The Black Canary Archives, Vol. 1

the long version

Long a vital member of the DC universe, the Black Canary seems never to have quite received her due ... Debuting as a guest star in Johnny Thunder's backup strip in the FLASH COMICS of the late 1940s, after four issues she grew to receive co-billing with Johnny, then shortly thereafter received her own backup feature in the same comic. After languishing through most of the 1950s and early 1960s, as so many comics characters did, she popped up again in the pages of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD teamed with another Golden Age hero, Starman. Following those appearances was her perhaps best-known role as a voice of moderation for Green Lantern and Green Arrow in the enormously popular Dennis O'Neil/Neal Adams collaboration of the mid-seventies. Then, after a couple of "lost" Golden Age tales, solo backups, a few guest appearances with the Justice League of America, and more recently the BIRDS OF PREY series (and even there she is teamed with Oracle), you have a character who is very nearly the super-heroine personification of "Always a bridesmaid ... "