by Tony Bedard and Claude St. Aubin
This is the penultimate issue of Birds of Prey, and, strangely enough, it's about a villain.
It's pretty much been about the villains ever since Bedard introduced his ridiculous villains of Platinum Flats, California. Each person is gimmicked around an internet phenomenon (eBay, FaceBook, etc.), but the novelty ends there. We're just supposed to take the villains at face-value, and give them no more of a second thought. The problem is, the comic has been about these characters since he took over.
That's one disappointment of mine. Another is that Bedard is also missing out on some great story potential with our birds. I mean, Helena Bertillini is a teacher now! Do you have any idea of the story possibilities there? J. Michael Straczynski alone wrote a great number of issues with Peter Parker as a teacher in the '01's! There's no point in showing a lot of scans today, because it focuses so little on our Birds.
That said, Bedard has been disappointing me with his run on Birds, and this issue is no different. It is a "Faces of Evil" issue focused on the Calculator, and from that perspective, it's a pretty good issue. It focuses on the Calculator's ingenuity and is from his perspective, but this focus on the villain is not what Birds needs right now.
Bad timing, Bedard. Bad timing. With just one issue left, I have no idea how he can possibly quell the new threat of the Calculator, disband the Birds of Prey, and give them a fitting farewell at the same time.
Oh well; such is the plight of the serial! See you again in Birds of Prey #127, guys!
No comments:
Post a Comment