Birds of Prey #13

Cover by Jesus Saiz

Birds of Prey #13 (June 8, 2011)

Writer: Gail Simone

Penciller: Diego Olmos

Colorist: Nei Ruffino

Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual

I have another confession to make. The  only reason why I picked up and read Birds of Prey #12 was because I had initially picked up Birds of Prey #13 and that was purely because of the cover. Seeing my beloved Huntress on a cover caught my eye and when I saw that it was “Featuring the Question,” I knew I had to have it. I quickly realized that this issue was the conclusion of a two-part story arc beginning in #12 so I backtracked. As I said in my previous post, I was very much intrigued by this story and excited to find out more about the villain aka Junior and what befalls our heroes as they attempt to save one another from her clutches.

I have to say that the fight scenes were not lacking in this issue. From Lady Blackhawk and Stephen Tripe in the elevator, to Black Canary and Dove against Junior, to Huntress and the Question against crooked cops and bursting in to deliver a final (but non-fatal) blow to Junior, there was plenty of action in Birds of Prey #13 to make up for all the build up in the previous issue.

Like anyone else, I love well-written and well-choreographed fight scenes and Birds of Prey #13 did not disappoint. What did not sit well with me, however, was how abrupt the conclusion felt. I understand that since it’s a single-issue, Simone had to wrap things up relatively quickly simply due to space issues. I unfortunately felt that the conclusion was too easy, though. There were some vague deus ex machina moments where suddenly a solution appeared out of nowhere or someone slipped a quick line that made a lightbulb go off in Oracle’s head that was just perfect for the conclusion. Again, this is due to a lack of space/time for Simone to really flesh out a gripping and  logical finale but it just seemed that after an entire issue of fight scenes, there were a couple quick panels of “Oh, I get it!” moments that were dashed off before the heroes all met up safely at headquarters.

Furthermore, while the conclusion included some interesting changes in the Birds of Prey dynamic and helped further illustrate the relationship between all the women, it still sort of feel like a let down. By the end I couldn’t help but question, “Did we solve anything?” There seemed to be no distinct resolution and I’m not sure if the Birds of Prey original investigation into the corporation yielded any answers or helped them in any way. All this story arc seemed to do was provide a new mutual villain for the Birds of Prey annnnnnnd… nothing else. Seriously, I don’t know what else to take away from this issue.

I also enjoyed Saiz’s art in the last issue more that Olmos’ here. The characters seemed a bit more cartoony in this issue which to be honest, kind of reflected the plot. After enjoying the first part of this story arc so much, I had simply hoped for another equally gripping and creepy conclusion, not one that was so neatly and quickly wrapped up.