Birds of Prey #10 // Review
It’s the little things that can be the most important. When John Constantine approached Batgirl to save her from the spirit world, she said two words to him. A hell of a lot hinge on those two syllables in Birds of Prey #10. Writer Leah Thompson explores relations between Barbara, John and so much more in an issue that geatures art by Juann Cabal and colorist Adriano Lucas. The two main elements of the plot continue to move along in an anjoyabl direction in an enjoyable tumble through danger with some very, very interesting characters. There’s a great grace about it all that serves the series well.
Batigrl is actually there to save John Constantine. “There” in this case isn’t the spirit world. It’s a place called “The Seam.” He’s there to be saved, but he’s not there alone. In fact...he’s not even there alone AS in: he’s not even there in his own body alone. That's going to be something that's going to be kind of awkward for him to have to deal with. And it's going to be even more awkward for her to have to deal with. Because even though he can be trusted. That which is in there and his body is not something that can be trusted.
Thompson moves efficiently through a couple of different plot points in a wave that maintains her distinctive, width and humor while also allowing the artist plenty of room to define action. There is quite a lot of physical action that's being delivered to the page that is very clever in its own way. And there's quite a bit of wet in it as well. The fact that she has a very well defined understanding of where the art needs to be, and where her story needs to be goes along way towards making this a very, very enjoyable issue that is part of a very, very enjoyable series.
Cabal uses clean lines to deliver highly kinetic action that also manages to capture some subtle nuances in the motion and motion. The cleanliness of the lines and the clarity of the rendering allow plenty of room for Lucas to move in with the color as well. There's a lot of definition going on in not just mood, but in depth and texture with the color. The color goes along way towards giving this particular series, it's own personality it all feels so balanced in so many ways.
The really cool thing about the rhythm of this series is that Thompson and company have enough room to move through different bits of narrative momentum while maintaining a firm perspective on everything that needs to go on in the larger series. Each issue is really well placed in a larger context of what's going on. That's kind of a difficult thing to manage with an ensemble that is as large as this one. However, she is doing a great job of it. Characters seem to be making some progress and there seems to be a definite progression in their personality as well.
