A new heir arises.
Creative Staff:
Story: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art: Aneke
Colors: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Meet the founding member of the Gotham City Garage: Black Canary! But where has she been the last five years?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Gotham City Garage worked very well for me the last few issues and in particular the previous one with the Blackhawks used in a really good way. With this installment, Kelly and Lanzing are drawing on another character that has been talked about in circles here with Black Canary. Which is why it’s wonderfully appropriate that Aneke is on board with this issue and gets to work some really great designs for her, bringing to life the character with some very fun edge and danger that just clicks – particularly with Kelly Fitzpatrick’s color work that always feels like it’s perfectly paired with Aneke’s artwork. There’s a good sense of power throughout the book but also some very surprising calm that resonates well.
The story isn’t exactly all over the map but it does work a couple of different things to setup things up enough. Focusing on Dinah’s time eight years prior when she rode with Barda and the others is fun as the deal with the Red Hood club that was causing problems at the bar that Alfred of all people runs. It’s a good bit of knocking heads and shows us what kind of bond that the riders had at that point before something changed and Dinah left. You get a good sense of that founding group of the Garage and why they worked so well together considering how very different they area. It also sneaks in a fun little bit of disturbing material about Scott Free that I really hope we get to see in full some day with how the Freescape came to be.
While she disconnected from the group it turns out she’s spent the last five years off with Ra’s al Ghul where she’s looking to become the Heir to the Demon. She’s definitely become more tightly controlled from what we saw in the wild and free days when she was younger but there’s also a whole lot of wildness swirling in her that’s peeking out around the edges. Her path here may be part of a larger goal but it all goes off the rails when Harley shows up to collect here – just as she’s battling Green Arrow in a fight to the death for the title of the Heir. It’s a great fight sequence with creative costume designs that works but I really just liked more how Ra’s views Harley’s arrival as an even better test to figure out what Dinah is really made of at this point in time.
In Summary:
While there are times when I do wonder if Gotham City Garage is expanding on things more quickly than it should and not digging into where it needs to in order to really give it some weight, we end up with issues like the last few and this one included where I’m glad it’s barreling down things. I like the concepts and the way it’s coming together even as I want a bit more meat to it if only because I want it to resonate long beyond just the initial reading of it. Kelly and Lanzing are definitely having fun here and this book has so many great pages from Aneke, including the larger spreads, that it’s just utterly delightful. The characters look great, the mood is just right, and the forward progression has me excited to see what’s next.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: January 10th, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
