Written by: Kelly Thompson
Art by: Gavin Guidry
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by:
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: September 4, 2024
Birds Of Prey #13, by DC Comics on 9/4/24, concludes the arc by hopping through one last portal to the Spirit World for an attack Maia may not be able to stop.
Is Birds Of Prey #13 Good?
Birds Of Prey #13 brings the arc to a close, but in true Kelly Thompson style, completely botches the ending. It really is a shame that this series is so poorly handled because the potential and some of the ideas have merit, but good ideas can't make up for a lack of execution.
When last we left the Birds of Prey (BoP) in Birds Of Prey #12, the BoP landed in a cartoon world created by Sinn's thoughts, hoping the younger aesthetic would be safer. Sinn was, of course, wrong, but the cartoon world afforded the team a chance to drink at a bar, share ideas that create hurt feelings, and lots of caring validation. Meanwhile, Xanthe showed up in our world to examine the portal and suggest (maybe) that the BoP are no longer alive.
In Birds Of Prey #13, the BoP lands through the next, and hopefully last, portal into a facsimile of Spirit World while Megaera and Maia are locked in a heated fight. When the team hits the ground, everyone attacks Maia to keep her distracted and off balance. Spirit World, however, wasn't chosen on a whim. The BoP uses the setting to summon a facsimile of Maia's murdered sisters, causing her to flee in terror.
In an arc riddled with bizarre creative choices, jumping through the reskin portal to create a version of Spirit World is a clever twist that makes sense. How do you defeat a villain with godlike powers? You invoke the god's worst fears to send them running.
With physical attacks from all sides and ghostly attacks at every turn, the panicked Maia opens a portal to escape that leads back to the physical world. The BoP's sudden appearance surprises Meridian, Constantine, and Xanthe, but they get the gist and join the fight when they see the BoP attack Maia's snake form as it continues to grow to massive proportions.
Scaring Maia out of the pocket dimension works well enough, but she still has the powers of a god. Cela is the last one through the portal, and she confronts her sister about her misdeeds, including her excuses about killing Batgirl when she could have prevented everything with time travel (I choose to take credit for pointing out that plot hole). When confronted with the truth, Maia turns into a small bird and flees through a new portal.
And they all lived happily ever after.
What's great about Birds Of Prey #13? Using the Spirit World construct to scare Maia into fleeing is a clever move, even if the details are a bit sketchy. Thompson's script keeps the pace and energy high for a largely action-packed issue that's uncharacteristically engaging when compared to the rest of the series.
What's not great about Birds Of Prey #13? Thompson had a chance to end this wonky arc on a high note but bungled it on two key points.
First, a godlike figure who desperately wants Oracle dead simply runs away, so the way the BoP chooses to deal with that problem is to shrug and walk home. What's to prevent Maia from collecting herself and attacking again within five or ten minutes? Nothing. The arc ends because the script says it's time to end, whether there's a proper resolution or not. These are amateur levels of plot structure and storytelling.
Second, the plot was regularly interspersed with scenes involving Meridian, Constantine, and Xanthe, but those three characters, individually and combined, contributed absolutely nothing to the story. At most, they stood around looking puzzled. Why bother to bring in cameo characters to have them stand around and contribute nothing to the story? Again, this is a silly, preventable miss.
How's the Art? Gavin Guidry adds as much energy and visual interest as possible to an action-heavy finale. Guidry is certainly a step up from the art on the first arc, which helps for a largely nonsensical story.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Birds Of Prey #13 ends the arc with an issue-long battle full of energy, action, and clever twists. Plus, Gavin Guidry makes the finale as visually engaging as possible. Unfortunately, Kelly Thompson completely botches the ending with a ridiculous resolution and wasted cameos.
4.5/10
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