Creative Staff:
Story: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art: Aneke
Colors: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
What secrets await in the dark caves of Ra’s al Ghul?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Shifting the story to Black Canary the last time around, Kelly and Lanzing helped to expand more on the found member side of the Garage and gave us a chance to finally see Dinah in action, past and present. I’ve always had a fondness for the character and this interpretation has been a lot of fun, especially since Aneke got to do a lot of the heavy lifting here in the costume and the way she moves in this incarnation. We got some decent bits of background brought into play as well while showing us what she’s been up to the last few years as she’s worked her way up in the League of Assassins. Considering the nature of the group and their impact before the Dark Age, this new age must definitely be difficult for them to have so little real influence, especially Ra’s.
Which is why he so delights in the pomp and design of the ceremony to choose who will be the Heir. The time spent going up against Oliver the last time was fun until Harley showed up and Ra’s shifted gears to making her the target, which naturally puts a good bit of fear in Harley. But Dinah handles it well and creatively as she turns it all back to Oliver as he’s the real target she’s been gunning for all these years. While we get a good bit of action in small form digitally, I love the big spread of it that we get afterward as well that shows off the flow of just the action without any dialogue. It reminds me again why I enjoy Aneke’s artwork so much.
The larger fight is definitely fun to watch here and, while I had hope for a different course, I’m not surprised to see Oliver offer up his life as he’s actually in love with Dinah and is willing to go this route. Whereas that shakes her out of things just enough to find a better path with him rather than against him for dealing with Ra’s. It’s familiar stuff, though there’s at least some finality within this storyline that you rarely get in the mainline books. Dinah’s ascension is something that shakes up the power centers of the Freescape a bit as she’s going to be a lot more proactive than the way Ra’s has been hiding for a while now and her ties to the Garage should give them a bit more influence – though you can imagine some from there will not be thrilled with Dinah’s new position.
In Summary:
There’s a good bit to like here even if I’m just a bit burned out on Ra’s al Ghul material the last few years, between a lengthy arc on the Arrow TV series and the use in Injustice 2 series lately as well as nods to it with Lazarus Pits in Bombshells: United. It’s not a surprising element to survive the burn, however, and it makes sense that someone like Dinah would go there in order to try and secure what it has for the larger fight that’s to come with Luthor. It’s a fun book with Harley getting in some choice lines and Ollie being his overconfident and outgoing self to a larger degree. Aneke brings it to life really well with some fun layouts and flow the action but also come great character designs. Very enjoyable once more.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: January 10th, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
