Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey Vol. 1: Who Is Oracle?
- tarascates
- Apr 11, 2017
- 2 min read
The classic super-team is back in BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY VOL. 1: WHO IS ORACLE? Barbara Gordon is no stranger to secrets. She’s the daughter of GCPD Jim Gordon, the vigilante known as Batgirl and Oracle, the most powerful hacker on the planet, who until now has been kept completely hidden. Someone new has resurrected the Oracle mantle that Babs once controlled, and whoever is behind it is sending Batgirl on a wild chase all across Gotham City. By her side are two equally dangerous vigilantes—Dinah Lance, the rock star-turned-hero known as Black Canary, and Helena Bertinelli, the lethal spy codenamed the Huntress. Can this mismatched trio come together in time to solve the mystery of the new Oracle and defeat the villainous forces arrayed against them? Or will these Birds of Prey have their wings clipped before they can even get off the ground? Find out in BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY VOL. 1: WHO IS ORACLE? The start of a whole new era for Gotham City’s greatest superhero team! From writers Shawna and Julie Benson (TV’s The 100) and artists Claire Roe (VERTIGO QUARTERLY SFX) and Roge Antonio (NIGHTWING), it’s an action-packed adventure on the streets of Gotham. Collects issues #1-6 and the BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY: REBIRTH one-shot.
I’ve always liked the Birds of Prey, it’s the girl thing if I have to be honest. In a world that seems to focus on Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and all the other men any time women are given a chance to shine in that male dominated world is a good one.
Admittedly I’m a fan of the Rebirth thing DC has going on because I didn’t grow up with comics so I feel like this is giving me a chance to catch up. When the graphic novels, like this one, provides background info it helps feel more connected to the story, settings, and characters. The dialogue is witty and well written, sounds very conversationalist for a graphic novel. The added layer of mystery and action to the story line was written very well. I liked how the completely contrasting personalities of the characters actually blended well and made for some interesting chemistry between the girls; it really brought out their humanity. The only con in the story I had were the few continuity issues but the good outweighed the little bit of bad so I was happy.
I was a little put off by some of the art work. Batgirl was drawn so muscular in some of the frames it looked like it was a man’s body with a woman’s head on top. There’s already tons of men in the comic universe, what few female characters we get shouldn’t be taken from us by trying to masculinize them. Women can have muscles and defined bodies but this was a bit much. It wasn’t all bad but it was so good then bad at the same time and because graphic novel are half story / half artwork having good CONSISTENT art work is pretty important.
If you like reading about strong, intelligent female characters then you should pick this up!
Thank you to Netgalley and DC Comics for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com