Black Canary Vol. 1: Kicking and Screaming

Before I go into too much depth, please know that my knowledge of the Black Canary character begins in team-up comic books where Canary is one of many characters, and extends to her appearances in the DC Animated shows (Justice League Unlimited, Batman: the Brave and the Bold), and I really enjoyed each interpretation of the character. With that said, I feel that this take on the character is a welcome change of pace and a clever use of her powers. Everything that anyone would feel is integral to the character of Dinah Lance (called Dinah Drake in this story) hold true in this iteration, while forging a new path for the character that, I feel, leads to interesting new stories.(SPOILER WARNING!!)Now with that said, I do think that the big twist in the fifth chapter involving 'alien sound-beings' is a little out of place for the type of story that was set up thus far, and feels as though the editors of DC Comics wanted to turn Black Canary into a rising franchise with a rich, ret-conned history a la Green Lantern through Green Lantern: Rebirth. Seems very out of place for the theme set up early in the story, but ultimately doesn't hurt the overall narrative too much.(End Spoilers)The art, while initially hard to get used to, actually fits the tone of the story quite well. It feels like something a punk rock enthusiast would create in tribute to their favorite band, and given the premise of the book, it fits like a glove. It was a bit jarring, however, to see a new artist step in to take over in the middle of the book. I actually found myself being thankful to see the original artist return to finish the final two chapters, despite the fact that it took me a bit to get used to their particular style. That isn't a knock to the fill-in artist's style, however, as they were very good; I just feel that it was off enough to take me out of the story temporarily.At the end of the day, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the character, or anyone that enjoys alternate takes on super-heroes in general.

A great read! This is definitely a different interpretation of the Black Canary character, and I'm on board with the slacker/ rocker vibe. This volume does a great job of telling an episodic but mostly focused story regarding the Black Canary band traveling the country and the adventures they have along the way. Whether you like the old Black Canary or not, I recommend giving this new incarnation a shot. She's kicks ass!

This is not your standard superhero. Black Canary is a rock story. It has a lot of the pitfalls of a band including the band dynamics, the out of control lead singer, the label contract, and the ex lead singer. It also has a quick developing narrative about a group of characters trying to become a team & a band. After reading it I was reminded the last time a major comic company tried to do a story about a rockstar superhero: Marvel's Dazzler. This is a tighter story and a fun read. I want to see more about the industry including touring, recording in the studio and festivals. I've worked in the industry for over a decade and this is a great read.

Thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of Black Canary. The story was interesting and I really liked the art style. I bought this after reading the new Batgirl comic, also co-written by Brenden Fletcher, and loved learning more about this Black Canary. Definitely recommend!

I was what I thought it would be.

Fun, for young and adults

thanks!

It's pretty good.

This is one of the most under-rated comic series out there at the moment. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but everything about it was great, from the story, the characters and expecially the stunning art work. In this version Black Canary is the name of a rock band and Dinah is the reluctant lead singer, alongside members Paloma Terrible, Lord Byron and 12 year old mute guitarist Ditto as well as their tour manager Heathcliff. Each character comes alive with the amazing art and colours and by the end I was rooting for them as the new scooby gang, as they overcome their differences and fight to keep Ditto safe from forces that want to exploit her powers. Dinah, or D.D. as she is known in this book, is the ultimate badass herione, intitially taking the position in the band purely for monetary reasons, but gradually warming to the girls and eventually fighting to protect them from various foes. It is quite a simple straighforward plot which gives them chance to really develop the characters. I especially enjoyed the band's former lead singer, and arch nemesis, Bo M, who ordinarily could have been an underdeveloped villain, but this book takes the time to develop her character and you end up understanding why she is the way she is. I took a chance on this book and i'm so glad i did. Give it a chance. Rumours are there will be just one more volume after this one so not a massive investment either.

Really disliked this one. The plot was absent and the Black Canary character was both melodramatic and unlikable. Would not recommend for DC fans.

It was a present my son was very pleased

I have to admit that I was very skeptical about this book. Having been a big fan of Gail Simone’s emulation of Batgirl I was not happy about the new team (Fletcher among them) taking over, and it seemed to me that the name Brenden Fletcher stood for comics aimed at a rather young audience, like new Batgirl and Gotham Academy. But the previews of Black Canary looked too promising and then Annie Wu is another thing. I learned to love her drawings in Marvel’s Kate Bishop Hawkeye and so I gave this a try.Black Canary is a very unique book on the market these days. It’s Rock music and super heroing and genuinely original. Black Canary is not - like you might suspect - the name of the lead character, but it’s the name of a band. And lead singer Dinah Lance of course is the character that has been around since the Golden Age at DC. And now finally it makes sense too that she is running around in fish net all the time: because she is a punk singer. She - or better her sonic scream - even gets an origin here.Dinah, who has been around in DC’s 52 in Team 7 and Batgirl, needs money and so she takes the gig to accompany the band Black Canary as lead singer. Lead guitarist is a strange mute girl that looks like a minor. And suddenly all kind of people (or not people?) are after the band.Fletcher writes a story with twists and turns. Annie Wu delivers beautiful pictures with Pia Guerra helping out congenially on two issues. The colors of Lee Loughridge are more than worth mentioning.This collection contains Black Canary #1-7 plus material that has been published digitally as DC Sneak Peek Black Canary and in printed form in Convergence Blue Beetle #2.Sorry to say that this title evidently will not survive the DC re-reboot, so there is one more volume to be expected before this is cancelled.So read it, enjoy it!

Not a fan of this story, but I loved the artist. I'd say it's just not for me.