Graphic Novelty²

After Barbara’s recovery, the Birds are back in the game. Helena is infiltrating Gotham’s mobs, gaining their trust as the daughter of one of their own, to bring them down from the inside once and for all. Calculator is seeing a strange symbol everywhere – Oracle’s symbol. He will stop at nothing to find out what it is and who’s behind the green mask. He figures out who is in her inner circle and kidnaps Savant. The Birds must go up against some of the most powerful villains on Earth in order to get him back… including Deathstroke.

Halfway through the book, the arc picks back up after Infinite Crisis. Basically it’s “Birds of Prey, One Year Later” =P Dinah is absent from the Birds for now – deep in the jungles of Asia, she undergoes brutal training to gain special experience and training. The Birds have found a replacement, though – Lady Shiva. Barbara especially wishes for Canary’s speedy return. Can the Birds keep Shiva under control? Can Dinah survive the training she’s putting herself through?

It was nice to have the spotlight on Helena a little more in the first half of this issue. I have kind of a soft spot for Huntress XD We get to see a little bit of her day job, a little bit of her working alone, and a little bit of her mobster daughter. I may try another of her solo comics; the few I’ve read I didn’t particularly care for. The second half might seem a little out there but they do reference an earlier volume that makes it all make sense =P Bruce Timm’s art makes an appearance at one point which is always fun X3

– Kathleen