You might have heard that all of the Simone Birds of Prey have been selling out, and trying to figure out where the next chance to get onboard was. This is it, because while it does continue over a few story elements that began in Simone and Benes's first story arc, it's also a jumping-on point and new story. There's definitely some thematic crossover between the first story and this one, though, as Simone has decided to shift focus a little bit and focus less on the do-gooder globetrotting nature of the Birds and more on the vast access to information and information is power ethos that Oracle represents. Simone's story flips that perspective, looking at how other information and power players might react to someone of Oracle's level trying to play their game, and it's a nice twist on the old formula.
No doubt thanks to the mercifully short-lived Birds of Prey TV series, Simone had to make a few changes in her approach to Birds of Prey. One of the most notable was the introduction of Huntress as a regular castmember. While I like the Huntress, I honestly didn't think I'd like her taking an expanded role in this book, but Simone is fast proving me wrong. Her role as substitute field operative, playing off of both Canary and Oracle, is a lot of fun, and Simone does a great job of making her fit in with the bantering style of the other two Birds of Prey as well as playing up the history between Oracle and Huntress, little of which is good. The camaraderie of these characters has always been a huge selling point of this series, and that element is here as strong as it ever was (and maybe a little stronger) during the Dixon run.
Another change, and one that I'm not as fond of, is the change from a globe-trotting adventurous style to one that is more character-driven and street level. I miss the gadgets and exotic locales, and I certainly miss the super-hero elements, which seem to have been toned down in favor of corrupt Senators, crazy blackmailers and other non-costumed, relatively ordinary threats. It feels like these villains are out of their league, and I'm having a hard time working up a lot of worry for the characters in this issue, even when Simone demonstrated pretty clearly the vulnerability of Black Canary during her first arc. The upshot of this is that the surprising decision that Oracle comes to at the end of this issue is something I can't quite buy into, and so I'm a little wary of the plot element of the book.
The character element, though, that is just dead-on. It's not just the dialogue and interaction between the characters, but the way that Simone works in a somewhat playful, fun tone to the book. "Canary's" interaction with the bodyguard who is taking too much pleasure in frisking her, or her bluff to the Senator or especially Black Canary making fun of Huntress's new sexpot costume, gave me a chuckle and reminded me of the fun of this book. Simone isn't skimping on the dark side, you only need look at Savant's treatment in Arkham or the melodrama that unfolds in the tail end of the book to see that, but she hasn't forgotten the sense of fun.
Now we come to the predictable portion of the review where I once again wish that there was a different artist on this book. Benes is a perfectly capable artist, and indeed this issue is some of his best work so far, but the style of this book for me has always been the more realistic look of Butch Guice or Greg Land, and Benes is more in the J. Scott Campbell/Todd Nauck/Jim Lee stylized realm. The cheesecake tendencies are less evident this issue (save for Black Canary's odd decision to wear underwear around the Bird-cave or the impossibly long legs of Huntress), but there's still just not enough precision to the style for my taste. Look at Huntress in disguise and you see Canary, and that's a pretty good indication of Benes's difficulty in drawing different kinds of faces, for example.
