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Hey everyone! Welcome to a new week of DC reviews. I’ve only got a couple of them for you, but they’re good ones. With Birds of Prey moving on to its second arc, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors is just beginning.

Minor spoilers ahead!

Birds of Prey #4
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Ed Benes, Adriana Melo, and Maria Benes
Cover Artist: Alina Urusuv
Publisher: DC

The final issue to the first arc of Birds of Prey begins with a flashback to nineteen years ago, to the birth of White Canary. Born into a family of only male warriors, White Canary’s life was spared only by a bolt of lightning. Back in the present, the Canaries, both Black and White, continue battling for the upper hand until Black Canary is finally able to immobilize her opponent. Meanwhile, Penguin reveals himself to be the culprit behind the whole plot against the Birds of Prey, however his plot is foiled in every way possible. Having been captured in the last issue, Barbara Gordon is forced to come to terms with past actions and decisions that led to the mental decline of a former ally.

From a purely literary standpoint, this series continues to get better and better. The interaction between the two Canaries, incorporating a little of both of their histories, was fantastic. The mystery behind the identity of the White Canary was handled well also. My money was on her being Cassandra Cain or Shado; I was wrong. The scene with Barbara, Creote, and Savant was well executed and emotional. There are also little tidbits Simone puts in the story, such as why Black Canary hasn’t used her power or that Barbara has trained to lunge without the use of her lower body, that give the sense that she really knows the characters. Artistically, however, the issue doesn’t do as well as it could have. As pointed out to me by Andy, the switch in artist throughout the book is both abrupt and drastically different in style, which is distracting. Overall, a great end to the first arc with a nice preview for the future at the end. 4/5

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Fernando Pasarin
Cover Artist: Rodolfo Migliari
Publisher: DC

The seeds planted back in Green Lantern #53 are coming to fruition in this new ongoing series. Guy Gardner and Ganthet had approached Atrocitus regarding a pact for a secret mission, and we finally start to learn more about this mission. There is also a scene between Atrocitus and Bleez, wherein Atrocitus expresses his distrust in Guy and sends Bleez to join him. Guy also decides that it is necessary to travel into the uncharted territories and put an end to the evil that lurks there before they become too powerful. We also get a glimpse of Sodam Yat, who had recently been stripped of the entity Ion, and was last scene plummeting to Daxam. Overall, this was a great first issue. The artwork in the book is also pretty good, and the direction of the plot, Guy venturing into the unknown, is both interesting and logical. Finding out the true nature of Guy, Ganthet, and Atrocitus’s pact, along with Sodam Yat’s fate, will also be an interesting aspect to the series. There is also the fact that Guy’s eyes are flashing the Red Lantern symbol and may very well still be infected from his stint as a Red Lantern. 3.5/5

Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net