Graphic Novels Batgirl (comic) Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth (comic) Batman (comic) Batman ’66 (comic) Batman ’66 Meets the Man From U.N.C.L.E. Notice how I barely have anything to say about the actual story? Hopefully it doesn’t stay that way.

I’m always cautiously optimistic with new DC series and despite really digging this first issue and loving the art I want to wait to see if this can really shine beyond the flashy opener.

The witty character dynamics are super endearing.

The artwork and action shots seem incredible to you.

You already love these characters and are excited that they came together.

With the fluidity of the action really shining through in the way our heroines move through their panels and replicate themselves. The panels keep the characters contained for most of the issue until any action starts to pick up and then the characters usually break out of their panels to really stand out and accentuate their power. The specific styles used during the main story and the story within a story told by Batgirl are quite distinct in this day and age. That has to be the art by Leonardo Romero. Now let’s get to the part I think most people, including myself, are really excited about. Like I said, I love the way they interact with each other but when you look at them as individuals there’s just not that much to go off of. I understand that a lot of these “assemble the gang” intros are known for lazily gathering their crew like in the parody episode in Rick and Morty but I’m really hoping that the rest of this series delivers some more meat to the characters. Because of this it also doesn’t really make sense why each character would want to join in the first place. Each new member gets thrust upon us with little to no explanation and assumes we are already a fan of their previous stories. Which leads me to talking about how on the flip side, there isn’t much to chew on during the character introductions. It almost felt like the comic was making sure people who only recognized Harley out of the cast (like me) were getting reassured that she was going to play a big part in the story. This dynamic gets slightly interrupted towards the end when Harley Quinn joins the team because she takes up so much space and gets to say a whole lot more than the others. When you have this many incredibly powerful people all gathered in one room it’s hard not to think like there’s nothing that could possibly stop you and that shines through in the characters’ exchanges. Shes purportedly the premier info-jock of the DC Universe and cant. Each character bounces off of each other in a very tongue and cheek way without forgetting the intensity of what’s at stake. Oh right, Barbara Gordon, the Oracle, is there too. I love the team dynamic Kelly Thompson introduces once most of the team has assembled. Oh man am I excited to see where this story goes! Birds of Prey is a thrilling comic with lots of cool characters gearing up to rescue Dinah’s sister Sin and possibly everyone in the universe as the stakes increase at the last second.

Birds of prey dc penguin