It’s Black Canary versus Lady Shiva to determine who is the single greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the universe! Who will walk away with the title? Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 puts the two in the ring in a debut issue that’s entertaining but also a head scratcher.

Written by Tom King, Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 has a sense of that grand debate so many comic book fans have, which two characters would win in a fight. In this case it’s Black Canary versus Lady Shiva. The two are heading to a ring in a televised match with no powers allowed. It’s an interesting concept and King does a solid job of laying out the fight sequences along with the build up to the fight and also teasing Black Canary’s preparation.

The big question of it all is… why? Why are these two fighting in a ring? King answers that by the end of the comic and the answer is even more of a head scratcher for me. It’s not something I’m going to rant about in this review but the motivation is a bit thin on multiple fronts. He goes for the emotion but it all falls flat when any logic is applied to it.

It’s not King’s plot though that’s the draw. Ryan Sook‘s art along with Dave Stewart‘s colors and Clayton Cowles’ lettering are the real reason to check out this debut. The scenes with Dinah outside of the ring have some emotional heft to them but it’s the in-ring fighting that’s going to be what sucks readers in. The fighting is fierce and entertaining and we get hints that it’s going to get brutal as the issues build up. We get the first hints of that here with small visual teases of the beatings the combatants will take.

Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 is an interesting concept and it may pay off in the end but really the highlight is the actual fight. While there’s some good build up in the emotional aspect when it comes to Black Canary’s training and leadup to the main event, the final reveal of the motivation kind of kills all of that. Still, this is a comic whose art could make readers overlook that aspect and just enjoy the battle in the ring.

Story: Tom King Art: Ryan Sook
Color: Dave Stewart Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 7.6 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle