Reviewed at No Flying, No Tights. ( )

A bit confused by the story, but the artwork is awesome ( )

You had me at lead singer of an all-woman rock band. Add in a band member with mysterious powers and a complicated past for Black Canary and I was hooked. Great fun.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.]
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Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

I've been a fan of Black Canary since I first encountered Dinah in Green Arrow comics and fell in love. I followed her from there into Birds of Prey, which continued to develop her and her history-- but I felt she was immensely poorly served by the "New 52" reboot, which replaced her long history with a dull one. But from the moment I saw a cover of her New 52 solo series, I was excited. This looked like the Black Canary I knew, in that her visuals had returned to their fishnets-and-leather-jacket roots, but it also looked different, in that Dinah was now the punk-styled leader of an alternative band, spinning out of events in writer Brenden Fletcher's excellent Batgirl series.

In Kicking and Screaming, Fletcher and artist Annie Wu create one of those perfect comics books, one that is wholly itself. It's hard to put into words how much I liked this, especially the first few issues, because there's nothing for me to compare it to-- this is the lone exemplar of the superhero-and-rock-band comic book. Panel after panel provides delights. Wu's Dinah is sexy and stylish without being objectified, and completely kick-ass. Usually too kick-ass, as the concerts of Black Canary (here the name of the band; Dinah is just "Dinah" or sometimes "D.D.") often end in violence when Dinah has to fight off government agents and/or protestors. Like I said, I've loved Dinah ever since I first encountered her, but this is the most I've loved her; she's everything I want my female superhero characters to be, violent and attractive and in charge.

Wu's art is amazing, and Lee Loughridge-- always the best colorist in the business-- adds so much to the book's aesthetic too. A couple issues are also drawn by Y: The Last Man's Pia Guerra, who is an excellent artist but maybe not as "punk" as this book requires; her linework is a little too straightforward, while Wu's is dynamic and energetic.

The book's plot is kind of weird, but honestly it's one of those books where I don't care, because it's all about hanging a wacky music-based adventure off it. It's filled with great stuff: Dinah's bandmates include characters named Byron and Heathcliff who actually do look like contemporary kids, one of Black Canary's enemies is the band's disgruntled former singer who now has superpowers, the issues are interpresed with excerpts from a self-produced Burnside music zine, and there's an issue where three "enemy" bands turn up to challenge Black Canary to battle for no readily apparent reason.

I was surprised that this book actually drew on continuity established by the New 52 Birds of Prey and Team 7: Dinah's ex-husband Kurt Lance turns up, as does Amanda Waller, and the book picks up on their situations as of Soul Crisis. Even more surprisingly, the book does more emotionally with Dinah's raised-in-a-dojo backstory than Birds of Prey itself did. There were also some appreciated tie-ins to the Burnside-era Batgirl comics, including an appearance by Operator.

It's not a flawless book (I found the last couple issues, resolving the big ongoing storyline, not entirely satisfying), but it is a unique one, in a way that few DC superhero comics are, but all ought to be. I loved this book despite its flaws, and I'm really looking forward to reading volume 2.

Green Arrow and Black Canary: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »

I love many, MANY of the DC heroines, but I have a very special place in my heart for Dinah Lance, aka Black Canary. From “Birds of Prey” to “Justice League Unlimited” I’ve enjoyed just about every iteration I’ve seen of her. And honestly, her Canary Cry is probably one of the best powers one could have. If I could scream at people and totally defeat them, I’d be totally set. Lord knows I scream a lot no matter my mood. So when I saw that she got a makeover recently and was given a new, edgier title, I requested it and immediately fell in love with her new storyline. Dinah in a punk band?! YES PLEASE!!!

Like “The Batgirl of Burnside”, “Black Canary” is trying to give a hipper, edgier feel to one of DC’s heroines. I wouldn’t say most popular, as I would guess that many people don’t necessarily think of her like they think of Batgirl, but Black Canary actually makes sense to be given this kind of makeover. One, she isn’t as popular or well known as, say, Wonder Woman or Batgirl, so this will give her lots of room to grow and be redefined without bringing up inevitable gripings from the fans. Two, Dinah’s origin story has always been a little muddled and crazy, so a new and out there storyline is going to be old hat for her. I loved the idea of making her the lead singer of a band, even if it does seem like it wasn’t as much by the band’s choice as one would think. I also liked the bandmates themselves, as they are all pretty unique and intrepid (and diverse!) characters. Lord Byron the drummer is a hard as nails but incredibly empathetic blend of glam rock and Grace Jones, while Paloma Terrific the keyboardist is a bit more cynical and wary of Dinah. Given that the band is getting into pretty hardcore scuffles ever since Dinah joined, well, who can really blame her? All of these women combine to make a group of uneasy allies, though their common ground is a mysterious little girl named Ditto, the band’s guitarist who doesn’t speak. They all feel protective of this strange child (who gave me serious Eleven of “Stranger Things” fame vibes, albeit unintentional on the creators parts), and when it becomes clear that multiple groups want to get their hands on her, the band unites as one to keep her safe. I loved all of these kick ass women for their strengths and weaknesses alike.

Even one of the main antagonists is given her own thorough and complicated storyline. Bo Maeve, the former lead singer of the band (until she was replaced by Dinah) is out to settle the score with her former bandmates. Bo is portrayed as vain and volatile, who doesn’t take rejection well (she set things literally ablaze when the band kicked her out), and she sees Dinah as her nemesis, striving to rise to her level. But even this nutbag has her moments where I felt empathy for her. And she too cares very deeply about Ditto, even if she never wanted to, so seeing a villain given these complicated emotions is something that I like to see in a comic, especially one geared towards teenager girls and young women. I think that a lot of people could see a bit of themselves in all of these women, Bo included. The other antagonists are a bit more veiled as of now, though Amanda Waller, everyone’s favorite True Neutral character in the DC Universe, has made her presence known, so you know there’s going to be some crazy nonsense going on beyond the aliens we saw this time around. Given that the theme this time was music as power and music as weaponry, I have high hopes that we’ll get more of these theoretical and super neat storylines.

I also LOVE the artwork in this comic. It makes use of vibrant colors and very stark lines, playing special attention to the music scenes. The concerts look like they’re screaming in technicolor, with blues, pinks, reds, and yellows. The art also feels a bit messier but in the best way possible. It’s edgier and sharper, and it just adds to the punk rock feel of the band and the atmosphere. Annie Wu and Pia Guerra (of “Y: The Last Man” fame) did the artwork, and their collaboration mixes together perfectly for the music scenes and the narrative. I hope that the comics continue with this schematic because I’m LIVING for it.

I’m totally digging “Black Canary” as of now!!! I have hopes that it will keep my interest up and that Dinah Lance gets the proper recognition that she has always deserved. And, uh, hey, maybe Oliver Queen could show up at some point? Please? PLEASE?????? ( )