This October, DC is relaunching Birds of Prey with the creative team of Brian Azzarello (Batman: Damned), Emanuela Lupacchino (Wonder Woman), Ray McCarthy (Wonder Woman), and Trish Mulvihill (100 Bullets).

DC’s description of the series reads, “Black Canary’s life has spiraled out of control: her personal life is going through the wringer and her band is in crisis. An old flame resurfaces only to flicker out and set Dinah on an all-new mission against an all-new opponent: Las Esposas de la Muerte. The only thing Dinah can be grateful for is the fact that she’s not alone, as Huntress finds herself on a collision course with Black Canary’s quarry at Detective Montoya’s urging. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn has resurfaced outside of Gotham City and out of the Suicide Squad, with a new lease on life that is sure to make everyone’s life more complicated. And that’s only the first five pages of this dynamic new ongoing series!”

On working on the series, Lupacchino said, “I’m thrilled to be working with Brian Azzarello. The Birds are a super-team I’ve never worked on before but that I’ve always loved. This will be a lovely opportunity to bring these women to life and let the reader feel their emotions. I’ll give them their energy and power.”

She continued, “The story is GREAT. We’re introducing interesting, energetic new characters and have developed designs for their costumes that will instantly give fans an idea about their nature. It’ll be a fantastic run. Harley is shining with her craziness, which is something I love to draw.”

Azzarello added, “It’s cool to have a story to tell about these characters I’ve never worked on before, with Ema, a terrific artist I’ve never worked with before. Having Harley involved screws with the new BOP dynamic – hell, with every dynamic. She’s chaos, but she might be the most together member of the team. Canary, Huntress, and Montoya have a lot of damaged baggage. Ema and I are gonna unpack it.”

He finishes, “Tonally, this series will surprise many readers. Ema and I are pushing the envelope, both character-wise and plot-wise, with equal parts estrogen and adrenaline. Our BOP will be the must-read title every month. Ambitious? Sure. That’s why it’s worth doing.”

The release of this series seems to be an effort to coincide with the release of the Birds of Prey film coming out next February, which shares the same cast of characters in Harley Quinn, Black Canary, and Huntress.

This series marks Azzarello’s return to writing in an ongoing capacity for DC. He concluded his Wonder Woman run in 2014 and most notably has since written Batman: Damned, the eBay darling that garnered significant controversy over its depiction of a frontal-nude Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, Lupacchino has been involved in the Wonder Woman title in an extended capacity, appearing as a semi-regular artist since 2017 despite the high writer turnover.

Here’s hoping for a decent, PG-13 debut issue.

Birds of Prey #1 hits comic shops on October 30. Check out the first issue cover and some interior art below.

 

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