“Round Three”
Writer: Tom King
Artists: Ryan Sook
Color Artist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Review by Kendra Smart
Black Canary: Best of The Best #3 is out and up us and the hits are just as landing, just look at the cover. The cover by Ryan Sook is so powerful and impactful. It showcases Dinah at a chemotherapy appointment, which even using that moment in time is enough to set the tone. But the level of detail is stunning and you get intimate details like call lights, hand sanitizer on the walls and even the tubes on the I.V. are wonderful. It is a true testament to bringing a scene to life. Stunning.
When last we left Black Canary in her fight with Lady Shiva, we were in round two and things looked dim. New information was seeping through the minutes in the round and there were bets placed and training a plenty. As we come back for “Round Three“, it is quickly established that Shiva has an ax to grind. But first let’s join the ringside announcers.
Don’t You Like To Fly?
We start off Black Canary: Best of The Best #3 with an interview with Ted Grant, man of few words does exactly as expected. A quick shift to a time before the fight, Batman makes his presence known. But back in the ring, the third round has started and Shiva isn’t about shyness or feeling things out anymore. The moments keep flashing by as the tension builds in the ring. Moments in which Black Canary and Vandal have a moment at Ollie’s expense. Moments of motives being examined under the lenses of the World’s Greatest Detective.
In the ring it is a veritable Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, with the addition of the stairs being a useful environmental prop as well. Shiva is brutal in the points that she is making in this match, causing even Ted Grant to intervene. The stakes are high, and the cameras are capturing it all. Dinah is her Mother’s daughter and that means everything.
More
Black Canary: Best of The Best #3 is fast paced but the moments are as hard hitting and brutal as the match that fills these pages. Tom King has readers just as gripped as the viewers at home in the DC verse. The same can be said of the art team of Ryan Sook and Dave Stewart. Their artistry brings these fights to the suspenseful moments that catch their breath in awe. The rage that takes place while Lady Shiva and Ted Grant face off is incredible.
As well as seeing Black Canary: Best of The Best #3 solidify just what this fight means to the lineage of the Black Canary family. Some of what makes them as individuals, their cores. Strength, fortitude, tenacity, stamina…dedication. With every panel whether it be in the ring or during training with her Mother, out in the field with Ollie. We see the collage that Dinah is made of, her “stuff”. Tom King does a wonderful job of showing Black Canary at her realest, brava.
Conclusion
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, if you haven’t started this series, do it. Black Canary: Best of The Best #3 marks the halfway point and that means the stakes are about to amp up. I look forward to what the next round of this match has in store for us. Until next time, friends.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment.
