Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #3

DC Comics
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #3
By Hervé St-Louis
November 2, 2016 - 17:59

DC Comics
Writer(s): Julie Benson, Shawna Benson
Penciller(s): Claire Roe; Roge Antonio
Colourist(s): Alen Passalaqua
Letterer(s): Deron Bennett
Cover Artist(s): Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn; Kamome Shirahama
$2.99

This issue, we find out more about Dinah (Black Canary)’s past and how she became a proficient fighter. Meanwhile, the snake gang that has been troubling the Birds of Prey attempt to kidnap the witness held by Jim Gordon as a favour to Batgirl. Will the villains get the witness?

I’m a bit annoyed that Black Canary gets another origin story where she was a foster child abandoned by her mother. In the New 52, her origin was changed and her powers were given to her through a military experiment. Now, she’s back to being a mutant but without any other link to her previous life.

I understand that with her mother being the Golden Age Black Canary of the Justice Society this history no longer works. There is no Golden Age Black Canary nor a Justice Society anymore. But the part with Wildcat having trained her has also been removed.

She’s also a natural blonde now and has no link to her florist past. At best the Bensons have kept the Chinese name that she was given by Gail Simone in the previous Birds of prey series. At least the Bensons have kept the dynamic between the personalities almost the same. Batgirl still does not like the Huntress and Black Canary is in the middle trying to create a bridge between the women.

The snake villains annoy me. They remind me too much of the similar snake villains that have fought Captain America and the Avengers for decades. There is little new to these villains. The mystery of who the new Oracle is continues but no real clues have been given so there is less incentives to invest in this story.

Claire Roe is a mix bag. I like her action scenes but I’m not a fan of how she draws faces. The faces that she draws have expressions but they don’t make the girls look as nice as they could be.

P.S., I continue to dislike the title of this series trying to cash in on Batgirl’s popularity. Just call the comic Birds of Prey, thank you.

Rating: 7.5/10