As the band Black Canary continues their grueling 30 city, 30 day tour, they have the balancing act of escaping the relentless chase from numerous pursuers while making showtime deadlines. With the revelation of Dinah’s not dead husband, and the presence of agents and tar looking aliens everywhere, the notorious, up and coming band have a quite the full plate. The action and mystery jumps a notch in this musical inspired issue.
As if trying to rush to each gig wasn’t enough pressure for Black Canary, the band also have to watch their backs at every turn. The issue begins with a highway fight scene that’s a cross between the Teen Wolf (the movie with Michae J. Fox) scene where he’s on top of the bus and the Matrix Reloaded highway scene. the Black Canary tour bus is being hounded by hovering vehicles and men on motorcycles, trying to climb on board. I get excited whenever Dinah uses her Canary Cry. It’s similar to the moment whenever a character says the title of the movie during their dialogue. With some smooth maneuvers from D.D., and a little help from the rest of the crew, the immediate threat is eliminated. Just as the last pursuer is taken out, Dinah reaches the main vehicle in the convoy to confront her ex-husband. She demands answers, but is she ready for the truth?
Black Canary are some crowd pleasers[/caption]
Luckily for the band, Dinah’s training stuck with them (except for Heathcliff who I’m sure wet himself on the bus). They were capable of holding their own and protecting Ditto. Receiving help from Canary and Kurt and the last minute, the band survive the day and make it just in time to rock the socks off their paying fans. Of course, things can’t end all peachy keen for this troublesome band. Former lead singer, Bo Maeve sticks her nose where it shouldn’t be and kidnaps Ditto, most likely hoping to revive her career. If the weird alien monsters after Ditto are a major threat to the group, Bo is the annoying nuisance like a housefly that just doesn’t get the picture.
I really enjoyed this issue, as I felt that the momentum that started in the first issue picked back up. There was a nice balance of the band element and the set pieces of the story. Fletcher and Wu present the story in this issue in a fantastic way, jumping back and forth between the action and the band’s performance at the end of their ordeal. The entire time, I imagined the fight scene happening to a musical number that matched the intensity of the fight. It really was a superb sequence. The script seemed well paced and the way that Annie Wu illustrated the panels fit the story well. I wasn’t really use to her type of style for a Canary story, but I feel it fits this type of story perfectly. I stayed this after the last issue, but this book could work as an actual cartoon. This issue confirmed it.
Recommended if:
- You want to see more action from Black Canary
- You want to find out the link between Ditto and Dinah
- You want to see D.D. still rock a show after having Matrix Reloaded type highway fight
Overall:
I like the band elements, but it works so much better when we get to have more information about Dinah as well as what’s going on in her world. Obviously, something big of her husband who was thought to be dead is now present and trying to protect her. Plus, special little Ditto has some secrets about her that I’m anxious to find out about. It was nice seeing the fear and sense of urgency in the band’s eyes during the highway scene, and that D.D.’s training paid off. Paloma is sharp with the pistol. Digging more into Canary’s past is exactly the direction I’m hoping the book goes, plus the addition of the band’s former singer adds some zany fun to a serious situation.
SCORE: 8 / 10
