Review: Birds of Prey #17
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Art: Sami Basri and Vicente Cifuentes
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
It’s over for the Ninth Day Corporation as Dinah and Co. rescue the victims and return the Amazons to Themiscyra.
Positives
There’s some pretty good action in Birds of Prey #17. When the issue opens, Cassandra is under the influence of the drug that has made her go all feral and the depiction is well done. We get the scene as we might normally get it, and then we see it through Cassandra’s warped view, her rescuers appear monstrous and she can’t clearly make out what’s being said. It’s a nice effect, credit to Thompson or Basri, or whoever came up with the idea. This may be the best work Basri has done in his four issues on the title. There’s not much to say here, because this series lacks any substance.
Negatives
As mentioned in previous reviews, Kelly Thompson’s writing is very superficial and plot driven as opposed to character driven. Birds of Prey #17 is another example. Grace and Onyx are here for literally a fight scene, that’s it. Maybe that’s all they are needed for, but a better writer would’ve made it feel important on some level. There would be a character beat that added something to their inclusion.
The same goes for Cela in this issue. It’s clear now that she’s only a plot device to provide an out for Thompson and and it’s probably why she was introduced in the last story arc. Just like Xanthe Zhou in issue #13, she’s only here for a plot contrivance. In the past, Barbara would at times call in an extra player for a save, but there was always something more to it. She called Power Girl, but there was an undisclosed animosity there that added to the story. She called in the Huntress to save Dinah in “Of Like Minds,” but there was more, she was added to the group as another operative and she provided a contrasting personality. It’s an example of the lack of depth in Thompson’s writing that holds this series back. This was nominated for an Eisner? I guess that bar has been lowered a lot….
It’s still hilarious when Dinah refers to them as “Birds.” It completely takes me out of the story. It’s not really a team with a name, it’s the title of the comic book.
The conclusion is awkward as Thompson reveals the only thing she can do with this book…for her it’s just about “sisterhood.” Again, it’s just a message. It’s a superficial message for a superficial series. It may not be fair to compare this series to the Chuck Dixon and Gail Simone years, but it’s hard not to. Those comics had a maturity and a depth. Thompson can’t find any of that and even when this arc gets a little closer, she can’t find a way to make it hit with any impact. Thompson tells the readers it’s important because of “sisterhood” instead of writing a story that demonstrates that fact and depicts why it is meaningful.
There’s even a real lack of motivation for the Ninth Day Corporation. By the end of this issue, they are sort of generic bad guys and the reasons for what they’ve done haven’t been expanded upon to where you even care as a reader. Why did they kidnap all those women? The Amazons?
Verdict
Lack of substance again makes Birds of Prey #17 a disappointing read. It’s even more disheartening when it’s supposedly the “the best superhero book right now.” It shows how low the bar is for quality writing in today’s comics. The industry moved beyond superficial writing in the Bronze Age. Chuck Dixon and Gail Simone both had amazing and classic, top tier runs on the title and this current run is a stark contrast in caliber.
