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A review by tshepiso
Birds of Prey, Volume 1: End Run by Adriana Melo, Gail Simone, Alvin Lee, Ed Benes
3.0
I'll always love the Birds of Prey especially written by Gail Simone but I won't lie this volume had some issues that were hard to ignore. The biggest was the art. As someone whose read the entire original run of Birds of Prey I'm used to the left-handed drawing that haunts this series. But no matter how hard I try I cannot help but find the abundance of ass shots and convoluted scenarios that finds the girls half naked or seductively posed beyond distasteful. Ed Benes joins the ranks of skeevy Birds of Prey artists like Butch Guice and James Fry, a truly dishonarable position in my book. And Gail Simone isn't free of the criticism either because why was there and entire two-page spread dream sequence of the Birds seducing Penguin? It genuinely haunts me.
But while I generally didn't like the art in this volume the characters, as always, had my heart. Endrun's first arc sees the team back together in Gotham to solve a blackmailing conspiracy threatening their friends, families and allies. The story itself was a tad convoluted and its ultimate villain the White Canary was flat and shallowly characterized. But the way this crisis brought the girls together was legitimately moving.
What made the story for me was how it demonstrated the love between the girls. Dinah and Helena are at their most self sacrificing and their deep connection is palpable. I equally loved moments like the girls at Zinda's bedside after she's taken down by Penguin. This volume is just littered with moments of that unspoken connection between the Birds that really highlight exactly why this series works.
The story also ties in Creote and Savant, the villains turned allies from the very beginning of Gail Simone's run. While their role adds a tad of convolution to the narrative even their moments with Barbara were emotional and moving. I do wish the narrative engaged more with Savant's mental illness as it is a crux of the narrative, but the way it tied into the narrative was gripping nonetheless and especially tied well into Barbara's own character arc.
Overall Endrun was a solid entry in the birds of Prey series. While I have quibbles with its structure and despite its egregious of the art I'll always love my girls and they were done justice here.
But while I generally didn't like the art in this volume the characters, as always, had my heart. Endrun's first arc sees the team back together in Gotham to solve a blackmailing conspiracy threatening their friends, families and allies. The story itself was a tad convoluted and its ultimate villain the White Canary was flat and shallowly characterized. But the way this crisis brought the girls together was legitimately moving.
What made the story for me was how it demonstrated the love between the girls. Dinah and Helena are at their most self sacrificing and their deep connection is palpable. I equally loved moments like the girls at Zinda's bedside after she's taken down by Penguin. This volume is just littered with moments of that unspoken connection between the Birds that really highlight exactly why this series works.
The story also ties in Creote and Savant, the villains turned allies from the very beginning of Gail Simone's run. While their role adds a tad of convolution to the narrative even their moments with Barbara were emotional and moving. I do wish the narrative engaged more with Savant's mental illness as it is a crux of the narrative, but the way it tied into the narrative was gripping nonetheless and especially tied well into Barbara's own character arc.
Overall Endrun was a solid entry in the birds of Prey series. While I have quibbles with its structure and despite its egregious of the art I'll always love my girls and they were done justice here.