Batgirl and the Birds of Prey vol 1 Who is “Oracle”
By Shawna and Julie Benson
Art by: Claire Roe, Roge Antonio, Yanick Paquette
Variant art: Kamome Shirahama
Story: Barbara Gordon is enjoying life with the use of her legs again catching bad guys but one night she catches one group and after opening his phone she discovers an email from “Oracle” selling information from her own Oracle top secret files. Wanting to get down to the bottom of this she tracks down Dinah, who has been in a rock band, to help find this new Oracle. Following the trail of the gangsters who have been getting information they run into Huntress whose mission is running parallel with theirs. Reluctantly Huntress joins forces with Batgirl and Black Canary.
Art: I’m torn, I didn’t care much for Claire Roe’s issues the art seemed very sketchy and dark the contrast between the black shading seemed overpowering over the color. The ones with Roge Antonio were much more balanced the color and shading with cleaner lines. I just preferred the latter half of the volume to the beginning half. I really loved the anime style variant art by Kamome Shirahama.
Characters
Oracle/Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) I love Batgirl, she is an amazing fighter, she has incredible skills on the computer and with any tech and she remembers everything. In this one she is coming to terms with who she is; having three identities is wearing on her especially since someone has stolen the Oracle identity and using for evil. Having her friend Dinah around is not only helping her solve the mystery but helping her sort things out. With guest appearances by her father and Batman.
Black Canary (Dinah Lance) With the dissolution of the Birds of Prey Dinah went on her own, happy in her way, and in need of very little convincing to help Barb. You see the wild side of Dinah but throughout you also see how loyal she is to her friends.
Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) The reintroduction of Huntress picks up while she is closing in on her revenge. Crossing paths with Batgirl and Black Canary who are at first just getting in her way but they need the gang members alive in figure out who “Oracle” is and to try and track this person down. Huntress agrees to a temporary truce to work with them. I like this incarnation of Helena better than the Batman/Catwoman love child.
Review: This was a great story! I loved it. It’s one I would have no problem reading over and over again. I really liked how it was divided into main sections each from the POV of the characters. It really is a great starting point for new readers.
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