Cabot's entry into the graphic novel market with a story with this energy was quite good. It tells the story of Dinah Lance as she is coming into her superpowers - which was totally not in her plan! She has a battle of the bands to prepare for and a junior training program she is still arguing with her cop father about, so her getting her superpowers and having to keep them secret is putting a bit of a strain on her friendships. There's also someone who is hating on her, and the identity wasn't that hard to figure out but for a coming-into-powers arc, perhaps it is apt to have a simpler villain. Dinah's character is so outgoing and vibrant, and the artwork reflects that and the tone of the story. At the end of the day, it is about having great family and friends who help you through complicated times. Also I loved the nod to the older Black Canary - it fit for the story and tied in so well to her family relationships. Overall, a good introduction to a new series!

I had a hard time putting down Black Canary: Ignite. Right from the start this comic captivated me. Once you found out the truth about Dinah’s past the tale only grips you more. Dinah has an idea what she wants and where she wants to go in life, but a special gift might change all of that. When a mysterious foe keeps causing trouble Dinah may be the only one who can stop them. If you are a fan of Black Canary then this is a comic you might want to check out.

Preface: As I prepared to read Ignite, I was not sure what to expect from this story. As someone interested in Black Canary as a character, I was unaware of whether this title would be an all-ages title (formerly called DC Zoom) or a young adult title (formerly called DC Ink). The stories as part of the two labels have been inconsistent and uneven, in my opinion.

The plan is a bold and smart one: using well-known YA authors to potentially bring new readership to DC Comics. However, like the YA literature that these graphic novels are based on, the stories sometimes seem to be edgy for edginess’ sake. Realistic themes that are oftentimes hard to talk about and stories that focus on growing pains are the staples in at least the DC Ink line, but what determines whether the book will be overflowing with adult language or not?

While not specific to this title, DC makes an error by not properly addressing (and advertising on the cover) some of the adult material (besides the themes) and creating a false sense of “fun” and “super-heroics” that any young adult or child could pick up with other titles in this line. What a shock it must be when he or she discovers it is not meant for a younger audience as they expect but features more mature themes meant for teenagers. DC needs to be better about addressing the content within, and should be consistent with its offerings and mission statement: what is the purpose of DC Zoom and DC Ink and who is the audience it is meant for? The cover alone cannot be the guide for that.

Synopsis (provided by publisher):From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries comes Black Canary: Ignite, Meg Cabot’s first graphic novel! With expressive and energetic art by Cara McGee to match the trademark attitude and spunk of Meg Cabot’s characters and dialogue, this mother-daughter story embraces the highs and lows of growing up without growing out of what makes us unique.

Thirteen-year-old Dinah Lance knows exactly what she wants, who she is, and where she’s going. First, she’ll win the battle of the bands with her two best friends, then she’ll join the Gotham City Junior Police Academy so she can solve crimes just like her dad. Who knows, her rock star group of friends may even save the world, but first they’ll need to agree on a band name.

When a mysterious figure keeps getting in the way of Dinah’s goals and threatens her friends and family, she’ll learn more about herself, her mother’s secret past, and navigating the various power chords of life.

Analysis: The Good-Within Ignite we follow a middle school-aged Dinah Lance, pre-Black Canary. As middle school is a difficult and awkward time, I appreciate the fact that there are some strong themes within the book, especially what it is like to be in middle school, finding yourself, and discovering your purpose. Dinah is pulled in several directions, influenced by her heart, her teachers, her family, and her friends. While the book could have gone further with this, perhaps exploring how detrimental outside influences can be, we do see the appropriate level of conflict arise. The majority of the conflict comes from Dinah’s relationship with her parents. We see that they have different expectations from what Dinah would like to do, and this creates some tension as well as teen angst and rebellion, though not to the extreme. As often happens in real life, Dinah ends up pursuing what is in her heart, which, ironically, happens to be following in her parents’ footsteps.

This story merges the past and present versions of Dinah, giving her the family from the past we have not really seen in The New 52/Rebirth while crafting the character into a burgeoning rock star, as we have seen in the pages of Black Canary by Brendan Fletcher. I like the fact that, while she is a legacy character, once she goes into action she ends up using only pieces of her mother’s costume, preferring to design her own original version. Also original to the story is how her Canary Cry presents itself, not always in screams of “AHHH” but sometimes in words and phrases as well. The training sequences are fun and realistic, showing the frustration of Dinah while also granting her some successes. It is also great to see Ted Grant as a trainer of Dinah, hearkening back to the comics and Justice League animated series. Ted is not the only Easter Egg either, as Janet van Dorn from Batman: The Animated Series is named in the story as well. Finally, who doesn’t want an animal sidekick? While some may say it is a little heavy-handed having a black canary appear several times throughout the story and even follow Dinah, I like that it ends up as a friend to Dinah. Animal familiars are one of my favorite things, and there are some great ones throughout different media.

The Not-So-Good-My main issue with this story is the setting. Choosing Gotham City as the location for the book is a mistake, and it should have been Star City. While Black Canary may frequent Gotham City presently, it ignores a great part of the character’s history. Batgirl is a shadow over the story, especially since there are several story beats that mimic Batgirl: Year One and Detective Lance looks like Jim Gordon. Joker is mentioned several times throughout the story, and once you get to Bonfire, it seems like a major letdown. Even Bonfire has her original base of operations (pre-Crisis) in Star City. It would have been more successful to be in a city with no Batman and no Batman-villains, especially since this story doesn’t seem to be setting up or continuing some other Zoom/Ink continuity.

Bonfire is also unsuccessful, not in the choice to use her, but in the execution. I have heard of villains going to the extreme for revenge, but becoming a principal to take revenge on a middle schooler seems like a stretch. It is also disappointing that the villain is more tied to the mother, not the daughter. Bonfire fits as a villain of the story given the history of the character with Black Canary, but it is a strange reversal that she kidnaps the mother to get to the daughter, whereas realistically, Bonfire should have kidnapped the daughter. The villain has a history in the DC Universe and has most recently been seen in Fletcher’s run, so it doesn’t seem like too far a stretch of the imagination to have her be a rival of Dinah in school. Why didn’t they?

Finally, it seems like the publisher’s synopsis as incorrect: this is not a mother-daughter story. Yes, there is a passing of the torch, and they share the Canary, but the conflict surrounds Dinah and her father. There could have been more done to build the mother-daughter dynamic, and they should have had more panel-time together. Perhaps eliminating the vocal coach and putting Dinah’s mother in her place could have brought the two closer together. As it is, Dinah learns about her mother’s secret, uses pieces of her mother’s costume, and saves her mother. Is that a mother-daughter story?

I enjoyed McGee’s art, which has some obvious manga influences. The coloring is bright in order to reflect the tone of the story within. The character designs are diverse, especially looking at the trio of Dinah, Kat, and Vee. Dinah’s father is not designed successfully, mainly because of his close resemblance to Jim Gordon, as stated above. McGee also adds some cute flourishes to scenes, like little hearts, which I love.

There are too many clever moments to name, and some of them are visual, but here are two of my favorites: “Mom, does dad know you have a secret compartment in the wall of your shop?” and all the “So you….” books that pop up and seem to suit every need.

Final Thoughts: It’s fun, but the setting of Gotham City and the specter of Batgirl that hangs over this book makes it a bit redundant, not to mention the fact that there is little mother-daughter time.

Reviewed by Stella Bowman for The Batman Universe

✨Review and Pub Day✨
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One of my favorite authors, Meg Cabot, has a middle grade graphic novel, {Black Canary: Ignite}, on shelves today! Illustrated by Cara McGee!
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I devoured {Black Canary: Ignite} in record time for me - roughly an hour total reading time because I just couldn’t put it down.
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This graphic novel follows middle schooler, Dinah Lance, an aspiring Gotham City police officer, guitarist, and... budding cape crusader? Dinah just wants to help her city, but her parents want to keep her safe, her principal seems to have a target on her back, and she’s unintentionally pushing her friends away. Will she be able to regain control?
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I loved everything about {Black Canary: Ignite}! The illustrations are beautiful, the writing is perfect, and Dinah is inspirational. I’m all about some girl power, and Dinah definitely delivers. The story flows seamlessly, and we’re able to see an awesome, strong girl blossom. Not to mention superheroes. What more could you want?! HIGHLY recommend this for all ages!
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Thank you so much to @netgalley and DC Zoom for my advanced, digital copy!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review can be found at instagram.com/anovelkingdom

3.5/5 For me, as an adult, this story fell kind of flat. The characters didn't have a strong connection and the overall plot was just meh. But I could see this going over really well for say 6th graders. A basic cute story with a girl power message, not too difficult, nothing racy or overly violent.Very age appropriate while still being linked to that darker adult world of comics (the Joker is mentioned, as is the general crime of Gotham City).

I loved this one so much! To be honest, I went into this comic blind. I had no idea who is everyone. But, I saw that it was DC, I saw Meg Cabot and I was sold. And I'm so glad I did! It was funny, entertaining, full of action and just amazing. I also liked the art style. It was fresh, colorful and lovely. Story was so good, especially for teens, they will love it. I wish there was more, though. I could easily read this for days. I hope we will see more of Dinah soon!

DC has a brand-new release for the younger audience, the vigilante this time is Black Canary in Black Canary: Ignite. This novel introduces the wonderful and powerful Dinah Lance. As we are in Gotham City once again, we follow an adorably inventive coming-of-age story about how Dinah came to be Black Canary. The story is by Meg Cabot, the illustrations are by Cara McGee. It is colored by Caitlin Quirk and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Dinah wants to win the battle of the bands and join the Gotham City Junior Police Academy. She wants to continue being friends with her two best pals and solve crimes like her dad. That's it. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. When a mysterious figure keeps threatening Dinah, her friends, family, and her goals, she only has one option: To learn more about herself, her mother, and the various struggles of adolescent life.

Ignite is a story that requires the use of prose because Dinah is so young in this re-telling of her childhood. What I loved about this novel is that Dinah's voice was compelling. You could hear it just as Dinah would talk in this thirteen-year-old phase. It mirrors a lot of what Dinah does now in the DC Universe and I loved that homage. It showcases the band aspect and how in nearly every run Dinah is in a band or playing music because of her beautiful voice.

Towards the end, it felt rushed; I didn't quite feel like it was fleshed out enough. The beginning of the novel had a very nice flow to it. Since the voice is already prose and written in a childlike format, this might be an aspect that doesn't appeal to adults reading it. I did enjoy the beginning of the novel, I thought towards the end it started to lose its focus. Nonetheless, I would use this simplistic plot as something that can open a lot of conversations with the age-group. Numerous things do happen in this story.

The illustrations are something that is subjective to the reader. As I stated before in the narrative, this is a younger-audience novel, the illustrations reflect that. Throughout Ignite, the artwork is going to be lighter in tone as well as coloring and lettering. With that being said, it works for this story. While, I, an adult for all intents and purposes, it didn't work for me; I believe it would work for the intended demographic one-hundred-percent. I did enjoy how wholesome it was drawn and colored.

This is a good middle grades/middleschool read. A nice introduction to a new superhero and a nice touch of backstory as well. Great illustration and pacing.

I think this is best suited for a younger group than I had expected. I'd say middle elementary school. It's a good start for those new to superheroes and a cute story. The ending was a little rushed and I wish it had been a bit longer, so it lost some points for me there. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

This a cute look at Black Canary, I enjoyed the storyline but was not a huge fan of the art style. 3.5 Stars out of 5 Stars

I understand it's middle grade, but why so short? It'll definitely leave you wanting more.

As always Meg Cabot does a great job bringing together normal adolescence and, in this case, the discovery of new powers into one story and making the character an instant best friend.
It's a fun quick read that I couldn't get enough of.

Earc from netgalley.

I liked the illustrations, they looked really cool! But I did not really like the character herself, she seemed a little to whiny, and maybe the story could have been a little bit better.

Black Canary : Ignite was another fun light read for this year.

The story follows 13 year old Dinah Lance in middle school so fully expect this to be
a childish like read. I loved the art style in this its very vibrant and will definitely catch the eye of middle grade readers. As an adult I obviously didn't enjoy it as much as a child would, I would still rate this a 3.5 mainly because its very -stereotypical middle school- meaning as I was reading it I kept thinking yeah middle school was not that cool.

The characters are pretty well placed and well done - Dinah's friends, her parents, and the side characters plus the villain.

I would like to see a crossover comic where they address the whole 'joker escaping' comments in the future I think that would be pretty cool to see it tying in to the other comics.

I would recommend this to kid readers - or any adults trying to get their kids into comics.

3.5 / 5 stars

Meg Cabot, who is no stranger to writing about girls who suddenly discover they are not who they thought they were was the only choice for Black Canary: Ignite.  The story is so natural that readers who are unfamiliar with the character will ease into it and those who do will have no reason to shout "Not My Black Canary" from the sidelines. This is so fun and funny. She captures the angst of being 13 perfectly. The super powers become just another "chore" that Dinah has to deal with every day and she doesn't even think they are very "cool."

Cara McGee and Caitlin Quirk have created a joyfully colored, beautifully drawn, book for young people. There is one image, maybe one third of the way in, where Dinah is so mad that there is literally fire in her eyes. It is a blink and you miss it moment, so don't blink. Pay attention to the wonderful work these two women are doing. It is quick read as it is, so take your time. Bask in the delightful work.

Meg Cabot - an absolute classic, fantastic author! Never disappoints!
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

this Was my first graphic novel experience and I enjoyed it. I’m a huge Meg Cabot fan. Definitely a cool middle grade story. Would definitely buy this for my child.

A really great graphic novel! I thought it was super cute. Meg always writes such awesome characters and this was no different. Check this out when it comes out October 29th!

The cover is pitch perfect for this Black Canary origin story. Dinah Lance is trying to get ready for the Battle of the Bands and finds that her voice seems to be out of control. Can she stay in Gotham and hone her skills or will she have to move to Florida to get away from her nemesis, Bonfire? Great match up of story and art panels. This will be a welcome addition to our JGraphic section!

Thank you to DC Entertainment and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am really loving the middle grade graphic novels that are coming out of DC Zoom lately. Black Canary is the second one I've read, I've previously read Raven by Kami Garcia. I was really excited to get my hands on this one because it's by my favorite author!

I don't read a lot of middle grade, but I think this one does a good job of giving you that middle school experience when you are trying to figure out who you are. It's especially hard when you figure out you have a unique ability and your parents have been hiding something from you!

I don't know a lot about Black Canary, so it was fun to read about her origin in this graphic novel. I did like the little easter eggs throughout the books, especially the "Green Arrow" band name on the battle of the bands list. That was cool!

I liked the artwork in this one a lot. It was very vibrant and fun to look at. My only issue is a small one, but Det. Lance kind of looked too much like what I've seen Commissioner Gordon depicted in other medias. I don't think that was on purpose, but I couldn't stop thinking about it and getting really confused whenever he was in a panel.

If you like DC Comics, or if you want to get into them and don't know where to start I would recommend this one. It's a fun and quick read!
*I received a review copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Of the DC Zoom titles I've read to date, this has been my favorite by far. Possibly also the most relatable, as Dinah was a middle school kid trying to navigate living up to her parents' expectations, her friends' expectations and who she was.

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To give a little more detail here - when I was younger Donna Troy was my go-to DC heroine of choice when it came to being able to relate to the characters. Dinah was, at best, a side character I knew about, but as I didn't read Green Arrow or the Justice League I really only had a basic idea of who she was.

That worked to my advantage here as I had no preconceptions about the character (a problem that has plagued me while reading Teen Titans: Raven) and Cabot's Dinah was a rocking, mostly obedient (hey she's still a teenager) daughter who had a very certain view of her life. Win the band competition with the help of her friends, then get into the Junior Police Academy so she can follow in her father's footsteps.

Getting superpowers was decidedly not on her list of things she wants.

I enjoyed Dinah's relationship with her parents, but maybe a bit more that while her dad wanted a safer life for her (he deals with the dangers of being a cop every day and what parents wants their young daughter to go through that one day?), he understood and was proud of her want to help people. This book does a good job of not pigeon-holing anyone based on appearance (something that sadly happens so often in school).

The "mysterious figure" is a bit easy to guess at, however this graphic novel is best when it plays to Cabot's strengths; the relationship she depicts between the band, the relationship Dinah has with her parents (and her parents have with each other) and the world at large that Dinah lives in (and wants to protect).

Overall this is a good introduction to the Black Canary character as well as a stand alone without knowledge of the DC Universe as a whole.