DC Comics Announces New BIRDS OF PREY Writer

Mr. fucking Freeze!!!!!!

Oh, maybe I can get back into this series now. I had to drop it after the first 7 issues because, I felt like it was going nowhere. And is that a Court of Owls character I see? Hmm....

That mouth under the Owl mask looks kind of wonky. I'd remove it, or dial it back a few notches.

so mary Replacing katana cool

Might as well give issue 18 a shot.

@darkrider: Kinda seems like she's replacing Cassandra Cain as well. :(

Nice to see Mr. Freeze again.

Sweet. I've been reading Swierzynski's run and I really liked it in the beginning, but these last few issues, the series has been spinning its wheels. Hopefully, though, Swierzynski will still have work at DC. He's talented and they shouldn't let that go.

Plus, its always nice to see DC get some new blood. I've noticed them pick up an influx of newer writers from the independents, which is good. Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, and Jeff Lemire can't write everything. I love those guys, but they've been stretched thin lately, especially Johns.

Looks interesting to say the very least. Been missing the boat with a lot of the Bat titles, they seem very intriguing right now while a lot of DC's other stuff, not so much ( sadly ). I love seeing villains going up against other heroes who aren't necessarily their "arch rivals". Sweet.

I might get this series once day in trade

not sure i will like this change, it probably going to improve the plot as i have seen from the interview, but I know nothing of the writer's abilities

Aww, I was actually quiet enjoying this run of Birds of Prey, even more than Gail Simone's before it, which read like a boring Girls' Club teen drama. Hopefully it works out for the best, I quite like this incarnation of the Birds of Prey. Even Starling, who I as sure I would hate, but she turned out to be awesome.

Also, I am not really too fond of Talon with boobs.

I do love Skullkickers. Book has a great sense of humor. I felt that Simone did a good job of injecting humor into her Bird of Prey stuff, even if all of it wasn't for me. If Zubkavich can go that as well, I'll have to look into the book.

@arnoldoaad: You should check out Skullkickers. I think the first trade is only $10. I picked it up because it was on one of the CV staff's year end lists last year. Tons of fun.

@G-Man said:

@darkrider: Kinda seems like she's replacing Cassandra Cain as well. :(

"Kinda"? I think it's pretty blatant at this point. The girl can barely speak, but can read body movements and is an exceptional fighter. She's Cass Cain in all but the name.

This looks like a lot of fun. I didn't like Swierzynski on it. Not that I think he is a bad writer. It just wasn't for me.

I'll try this out in hope that it draws some more interest to me. It all really depends on the tone and what story is going on. When there isn't a big underlying story going on, I get bored. Or when I just don't like the big story that is going on. Or if nothing develops after three or four issues. Anyhow, I hope this holds my attention!

Cool.

Bring back Helena Bertinelli

Havent read anything ftom the birds since issue 5

Havent read anything ftom the birds since issue 5

@ThanosIsMad said:

@G-Man said:

@darkrider: Kinda seems like she's replacing Cassandra Cain as well. :(

"Kinda"? I think it's pretty blatant at this point. The girl can barely speak, but can read body movements and is an exceptional fighter. She's Cass Cain in all but the name.

Gail Simone - her creator - even said so herself. She said that since DC wont let her bring back Cass, she made Talon as a substitute.

Omg no! I cant believe Dinah's leg was amputated :(

@queenfrost_ said:

@ThanosIsMad said:

@G-Man said:

@darkrider: Kinda seems like she's replacing Cassandra Cain as well. :(

"Kinda"? I think it's pretty blatant at this point. The girl can barely speak, but can read body movements and is an exceptional fighter. She's Cass Cain in all but the name.

Gail Simone - her creator - even said so herself. She said that since DC wont let her bring back Cass, she made Talon as a substitute.

No she didn't

Gail Simone said:

@Anonymous asked:

I think that a lot of fans are trying to relate Cass and Steph to current characters, often as a way to either cope or hate. But I do think that though Cass is dearly missed, I really don't see much of her character in Mary. Cass is an especially unique character. And Steph and Babs are very different characters and I don't see how they are that much alike, though they do have the most similar sense of drive of the bats.

Well, I think that first thing is true and I sympathize, that’s a kind way to see it. I should be more patient…but I’ve always kind of loathed that thing that two dissimilar female characters are the same because they have red hair or they’re both black or bat-themed or whatever superficial similarity they share. You can have twelve million Green Lanterns and people don’t say that. But with female characters, it happens ALL THE TIME, and it’s frustrating to here, particularly when to any passing examination, the characters aren’t even remotely similar.

I agree about Cass. I love Mary, but she could never replace Cass in the DCU or in my heart or in the hearts of readers. She’s a different character. However, in this one case, if she reminds people a little bit of a character who is benched and if that makes some people happy, then I am all for that.

She never once said that she created Mary to substitute Cass.

I really really hate when stories continue in a title other than the one they started in. That is frickin infuriating. This could be fun though. The BoP writing has kind of been all over the place. I was looking forward to Ivy being a good guy and they wrecked it.

@queenfrost_: and also:

Gail Simone said:

lauralot89 asked: I've never read anything featuring Cassandra Cain, but after the annual came out I've seen a lot of comic readers online calling Talon Mary an expy of her. Do you think they're especially similar, or is this like when people said New 52 Barbara was just like Stephanie in terms of personality?

People saying Barbara is just like Steph don’t know their history at all, wow. The voices are not similar. If we have a model, it’s Batgirl: Year One and I think that’s pretty clear to anyone who has read that book. Believe me, I love Steph, I love Barbara, comparing them is a dead end every time. They’re different characters entirely. I am amazed anyone thinks their voices or MO’s are the same. The tone is different, it’s a different book. But, being two of the only young women with optimistic viewpoints in Gotham, I can see how people would latch on to that, but it’s pretty superficial. I can’t see Barbara having Steph’s adventures or vice versa, can you? They just don’t fit at all.

The thing with Mary (soon to be called “Strix,”) is that she was based on true stories of young children traumatized by bombs in WWII, something no country really wanted to talk about. The main difference is that Cass’ silence was due to her upbringing. Mary is physically unable to speak at all, period, ever.

The silence is the main thing that is similar, Mary’s not a martial artist in the traditional sense. She’s got the Talon abilities and is an astounding acrobat, very fierce, very feral in combat. And of course, Cass eventually was able to speak (in a very moving series of stories). And Mary lacks Cass’ complicated backstory and body reading abilities.

I also think it’s fair to say that Cass has had a conscience for a long time, something that Mary is only just discovering. When you’re writing the characters, things like that just seem immense, huge, like a vast character gulf.

When Mary was created, we wanted to give a moving background to a Talon, to make her different from all the rest. She’s a thousand times more in common with the other Talons than Cass…but if she reminds people of Cass a little bit, from Cass’ early days, I think that’s lovely, too.

Scott Snyder absolutely loved her in the original script and outline, and he is the one who first asked that she not die or be frozen. Then the reader response was so high that we got the opportunity to flesh her out a bit more. As her character grows, I think we’ll see very little similarity…but that bit IS out of my hands a little, as Duane is working with her in Birds of Prey. But he’s been great and I’m convinced he’s going to make her a wonderful addition to that book.

I love her, I think there’s tremendous potential.

I don't want to see Strix's mouth. When you have a full face covering mask, you shouldn't show someone's mouth through it. It just looks weird. Like when Deadpool smiles, I don't like that.

@Ravager4: Ok maybe she didnt actually say it word-for-word but its pretty obvious that's why.

@queenfrost_: Read my second post, there's a clear story around Mary's creation, and it has nothing to do with "oh, well let's replace Cass."

@Ravager4: I've read it before. As much as Gail says all that, its pretty obvious she created and is trying to tell people that Talon is all that she can offer to please Cass fans. "if she reminds people a little bit of a character who is benched and if that makes some people happy, then I am all for that." just seems like odd phrasing to me...But thats just me. Im all for talon/snix being her own character

@queenfrost_: doesn't really seem like all that odd phrasing... she was responding to the people who were seeing Cass in Mary, and saying that if that gave them solace, then she was happy for that. She wasn't trying to insinuate that this is the new Cass and that's all you're going to get. Simone is a huge fan of Cass, and has tried to get the likes of her and Steph back into existence more than anyone else. I find it honestly very difficult to believe that she would ever purposefully create a character to substitute one of them and expect the fans to just accept that. I mean hell, Mary was going to be killed off/frozen like the other Talons until Scott Snyder asked to keep her alive for further use. It wasn't Simone deciding that Cass needed a replacement. There are some similarities, sure, but there's also differences. Being a mute fighter and female automatically makes her a Cass stand in? Their backgrounds, fighting styles, sense of character, are completely different. She might be similar to when Cass first started out, but compared to who Cass became as a character they're not even remotely close.

I prefer Black Canary have her own non-bat related team like having Cassandra Cain (no code name necessary but any code name should be ok), Cheshire, Vixen, Gypsy, etc. I really feel bad that Black Canary has become part of Batman's angels.

I like Strix's look.

Cassandra Cain minus a decade of character development and Mr Freeze? YAWN.

Book might get better

@entropy_aegis said:

Cassandra Cain minus a decade of character development YAWN.

and minus any hint of personality and as a zombie

Dropped it a couple of months back. Not interested in picking it back up.

I am sad to see the previous writer go. I love the book so far and the team. Batgirl and Black Canary are two of my favorite DC characters so this a tailor made book for me.

sweet... have been reading birds of prey since the beginning

@Ravager4: Youre making it sound as if I personally believe theyre the same character. I don't. I know they're very different, and I know just because they are mute well-trained fighters doesn't make them one alike. But it just seemed odd to me that Gail had been complaining about Cass not being in it this whole time and then creates a character with one of Cass' most striking characteristics.

Totally not feeling Freeze with the mohawk...

About time

Who else thinks that Hawk and Dove should join this team? They need it after their series failed.

@Zeeguy91 said:

Who else thinks that Hawk and Dove should join this team? They need it after their series failed.

Not as long as Hawk is Hank. Bring back Holly.

@Ravager4 said:

@Zeeguy91 said:

Who else thinks that Hawk and Dove should join this team? They need it after their series failed.

Not as long as Hawk is Hank. Bring back Holly.

I actually would prefer Hank to Holly. Who says the Birds of Prey have to be an all female team? I remember that Hank was a member at one point. As long as the team is majority female, then I think Hank would be a welcome addition to the roster.

@Zeeguy91 said:

@Ravager4 said:

@Zeeguy91 said:

Who else thinks that Hawk and Dove should join this team? They need it after their series failed.

Not as long as Hawk is Hank. Bring back Holly.

I actually would prefer Hank to Holly. Who says the Birds of Prey have to be an all female team? I remember that Hank was a member at one point. As long as the team is majority female, then I think Hank would be a welcome addition to the roster.

I never said I didn't want him because he was a male. Hank has genuinely never interested me whatsoever, and the horrendous way that he replaced Holly back in Blackest Night by killing her, coming back to life, and then taking her place again (because yeah, who wouldn't want to be partnered with the guy who killed your sister?), was a kick in the balls to me, as someone who actually liked Holly as a character. I boycott all stories that has Hank as Hawk because of that.

@Zeeguy91 said:

@Ravager4 said:

@Zeeguy91 said:

Who else thinks that Hawk and Dove should join this team? They need it after their series failed.

Not as long as Hawk is Hank. Bring back Holly.

I actually would prefer Hank to Holly. Who says the Birds of Prey have to be an all female team? I remember that Hank was a member at one point. As long as the team is majority female, then I think Hank would be a welcome addition to the roster.

It doesnt matter if its male or Female

Hank is BORING

Holly is way more interesting

@arnoldoaad: Every character has the potential to be interesting of written well. If a particular character is underdeveloped, why would you want to shove them aside? Instead, I'd say that's all the more reason to give more spotlight to said character. To develop them further.

@Ravager4: Well, to be fair, a lot of people did some screwed up shit during Blackest Night. Ronnie Raymond killed Jason Rusch's girlfriend and was revived, and then him and Jason fused together during Brightest Day. You can't blame Hank for killing Holly anymore than you can blame a bear for killing a fish, because it wasn't really Hank, it was a Black Lantern, a monster. He was being controlled to a certain extent and it was in his "nature" to seek out and kill people.

@Zeeguy91: and that does absolutely nothing to help my stance on him. He bores me, he was a cheap replacement for a character I actually enjoyed, and I don't want anything to do with him. And I can certainly still blame DC for making the decision to have it happen, but since I'm not going to boycott all of DC because of it, it'll just have to be Hank. I do not regret that decision at all.