For the past week, writer Kelly Thompson has been teasing a new “Birds of Prey” series at DC, that will reteam her with “Hawkeye” artist Leonardo Romero and colorist Jordie Bellaire. Now, the publisher has revealed the full line-up for the book, which consists of Black Canary, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn. The comic will see Dinah Lance (Canary) reform the Birds of Prey for “a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally,” with “only one goal: extraction of their asset at any cost.”
The book marks Thompson’s first DC series, and only her second comic there, following a story in August’s “Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder” #2. She says, “When I say this is a dream come true for me, I mean not just working on the iconic ‘Birds of Prey’ title, but also the characters we were able to fold in, and the creative team we assembled. Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire were two of my first partners-in-crime making superhero books and I’ve been trying to make this happen ever since. It won’t surprise anyone to learn that Leonardo and Jordie are even better than they were the last time we worked together — and working together on this wild book is pure magic.”
Romero added, “I couldn’t be happier to announce my first monthly project for DC! With this book, I’ve had the opportunity to not only draw some of the most badass women in the DC Universe, but also to work once more with the best people in our industry, Kelly Thompson and Jordie Bellaire. I missed the dynamic we had on ‘Hawkeye,’ so I’m very excited to have our team back together! Can’t wait to show you all what we’ve been doing!” Romero’s sole previous interior work for DC came in 2015’s “Batman ’66” #19.
The comic also marks the first “Birds of Prey” series since Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti’s 2020 Black Label mini “Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey,” which brought Cain and Quinzel onto the team ala that year’s live-action movie, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Black Canary has been a part of the team since their introduction in 1996 (courtesy of Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Jennifer Graves in “Showcase ’96” #3), while Big Barda first joined the roster in Gail Simone and Nicola Scott’s “Birds of Prey” #100 (published November 2006). Zealot, an alien member of the WildC.A.T.S. (real name Lady Zannah), is the sole true new addition to the team, and first appeared in Jim Lee and Brandon Choi’s “WildC.A.T.S.” #1 (1992).
The new “Birds of Prey” #1 will be released on September 5, with a main cover by Romero, and variants by Romero, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Chris Bachalo, Frank Cho, and Nick Bradshaw (who provides a homage to the cover of the first issue from 1999 by Greg Land and Brian Stelfreeze.) To check these out, and Romero’s character designs in the meantime, head to DC.com.
