Warning: Spoilers for Black Canary: Best of the Best #1!I have a deeper appreciation for DC Comics’ newest miniseries, thanks to my time as a sports commentator. There aren’t many who divide time between reviewing comic books and working in education, let alone was a restling announcer and commentator. All of which gives me a unique appreciation for DC’s newest ‘battle for the title.’
My experience in calling action in the ring offers a different kind of perspective on Black Canary: Best of the Best #1, the first issue of Tom King and Ryan Sook’s six-part miniseries which, for me, is a late contender for the best single comic book issue of the year. Among several other strength, I was utterly impressed with the authenticity of the dialogue written for the commentators of the central Lady Shiva vs. Black Canary fight.
Black Canary: Best of the Best is A Fight For The History Books
by Tom King, Ryan Sook, Dave Stewart, and Clayton Cowles
DC spends much of the premiere issue hyping up an in-ring collision between the Justice League’s expert howler Black Canary, and expert assassin Lady Shiva (or, better known as the estranged mother of Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl). The opening pages feature dialogue boxes of a ring announcer (who is immediately coming for my job with his ever-so impressive verbiage) introducing the opponents on each side of the ring, all interspersed with a flashback of Dinah Lance arriving to visit her mother, Dinah Drake, the original Black Canary, to train for the bout.
The reason why the two are fighting is simple: to declare who is the best fighter in the DC Universe, with Lady Shiva, understandably, being the current champion. Such a declaration needs to be established on a grand scale, so unlike most comic book battles, the fight is broadcast in an official ring, on national television for the world to see (including the Justice League spectatung from the comfort of Superman and Lois Lane’s home). This issue is dedicated to the relationship between the two Dinahs, while there’s more of the actual fight to come.
Meet Mike Berg and Wordy Johnny Sunter
While there is a lot about the fight that is worth getting excited about, one thing that I found myself most fixated on in this issue was the commentary. I’ve never had a fight or a wrestling match in the ring (as of this writing, at least), but I have been at ringside to call many a match. I can say from experience, that Tom King and co. have done a perfectly accurate job at depicting what commentary looks and sounds like during a match.
In any commentary situation for any sport, there is usually a play-by-play commentator and a color commentator. In this case, those roles are filled by the debuting Mike Berg and Wordy Johnny Sunter, respectively. I played both roles (with a preference toward play-by-play), but the distinction is that a play-by-play commentator calls the action straight from bell to bell, chronicling very call, every move, and every action each competitor takes. The color commentator is someone who tells ‘the story’ of the match, adding significance to each action.
Sunter and Berg are written so perfectly in their roles, that I had to Google if these were based on real people.
Using the fight in this issue as an example, the play-by-play may mention one competitor punching and kicking, while the color commentator highlights the brutality, dramatically wearing down the opponent’s strength and resolve in the long run. In this case, the reader gets to enjoy both sides of that coin during the fight. Sunter and Berg are written so perfectly in their roles, that I had to Google if these were based on real people. To my understanding, they’re not (though Berg looks suspiciously like Alfred Pennyworth), but King clearly watched his fair share of fights to pull inspiration.
DC Finally Combines Its Two Black Canaries For One Amazing Story
The Legacy of Drake & Lance is The Heart of The Issue
While the DC Comics title is supported by the “Best of the Best” label and Lady Shiva vs. Black Canary is obviously the selling point of the overall comic, the story isn’t about the fight. Not completely, at least. Among the other layers is the mother-daughter relationship between the former and current Black Canary, something DC Comics has covered surprisingly little on any of their licensed pages. Their dynamic certainly has not been explored in this sense.
Their scenes together aren’t just the two mending a somewhat distanced relationship, but Drake helping Lance realize the true stakes of her fight with Shiva. It’s not just about deciding who is the best fighter, but as far as Drake is concerned, it’s about Black Canary’s legacy. It’s about the importance of Black Canary as a hero and, as it relates to Drake, as a namesake. On a public scale like this, Black Canary can not afford to let the hero community down: if she loses, she lets down two generations of the Black Canary mantle.
One of DC’s Most Emotional & Action Packed Issues of 2024
The Emotion Adds to the Action
Not only is the fight drawn in a way to captivate me, but I feel all the more captivated by how the emotional moments the story and conversations add weight to the action as it unfolds
I’d be remiss if I went on without talking about the action behind Best of the Best. I was glued to the page for every second they locked horns. Not just because I’m a big fan of both characters, but because Ryan Sook draws them in such a convincing, captivating way. Again, as a commentator and announcer, I’ve been ringside for a lot of fights and seen moves like these firsthand. I don’t know if Sook just has photographic memory of fights they’ve seen or used actual fights as a side-by-side reference while drawing, but they draw each maneuver perfectly.
The emotion of story and the stakes foretold in the dialogue help amplofy its meaning. Not only is the fight drawn in a way that captivates me, but I feel all the more captivated by how the emotional moments the story and conversations add weight to the action as it unfolds. It makes me care all the more as Shiva and Canary land every blow on each other, because thanks to the story, every blow matters. The fight feels as if the fate of the DC Comics Universe is on the line, thanks to how the story is told and how accurately the commentary is depicted.
Black Canary: Best of the Best #1 is in stores now from DC Comics
