Review: Birds of Prey #16
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Kelly Thompson
Art:Â Sami Basri and Vicente Cifuentes
Colors:Â Adriano Lucas
Letters:Â Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by:Â Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Cass gets even further into the Ninth Day Corporation’s headquarters and uncovers why they’ve abducted the Amazons!
Positives
The action is good in Birds of Prey #16 and it continues to feel more like a Birds of Prey comic than the first two story arcs. What the Ninth Day Corporation is doing is definitely something Barbara Gordon would want to stop and a solid premise for a Birds of Prey adventure. Thompson makes an attempt at some behind the scenes handwringing, but there’s something missing. We finally get the reason that the nearly unknown Onyx and Grace are part of this story arc, despite not being really satisfying.
Sami Basri continues to do good work. The action is tight and there’s a nice sense of space when he opens up for a larger scene between the team and the Ninth Day Corporation flunkies. He also chooses some interesting angles and executes them quite well. Page 18 when Dinah uses her Canary Cry stands out!
Negatives
As often happens when a current series doesn’t quite cut it or is down right bad, I’m pushed to go back and read older runs of the same characters/ concepts to feel satisfied. This has been happening with Power Girl, and I’ve gone back to the first Volume of Birds of Prey from the ’90’s. Almost immediately, the first thing to stand out was the maturity level of the writing by Chuck Dixon and Jordan B. Gorfinkel. This comes from two elements, focus on character first and a gravitas to the plots…what Barbara and Dinah are trying to do, the people they are trying to stop…there’s a significance.
Thompson just doesn’t get that seriousness. In the current arc, she is approaching it, almost as if she’s learning on the job. This is something editorial should’ve ironed out in the first arc, but we know DC editorial is a lost cause these days. Thompson probably thinks she’s focused on character with the Sin/ Megeara merger from the first arc, but it’s a plot point that drives that story, not the characters. When you look back at the Dixon and Gail Simone Birds of Prey, it’s easy to see that what really matters is the characters and relationships. The mission is cool or whatever, but it’s the character beats that keep you invested as a reader. Thompson doesn’t have any of that in Birds of Prey #16. Cass is already “the best” as stated in the issue.Â
Negatives Cont’d
Previous reviews have pointed out how she’s not the right person for an undercover missions, and in fact doesn’t even feel like Cassandra Cain in the story. She could easily be Dinah; Thompson imbues the characters with very little distinctive traits out side of “Barda Angry.” Onyx and Grace could literally be anyone…any hired muscle, they bring nothing to the table. Thompson isn’t thinking about these stories from the perspective of character, they are simply plot devices to affect the story moving forward. This also exposes Thompson’s decision to have a rotating team of characters depending on the mission. She doesn’t have the writing chops to make these various characters feel relevant to the story and they are nothing more than props. It’s even more glaring with unknowns like Onyx and Grace. Thompson doesn’t write them anything to do or character beats at all. At least in the first arc Harley is a known quantity and she gives Zealot some interesting dialogue even if Thompson fails to do anything meaningful with it. Handling the concept of Birds of Prey is well beyond her scope as a writer.
It feels as if she’s writing more in the style of the mid ’60’s and all great development of craft during the Bronze Age has escaped her. It’s like an action movie where the characters are cardboard cut outs and just there to react to the plot points. There’s no substance to the characters and it’s been this way since issue #1. It did feel like she was trying in issue #1, but it all got silly and wacky instead of grounded and deep as the series has progressed. There’s just no reason to come back for these characters under Thompson’s pen.
Verdict
Kelly Thompson is telling a genuine Birds of Prey story in Birds of Prey #16, the Ninth Day Corporation is doing some truly horrible things to the Amazons they’ve kidnapped. The action is good, and Basri does a good job on the art, but the lack of solid characterization hurts any building of tension. She’s already told the reader that Cass is “the best.” Overall, the absence of meaningful character work hurts this series. It’s been a problem since issue #1, and no one seems to be able to get Thompson on the right track. Characters matter. Readers come back for the characters and Thompson is doing almost nothing positive with them. It’s not a terrible read, but anyone who scores this over 6/10 isn’t really paying attention.
