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Review: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #14

By Philip Schweier
November 7, 2017 - 11:46

Barbara, Helena and Dinah split up, with Babs staying behind in Gotham while the others enjoy a school field trip to a colonial site outside the city. For Barbara, it hopefully means a quiet evening, but she’s doomed to disappointment. As Oracle she helps Batman, as Batgirl she helps her fellow citizens, and even finds time to team up with Catwoman and Poison Ivy in a battle on the die of the angels.

Helena and Dinah, on the other hand, have their hands full, with a busload of bored teenagers. How to engage them? Well, just add in one magic-powered super-villain and simmer. Old legends die hard, and some harder than others when a mythic figure from Gotham’s history turns up alive and all to well. It’s up to Huntress and Black Canary to take him down. This Dinah is much different than the one I’m used to seeing the pages of Green Arrow. She’s seems less mature.

It’s my favorite kind of story with plenty of action, though the Batman sequence seemed to be drawn out a wee bit. I mean, really, the solution seemed so obvious. Why Batman didn’t come up with it himself is beyond me.

Marcio Takara’s artwork is more sketchy than I’m accustomed to seeing in comic books. Perhaps if it had been inked by someone else, its better qualities would have been muddied behind someone else’s vision, but he makes it work nicely.

Rating: 9/10

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20