black canary

I love music, and I often find myself thinking about how it relates to comics; which characters would listen to which artists, and so forth. But what's the best way to get around the medium's limitations when it comes to stories about music and musicians? It's a question that's especially relevant to some of my favorite recent titles. The classic way to visualize music in comics is just to put the lyrics in a word balloon with some musical notes scattered around to convey singing. I’m going to be honest; I hate this approach, and in this day and age, I’m sure I’m not the only one. I find it impossible to read the lyrics as a song instead of a tuneless poem. There are better ways, as seen in books like Jem And The Holograms and Black Canary.

San Diego Comic-Con is mere weeks away, but Sideshow Collectibles just doesn't have the patience to keep its new Black Canary premium format figure under wraps any longer. It's curious that even Sideshow couldn't keep quiet as Dinah herself requests, but who could really blame them? When Stanley Lau and Kris Anka come together to design a statue of one of the baddest Birds of Prey around, you gotta do what the heart wants --- even if it means being on the business end of a Canary Cry. Black Canary is the latest DC hero to be immortalized in Sideshow's premium format series, joining the likes of Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Power Girl. More importantly, she also joins fellow Bird of Prey, Batgirl. And not to distract from Dinah's moment here, but in her official prototype photos, Sideshow also intimates Huntress is on the way. Yes, by the end of 2017, you might be able to recruit the core members of DC's Birds of Prey... provided you've got a total of $1500 to spare.

You'd never have known the Black Canary was going to be so important. On June 11, 1941, a new character appeared in Flash Comics. She wasn't introduced in the "Flash" strip that gave the anthology it's name, or the co-headliner "Hawkman." She made her debut in a six-page "Johnny Thunder" story, by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Canary is introduced as a femme fatale to play off of the hapless Johnny. She's a criminal, but she only steals from other criminals, putting her in a morally gray area that makes Johnny a little uncomfortable, and for which his magical Thunderbolt genie (who was always smarter than Johnny himself) has even less patience.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

DC Comics’ big summer event one-shot DC Universe: Rebirth #1 goes on sale this week, and the internet is abuzz with news, reveals and spoilers concerning one of the biggest comics of the year. The one-shot by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Gary Frank and Ivan Reis sees the return of familiar faces from inside and outside the DC Universe, and DC is already publicizing those revelations in the press, so we’ve rounded up the biggest developments from this blockbuster story from DC-approved sources like USA Today, IGN and CBR, for those readers who want the full rundown. If you don't want to be spoiled for any of the events of DC Universe: Rebirth #1 before the book comes out on Wednesday, go learn about some other comics you could be reading instead. Spoilers for the future of the DC Universe follow.

The Birds of Prey is a classic DC franchise that has been missing from the stands for the past couple of years, but that absence comes to an end soon thanks to the launch of Batgirl and The Birds of Prey as part of DC Rebirth. Written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson of The CW's The 100, with art by We(l)come Back's Claire Roe, the series brings the classic team of Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress together again for the first time in order to track down an imposter posing as Barbara Gordon's former identity, Oracle. ComicsAlliance chatted to the Benson sisters about how they came to DC, their transition from television to comics, and the team dynamic of their Birds of Prey. Also, DC provided us with annotated design pages from Yanick Paquette and an exclusive look at character sketches by Claire Roe!

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City. This week’s episode sees the team working through difficult emotions following the death of a friend; but they also have to deal with someone going around the city posing as one of their own. "Canary Cry" was directed by Laura Belsey, and the script was by Wendy Mericle and Beth Scwhartz.

It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City. On this week’s “Eleven Fifty Nine,” the conflict with Damien Darhk comes to a head as the evil former HIVE leader stages a prison breakout. Magic comes into play, and not everyone makes it out alive. The episode was directed by Rob Hardy, and the script was by Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu.

It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City. On this week’s “Beacon of Hope,” it’s bees! Robot bees, villains dressed as bees, more bee puns than you can even imagine and did I mention bees? Michael Schultz directed the episode, which was written by Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan.