Black Canary recruits Harley, Zealot, Barda and Batgirl for ‘Birds of Prey’

After a week of social media teases by writer Kelly Thompson, DC Comics has officially announced the new Birds of Prey series.

Thompson will team with artist Leonardo Romero and colorist Jordie Bellaire, who she worked with on Hawkeye for Marvel, and letterer Clayton Cowles. The series will feature Black Canary, Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot and Harley Quinn.

“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,” Thompson said. “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.”

Here’s the description from DC of what Thompson has referred to as the “most dangerous” incarnation of the team:

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!

“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,” Romero said. “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!”

There of course will be variant covers; here’s a look at Frank Cho’s gatefold variant:

And here are the other variants for the first issue by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw and Romero:

This new series is part of the Dawn of DC initiative, which means we have an updated timeline graphic:

The first issue will arrive Sept. 5.