Written by: Brenden Fletcher
Art by: Annie Wu, Pia Guerra, and Sandy Jarrell
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Colors by: Lee Loughridge
Letters by: Steve Wands
For all the things the New 52 got wrong, there were a few bright spots, and one of the biggest was Black Canary. Brenden Fletcher and artists Annie Wu, Pia Guerra, and Sandy Jarrell take Dinah on a journey completely unlike any other superhero book in DC’s lineup.
It all starts with her band, the aptly named Black Canary. Dinah has decided to try something different, and when she is offered a top spot in a touring band for a handsome contract, she doesn’t say no. The band consists of Lord Byron (drummer), Paloma (keyboards), and Ditto (guitar), along with their manager Heathcliff and Driver Flo.
Much of the first arc is spent getting to know her band mates, and them attempting to reconcile the fact that their lead singer can also take down numerous ninjas and covert ops agents all by herself.Ultimately what unfolds is a sort of weird road trip meets spy thriller genre mash, with a dash of superhero thrown in. Fletcher lets us get to know the new Dinah sporadically, peppering moments of character revelation with frenetic fight scenes that keep the book moving.
While Dinah is the focus, her band is the heart. Black Canary is almost put on the back burner, even though she is fighting a majority of the book. Kicking and Screaming is about Dinah forging new relationships and finding a semblance of family that don’t happen to wear capes and cowls. Even a would-be villain named Maeve is part of this, and Fletcher walks that tightrope well of allowing you to empathize with her while not straight up apologizing for her actions. She’s also responsible for the best flashback transition ever, as she literally just repeats the word flashback several times. A fourth wall breaker, but only slightly, and little nods like that happen on a regular basis.
The rock band theme permeates throughout the entire book. Even in the action scenes, the artist plays with musical themes, including what is one of the coolest looking fights I’ve seen in quite a while. Annie Wu uses the backdrop of sheet music to frame the combat, and it truly stunned me in its ingenuity. The art overall is kinetic and a bit like controlled chaos. A few times it was hard to get a read on exactly what happened in the scene, but overall I enjoyed the unique style.
Black Canary is a book about superheroes fighting the odds, but its biggest strength is how it handles character and relationships with just enough of a wink and a nod as to not take itself too seriously. This is a series that you owe it to yourself to give a chance.
