Black Canary is one of my favorite superheroes, but some might call me a casual fan because really it’s Brandon Fletcher/Annie Wu’s version of Dinah that is my favorite – an undercover punk rock singer fighting aliens and protecting her band. I haven’t read much else besides that version cuz I just like rereading it, ha!
So this was the first sort of traditional “origin story” I read for Dinah, and Meg Cabot definitely sticks to the classic tale – daughter of a detective and former vigilante, middle school aged Dinah hopes to pursue police work, against her dad’s wishes. She plays lead in a band with her girlfriends and plans to attend her school’s career fair. But she keeps getting in trouble at school, as destruction seems to follow her whenever she loses her temper. The principal is on her case about it, and the guidance counselor recommends she consider that she might have some kind of telekinetic superpower. Of course, her parents figure out what is going on, but they want her to hide her abilities. Because someone is out there, determined to eradicate the Black Canary, and Dinah is putting herself right in their path.
For me, this was another disappointing entry in the new tween/YA DC graphic novel line. This one is aimed at tweens, and it indeed reads very young. Which I guess is fine. I find it weird that Dinah has this punk look to her but wants to be a police officer, but that’s established so I can’t blame Cabot here. The artwork is definitely cute. I think kids will like it and I love that they’ll be introduced to this superhero at such a young age. But it was sort of a dull version of her story, for me.