"Sing, Baby, Sing...": Black Canary Appreciation

[millernumber1]

I tweeted the Bensons to see if they can include references to the songs in the Birds of Prey book

[Red obin]

I tweeted the Bensons to see if they can include references to the songs in the Birds of Prey book

Hopefully they will, in black canary (band)'s appearance in the rebirth special the lyrics were from one of the songs.

[Bukdiah]

I never read New 52 Black Canary. Worth a perusal? I think her being in a band threw me off lol

[millernumber1]

I never read New 52 Black Canary. Worth a perusal? I think her being in a band threw me off lol

Definitely worth a read in the library. I don't personally love it enough to recommend a buy. Stick with the first Simone run of Birds of Prey for collecting (though sadly, only digitally unless DC restarts the republishing effort.

[Red obin]

I never read New 52 Black Canary. Worth a perusal? I think her being in a band threw me off lol

Definitely read the first trade but you don't necessarily need to read the second as it's not as good.

[klynn]

I do wish they gave the series more of a chance. I feel like they might have had big plans for it but it was cut short due to the rebirth like many good books.(although as a whole rebirth is better) I have enjoyed BC in green arrow and just finished the third trade, which she was sadly less involved in despite being present. I think one issue(last) she may have had no lines. I do find her voice is way off in BatBop, most likely due to the Benson sister's constant attempts to make star wars jokes. No joke reread the issues there are so many- I might have to count soon. BatBoP is the only book Im still getting that I am skeptical of and have been since issue 1. I mainly got it at first due to my loved black canary and huntress from Grayson. I love Batgirl but prefer Steph(duh!) so I also got it for her.(Tried her solo, loved first issue, hated second, dropped, got trade. Kept hanging on until Oracle reveal. Was disappointed. Then got pulled in again by #7 cover and constant guest stars. At a crossroads and I am continuing for now. This random spout was only weakly linked to black canary but I derailed and thinking about her in rebirth.

I wish they'd found a different artistic leader than Fletcher to handle the Batgirl/Black Canary/Gotham Academy set of connected titles. I think he had some really strong ideas, like Black Canary in a band, or a school for kids in Gotham, but just doesn't have the execution down to make those stories really memorable. He got some really, really strong collaborators - Cloonan, Tarr, Wu - but most of the stuff from that part of DC You was nothing more than fun - and these ideas could have been line-defining.

As for Rebirth's treatment of Dinah - I love that she's definitely much more like Simone's Dinah, with the martial arts, and the Ollie, and the sensei, and the Siu Jerk Jai (I can forgive a lot of Star Wars jokes for that ). I don't currently love any of the titles she's in, though I'm still buying Birds of Prey (because it has Huntress and Dinah, as you say), but I do hope that a title comes along that can capture me like Of Like Minds or Sensei and Student again. Give Dinah the place she deserves!

Agree with everything here. Reading BatBOP out of love of characters, not the book itself. Checked out of GA for now but will probably get sucked back in if Dinah plays a bigger role (although she's basically only been serving Ollie's story to date).

[klynn]

http://comicbook.com/dc/2017/08/30/b...er-annie-wu/#4

Listening to it now and waiting for someone to put it on youtube...

Thanks for this. Doesn't sound at all like I thought Dinah would sound but interesting none the less. I love the Annie Wu cover art on it thigh up.

[millernumber1]

Agree with everything here. Reading BatBOP out of love of characters, not the book itself. Checked out of GA for now but will probably get sucked back in if Dinah plays a bigger role (although she's basically only been serving Ollie's story to date).

Pretty much completely agree, though I enjoy Birds of Prey. Definitely don't love it, though.

Thanks for this. Doesn't sound at all like I thought Dinah would sound but interesting none the less. I love the Annie Wu cover art on it thigh up.

That cover is definitely awesome.

BCEP2 cover.jpg

[Sam]

Personally, I think the New52 Black Canary series is the best solo the character has ever had, but I realize that is not a high bar to clear.

[baycitybomber]

Depends on whether we count her two minis as solos.

[Red obin]

I only read her mid two thousands mini once and have trades for her new series and don't plan on reading the others. I haven't read the pre wedding mini one for a while but remember at least enjoying it, nothing astounding, meanwhile although it falls apart a bit as it goes on the concepts and art are great on Fletcher's series.

Black Canary is one of those characters who just gets better and better the more you read her stuff to be fair..

On an unrelated note I am loving the new EP and I am listening to it now!

[Ascended]

I never read New 52 Black Canary. Worth a perusal? I think her being in a band threw me off lol

I think its worth taking a look at.

You gotta keep in mind this isnt the same Dinah from post-Crisis. She doesn't have the relationships that have helped define the character for decades, she doesn't have the history with the League of Assassins, or the Birds of Prey, etc. For someone who spent their existence as a supporting player, the loss is noticeable.

But for all that, Dinah is still recognizable as Dinah. She's tough as hell but has a real soft heart and a den mother mentality that has her forming bonds even as she actively tries not to.

The rock band idea is interesting, and its one of those things that's so obvious I wonder why no one did it before this. It's a departure but I dont think its a bad one; in fact I wish DC had kept this aspect intact moving forward, because it was really unique.

The supporting cast is largely forgettable, and the book starts strong but starts to unravel a little halfway through, with plot points that sort of wander and don't really come together as tightly as one might hope.

But all that said, it was a fun read with a strong indie vibe that I felt was fitting (if different).

I'd tentatively recommend it. Its certainly not for everyone.

[millernumber1]

A good sympathetic analysis. I think the fact that the supporting cast is forgettable, and the plot unravels is a serious execution problem that really hinders it from being a landmark book for Dinah, even with the n52 issues.

[Red obin]

Here is the full EP on youtube.

I think Fletcher tried to replicate the style of his GA characters, but due to the short nature of the series all except Heathcliff due to his GA appearances and Ditto due to her part in the plot came across rushed and plot lines were left open.

That mainly leaves Paloma terrific( who seemed interesting) and Lord Byron( who didn't). Both have dumb names though.
I did enjoy the little extra burnside tofu features from the trade- were these in the original issues?

[Ascended]

A good sympathetic analysis. I think the fact that the supporting cast is forgettable, and the plot unravels is a serious execution problem that really hinders it from being a landmark book for Dinah, even with the n52 issues.

I dont know if I'd say the supporting cast is "forgettable" as much as they didn't get fully developed, which is likely a result of a short run-time.

They might very well have never amounted to anything interesting, but I think Ditto and Paloma had potential, Dinah's ex-husband did as well (though he's not exactly new), and that rival singer....I forget her name.....she *might* have become a viable antagonist/supporting cast member given time to grow.

The plot unraveling....yeah, there's no defense of that. I feel like the book wasn't sure what it wanted to be; punk rock band escapades or superheroic spy-ninja throwdown. And that kept the book from really finding its direction fully.