Weekly Comic Review: Black Canary Issue 2

I may also try to review “Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps Issue 2” tomorrow, if I have the time.  I picked up both titles along with Harley Quinn and some Catwoman this week.  DC is slowly winning me back as a reader, I think.

Black Canary Issue 2 was written by Brenden Fletcher, Annie Wu is the artist and Lee Loughridge is on colors for this issue.  That’s one thing I really love about this comic so far, is that you can clearly see each person’s contribution to the comic, if you are paying attention to it.

At first glance, one of my favorite thing about this issue was some of the more unique ways they told the story.  There were full page spreads of information and graphics, that reminded me of magazine cutouts, tour posters and snap shots.  It’s an interesting choice story wise, because those pages are used to tell the story in a very different way than the pages that have the traditional panel/dialogue layout.  It also had a diagram at one point that showed Dinah training her manager in hand to hand.

I personally love stuff like that. Deviating from the “traditional” comic layout is something I see more and more in stories like Hawkeye, Young Avengers, The Wicked and the Divine.  I like that these storytellers (the artists, the writers and the colorists) are playing with form, and finding new and interesting ways to tell their tales.

Loughridge continues to shine in this issue with the approach to color that is used. The color palettes used in this issue definitely help to dictate to the tone of the story and they compliment Wu’s art style so well.  The whole complimentary vibe between the art and the colors gives me a very punk rock feeling, which well matches the story that Fletcher is telling.

In this issue, we continue to learn more about Dinah’s past and the past of the band.  I liked the story telling and that there was still the rocker vibe, even though they weren’t performing in this issue.  I’m interested to see how this Dinah is different from the Black Canary that I know and love, and I plan to continue to pick up future issues of the series.  It’s got a good story and great art, what more do you need?

At one point in the comic, Dinah uses a pair of what looks like clarinets or flutes to fight off a bad guy.  It was just a very cool moment for me, since I’m a fan of characters that use staves as their weapon.