Thankfully, this is much better than I thought it would be.
'Birds of Prey: Murder and Mystery' - combining the original comic volumes 'Of Like Minds' and 'Sensei and Student' - is one of the few 'Birds of Prey' titles I've come to like. Which is quite a relief for me as I'm a huge fan of female-led superhero teams, and I'd hate to be disappointed by one of the popular examples. This is 'Birds of Prey' in its original, back to the basics, classic DC line, as penned by the ever-awesome Gail Simone.
This big volume is clever, intriguing, sharp, snappy, funny, and full of badass, kick-ass and boss-ass women. I can see what some people mean when they call it well-written cheesecake. Because, while the writing and female character development and interactions are excellent (you can definitely tell it was written by a woman), the artwork just can't resist emphasising female crotch shots, big breasts, cleavages, and arses (with thongs riding right up the crack) from time to time. In almost ten years of reading comics, I can't believe I only now noticed how often women are drawn from behind with snake-like spines, with their arses sticking out in very unnatural and uncomfortable-looking poses. Like, do some straight male artists think that women don't simply stand up, but bend slightly but not all the way so it looks like they can't quite commit to pole dancing?
Note on the trade cover: images are obviously traced over something else and photoshopped into limited space; why is Huntress surfboarding a keyboard? What is Black Canary looking at? And why is Oracle wearing sunglasses when she doesn't at any point in the actual comic?
If you can ignore instances of typical male-gazey and sexist comic book art autonomy, then you'll find that the characterisation more than makes up for that. I've come to appreciate Dinah Lance a lot more now, when she's this well written and three dimensional (and far less male dependent). Never mind about the fishnet stockings. She's one of the best martial artists and endurance champions in the world; she doesn't always need to use her canary cry to beat bad guys. She's tough but friendly and compassionate, like the super intelligent Barbara Gordon as Oracle. Barbara is as amazing as ever, as a tech genius, a world class hacker, and a deductive detective who can rival Batman (you also find out here that she likes teddy bears! Aww!). The crossbow-wielding Huntress has her moments of vigilante coolness as well. The violent, violet Italian former mob boss's daughter is shown to have less of a civilian identity than the other two, though; her nighttime caped escapades are her life.
It's not always easy for these women to be friends, for many different reasons, but they can depend on each other, and support one another. They make a wonderful team.
Other awesome female characters include Shiva, Cheshire, Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, Catwoman, Katana, Gypsy (these latter four are cameos, really), and Dinah's mother, the original Black Canary, who is shown in a flashback issue when Dinah is uncovering a mystery (there are a load of those lying and filing around). Good, bad, morally grey: all kinds of strong and utterly human women are featured and are empowered in this comic. Regardless of whose side they are on, they help to take down rich, privileged old white men in positions of power who have gotten away with murder and sexual assault and scandals for decades. That is always gratifying to see.
A downside to 'Murder and Mystery' is that there is a lot going on in it that you need to pay close attention to - it's complex and intricate, not all of it brainless cheesecake. I won't reveal the plot(s) here because I don't wish to spoil anything, and also because it would be fairly difficult to describe what happens in a few short sentences. Two male villains in the comic are gay, or at least one of them is(?), but they are given depth and are fleshed out; they don't exist for one story.
It is so good to be able to finally read an old 'Birds of Prey' comic by Gail Simone and see what the fuss has been about. This trade paperback isn't that expensive, at any rate. Smart, dark and writhing with twists and turns, and women overcoming the corrupt, toxic and deadly mess that is the patriarchy. I recommend it.
Superheroine and antiheroine power!
Final Score: 3.5/5
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