Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #2: Review

By: Kaitlyn Peacock, Comic News Writer

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #2: Who is Oracle: Learn to Fly

Written by: Julie Benson and Shawna Benson

Art by: Claire Roe and Roge Antonio

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

I love me some girl power in any type of media. It’s always fun to watch a woman beating up the lowly shmucks who get in her way. The return of the Birds of Prey should offer an exciting take on the girl power team that has been missing from DC’s line up for a while now.

This story continues as Batgirl, Huntress, Black Canary, and Commissioner Gordon are transporting a criminal to a witness protection safe house. There’s some action—we get a good show of the ladies’ prowess in fighting crime—then comes the question that I feel many superheroes, but especially some of the women and younger heroes, face: aren’t you in over your head? Gordon suggests that the Birds of Prey need help from Batman, to the point of sending him to help them out. And, in a rather satisfying twist, Batman says “hey, you guys got this” and leaves. Gotta love it.

This story places a great deal of focus on the teamwork developing amongst the three heroines and their ongoing fight against Oracle, which many of you know is Batgirl’s former identity.  This is rather confusing, at least momentarily. Yes, Oracle is a hacker, but no, it is not Barbara Gordon, but rather some mysterious figure who is aiding criminals by selling information to them. Weird, right? Well, luckily, you get used to it as the conversation doesn’t linger on the Oracle name, but rather the actions of whoever is behind it.

For me, the one major downside was I found the facial expressions of the characters very exaggerated at times, almost to the point of making them look very cartoony when compared to the rest of the art. Although I personally did not care for this, some may like the art style, as some of it is quite comical when you first look at it.

The Verdict: This is still the beginning of the story, so most of the issue is focused on developing relationships between characters and building the team as a capable, independent group. While some of the art may put off certain readers, overall, it is a solid issue and it really showcases some good “girl power” moments.