Review: Birds of Prey #12
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Art: Javier Pina, Sophie Campbell and Gavin Guidry
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
The team goes from Dinosaur world to cartoon land as they put together a plan to stop Maia. Back in the real world, Meridian and Zealot get some disturbing news.
Positives
Javier Pina’s art in the “dinosaur sequence” is without a doubt the best part of Birds of Prey #12. Pina handles the action well and generally makes the book look good all around. There are some nice character moments with facial expressions and solid storytelling.
There are moments where Kelly Thompson’s script seems to really “get up and go!” When they work on their plan, things move forward and it feels like the characters all of a sudden have agency. It finally feels during these moments that this storyline is going somewhere. I could feel the excitement beginning to build….
Negatives
…Unfortunately, that doesn’t account for much of the issue. Most of the issue is bogged down in a silly and sometimes insipid excursion into a cartoon land. I get what Thompson is trying to do by placing our heroes in this world, but it doesn’t land. The cutesy look of the design instead of coming off as ironic and emphasizing the disparity between their reality and this depiction just comes off as wasted. Literally nothing significant happens because of the impact of the cartoon world. Thompson tries to make it more dangerous with Barda announcing “There’s nothing more dangerous than a cartoon!” However, Thompson didn’t think beyond this initial proclamation- cartoon violence is also relatively harmless. It’s sight gags in which no one really gets hurt, thus eliminating the possibility of any real danger.
Taking a title to a world that mimics a know cartoon or comic strip can be done well and it can be effective. This doesn’t happen in Birds of Prey #12, but a few years back it did occur in Eternity Girl #4. The main character, Caroline Sharpe, experiences some analogies that describe what she is feeling. One of these is Caroline as Charlie Brown from Charles Shultz’s Peanuts. Not only does artist Sonny Liew nail the look of Peanuts, but writer, Magdalene Visaggio utilizes something thematically from the comic strip that tells the reader something about Caroline.
Negatives Cont’d
Thompson doesn’t say anything special with the trip to cartoon land. Perhaps, part of it is the generic look of the particular cartoon style itself. Is it supposed to be Powerpuff Girls? If so, it’s not really clear and there’s nothing deeper like the Eternity Girl example above. What is the reader supposed to glean from this? It feels like we’re just supposed to think it’s cute. If that’s it, it’s not that interesting, partially because Thompson doesn’t take time to connect any themes between the characters in Birds of Prey and whatever cartoon this is supposed to be. It’s also simply a superficial element that doesn’t bring anything new or exciting to the story. Most of their time in cartoon land is spent talking and when they do find Barbara there it just happens, with no effort on their part whatsoever.
There’s a particularly troubling part of the planning that doesn’t sit right. With Barbara restored to the group, she is able to assist in developing the plan. She comes up with something that is presented in a weird manner. She suggests that Cela kill Maia (her sister). Now, Cassandra tries to explain that sometimes Babs is “too pragmatic,” but Barbara is not a killer. She would never suggest murder as the solution. It’s believable that Maia’s death might be a possible answer, but not one Barbara would suggest. Babs is not uncaring, nor does she have some sort of inability to be empathetic. This is a complete mischaracterization of Barbara Gordon. Thompson clearly doesn’t understand enough about Barbara to write her accurately. It’s clear Thompson needs this tension to tell the story she wants to tell.
All along I’ve assumed that Maia and Cela have blamed Barbara for their mother’s death because they’ve misinterpreted the events of Velvet Tiger’s death. With this sequence in Birds of Prey #12, could it be true that Thompson is actually planning for Barbara to be a killer? Whether or not Barbara’s comments in this issue are misdirection, they don’t fit the character. And, if it’s serving as foreshadowing, it’s a terrible turn for the character that further demonstrates Thompson unfamiliarity with Barbara Gordon and the core concept of Birds of Prey.
The ending of the issue feels contrived as well. I’m sure it will play large in next month’s finale. I can keep going in this section, but I think it’s enough for now.
Verdict
This story arc has been disastrous and Birds of Prey #12 does nothing to change the course. If anything, Thompson shows that she doesn’t really know these characters, especially Barbara, and she doesn’t have anything significant to say. Her take on Birds of Prey has been a bust since the first issue as the core concept of Birds of Prey has escaped her. Birds of Prey is something Barbara Gordon does, it’s not simply a team of women heroes. There’s a Venn diagram somewhere showing where these ideas cross over, but Thompson is not inside it.
