BIRDS OF PREY - BOOK 1

Written by Chuck Dixon and Jordan B. Gorfinkle Pencils by Gary Frank, Stefano Rafaele, Matt Haley, Jennifer Graves, Sal Buscema Inks by John Dell, Bob McLeod, Wade Von Grawbadger, John Lowe, Cam Smith, Stan Woch Colours by Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh, Gloria Vasquea, Dave Grafe Letters by Albert De Guzman, Phil Felix, Ken Bruzenak ISBN: 1-84023-574-8 Published by Titan Books Priced £12.99 Buy from Amazon

As you may or may not know, there is a series now in the US concerning in the main two of the characters from this very book. Called Birds of Prey, it deals principally with Oracle and Huntress (check out this site for details: http://www.gothamclocktower.com/). This comic book collection teams Oracle and Black Canary (the second incarnation), bringing in Huntress and Catwoman for the final story.

To explain a little of the background.
Oracle is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon (yup, this is a Batman spin-off). Confined to a wheelchair since the Joker shot her through the spine (see Batman: The Killing Joke), Barbara has set herself up in an old clock tower in Gotham, where as Oracle she uses her connections and her computers to assist a select group of costumed crime-fighters. In particular, Oracle helps out Batman. However, she is unwilling to be a Bat-only girl, so looks for ways of expanding the fight against crime.

Black Canary is in a bit of a bad way at the beginning of the book. Broke and emerging from a bad relationship with Green Arrow (they broke up, he blew up - it doesn't get much worse), she is recruited by Oracle to deal with an industrialist-type who's a bit fishy. The relationship between the independent, head-strong Black Canary (aka Dinah Lance - sounds like a device for clearing drains if you ask me) and the exacting, frustrated, demanding Oracle is not perfect, which is nice to see.

Birds of Prey - Book 1 is a collection of three stories ('Birds of Prey', 'Revolution' and 'Manhunt'), with an old one from 1996 thrown in for no real reason than it features Lois Lane and pads out the book. The stories are good enough, with a few old faces popping up for good reasons (Catwoman and Lady Shiva) and no real reason at all (Batman and Robin). In fact, the whole thing picks up pace and entertainment value when Catwoman shows up - not a good sign, as it shows that the regulars are perhaps not strong enough to carry the book themselves.

The artwork is good enough, with decent pencils and inks but average to poor colouring. It is all a little busy, but not distractingly so. Inevitably, the girls are all graduates from the Playboy Mansion School of Martial Arts. They even have the amazing self-inflating/deflating breast implants that can automatically detect when Catwoman, for example, is in combat (deflate) or languishing on a bed (Zeppelin).

This is basically an average book with nothing to really recommend it, but nothing to really not recommend it. It's enjoyable but not essential.

Score: 7/10 .

Review by Iain Lowson