Women in action, or … if not us, who? – review of the comic book “Ptaki Nocy. Secrets and murders “

It’s true that Gotham women stick together. When evil arrives in the city, the Birds of Prey must face it. And they do it with force.

Where are they from here?

First, there was a movie with the graceful title: Birds of Prey (and the fantastic emancipation of one Harley Quinn) , the work of Cathy Yan, which – admittedly – did not win the hearts of all DC fans, but marked the presence of new characters in international pop culture. Later, a book appeared, the writer of which was the legendary Gail Simone ( Batgirl , Secret Six ), and the cartoonist was the Brazilian Ed Benes ( Superman , Justice League of America). Such a duo is, as it quickly turned out, a real firecracker and you will believe it, even looking at the cover! Three beautiful women will catch the eye of both readers and readers. And this is just a taste of the fun. The fictional story has been divided into several notebooks. The publishing house made sure that Polish readers received the full version of the American offer Birds of Prey: Murder & Mystery .

We are not afraid of you

In the comic we meet beautiful women – Barbara Gordon (aka Oracle), Dinah Laurel Lance (aka Black Canary) and Helena Bertinelli (aka Huntress). The heroines are motivated to fight evil, despite the fact that it currently takes many forms. The brain behind all operations is Oracle, which – after being shot by the Joker – moves in a wheelchair. Tracking down criminals is her main motivator. The Birds of Night, however, fight not only with criminals, but also other heroes of the DC world: Lady Shiva ( Richard Dragon ) or Cheshire ( New Teen Titans). The charm of the comic (and its main characters) means that the reader does not lack male protagonists, but as if any reader wanted to see male chests, there are … Savant and Creote. In the feminist DC world, however, they are not free to pursue their goals.

(Un) subtle beauty

Benes prepared the comic with the greatest attention to detail. Visually captivating action scenes, facial expressions of the characters or the background should be distinguished. The women, visualized by the artist, are phenomenally beautiful. Each of them exhibits its shapes that can easily stimulate the reader’s imagination. Eroticism appears in many forms in almost every situation in the book. Many frames show breasts, buttocks, bellies, legs in various, also unnatural, positions (as Damian Maksymowicz recalls in the introduction, a characteristic element of Benes’s drawings is beyond “the broken spine”). The frames, although delightful, are sexualized, which may have an impact on the interest of the recipient. With a comic book with a rich plot (which was Simone’s assumption) and illustrations inspired by Playboy spreads (by Benes), we may wonder how motivated to cooperate the creators must have been that they decided to make such an unusual combination. Maksymowicz recalls that the comic book critic was initially very common: “The heroines […] were described as both sensual and slutty.” On the one hand, we have almost naked heroines, on the other – a vision of an independent woman. Feminism and sexism in one comic? And who will stop them! On the one hand, we have almost naked heroines, on the other – a vision of an independent woman. Feminism and sexism in one comic? And who will stop them! On the one hand, we have almost naked heroines, on the other – a vision of an independent woman. Feminism and sexism in one comic? And who will stop them!

Nothing to hide

Egmont Publishing took care of the reader in every way. The comic book is beautifully presented, and the amount of detail makes it possible to read it over and over again. Before we get to know the main plot, we can recall the biographies of the heroines at the end of the comic. The publisher made sure that the most necessary information is included there, which will allow every reader to understand the world in which the Birds of Prey live. Despite the fact that the comic is almost three hundred pages long, we won’t find many additions – there is an introduction and the aforementioned characteristics of the characters. Interestingly, on the last page of the comic, after the biographies of the characters, another important female character from the DC universe appears for the first time. It would seem that since the entire series has been devoted to it, there will be a place for it among the Birds of Prey, and yet not this time. You know who is it about? Of course about Harley Quinn!