Review: Birds of Prey #22
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Art: Sami Basri with Vicente Cifuentes
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Dinah, Cass and Sin try to recover Barda, but she’s not where she landed. When they do find her it doesn’t go well, and neither does Cela’s visit to Barabra!
Positives
The cover to Birds of Prey #22 indicates that this just might be a darn good issue of the title. And, for about 3/4’s of the book…it is. Much like last issue, Kelly Thompson shows she’s figured out what a Birds of Prey comic is. Barbara’s behind the computer, Dinah and the other operatives are in the field and there’s a unique tension in place between the two. There’s two sets of reactions…Barbara’s from a distance and Dinah, and Co.’s up close. The differences or similarities in their reactions are what create this tension and it feels spot on in this issue.
Additionally, Thompson gives really great exposure to Barbara’s thoughts as she finally provides some more depth to what’s going on. It feels like it could’ve come from a Chuck Dixon, Gail Simone or Tony Bedard penned issue. Well done! Dinah and the team in field must think on their feet and play detective as Barbara waits for their findings. There’s an anticipation inherent in this situation that is critical for the Birds of Prey concept to work. Again, well done!
The detective work leads to finally finding Barda, and boy does what we expected from last issue to happen come to pass! Third time, well done! Finally, Thompson doesn’t waste any pages with insignificant characters just sitting around doing nothing. Best of all, just when it seems like she’s about to do it…it actually has some significance. However, it does lead to one of the drawbacks of the issue, so only a 1/2 a “well done” for that! And, the “Negatives” below actually account for a small amount in the issue itself.
Negatives
If it takes Sin dying to get rid of Megeara, then I’m for it. Sorry, Dinah. This Megeara subplot is just boring. If it’s supposed to be some sort of identity analog it’s just not being executed at a high enough level to be clear or even mildly interesting. If it’s supposed to be a mystical/ horror genre “possession,” Thompson isn’t developing in that direction enough to be scary, unsettling or even concerning. It’s just sort of there. If anything, it takes Sin in a direction completely opposite from all the things that were interesting about her. It’s also plot armor in this issue so Dinah, Cass and Sin’s escape from “Barda” feels unearned.
From a technique standpoint, there’s not enough in this issue to remind the reader what happened last issue. Perhaps, it’s just because that’s how comics are written these days, for a collection. But, if it’s been a month since you read Birds of Prey #21, when you read Birds of Prey #22, you may not remember all the things that are referenced, or even where this issue picks up.
Negatives Cont’d
When Cela shows up, it at first feels like it’s going to be a pointless appearance, but it actually feeds directly into the larger story going on. The unfortunate bit is it goes back to all the nonsense that Thompson was writing about in the first two story arcs of this series, neither of which were very good. If you recall, Velvet Tiger is Cela’s mother and supposedly Barbara killed Velvet Tiger in the future. Thompson clearly wants the reader to wonder if this is now the story that leads to that future killing moment…. Again, unfortunately, this story idea isn’t any better now than when Thompson first introduced it. Besides feeling contrived, it also doesn’t feel believable, and if it turns out to be true, well…I just don’t have the confidence that Thompson will make it interesting. Worst of all, connecting this arc to the beginning of the series just reminds the reader how bad this series was at the beginning. It’s getting better, and now this arc appears to be heading the wrong direction with the plot connecting to those first two that were so bad.
Lastly, one troubling detail is Thompson’s handling of the Barbara/ Dinah friction. It’s small, but it feels as if she’s unaware that this “who makes the decisions in the moment” question was resolved a long time ago by either Chuck Dixon or Gail Simone. It just feels out of place here. It could’ve been referenced with some different language, but as presented it just comes off as if Thompson is ignorant that the two have already dealt with and come to terms over this point of contention.
Verdict
About 3/4’s of Birds of Prey #22 is really, really good, but by the end Thompson gets back in her own way either trying to revisit things that were resolved a long time ago by a better writer, or the elements of this series that haven’t worked from the beginning. Birds of Prey isn’t a difficult concept to get, and Thompson finally does seem to be able to lean into that more and more, she’s just got to understand her original ideas for the series are counterproductive to what is working.
I’d give this a 7 1/2 out of 10 if I could.
