New 'Birds of Prey' serie for October by Brian Azzarello & Emanuela Lupacchino

[Godlike13]

Who wants to take bets that the creative team will be gone by issue 30?

30, I’ll be surprised if they are still around after 12.

[byrd156]

30, I’ll be surprised if they are still around after 12.

I agree and probably would go lower but I could see them fighting to keep the book going even if it wasn't doing well. I feel like movie related properties are going to be the big pushes going forward.

[Godlike13]

I think the book will last past 12, just not the creative team.

[WonderScott]

Hmmm... I'm down with Harley interacting with the Birds of Prey, but a teammate? No, not feeling it.

At its core, BoP is about Dinah and Barbara's friendship and trust in one another and then their support and relationship building with other heroines. The more you move away from that dynamic, the less BoP it is. Although I'll admit that it was a much stronger concept when it was Oracle and Black Canary.

I'd rather read two titles developed alongside one another that can explore differing dynamics and eventually clash. Something like BoP with Barbara, Dinah, Helena, Onyx, Bette, Stormy, and/or Cindy. And then Gotham City Sirens with Harley, Poison Ivy, Magpie, Starling, Query, Echo, and/or Calendar Girl.

I liked the Huntress and Black Canary friendship and story arc in JLU, but that was its own thing and wasn't BoP.

We'll see what Azz does, but maybe Doctor Manhattan can intervene.

[kjn]

I fully agree with WonderScott here. Additionally, the original BoP had two elements that made it what it was. The first was the relation between Oracle and Black Canary, both as superheroes and as persons. The second was the international spy and heist background. These two together made Birds of Prey what it is. They were not another Gotham vigilante team with a slight twist.

Among the Sirens, Catwoman is the one who most easily slots into the Birds of Prey: she is literally made for spy and heist stuff. Poison Ivy has a strong personal connection with Batgirl after several Simone stories, and can easily be used in specific plotlines. Harley Quinn, not so much. There are neither the personal connections nor anything she can contribute to the team.

Right now, Birds of Prey has barely any connection with the team as first imagined. Babs has been removed entirely, and it's doing a narrative disservice to Dinah in stucking her as yet another Gotham vigilante.

[ohfellow]

And why not add Spoiler while we're at it? Cass is in the Outsiders now, while Steph is available for employment.

If memory serves, Steph was one of several drafted into service during some of the closing stories of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey.

If they're looking to include a humor element, they could get quips from Steph instead of Harley. But if they're specifically looking for Harley, that is best provided by ... Harley. And maybe they're going for the darker Harley.

Babs may be unavailable now because of the Leviathan story, though so far that's a dangling plot point.

[millernumber1]

And why not add Spoiler while we're at it? Cass is in the Outsiders now, while Steph is available for employment.

If memory serves, Steph was one of several drafted into service during some of the closing stories of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey.

If they're looking to include a humor element, they could get quips from Steph instead of Harley. But if they're specifically looking for Harley, that is best provided by ... Harley. And maybe they're going for the darker Harley.

Babs may be unavailable now because of the Leviathan story, though so far that's a dangling plot point.

Monkey's Paw for me. On the one hand, Steph finally getting a chance to be a Bird of Prey. On the other hand...Azzarello writing Steph.

[adrikito]

And why not add Spoiler while we're at it? Cass is in the Outsiders now, while Steph is available for employment.

If memory serves, Steph was one of several drafted into service during some of the closing stories of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey.

If they're looking to include a humor element, they could get quips from Steph instead of Harley. But if they're specifically looking for Harley, that is best provided by ... Harley. And maybe they're going for the darker Harley.

Babs may be unavailable now because of the Leviathan story, though so far that's a dangling plot point.

I was thinking in the same too..

But seems that DC is obsessed with add Harley in 2 comics minimum..

[Aahz]

And why not add Spoiler while we're at it? Cass is in the Outsiders now, while Steph is available for employment.

Honestly neither the Outsiders nor the Birds of Prey should have teen members.

That just doesn't really fit with what these teams are supposed to do.

[kcekada]

They had me until Harley Quinn. I mean, I get it. "Movie Synergy." But I'm so tired of the character at this point.

The cover looks very promising until you see Harley on it. Harely could be fun as a recurring character -- but not part of the team. I'd rather see Batgirl or some other female who needs some page time like Rose & the Thorn or Black Orchid (the original, not the watered down nu 52 version). And where is Power Girl these days?

[Aahz]

And where is Power Girl these days?

According to Deathstroke (or was it Teen Titans ?) she is trapped in Limbo.

Power Girl is imo anyway to powerfull for the classical Birds of Prey stories.

[Godlike13]

Babs and Power Girl didn’t get along

[adrikito]

According to Deathstroke (or was it Teen Titans ?) she is trapped in Limbo.

Power Girl is imo anyway to powerfull for the classical Birds of Prey stories.

It was deathstroke.

[millernumber1]

Honestly neither the Outsiders nor the Birds of Prey should have teen members.

That just doesn't really fit with what these teams are supposed to do.

As a big fan of Misfit, I disagree. I think the nurturing of new heros is a great idea for the Birds. (Though I will admit that the Club Kids arc by Bedard was one of my least favorite. But Metroplist or Dust was great.)

Babs and Power Girl didn’t get along

I adore that arc. Dixon really wrote the heck out of the longterm character dynamics there.

[kjn]

As a big fan of Misfit, I disagree. I think the nurturing of new heros is a great idea for the Birds. (Though I will admit that the Club Kids arc by Bedard was one of my least favorite. But Metroplist or Dust was great.)

I think one should be careful with distinguishing between different meanings of "team" when discussing things like this.

I can easily see a teenage character, with Babs or Dinah or Helena acting as surrogate mother or mentor for them, and being a regularly occurring character in the title. But I don't think they should be team members, at least not insofar as Babs, Dinah, or Helena sees it.