CONFESSIONS OF A BLACK CANARY FAN

It isn't always easy being a Black Canary fan. The hardest thing is the common question - "Who?" Even now I feel I have to answer that one. You see, when people find out I am a comic book collector, I am usually asked the question: "Who's your favourite character?" The answer is so easy that it's at the front of my heart and the tip of my tongue at all times. The Black Canary. However most people who don't read comics are expecting that I'll say Superman or Batman or someone that has either appeared in a major motion picture or has been animated. When I give my answer the response is usually a blank look and the question, "Who?" followed with, "Must be a new character." Then I go into my explanation of who the Canary is, but by that time I've lost the interest of the questioner and just become that obsessed fan boy babbling to myself. It's a shame that the questioner lost interest so fast. They likely weren't looking for an explanation as much as an excuse to say, "My kids used to read Spiderman too," or something like that.

The Black Canary is one of comics' oldest female heroes and has remained a fan favourite for almost sixty years! Created by Robert Kanligher and designed by Carmine Infantino the Black Canary made her first appearance in the Johnny Thunder strip in the August 1947 issue of Flash Comics. Donning her fishnet stockings and blonde wig Dinah Drake was florist by day and gang buster by night. The character became so popular she eventually not only took over the Johnny Thunder spot in Flash Comics but became the second female member to join the ranks of the Justice Society of America in the pages of All Star Comics. However, the Canary's strip would be short lived. After World War II superhero comics became increasingly unpopular and by 1949 the Canary, along with virtually every other superhero for the exception of Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Aquaman, disappeared from comic books. The Canary wasn't heard from again until 1963 when she was revived in the pages of Justice League of America by Gardner Fox. Later, in 1968, writer Dennis O'Neil took interest in the fish-netted crime fighter. Killing off her Golden Age detective husband/boyfriend, and giving her a brand new sonic scream power (affectionately known as the Canary Cry), O'Neil made the Black Canary (now known as Dinah Lance) a permanent fixture in the JLA and eventually included her in his award winning collaboration with Neal Adams - the legendary Green Lantern/Green Arrow series. It was these O'Neil/Adams books that defined the character and ensured her as a fan favourite that has lasted to this day.

Now people who are comic book fans know what it's like to have that one special character. I mean, they may have a number of characters they love and read and collect but there's still always the one character.  That one special character which they rush out to purchase every book they appear in, even if for a single panel. That one character that they'll spend hours arguing about the continuity of, or spreading hate messages on message boards if they don't like the direction the character has been taken by the current writer. That one character that they've spent far too much time thinking about, far too much money collecting and far too much passion loving. Ever since I was eight years old that character has always been the Black Canary. I don't exactly know what it was about her that captured my interest that fateful night at Jimmy Brown's house. Jimmy Brown was my best friend back then. One night his mother brought a stack of comic books home that a woman she worked with had given her to give to her sons. There were issues of Superboy, DC Comics Presents, Legion of the Superheroes and, of course, Justice League of America. We attacked the box greedily in Jimmy's bedroom but he and his brother quickly became bored with the books. I, however, couldn't leave them alone and I read them over and over and wished they could be mine (I did manage to eventually get Jimmy Brown to give me the entire collection). It was that night, in an issue of Justice League of America, that I first spied the Black Canary. I guess what interested me the most about her was the simple fact that I had never heard of her before. Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash - them I knew but the Black Canary? Who the heck was she? I guess it was that curiosity that first struck me with the desire to try to find more and more books featuring her adventures. However that in itself proved to often be a problem. As I said, it's not always easy being a Black Canary fan, and especially as a kid growing up in the 1980s. This was the day before comic book stores were staples in every city and we were forced to find comic books at our local corner stores. The corner store nearest to my house was always good at getting in the Flash, Batman, Detective Comics and various mini series that came out but I never ever saw an issue of Justice League of America there. However my cousin Owen bought Justice League every month at a store in his town. The result was a huge Canary collection that he held over my head, outwitting me in trades that were often ten of my books for one book featuring the Canary (ironically, I eventually got most of these books back when Owen lost interest in comics sometime in the early 90s). 

Yet in the 1980s the Black Canary wasn't exactly what you would call one of DC's most prized commodities. I remember when Kenner released its Super Powers collection I dreamed and schemed for a Black Canary action figure. It wasn't a surprise when she didn't come out in the first series of characters which featured the classic big hitters. However by the second line, when they released characters like Green Arrow, Firestorm and Dr. Fate I began to wonder when the Canary would finally have her figure. However, by the third series with figures such as Golden Pharaoh, Mr. Miracle and Tyr getting toys I knew that the Canary had been overlooked. What was this poor Black Canary fan to do?

However things were about to get worse. By the time I finally found a store in my town that I could purchase Justice League every month, some Einstein in the DC offices decided to revamp the book. Getting rid of the classic JLA lineup and replacing them with some unknown characters such as Gypsy, Vibe and Vixen, the Black Canary had been removed from monthly action in the JLA. It was going to become much harder to find the Black Canary in comic pages from this moment on. For the next number of years the Black Canary did nothing but small cameos in the Green Arrow back up feature in Detective Comics playing the role of Green Arrow's sexy sidekick instead of the independent hero she once was. It is true that the Canary had been teaming up with Green Arrow since the early seventies as part of one of comics' most famous romantic couplings but through it she always managed to stay independent as a hero. Not only was her role in the DC universe decreased but some nut job had the "brilliant" idea to update her look as well. Gone were the fishnet stockings and in were a headband and a jumpsuit that covered her from head to foot that featured shoulder pads that King Kong could wear. The Black Canary looked like a fugitive from a Sheila E video. Taking away the Canary's fishnets was a lot like taking away Superman's S symbol but then, that was the 1980s. It was full of bad ideas.

However her independence was about to get diced again when Mike Grell took over Green Arrow at the end of the eighties. Having the Canary kidnapped and tortured in the pages of "The Longbow Hunters", Grell took away the Canary's powers and recast the character as nothing more than Green Arrow's live in girlfriend for a number of years. Now Grell's Green Arrow series was a good series, but for a Black Canary fan it was five steps backwards in development for the character.

Grell wasn't that interested in writing Black Canary stories but thank god DC hadn't deserted her yet. The Black Canary returned a few years later in two badly written and badly drawn stories in Action Comics Weekly. Now in high school, I was thrilled to see the classic Canary back in fishnets and burning her shoulder padded monstrosity - but the stories that followed just didn't interest me at all. Yet a few years later I was in Black Canary bliss when DC released a Black Canary mini series followed by an ongoing series written by Sarah Byam. The stories weren't stellar, but they weren't terrible either. While I was never convinced that Byam loved the character, she certainly did understand her. But more importantly was the fact that the Black Canary was in solo action once again and was even distancing herself from the Green Arrow mythos. Yet the Black Canary solo series was, indeed, too good to be true. The series lasted only a year and in its final issues Byam got rid of the fishnets again and transformed the Black Canary into an angry leather clad butch. I remember the guys at the comic shop having a HUGE laugh at my expense as I looked in terror at the cover featuring the "new" Black Canary. The look didn't last long. The Canary soon was in her fishnets again but her solo book was gone forever.

However the darkest was yet to come. It came in what looked like a gift but quickly turned to the lowest point for this Black Canary fan. DC announced a new series called "Birds of Prey". It would feature the team of Black Canary and Oracle, the former Batgirl and a personal favourite character of mine. What a great idea! I mean it really had the potential to be something great. So what went wrong? Two words. Chuck Dixon. The wrong writer was given this project. Chuck Dixon was a man who didn't understand the Canary at all. He was once quoted as saying his perspective on the Black Canary was that she was like one of those "nice" girls in high school that falls in love with the wrong guys. A girl who wasn't bright enough to take care of herself. This was Chuck Dixon's first big mistake. He went into writing the character with the wrong attitude. Chuck Dixon threw away five decades of Black Canary history and characterization in one fell swoop. He made her into a globe-trotting undercover agent, had her married in her teens, had her act like a bimbo and made her into the tramp of the DC universe being romantically involved with everyone from the Viking Prince to Ras Al Ghul. Here was the Black Canary once again in a comic book but each issue made me angrier and angrier. I had no idea just how passionate about the Canary I was until Chuck Dixon wrote her. With each issue I sent well written letters to the DC comics' offices pointing out my disappointment with Dixon's take on the character but they never saw print. Only the letters patting him on the back ever made the letter columns. The DC comics message boards, however, held a different opinion. Slowly the readers began to agree that Dixon's Canary wasn't meshing with the character they all loved. It was during this period of disappointment that I began to get really serious about my Black Canary collection. Through the magic of e-bay, online comic shops, DC archives, conventioning and other collectable resources I managed to get a copy of every Black Canary appearance – if not the original at least in reprinted form. I figured if the present was disappointing me that I would concentrate on the past. This had me tracking down old copies of Brave and the Bold, Green Lantern, The Flash, Action Comics, World’s Finest, Detective Comics and almost every issue of Justice League from 1968 to 1985.  This endeavor proved to be rewarding.

At the end of 2001 two wonderful things happened. The first was Chuck Dixon "left" Birds of Prey. After his disastrous Ras Al Ghul story one had to wonder how voluntarily it was. The other was that Terry Moore, creator of "Strangers in Paradise", got the job as the new regular writer. Now over the years I'd had a bit of a correspondence with Terry Moore and as a fan who watched the Canary get stomped into the ground I wrote to Terry and offered him any research on the character he needed. Terry wrote back and took up my offer and what resulted was a twenty page character history. Weeks later I received the following e-mail from Terry:

"Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate the effort you've put into this and I know it will prove useful to me. In a meeting with them in NYC a couple of weekends ago I told them that a serious BC fan was drafting up notes on Black Canary for me and they asked that I pass the paper along to them because they don't have a "bible" on her! So you're efforts may prove more far-reaching than you first thought.
Terry"

Believe me when I say that this e-mail flew me to the moon. This was the thing that a fan boy dreams of. I felt like I had graduated from that goofy eight year old reading comics in Jimmy Brown's bedroom to doing something good for the Canary in an industry that wasn't always good to her. Yet Terry's run on Birds of Prey proved to be short. He felt his work on it took away from his work on Strangers in Paradise. Who could have known that what would happen would be an everybody wins situation? Terry Moore leaving Birds of Prey would be the best thing that happened to the Black Canary since Dennis O'Neil took interest in her in the late 1960s.

Enter Gail Simone. From the moment that Gail began to write the Birds of Prey I knew that we had something special on our hands. Once again we had Dinah back. She was strong, witty, beautiful, smart, and independent again. Her fishnets were back and the Green Arrow was out. The bimbo whore version of the Black Canary that Chuck Dixon presented us with was nowhere to be seen. This was the Black Canary I had been waiting my whole life to read! Gail Simone's Birds of Prey was an immediate hit. In an interview Gail said "it's a Black Canary world and we're just living in it." She seemed to have the commitment to bring the Canary back to her former glory and to make DC finally give her her due. With the book being a hit the powers that be finally began to pay attention. Gail seems to have the love and respect for the Canary that was needed and has made it an exciting time for Black Canary fans. From teaming her up with her mentor Wildcat and with the new rumors of returning her to her glorious original costume, Gail Simone is writing the most dynamic and interesting Black Canary ever. It was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

In 2003 I received a nice e-mail from Gail Simone in response to an e-mail I sent to her praising her for her work with the Canary. In the e-mail she wrote:

"Actually, Sam, you're well-known in the BoP editorial office, and much appreciated. Lysa knew who you were without me even saying your name, and said very nice things about your work."

Was it true or just humoring a fan? Didn't matter. Made my years as a Black Canary fan all worthwhile.

It's a good time to be a Black Canary fan these days. In the last few years we have been treated to not one, but two (and soon to be three), Black Canary action figures to satisfy that little nine year old me who longed for the Super Powers one as a child. We were treated to Black Canary statues and figurines and heroclix. We received a hard covered DC archives edition of all the Black Canary's adventures from the 1940s. The Black Canary appeared in the short lived (and of questionable quality) live action Birds of Prey TV series. Sadly she was played by former Full House star Laurie Laughlin, but we can forgive. The Black Canary made her animated debut in Justice League Unlimited only a few months ago. Yes, we're living in what could be the golden years of glory for the character who doesn't seem to get much respect. At this rate, it might only be a matter of time before people stop saying, "Who?" when I confess my love for the Black Canary.  It's getting easier being a Black Canary fan. Much, much easier.
 

All content copyright Sam Tweedle 2006.