DC’s New Birds of Prey Series Includes Some Surprising Members

DC Comics is bringing back the Birds of Prey as part of the ongoing Dawn of DC initiative. But this won’t be the classic incarnation of the team, as the new series includes some pretty surprising new members.

Of the classic Birds of Prey trinity – Black Canary, Huntress and Oracle – only Black Canary is sticking around to lead the new team. Joining her this time will be Cassandra Cain (back in the Batgirl costume), Big Barda, Zealot (of WildC.A.T.S. fame) and Harley Quinn. Three years after Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey hit theaters, DC is finally making that partnership official in the comics.

The new Birds of Prey series is written by Kelly Thompson and drawn by Leonardo Romero, who previously collaborated on Hawkeye at Marvel Comics. The creative team also includes colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Clayton Cowles. The first issue will feature a main cover by Romero and variant covers by Artgerm, Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw and Frank Cho.

The new series sees Black Canary faced with a seemingly impossible extraction mission. In order to bring her target home, Dinah Lance is forced to reform the Birds of Prey and stack it with some real heavy-hitters. But with wild cards like Harley involved, it’s safe to assume the mission won’t go as planned.

“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,” said Thompson in DC’s press release. “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.”

“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” said Romero. “I missed the dynamic we had on Hawkeye, so I’m very excited to have our team back together! Can’t to show you all what we’ve been doing!”

Birds of Prey #1 will hit comic shops in September 2023.

Also launching in September are Predator vs. Wolverine, a crossover series pitting the two ultimate warriors against one another, and a new volume of Captain America from Babylon 5’s J. Michael Straczynski.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.