This story jumps between two points in time, the Amazon, one week ago, which is where last issue left off, and a week later “now” in Dubai.

Last issue, the Birds were hiding in a concrete structure from hideous plant creatures.  Their only hope, Poison Ivy, was injured.  This issue, they attempt to get Ivy to a point where she can recuperate and stop the creatures, which she identifies as The Perennial, human/plant hybrids that resulted from an experiment to create other beings like Ivy.

We learn Ivy’s motivation for joining the team and she does something that could be seen as a double cross.  Either way, she coerces her allies into helping her carry on her environmental terrorism, which takes us to Dubai, where a huge corporation is planning on executing an environmentally devastating initiative called (very comic book-ily) Deep Core Fracking.  To what extremes will Poison Ivy’s Birds of Prey go to stop this?

Things take a big twist here, as Ivy’s real motivations are revealed.  Not only that, but she makes another startling confession, as well.  Storywise, it’s entertaining enough and there’s plenty of requisite action.  It’s a tiny bit rote.  The group fleeing from The Perennial felt “been there.”  And another evil corporation that cares about money more than the environment?  Yawn.  So it’s cliche but not bad.

There are two artists credited, Travel Foreman and Timothy Green II.  Foreman, who has been working on this series, I believe drew most of the Amazon scenes, which were good.  I think Green did the Dubai scenes which were not to my liking.  Storytelling-wise, he’s just fine, but the faces were exaggerated and… well, ugly.  Actually, there are some wonky faces toward the end of the Amazon sequence, too, so not sure if Foreman slipped a little or if Green drew those last few pages.  I think it was the latter, as in the previous Amazon scene drawn by Foreman, Poison Ivy “heals” and her suit is restored, but in the opening of the next scene, it’s ripped up again.

I like this series and this issue was perfectly fine, just not mind-blowing.

Verdict: Borrow

BIRDS OF PREY #11
Writer – Duane Swierczynski
Artists – Travel Foreman and Timothy Green II
Cover – Stanley “Artgerm” Lau