Review: Black Canary Vol. 1: Kicking and Screaming

The first thing readers of the first collected volume of DC Comics’ Black Canary: Kicking and Screaming will notice is that this isn’t your daddy’s Black Canary.

Sure, the title role is still held by Dinah Lance. She still rocks a leather jacket and still kicks ass and takes names, but Brenden Fletcher’s version of the classic character is so much more. She’s a singer, in the aptly-named rock band Black Canary. She’s a de facto den mother to her bandmates, and in some regards, she’s not the focal point of her own series.

Much of Kicking and Screaming, which reprints the first seven issues of the series is spent introducing the readers, and Dinah herself, to her bandmates and all of them dealing with Maeve, the arc’s antagonist who might not be as bad as she seems.

The band members are an interesting lot. Ditto, the guitar player, Paloma the keyboardist and Lord Byron the drummer are the perfect accompaniment to our favourite songbird. It’s a treat to watch Dinah train the kids in the finer points of firearms and hand-to-hand combat in addition to her on-stage performances.

It took me an issue or two to get used to Annie Wu’s artwork, but when I did I loved it. It’s the perfect compliment to Fletcher’s story.

It’s a shame DC didn’t see fit to bring this book along for the ride for their latest reboot. For my money, it’s one of the best books they produce on a monthly basis, and Dinah’s portrayal as a strong, female character will be sorely missed when the series disappears. Fletcher and company deserved a better fate.

At least we have this brilliant collection to help ease that blow.

I give Black Canary: Kicking and Screaming 9/10 and an absolute must-read recommendation.