Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Birds of Prey, harley quinn

Harley Quinn, The Fifth Member Of The New Birds Of Prey

Kelly Thompson has tweeted out the identity of the fifth member of her upcoming ongoing Birds Of Prey series. Harley Quinn.

Published Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:05:06 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:27:56 -0500

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Kelly Thompson has tweeted out the identity of the fifth member of her upcoming ongoing Birds Of Prey series to be drawn by Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire on art. "Does a mission want a wildcard? No. Does a mission sometimes NEED a wildcard? Yes. Harley Quinn. The ultimate wildcard. "

Previously Thompson tweeted "An all-new era begins! Thompson, @Leo__Romero & #Bellaire… breaking hearts & faces over @DCComics this fall! Black Canary is building the most dangerous #BirdsOfPrey team yet… who do YOU think will make the cut? #BOP… Erm. Guess that should have been @DCOfficial. Sorry guys, first day jitters."

And are the heart colours specifically chosen as hints to the Birds Of Prey characters making the cut? "…MAYYYYYYBE?" Well, we have two blue hearts, one black heart and two red hearts. Now Big Barda and Cassandra Cain's Batgirl have been annoucned by Kelly as new members.

As to the other members, Kelly tweeted "I mean, have you even MET me? Of course she's on the team. Cassandra Cain. " and "The will of the people cannot be denied. BARDA! BARDA! BARDA! You thought we were joking about that #BreakingFaces bit? Two spots remain on the most dangerous #BirdsofPrey yet, who else is on Dinah's list?" Harley Quinn presumably has to be one of the Birds Of Prey red hearts, Batgirl is a black heart but is Big Barda seen as Blue or Red? Kelly tells us "This was blue (I tend to think of her as blue because she feels blue without the cape) but an argument can absolutely be made for red (certainly the bikini costume would be good evidence she should be red). Either way, one "red" left." "Zealot will do the cutting. Ooop. That got dark. #BreakingHeartsAndFaces One more to go!" And it was Harley Quinn…

So what else. Is Birds Of Prey ongoing? "More information coming this week! Buuuuut… I don't change all my social media icons for a mini." And she has. Who will be a member? Not Ted Kord. "We're sticking with the traditional all-ladies vibe for this arc (well, for the "official team" at least)." And we are to expect big names. "Yes, but also we'd like the book to sell/do well. It's hard to feature a lot of unknowns and also do that as it's a tough market out there." As for the timing? "Solicit and covers will show up in DC Solicits/Previews Stuff next week I believe? Book debuts in September."

Birds of Prey is a superhero team published by DC Comics since 1996, initially a partnership between Black Canary and Barbara Gordon as Oracle, but has expanded to include other superheroines. Conceived by Jordan B. Gorfinkel, named by Frank Pittarese and originally written by Chuck Dixon, Gail Simone is most associated with the comic, as she write it from issue #56 to #108. So much so that Barbara Gordon's full name was recently revealed to be Barbara Gail Simone. The Birds of Prey had a live-action TV series in 2002 and a film in 2020, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

Here's the PR:

As part of the "Dawn of DC" storytelling initiative, DC's new ongoing comic book series Birds of Prey debuts September 5, led by an all-star creative team and featuring fan-favorite characters. Series writer Kelly Thompson (Black Widow, Captain Marvel) has been revealing the Birds of Prey character lineup throughout the week, teasing that leader Black Canary will be joined by Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn for a dangerous new mission. In her DC comic book series writing debut, Thompson herself has teamed up with her Eisner Award-nominated Hawkeye partners-in-crime, artist Leonardo Romero (Batman) and colorist Jordie Bellaire (Wonder Woman), alongside letterer Clayton Cowles for the electrifying series.

In Birds of Prey, Dinah Lance is one of the DC Universe's most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she's a fearsome foe in any scenario…but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help. Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group—Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn—with only one goal: extraction of their asset at any cost. What could possibly go wrong? This all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey is still breaking hearts and faces after all these years!

"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 Birds of Prey writer Kelly Thompson. "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 Birds of Prey artist Leonardo Romero. "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!"

Birds of Prey #1 will be available at local comic shops on September 5 with a main cover by series artist Leonardo Romero, variant covers by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau and Chris Bachalo, a 1:25 variant by Nick Bradshaw paying homage to the first Birds of Prey series cover by Greg Land and Brian Stelfreeze from January 1999, a 1:50 variant by Chris Bachalo, a 1:100 variant by Leonardo Romero, and a triptych gatefold variant cover by Frank Cho. There will also be a blank sketch cover available.

And here are covers to the new Birds Of Prey #1.