Birds of Prey #104
I’m not one to deny people their praise, so here goes: Birds of Prey is well written, well drawn and a truly satisfying read. Birds, with its all-female group of heroes is under the mighty gaze of writer Gail Simone, and I haven’t missed an issue since. So by now the Birds of Prey have finished their mission and are on their way home, but since this is a comic book, there is little downtime for women who want to make the world a better place.
Issue #104 opens with a Russian fairytale. Something about a “Maiden Tower.” I’m guessing you’re scratching your head, too. That’s not a tale I’d ever read in school. This legend of the Maiden Tower might have something to do with the villain group Secret Six. They are putting on their best formal attire in a plot to steal some high tech Russian hardware.
I had never read a comic starring or featuring the Secret Six, a team that spun out of Infinite Crisis, but just from this issue alone, I think I will enjoy seeing how well they can fare against some of the best female super heroines in the DC universe. If you are as in the dark as I am about the Secret Six, we learn the basics about the team through Oracle, who can whip up some dossiers in the click of a mouse. By the time she informs the Birds on who they're up against, I learned what these villains for hire were capable of as well.
If I was someone who stayed with a book based on looks alone, I would buy this issue for as long as Nicola Scott was on it. However, I need some good content to go with good art. Luckily, Simone’s on the case. There isn’t a terrible amount of action in this issue, but she establishes the fight the Secret Six are in for against the Birds of Prey. Members from each team play off one another while out of costume, and what we’re left with once the Birds give chase to the Six is a cliffhanger. Again, I don’t know everything about every DC character, so I hope Simone can explain why this last-page revelation is so important.
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