In this corner, in the black maillot… From the Justice League of America… Black Canary! But can she take the title from Lady Shiva? Your Major Spoilers review of Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 from DC Comics awaits!

BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #1

Writer: Tom King
Artist: Ryan Sook
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Ben Abernathy & Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 27, 2024

Previously in Black Canary: Best of the Best: THE MATCH OF THE MILLENNIUM! It’s Black Canary versus Lady Shiva to determine who is the single greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the universe!

Who will walk away with the title?

LET’S GET READY TO RUMMMBLLLLLLLLLEEEE!

Our story begins in the ring, as a very long-winded ring announcer gives the introductions of the two most skilled combatants in the DC Universe. Lady Shiva (billed as “out of Manchuria, by way of Detroit, Michigan”, which I kind of like) is poised and ready. Black Canary (“The Righteous Heir”) seems less so. We find out why as the story catches up to itself, showing Dinah Lance’s arrival in Washington, and at the flower shop owned by her mother, the original Black Canary, described as “one of the great brawlers of the 20th Century.” Their interactions are a bit strained, with Dinah Drake unsure why Dinah Lance wants her, rather than Wildcat or one of the Bat-family to train her. Black Canary insists that her mother be her coach, but afterwards, she insists that Mrs. Drake sit down and rest. That foreshadowing is important, as we find that not only the world, but the entire galaxy is watching, just like when Superman fought Muhammad Ali.

Of course, that match wasn’t fixed.

LEERY OF THIS CREATIVE TEAM

I’m not going to lie, I was very skeptical when this comic was announced, for a couple of important reasons. First, Tom King’s work is very stylistically distinct, but it is not particularly feminine. I’ve found little that I really enjoy in his recent Wonder Woman run, and while I was absolutely taken with The Human Target, the treatment of the primary female characters was perfunctory at best. (Fans of Fire and Ice have used much stronger words online.) As for Ryan Sook, his design work is really striking, but there’s a stiffness about his figure work that seems less suited to six-issues of high-velocity punchy-punchy. That does prove true, as a shot of Shiva throwing a Macha Man-style Savage Elbow looks more like a fashion poster than an attack. Sook’s expressions are vivid, though, which helps to sell the pain of impact as Shiva comes out swinging and immediately draws Canary blood. King’s story has a lot of interesting details, but what it lacks is Dinah Lance, whose heart and ability to inspire are well-documented. The Black Canary of Gail Simone or Kelly Thompson is missing here, and I don’t quite know what’s going on in the head of this story’s hero.

BOTTOM LINE: GOING SOMEWHERE INTERESTING

The twist in the pages of Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 is not one that I expected, and if I take a breath and accept it on its own merits, it bodes for an interesting rest of the series, while Sook’s art provides some truly lovely splashes, wrapping up to an above-average 3 out of 5 stars overall. My worries about how post-traumatic stress disorder will be crowbarred into the tale turn out to be overhyped, leaving me wondering where this all goes from here. I’m cautiously optimistic.

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