Assault on Santa Prisca
You will be warned if there are spoilers
The good:
I am really enjoying this series. James Tynion IV has given the Court of Owls real villains, like the Grand Master and the Butcher. The court is no longer a bunch of old masked rich guys, but an actual evil organization.
I love the stories when the hero (Calvin Rose) is trapped and there seems to be no way for him to get out even if you know he will still find a way. That's exactly what's happening here. A master escape artist with seemingly no way of escape.
Warning spoilers
It was cool seeing Calvin be a secret agent. The way he gave a lock pick to Casey Washington and infiltrated Santa Prisca. Casey's tooth was also pretty clever.
The bad:
No spoilers
The cover was misleading. It should have been the cover to Birds of Prey #21. We also don't see the Birds of Prey in this issue even if it says so on the cover (except for Strix).
I was wondering why this issue wasn't called Claws of the Court part 2. Well it's because that story finishes in the first five pages of the book. So this comic had the end of one story and the beginning of another. It felt like the first four pages were wasted and were just there so that Birds of Prey fans would feel forced to pick this up.
Warning spoilers
I think that the Court of Owls could easily see through Calvin's ruse of dressing another body up as Mary Turner. I'm saying this before reading the next issues. We never know what might happen.
No more spoilers until the end
Calvin now has a chin beard. It seems his unshaven face from Birds of Prey #21 has become a well trimmed beard in this issue (weird).
He has a beard during the whole issue until we get to the page 20 where his beard has disappeared (minor problem).
The verdict:
James Tynion IV keeps giving us a high quality series every month. He has made the Court of Owls and its leader truly evil (in other words, he saved the Court of Owls). Pick this up. Birds of Prey fans might be a bit disappointed because we don't see the Birds of Prey in this issue. But we do see Strix and her story does conclude.
I give it 4 on 5 stars.
