Leave It To Barda: Reviewing ‘Birds Of Prey’ #10

Superhero comics, as they come from Marvel and DC, tend to reuse a lot of concepts and status quos routinely. New things pop up here or there, but often are lost to the sands of time as more classic beats come into play.

Bringing new concepts and characters into the forefront isn’t easy, and Birds Of Prey #10 attempts to do just that, with some mixed results. A midpoint for the story arc comes into focus from Kelly Thompson, Robbi Rodriguez, Gavin Guidry, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles.

Let’s start with the visual language of the issue.

Double artists are on board here as Rodriguez and Guidry swap off portions of the story. Some of the classic meets modern energy that the run had enjoyed since its start is a bit lost here. Which is funny since the world they end up within is very much ripped from the past (Barda has 50s style fantasies and desires apparently). It doesn’t lose any of the fluidity and sort of solid heroics meets whimsy that the run also has utilized so well.

Both their artistic styles are compatible so there isn’t really much of a disjointed feeling when the change happens. Some good emotional work, depth, detail, and kinetic action energy are all there. Plenty of great paneling choices that really maximize what each page pulls off.

Colors still have some of that classic modern sensibility since it is still Bellaire bringing those to the pages. A lot of very vibrant flashy over-the-top colors placed alongside those that are heavier, darker, and toned down a bit. I really like the neon styling that Bellaire always finds a way to slip into things, pairing it with a more realistic sensibility at times. Keeping this pocket world feeling fantastical and familiar at the same time.

Thompson writes these characters perfectly, that’s just been clear this whole time. Their relationships and the way they bounce off each other and others in any given space is light, fun, and powerful.

As noted above there is a lot of new thrown into play here. What I meant by mixed results is that sometimes full sale new character intros can bog a story down, and other times they are very engrossing. This is somewhere in the middle. Nothing about Cela and the story of her sisters and the one that went evil, Maia, feels too much or slow. It has plenty of elements that are fresh but some that are also typical story foundations to build upon.

Overall though it doesn’t quite feel fresh enough to really anchor things. Especially when the hook for this story turns out to be that Maia came after Oracle because the Birds are meant to kill the mother of the sisters at some future point. Reused plot points are not inherently boring or not fresh in some respects, just some work better than others depending on the context or situation.

As part of the newness there is a lot to explain, and Cowles makes it all flow and work as it pulls at the right emotional strings. Throwing in little bits that keep character voices feeling accurate, alongside the more fun big stuff that brings various sounds and moments to even more vivid life. Gotta love when bubbles really reflect things like a character being groggy, upset, or other emotions just by changing shapes or font quality.

Lettering is just pretty darn cool.

Birds Of Prey #10 is now available from DC Comics.