After more than four years of Birds of Prey under the guidance of its creator, Chuck Dixon, the book has been turned over to a new (if temporary) creative team. Terry Moore, best known for writing and drawing the romance/crime/melodrama/humor book Strangers in Paradise, is the first brave man to step into Dixon's shoes, and he does a solid job, although the shift in tone to a slightly goofier style is noticeable and not entirely welcome. Less pressure is on Amanda Conner, as Birds of Prey has had some great artists, but there's always room for more, and her style is tailored perfectly to Moore's, capturing a little bit of humor and a little bit of sensuality. I could have wished for a more straight-forward action emphasis, which I think is important to the book, but so far this story looks like fun.
To me, Birds of Prey has always been about globe-trotting espionage and crime-fighting, and it has been at its weakest when it strays from that element. However, almost as important is the relationships in the book, especially between Oracle and Black Canary, and it is there that Moore's work shines. His work on Barbara Gordon portrays her as much less a shut-in than Dixon had, and Black Canary still has the same sort of fun-loving personality that she has displayed in much of the book.
Although Moore cut his run short, turning this into a story arc rather than an extended run, it's easy to see that he came in with a plan to put his own stamp on the book. The relationship between Barbara and Dinah, always a centerpiece of the book, crackles with the same sense of fun and friendship that Moore has brought to Strangers in Paradise leads Katchoo and Francine, and one can almost map Katchoo to Canary and Francine to Oracle in this book at some points. In addition, Moore is known for a somewhat slapstick sense of humor, which he imparts on most of Canary's scenes. To be honest, I found the shift to be subtle, but somewhat grating nonetheless, although that's probably more due to the strong sense of identity Dixon brought to the book than any failing on Moore's part. He also engages in a big change in a no-doubt temporary but fairly important alteration of Barbara Gordon that stands at the center of the plot.
Joining Moore on art chores are Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, and if you couldn't get Moore to do his own art chores as he does on Strangers in Paradise, it's hard to imagine that you could do better than these two instead. Conner's work has the same sense of fun and strong character design that Moore's has, and she is as gifted in depicting expressions (particularly those with a comic payoff) as Moore, if not moreso. Conner has done a variety of work, but she seems to be at her best when she's drawing something that is fun and has a sense of humor, and her work on this issue is terrific.
This is not what I generally expect from Birds of Prey, but it's a refreshing change of pace, a light and fun read that stays generally true to the characters and has plenty of talent behind it. I'm not sure how it will go over with those who check out the book after seeing a much darker and more action-oriented story in the upcoming television show, or for that matter how it will go over with readers who have been following the more serious styled Chuck Dixon run up to now, but readers who enjoy these characters and are open to a light tone will no doubt enjoy it.
