DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLACK CANARY #4

Living With Sin, Part Four

late October 2007

Written by Tony Bedard

Pencils by Paulo Siqueria and Joe Prado

Inks by Amilton Santos and Joe Prado

Cover by Paulo Siqueria

Synopsis

In an attempt to rescue Sin from Merlyn and the League of Assassins, Green Arrow accidentally causes Sin and a lifeboat to crash into the water.  The lifeboat then gets torn to pieces by the ship’s propellers.  Angered at Sin’s death, Dinah Lance (aka Black Canary) attacks the assassins, intent on killing them.  Meanwhile, Merlyn attempts to get away, but when he learns of Sin’s death, he attacks Dinah.  As the two fight, Ollie tells Speedy to find Conner Hawke.  He also allows the assassins to go free, letting them know they should tell the rest of the league of Sin’s death.  Ollie then stops Dinah from potentially killing Merlyn.  Instead he is taken to jail.  Later, Dinah is angry at Ollie for the accident leading to Sin’s death and tosses away the engagement ring he gave her.  However, Ollie tells her it just appeared that Sin died.  Sin is still alive.  In order to save Sin from the league coming after her again, she needed to “die.”  Dinah then realizes that Ollie went through with his plan even though it might ruin the relationship and that he did it for her regardless what might happen to him.  Seeing that perhaps Ollie has changed, she accepts his proposal for marriage.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I will admit (and if you read the previous review you’ll see more of the rant) that the central possibility that Sin was dead was not even remote and that Ollie had a plan to save her and protect her.  Even knowing that, I must also admit that Bedard does a good job with the fallout from Ollie’s plan.  The first pages of this issue are standard (Dinah upset at Sin’s supposed death) but when she learns the truth and when she realizes what it says about Ollie, is where Bedard makes the entire thing work.  Based on their history together, Dinah has no reason to accept Ollie’s proposal, unless he had changed.  In the last couple of issues of Green Arrow, Ollie’s changed persona was reinforced.  This mini-series does that once more.  I can see why Dinah would want to marry him.  Yes, I know the ending was predictable, but Bedard does a good job of at least making it acceptable. 

We all know Dinah is going to marry Ollie.  When this mini-series first started, it seemed like this was an excuse to sell us four issues just to hear Dinah say yes.  I don’t think that was ever the point.  Instead, I think the main reason for this mini-series was to remove Sin from Dinah’s life so writers for the Justice League of America or the new Black Canary/Green Arrow mini-series won’t have to deal with her.  Knowing that, I don’t whether I should admire Bedard or if I should be angry at DC.  I admire Bedard for coming up with a reasonable explanation for getting her away from Dinah; it makes sense.  It one sense I know that DC probably felt this was better for Dinah’s character so I am guessing it was an editorial mandate, but Bedard manages to make it not seem contrived or the reasoning clumsy.  Yet, I am not totally thrilled with the idea.  I think having Sin be a part of their lives would and could make for some interesting stories (especially if Roy’s daughter Lian is added to the mix).  Maybe sometime down the road a new writer will decide to bring her back. 

The first two pages don’t quite work.  On the third panel on the first page, Dinah is standing between the assassins and Green Arrow and Speedy.  The next page shows her using her scream to knock all of them down.  When and how did Green Arrow get in front of her?  Later, one of the assassins gets an arrow literally in the mouth, which should have killed him, but he is seen a couple of pages later being helped away, arrow gone, apparently okay. 

I like the box in the corner of the Dinah’s apartment that says “JLA stuff.”  I don’t know why but that amuses me she would have a box of JLA stuff.

 

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