okay, this one was my favorite so far. helena! gets to totally kick ass!! plus all the stuff with babs, and savant, and the dinah/babs love . . .
really fantastic. highly recommend. especially because of all the snarky-stuff about batman and his huge dark ego. oh, i love it. i love how batman is the butt of all jokes, even though they all agree he rules gotham. oh, batman.
it's also really hot when dinah and helena dress up as penguin and riddler for the "conference". hahahah. though i still like nicola scott's art the best and am waiting for her arrival on the series!
really fantastic. highly recommend. especially because of all the snarky-stuff about batman and his huge dark ego. oh, i love it. i love how batman is the butt of all jokes, even though they all agree he rules gotham. oh, batman.
it's also really hot when dinah and helena dress up as penguin and riddler for the "conference". hahahah. though i still like nicola scott's art the best and am waiting for her arrival on the series!
August 11, 2015
Q: So what exactly happened to Oracle ?
A: I really do not know.
Q: Aaaaaaand what happen to her hideout ?
A: I do not know but I've been told It is well documented in some batman book.
But except for that this is pretty decent book. A lot of stuff happening Huntress finally kicks some ass together with Black Canary and obviously we are getting new character which is always exciting. I guess you would like it if you are reading already the whole series but this is definitely not the good starting point (vol. 5 suggests that anyway)
A: I really do not know.
Q: Aaaaaaand what happen to her hideout ?
A: I do not know but I've been told It is well documented in some batman book.
But except for that this is pretty decent book. A lot of stuff happening Huntress finally kicks some ass together with Black Canary and obviously we are getting new character which is always exciting. I guess you would like it if you are reading already the whole series but this is definitely not the good starting point (vol. 5 suggests that anyway)
June 17, 2007
I love me some Birds of Prey and all, but it annoyed me that there's a huge gap in the middle of this book where War Games takes place. So much happens during that story line, yet all we get in this book is "the clocktower sploded let's move on with our lives." Also, War Games kind of annoys me, so I like to pretend it never happened.
February 24, 2020
I don't think the Huntress under cover arc worked very well. As a result this collection feels a little uneven. Still some good Barbara/Black Canary stuff.
We talk about this classic run and the Birds of Prey in general on a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
We talk about this classic run and the Birds of Prey in general on a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
March 21, 2014
Things get technical, as only the loopiest Birds of Prey stories can, i.e., Barbara faces off against Brainiac, while Huntress takes down the cult revolving around him. Huntress' faith receives his first spotlight here, and while I think Simone's rekindling of her spiritual side gets better treatment further on in her work with the character, it's compelling to see her struggle with belief here.
November 15, 2014
I knew when I started reading comics that, as a feminist, I would have problems with the artwork. So my reaction to this one wasn't really disappointment or anger, but rather "oh, come on." The writing on this one was good, I liked the story, but the amount of T&A and full, pouty lips and pin-up poses while these ladies were supposed to be kicking a**. It was more than a bit much.
April 2, 2015
Another good story, but I'm getting kind of tired with this blackmailer motif; so far, every volume I've read had a blackmailer as the main antagonist. The whole thing with Brainiac was really interesting but they left it open and I'm wondering weather it'll just be forgotten of they plan to further explore it. Enjoyable read in any case.
January 2, 2016
This one didn't have the most interesting story of the volumes so far, but the team dynamics continue to be a highlight, and as the team grows it gets even better. I always like Brainiac in theory, but he is usually so easy to beat, even though seemingly possessed of enormous intelligence and power, and that is the case here again.
July 25, 2016
Gail Simone brings her A game by combining a religious super hero cult as a Trojan horse to an almost forgotten Super Man villain. The results are fun shots at rural American religious extremism and foreshadowing to Brainiac's version of Gamer gate. Add to it Lady Blackhawk joining the team and you have fun ride.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews