Birds of Prey #11 variant cover by Gleb Melnikov

Birds of Prey #5 - "Megadeath V" (2023)

written by Kelly Thompson art by Arist Deyn

Zealot by Travis Charest!

Love Cass' single question mark. Roughly translated; "so that's what that feels like."

Cassandra Cain and Maps Mizoguchi Friendship

Some spoilers for both the recently released Birds of Prey (2023-) #5 & Batgirls (2022-2023) #11

So I am currently still working on my thoughts/speculation on Birds of Prey #5 but just wanted to shed some quick appreciation for this one moment and its connections to Batgirls;

Cass calling Meridian by the name Maps was a nice touch and a nod to their friendship in the present. And while I still have some skepticism regarding Meridian (which I intend to go into greater detail into in its own post) I found this small moment quite cute.

While Meridian may have introduced herself by saying “some of you may know me as Maps Mizoguchi”; I’m pretty certain Cass was the only one of those assembled who has met Maps before.

But yeah. Not to much to say besides that I thought the fact that Cass seemed to instinctively/naturally exclaim “Maps!” when referring to Meridian was a nice nod to their friendship and I hope to see more interactions between Cass and either Present!Maps or Meridian. I suppose though that the mission + Meridian constantly getting pulled from the timeline (apparently) does limit their chances to interact so far.

I don't know how to explain but she's looking like a kitty here and tbh I love it

DC Comics Incorrect Quotes Pt 153

Harley: Hey, everybody. A couple things about my management style; number one, don't nobody ask me about what's in my cup we ain't gonna have no problems.

Harley: Number two, I believe in the power of nicknames.

Harley, at Cass: Smile Face.

Harley, at Zealot: Senorita Swag.

Harley, at Big Barda: Kahuna.

Harley, at Dinah: And you, my friend, we will call Mrs. Farts.

Dinah: Seems rather unprofessional.

Big Barda: She called you Mrs. Farts, Mrs. Farts.

Harley: Thanks, Kahuna.

“No you don’t understand I’ve…I’ve had DREAMS about this happening…”

“And you think I HAVEN’T?”

This man is a disaster.

Lady Zannah by Otto Schmidt

the Birds of Prey art by Leonardo Romero Birds of Prey: Uncovered (2023)

Birds of Prey #5 - "Megadeath V" (2023)

written by Kelly Thompson art by Arist Deyn

Black and white art from the OG WildC.A.T.S #1. By the legendary duo of Jim Lee and Scott Williams!

Sid Kotian

Birds of Prey #7

Comic Series: Birds of Prey

Issue Number: 07

Title: Undercover Animals (Part 1 of 2)

Writer(s): Kelly Thompson

Artist(s): Javier Pina

Colorist(s): Jordie Bellaire

Letterer(s): Clayton Cowles

We had a different artist on this issue, and Javier Pina’s lineart with Bellaire’s colors combined to create a dreamy, technicolor look that I really enjoyed. With the departure of Harley Quinn and Zannah (Zealot) last issue, in this issue we had two new characters joining the roster to replace them, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl & Oracle) and Mari McCabe (Vixen). I read all 12 issues of Matthew Rosenberg’s 2022 WildC.A.T.s series and enjoyed Zannah in it, so while it was fun to see her here, she didn’t really fit with the team. I felt the same about Harley. I think it was probably smart to have Harley for the first arc, because she brings a certain star power to the series that the other characters don’t have, just because of how much DC has promoted her in the past few years. I’m excited for Mari, though I haven’t read any comics with her in them, and of course it was nice to have Barbara. It just wasn’t Birds of Prey without both her and Dinah.

I was a little worried that adding Barbara to the team would mean that we would end up with two Batgirls, since Cassandra Cain is also Batgirl, but at least for this arc it looks like Barbara will be acting as Oracle. Covers that don’t match the story content strikes again! We really only need one Batgirl, so I’m happy with how Barbara is being used.

Here’s my complaint for this story, though: it’s lacking depth. I just think there’s more that could be explored! Thompson has a lot of fun characters with interesting backstories and I think she could be using that more. With that said, the first arc was entertaining enough, and I am a firm believer that comics should be given time to develop and grow.

Why You Should Read This:

Because March is Women’s History Month and this is a team of women! ;-)

Thinking about the soft Cole/Zannah content this issue blessed me with