Birds of Prey #4

Wow. I'm going to say it right now. This was an tense issue and a great conclusion to a great first arc for Birds of Prey.
 
Pros: 

Like I said before, this was a tense issue of BoP in three different places with Black Canary fighting White Canary, Huntress and the other girls (and guy) dealing with Penguin, and Oracle being captured by Savant and Creole with surprises in store for each scene. Yes, the reveal of who White Canary is was someone I never thought about (I was going for Sin's Mother to be honest) as she came from the family of brothers with one of them with an annoying smile from the first volume of birds of Prey. The battle was very well done and the outcome did surprise me. 
With Huntress and Penguin scenario, it nearly turn for the worst. I like the reference of the latest Brightest Day issue with Hawk and Dove and I was a bit surprised of what Hawk told Dove as it actually made Dove fight back when she's usually a somewhat pacifist.
What irritated me the most was that I totally forgot about Savant condition (as it was downplayed a bit in the first volume of BoP). I like how the situation was handled by Oracle though. Overall, this was great writing by Gail Simone.
 
Again, despite who tense the situation was, in all three cases, Gail still puts in a couple of funny dialouge in the pages.
 
I love the cover for this issue with the realistic approach to it. Compared to the last issues, Ed Benes took control of both of the inking and drawings with the help of Adriana Melo and J.P Mayer. Its the colors that shined in this issue as it looked consistent throughout not looking faded in some areas compared to the last issue. It wasn't a problem, but it was noticeable. The fight scenes were handled well and the rain effect help set the tone. I also love the facial expressions and the one panel with Dove crying with tears coming down under her mask was a nice touch.

 
Cons:
 
Those who never read the first volume of BoP might feel out of place with who White Canary is and where she came from and also the situation with Savant Creote and Oracle. 
 
There's some inconsistency with the rain with some of the panels with Huntress and Penguin more particularly the first few scenes with them. Its not really a huge deal considering whats going on throughout the issue, but I just noticed it.
 
Overall, I thought this was a great first arc for vol 2 of BoP. It was dark and With the outcome of who really framed Black Canary, it seems that things are not exactly over. From a fan who loved the first series, I can honestly say that I'm impressed. This is my favorite series out of the Brightest day wave so far.