Artists Billy Tucci and Adriana Melo team up with writer Marc Andreyko to dish out the final issue of Birds of Prey, volume two. Needless to say, this book ends without hinting at the future Birds of Prey team.
The Good
The good thing about this final Bird of Prey issue is that it ends the two part story arc, tying up any loose ends nicely. The art, while it's very pretty (Tucci is know for his very pretty art and pin-up style), was still a very different take on these characters (at least for me) considering I had grown so comfortable with the depiction of the BOP ladies as slightly less dainty. Even Tucci's cover for the issue shows a very dainty and rather fragile looking Black Canary, Manhunter and Lady Blackhawk. I always pictured the latter of the two as very physically strong, at least that's the way they've been portrayed more recently. The art was pretty sexy and fluid; flowing well with the story. You barely notice the shift in penciling duties.
The story reminded me of a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde experiment with a World War II era twist and Nazis. The hulking mass of naked man did not seem altogether threatening or much of a challenge considering Dinah took him out rather quickly with a swift kick to the groin. And while swift kicks to groins can play out rather humorously on the pages of a comic, I think I would have rather seen her throw high clean across the room. Maybe through a wall or something, and K.O. him. But I guess the groin will have to do.
It's cool to see characters like Black Canary's mother make an appearance in the book, I only wish that she and Phantom Lady got to play a bigger part in the overall story.
The Bad
I can't say it was a "bad" issue per-se, I sometimes regret the format of having to include "the bad" at all. It was funny, light-hearted, but the dialogue between the characters was lacking an element that usually draws me into a Birds of Prey story.
My biggest complaint is this: where does this leave the Birds of Prey, and will the whereabouts of these characters in the revamp of the DC Universe be explained? What will happen to Lady Blackhawk and Manhunter? If we go into a revamp without an explanation, I'll be very disappointed. This book also did not feel like the end of a series, just an end of a story arc, which is fine so long as these things are explained elsewhere.
The Verdict
This book was okay. The story is fun, a bit difficult to pick up if you are a new reader. It does not feel like the end of a series, just the end of a story arc. It was great to see characters like Phantom Lady make an appearance, albeit briefly.