I’ve spent most of my life reading comics, and I’ve come around to the idea that the success or failure of a comic depends in each instance on the specific confluence of writer, artist, and character (maybe also the editor). That is the very best I can explain writer Kelly Thompson’s riveting, can’t-miss (and also Eisner-winning) work on Absolute Wonder Woman, and then also her Birds of Prey Vol. 4: On the Run.

There’s signs that the conclusion of Thompson’s Birds tenure in On the Run came swiftly, perhaps unexpectedly. That’s usually the case, as here, when the plot jumps and shifts and the characters are talking about something the audience doesn’t know anything about, as if there’s an issue missing; that’s usually the sign of a swift wrap-up.