Customer Reviews

Birds of Prey Vol. 5: Perfect Pitch

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Three introductory vignettes help us get to know Oracle, Black Canary and the Huntress before settling down to two main story arcs.

In the first story, the Calculator (whose obsessive behavior has made him the primary source of information for Lex Luthor's Secret Society) becomes obsessed with finding Oracle and hires goons to capture and torture her agent Savant, hoping to lure her out into the open. Meanwhile, Huntress and the rest of the Birds brutalize rival gangs in a bold bid to infiltrate the mob, forcing Batman to move in to prevent a major bloodbath. When the Birds finally move to rescue Savant they find none other than Deathstroke ready and waiting for them.

In the second tale, the Society's leading torture doctor has threatened to turn against them, so the Society is out to get him and his daughter. Much to everyone's surprise (and consternation) Dinah has switched places with the legendary assassin knows as Shiva. Shiva joins the Birds to try to rescue the torture doctor while Dinah powers up by undergoing Shiva's brutal training regimen in a far-off land. Will the Birds be able to keep Shiva's murderous instincts in check? And how will they be able to save the doctor and his daughter from the unbeatable Prometheus?

As always, Simone's dialogue is terrific and her portrayal of these strong women is little short of inspiring. The stories have some great moments with real surprises, and definitely stand out from the usual superhero fare. The best art is from penciller Adrianna Melo, even though she only does the first few pages, after which the rest of the art seems wooden and clunky by comparison.

Birds of Prey by Gail Simone and a host of artists truely displays great comics writing without making the women in the book a cliche! The multitude of artists and the somewhat jarring break in the middle take away some of the glory of this trade but overall all its very good.

I first started to like this book with Chuck Dixon. No disrespect to him but Gail Simone is very good. I recommend all the Birds of Prey titles with her writing. Too bad she has moved on to Wonder Woman. The art is also very good.

Lady Shiva swap.

As part of the whole One Year Later deal, the Birds of Prey have a new member - Lady Shiva - the Canary has gone off for some further training, leaving Shiva replace her as part of this deal.

Needless to say, the international assassin and mega-martial artist and the rest of the Birds have different working styles.

Or, what do you get if you stone cold deadpan killer, ex-mafia chick, and a librarian?

4 out of 5

Although I disliked previous TPB , I must admit this one has plot, humor and everything that made me start collecting Birds of Prey! Not many people can write like this, and art is good or great, like always.

This book collects yet more of writer Gail Simone's run on DC Comics' Birds of Prey series. Collects issues #86-90 & 92-95. Issue #91 was omitted,but doesn't hurt the collected storyline(as #91 was just a 'standalone' story).