tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post2271741291020186538..comments2024-03-27T21:12:28.287-05:00Comments on Collected Editions: Review: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Who is Oracle? (Rebirth) trade paperback (DC Comics)collectededitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-8229199273642160332017-04-08T22:05:59.063-05:002017-04-08T22:05:59.063-05:00I think for myself,I mainly.enjoyed their dynamic....I think for myself,I mainly.enjoyed their dynamic. Relatively new heroes, who became friends and fought along side each other. Be it in BoP or not, it was a dream team of misfits working together. They have fresh, modern personalities that made them exciting. <br /><br />On the subject of Blue Bird, I never cared for her. Mainly because how quickly she went to being a hero from just a citizen. I suppose the same could be said about Spoiler, but that could be linked with the creatives teams wanting to rush the return of a fan favorite character. Blue Bird being a new character bothered Me (same with Duke), and it bothers me more that she is currently inactive. Im sure she'll show up again in 'Tec, or for the upcoming Batman Metal event.NearNerdyMilesKritichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05250687730918138216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-77817269031488872722017-04-07T08:35:35.738-05:002017-04-07T08:35:35.738-05:00Agreed; I'm hoping some of the interpersonal s...Agreed; I'm hoping some of the interpersonal stuff becomes more natural as the book goes on. We gain and lose stuff with the jettisoning of continuity -- the Batgirl/Huntress dynamic is still interesting because they still share in common a friendship with Dick Grayson; ultimately they're two sides of the same coin even if they can't see it (see also Barry Allen's and Oliver Queen's friendship with Hal Jordan). What we lack here, going way back, is Barbara's subtle resentment/respect for Huntress because Huntress was, for one brief moment, a Batgirl (spearheaded, to an extent, the advent of legacy Batgirls), but hopefully the Bensons can layer in other stuff as a substitute.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-43303253642671969102017-04-07T08:31:04.691-05:002017-04-07T08:31:04.691-05:00Right, exactly. Even as I typed it, I could see th...Right, exactly. Even as I typed it, I could see the flaw in a Birds/JLA comparison, precisely because the JLA members are ostensibly so popular in their own titles that then they get a "team-up" title (the original impetus for team books, I believe) whereas the Birds were in many respect the opposite -- albeit fan-favorite characters but with no title of their own to speak of. "Depth of history" is a good way to put it, or perhaps iconic-ness -- though again, I do recognize that it's perhaps only with the benefit of hindsight that I'm calling Batgirl/Oracle, Black Canary, or Huntress "iconic." For whatever reason -- maybe because Spoiler, Bluebird, and Operator come off to me more like a "Young Justice" team than Birds -- I wasn't so hot on that idea as the Birds who came before or since. I'd be happy to see the "Birds of Burnside" show up in Detective Comics, however, for sure.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-78288523487335142972017-04-06T16:25:34.429-05:002017-04-06T16:25:34.429-05:00Interesting-- I'm not sure I buy it, because w...Interesting-- I'm not sure I buy it, because weren't Dinah, Barbara, and Helena all pretty defunct characters when they were rolled into the Birds? Dinah had just been ejected from Green Arrow and had a pretty miserable ongoing, Barbara was a support character in Batman comics, and Helena too had had a failed ongoing and some guest appearances.<br /><br />Maybe you're more reacting to a depth of history? Something I thought both Dixon and Simone were good at was turning continuity in character: their versions felt like people with ongoing stories, and real pasts that influenced their presents. Helena was the youngest of the Simone Birds, with a decade of stories, and obviously Barbara and Dinah had very long histories!<br /><br />But in the New 52, Spoiler, Bluebird, and Operator lack that, having only been around for two years or so. There's just not as much there.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16546370463396570168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-29861257632945738652017-04-06T13:42:32.924-05:002017-04-06T13:42:32.924-05:00I liked this book, oddly enough, even if it had so...I liked this book, oddly enough, even if it had some awkward dialogue. It was a bit on-the-nose with the Lethal Weapon dynamic between Barbara and Helena, but I had fun with it.HelloTherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05602812462354227620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-44688724814213274952017-04-06T09:14:10.536-05:002017-04-06T09:14:10.536-05:00I like those characters, no doubt. Just my two cen...I like those characters, no doubt. Just my two cents, for me that didn't quite say "Birds" because, maybe something like Justice League or Suicide Squad, I do like it when the Birds is a team-up book for top-tier characters that have home or purpose elsewhere, and not one made up of support characters. I recognize that's a sentiment that immediately falls apart under scrutiny, but Spoiler, Bluebird, and Operator doesn't seem as strong a Birds team to me as Batgirl, Black Canary, and Huntress, or even Canary, Katana, and Poison Ivy with Starling.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-31309168858587113152017-04-06T08:43:54.109-05:002017-04-06T08:43:54.109-05:00Interesting review. This makes me more optimistic ...Interesting review. This makes me more optimistic about this book than I was. I'm still sad the Birds team Fletcher et al. seemed to be setting up in Batgirl (Babs, Dinah, Operator, Spoiler, Bluebird) won't come to pass, though.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16546370463396570168noreply@blogger.com