The Daily Comic Book Coffee, number 72: Black Canary #2

The four-issue Black Canary miniseries released in 1991 and the all-too-short-lived ongoing title that came out a year later were my introductions to the work of Trevor Von Eeden. I immediately fell in love with his art. His beautiful depictions of Black Canary and his dynamic, effective storytelling both captured my attention. I was genuinely surprised when years later Von Eeden stated he had not possessed any particular affinity for either the character or the assignment. It certainly speaks to his professionalism that he nevertheless produced high-quality work.

I came for the art, but I also had a real appreciation for Sarah Byman’s writing. She insightfully addressed social & political issues in her stories. As I mentioned in my blog post about the initial miniseries (link below) re-reading these issues over a quarter-century later, there is a definite prescient quality to Byam’s writing.

In this scene, Black Canary is meeting with police lieutenant Cameron regarding the murders of three people by poisoning, crimes that are actually just one aspect of a plot to rig a mayoral election. Drinking a cup of coffee, Dinah Lance reviews the evidence and explains her theory to Cameron.

I am definitely struck by the interesting way in which Von Eeden lays out this page, varying the angles and perspectives from panel to panel, making the conversation between Dinah and Cameron quite dramatic. Bob Smith’s inking goes very well with Von Eeden’s pencils. They made an effective art team on this series.