Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Birds of Prey

I just got my September books and I also loved BoP. It definitely was the most enjoyable read in the stack. Fun, good grasp of the characters, left me wanting more. The surprise consultant. Romero's art was really clean and easy to "read" with a lot of great acting.

Glad to hear that, Rob. Thanks for the post -- I was getting worried that no one else liked Kelly's take on the Birds. LOL

Seriously, though, thanks.

Question: based on BoP 1, do you think Kelly would write the Legion well? She's been my dream Legion writer going on 10 years now (starting with the Jem and the Holograms comic.)

Based on that one issue, for sure. She handled the group dynamic well while giving each character a moment to show who they are. That puts her two ahead of Bendis already. And there seems to be an actual plot. And each character felt like an individual. So I guess that's two more.

Awesome!

I read issue 3 over the weekend, and while I still find Kelly's storyline engaging, I'm starting to feel that Leonardo Romero is not a good artistic match for her wild, semi-comedic style of writing. It's certainly tasteful (Romero cites old masters Alex Toth and Wallace Wood as influences,) but it's overly polite to the point of dullness. The dreary coloring makes it even duller.

I'll keep buying it as long as Kelly is the writer, but without a more fitting artist, it's in danger of ending up in the sitting-around-unread-for-months-on-end pile.

I'm still in. I liked issue 3 - less than issue 1 but much more than issue 2, which was oddly difficult for me to keep track of the scene transitions. I liked where issue 2 ended (clever solution for getting them secretly on Themyscira) but it was awkward getting there. I like Romero a bit more than you but issue 3 felt... rushed, maybe? The art could stand for a bit more boldness.

Nowbthat you mention it, Romero does look more rushed on issue 3 than on the first two. Hopefully issue 4, which I probably won't get to until after the Holidays, will be better-drawn.

Kelly Thompson's first BoP arc (issues 1 through 6) has wrapped up. I didn't do individual reviews of 5 and 6 -- in brief, I liked 5, felt the guest artist (who also did the coloring) was a colorful and dynamic change of pace (though I can see what people might dislike about their style;) and I loved 6, found it a hugely satisfying resolution which also sets the direction for Kelly's next few arcs.

I finally got my shipment of comics for February/March and I reread the whole first arc.
Overall, I enjoyed it enough to ignore its flaws and to want to read more.
But if I were to pick nits:
There were some narrative flow glitches - not with the plot, which I felt had an internal logic and interesting developments that hit at the right times - but with the sequential part. There were a few moments, especially in issue 2, where the action was obscured or transitions were abrupt. I don't know if this is art, script or a combination (because there was at least one moment for me in 5, which was drawn by a guest artist).
Positives:
It was fun.
It was at the top of my to-read list each month.
I like the idea of a core group with guests on a per-mission basis.
Characterization.

I would say Cardinals are the best Birds of Pray.

From the JSA (2024) thread:


My pleasure, Lardy.

First off, I'm happy to report that you're in for a treat with the 1st BoP trade -- it's Kelly Thompson at her very best; the art is inconsistent, but it doesn't hurt the story at all.

It's what came after issue 6 that led me to dropping the book. The team keeps leaping from one alternate universe to another, and the story felt to me like it wasn't going anywhere interesting and was way, way, WAY too long; also, I remember the artwork being mostly substandard, although since I didn't finish out the arc, maybe the look improved.

I might revisit BoP sometime, but right now my focus is on Kelly's new ongoing series, Absolute Wonder Woman, which I just ordered the first 3 issues of.

Yeah, the blurb for trade Vol. 2 sounds like something out of Marvel's Blink and the Exiles (though I never read any of that). Kind of a weird direction for a BoP book to go in. But if I enjoy trade #1, I'll probably buy it.

Exiles is an apt comparison for that particular BoP storyline. I did read a fair chunk of Exiles v1, and I thought it definitely had its moments, especially the early arcs, as well as some of the Tony Bedard issues later in the run. In theory, I had no problem with BoP trying that approach as a change of pace, but I thought the execution came up way short. I look forward to your comments.