Black Canary #1

By Brenden Fletcher, Annie Wu & Lee Loughridge

Batgirl and Gotham Academy fans will find plenty to love in Brenden Fletcher’s brand new ongoing series that continues the diversifying of DC’s line-up in the post-Convergence world. Joined by Annie Wu on pencils and Lee Loughridge on colours, Black Canary #1 is a good first issue that is easy for those not too overly familiar with the character to jump on board as well as the veteran readers looking for more stories with Dinah Lance. It’s a fresh and exciting start that works.

The Dinah Lance we meet here is a different, new take on Black Canary. She’s a singer in a punk rock band and the book itself eschews the traditional superhero approach for a more character-based study that serves as a good personal introduction to the character, establishing Dinah and her supporting cast very well indeed. It’s a welcome change to the character that presents loads of new opportunities and really makes sure that it stands out amongst the other brand new DC books that are on shelves right now.

Annie Wu’s pencils are awesome. Her work on Hawkeye was great and Black Canary is the perfect replacement, fitting the style of the aforementioned Batgirl and Gotham Academy books very well and when you have Lee Loughridge’s colours on board as well, you know you’re in for something good and the art does not disappoint, creating an atmospheric feel that’s very stylish indeed.

The science fiction element to this book is probably the only criticism that comes with an otherwise strong first issue. It feels out-of-place given the contemporary  feel of the book, but with the focus largely on exploring Black Canary’s character, some things are left to the side and hopefully the sci-fi stuff will be explored more in future issues.

Don’t expect any standard superhero first issue here, with Black Canary #1 having a more personal take on the character that the creative team are handling in an entirely new light. It’s safe to say you won’t have seen this take on Dinah before, and that allows for a much-needed fresh, energetic approach. However, that said, Fletcher doesn’t shy away from her past, and it will be interesting to see how this is developed in future issues. With luck, this book will stick around for a while, because there’s so much potential here for it to become one of DC’s best new series of 2015.