Birds of Prey #31 Review

Written by: Christy Marx
Art by: Robson Rocha
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: May 21, 2014

Forgettable Filler

Birds of Prey has been a mess.  It's been thrown into every Batman tie-in to get an audience, but unfortunately it's only made matters worse.  Christy Marx did gain some momentum with the Mother Eve vs Ra's al Ghul story, but the lackluster ending ruined it.  Then DC announced that the book will end in August. So, how are they planning on ending the book?  If this issue is any indication, by ignoring the big events of the New 52 and the Batman Eternal book for a useless one-shot.  Way to go!



The book opens by introducing the issue's villain, Axton.  He's part racial stereotype, part Nightcrawler ripoff and 100% forgettable.  The reader doesn't get much idea of his motivation save him being a criminal with newly found super powers.

We then get a quick scene with Kurt and Black Canary.  Yes, Kurt is out of his coma, but he doesn't recognize his wife.  I don't know about you, but if I woke up out of a coma and Black Canary was there in her outfit, I might just pretend to know her.  Just saying.  This is all setup for the final issues where the Birds take on Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad.  It's pretty obvious what's going on.

What's also obvious is that this whole issue is filler.  I wish I could tell you different, but nothing significant happens.  Axton kidnaps Gordon, takes him to where the Birds knew he would go and then they fight. Since Axton can teleport, the fight is interesting enough, with Strix proving once again that she is the true hero on the team.  In the end we get a heavy handed Gorgon-Batgirl moment and Barbara wondering if she can control herself.  Boo-urns to you.

Robson Rocha's art was actually pretty good.  While Axton looks as generic as he's written, I liked the visual representation of his powers.  The fight scene was done well and everything else looked good. Unfortunately, the phrase "shining a turd" keeps popping up in my mind.

Bits and Pieces:

Birds of Prey #31 was a complete waste of my time and money.  It's a one-shot filler issue that completely ignores everything going on in the New 52 the tell exactly nothing.  It's a shame that the book was canceled. but this is Christy Marx's worst issue so far.  The art is okay, but it can't save this generic, heavy handed story.  Avoid this issue.

2.0/10