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Birds of Prey (2011)
Birds of Prey, Volume 4: The Cruelest Cut
The traitor within the Birds of Prey finally shows her face, as the team struggles to recollect itself in the wake of such a deadly, costly betrayal. They'l have no room to breathe, as two terrifying organizations--Basilisk and the Court of Owls--come back from team members' pasts to haunt the Birds.
Writer Christy Marx (Sword of Sorcery) jumps onto one of DC's most unpredictable title.
Collecting: Birds of Prey #18-26 and Talon# 9.
Writer Christy Marx (Sword of Sorcery) jumps onto one of DC's most unpredictable title.
Collecting: Birds of Prey #18-26 and Talon# 9.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2014
8 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Christy Marx
105 books12 followersChristy Marx has had an eclectic career as a transmedia writer, TV and animation series developer, game designer and narrative designer. Over the years, she has worked on live-action television, film, animation, videogames, comic books, graphic novels, manga, and non-fiction educational books.
She began her game design career creating award-winning adventure games for Sierra On-Line, and went on to work on console, MMO, Facebook, and mobile games.
Christy was awarded the Writers Guild of America/Animation Writers Caucus Award for contributions to the field of animation writing. Her TV credits include: Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, Jem and the Holograms, ReBoot, Conan, Beast Wars, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. With her partner, Randy Littlejohn, she has written for X-Men: Evolution, Stargate Infinity, He-Man and others.
She began writing comics with Conan and Red Sonja stories for Marvel. Her credits include Wolfrider, a graphic novel with Wendy Pini in the Elfquest series, and various other stories. She's written for DC Comics on fantasy series Amethyst, superhero series Birds of Prey, and Green Arrow. Her original Marvel/Epic series The Sisterhood of Steel, about a society of warrior-women is available from the author.
After six years providing Narrative Design at Zynga, she has returned to the freelance life to pursue her own projects, including a second edition of her book, Writing for Animation, Comics and Games, and a memoir about creating the animation series for Jem and the Holograms.
She lives on top of a huge ridge of volcanic stuff amidst towering pines, oaks, and cedars with her husband, Randy Littlejohn, and four...no, make that five...no, make that six cats. They're stopping at six. Really. They are.
She began her game design career creating award-winning adventure games for Sierra On-Line, and went on to work on console, MMO, Facebook, and mobile games.
Christy was awarded the Writers Guild of America/Animation Writers Caucus Award for contributions to the field of animation writing. Her TV credits include: Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, Jem and the Holograms, ReBoot, Conan, Beast Wars, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. With her partner, Randy Littlejohn, she has written for X-Men: Evolution, Stargate Infinity, He-Man and others.
She began writing comics with Conan and Red Sonja stories for Marvel. Her credits include Wolfrider, a graphic novel with Wendy Pini in the Elfquest series, and various other stories. She's written for DC Comics on fantasy series Amethyst, superhero series Birds of Prey, and Green Arrow. Her original Marvel/Epic series The Sisterhood of Steel, about a society of warrior-women is available from the author.
After six years providing Narrative Design at Zynga, she has returned to the freelance life to pursue her own projects, including a second edition of her book, Writing for Animation, Comics and Games, and a memoir about creating the animation series for Jem and the Holograms.
She lives on top of a huge ridge of volcanic stuff amidst towering pines, oaks, and cedars with her husband, Randy Littlejohn, and four...no, make that five...no, make that six cats. They're stopping at six. Really. They are.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
January 13, 2026
(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Somewhat slack, it deals in fractured factions, twists too-strained and unexplained, and turns benumbed with action.
Notes: Somewhat slack, it deals in fractured factions, twists too-strained and unexplained, and turns benumbed with action.
June 24, 2015
3.5 stars
I liked it, but I'm not a huge Birds of Prey fanatic, so I'm not sure how the hardcore fans of this team feel about it.
I believe this is the beginning of the end for this New 52 version of these ladies. The Birds had already lost Ivy & Katana, and in this volume they lose another fan-favorite. Or, at least, she was one my favorites.
Anyhoo, Mr. Freeze shows up, takes Starling hostage, and demands that Strix lead him to the Talon's Evil Laboratory.
{insert back-stabby betrayal here}
Poor Canary. It won't be the last time she gets blindsided before this volume is over, but she can take it.
She's tough, right?!
But add to that the fact that her Canary Cry is getting more and more out of control by the day, and you have a recipe for disaster.
They take on Basilisk next, where they find a missing piece of Canary's past that will change our Ladybird forever.
Someone she loved isn't quite as dead as she thought...
Good solid story & nice art make this one a pretty good addition to the Birds of Prey title.
I liked it, but I'm not a huge Birds of Prey fanatic, so I'm not sure how the hardcore fans of this team feel about it.
I believe this is the beginning of the end for this New 52 version of these ladies. The Birds had already lost Ivy & Katana, and in this volume they lose another fan-favorite. Or, at least, she was one my favorites.
Anyhoo, Mr. Freeze shows up, takes Starling hostage, and demands that Strix lead him to the Talon's Evil Laboratory.
{insert back-stabby betrayal here}
Poor Canary. It won't be the last time she gets blindsided before this volume is over, but she can take it.
She's tough, right?!
But add to that the fact that her Canary Cry is getting more and more out of control by the day, and you have a recipe for disaster.
They take on Basilisk next, where they find a missing piece of Canary's past that will change our Ladybird forever.
Someone she loved isn't quite as dead as she thought...
Good solid story & nice art make this one a pretty good addition to the Birds of Prey title.
July 9, 2025
"I won't drop you, 'Fishnets.' You have my word on that, believe me." -- Condor, taking flight
"I believe you. Oh, and the 'Fishnets'? A Kevlar-carbon-fiber-polymer mesh with self-repairing nanobots." -- Black Canary, sticking the landing
Thank goodness - or should I thank new writers Christy Marx and James Tynion? - that this title has taken the Andrews Sisters' advice (well, Nat King Cole actually composed the tune) to 'straighten up and fly right' with a course correction. More enjoyable than those lackluster second and third volumes, The Cruelest Cut moves at a breakneck pace with lots of action scenes, a traitor in the mix reveal, some actual character development / advancement, and also drops most of the team's tiresome catty dialogue passages that torpedoed my interest in said two previous editions. While it wasn't perfect - the inclusion of a related but standalone story in the middle unnecessarily slowed the pace - the ladies (Black Canary, Batgirl, and Strix) and their gentleman (Condor) acquitted themselves nicely in a super-heroic plot that pleasingly heaped on the increasing complications.
"I believe you. Oh, and the 'Fishnets'? A Kevlar-carbon-fiber-polymer mesh with self-repairing nanobots." -- Black Canary, sticking the landing
Thank goodness - or should I thank new writers Christy Marx and James Tynion? - that this title has taken the Andrews Sisters' advice (well, Nat King Cole actually composed the tune) to 'straighten up and fly right' with a course correction. More enjoyable than those lackluster second and third volumes, The Cruelest Cut moves at a breakneck pace with lots of action scenes, a traitor in the mix reveal, some actual character development / advancement, and also drops most of the team's tiresome catty dialogue passages that torpedoed my interest in said two previous editions. While it wasn't perfect - the inclusion of a related but standalone story in the middle unnecessarily slowed the pace - the ladies (Black Canary, Batgirl, and Strix) and their gentleman (Condor) acquitted themselves nicely in a super-heroic plot that pleasingly heaped on the increasing complications.
September 6, 2021
Birds of Prey: The Cruelest Cut picks up where the previous volume left off, collecting eight issues (Birds of Prey #18–24, 26) of the 2011 on-going series with Talon #9 and collects six interconnecting one-issue stories.
The first half of the trade paperback: "Burning Cold", "A Cold Day in Hell", and "The Cruelest Cut" (Birds of Prey #18–20) has the Birds of Prey in the middle of the feud between Victor Fries as Mr. Freeze and the Court of Owls who has stolen some of his technology. In the melee, Evelyn Crawford as the Starling is kidnapped and later revealed to be a traitor of the group.
The crossover story is sandwiched between the two halves: "Talon vs. Talon" (Birds of Prey #21) and "Uneasy" (Talon #9), which has Mary Turner as Strix and Calvin Rose as Talon, who is blackmailed into working for the Court of Owls again, teaming up to save those that he loves who are in the clutches of the Court of Owls.
The latter half of the trade paperback: "Operation Kaizen", "Dreams that Never Were", "Together Again", and "Torn Apart" (Birds of Prey 22–24, 26) has the Birds of Prey going against Basilisk, which is a fledgling terrorist cell, one that Benjamin Reyes as Condor was a part of and seemingly betrays the Birds of Prey when the two clashed. Furthermore, Kurt Lance, the husband Dinah Drake as Black Canary long thought to be dead was being held by Regulus, the leader of Basilisk.
With the exception of Talon #9, which was written by James Tynion IV, the rest of the trade paperback was written by Christy Marx. For the most part, it is written rather well. The Birds of Prey has two main villains they faced in this trade paperback in the Court of Owls and Basilisk – revealing two traitors in Evelyn Crawford as Starling and Benjamin Reyes as Condor seemed at tad repetitive as they already had a traitor earlier in the series in Pamela Isley as Poison Ivy. Event though, it looks like Condor was playing traitor to help the Birds of Prey. However, having Kurt Lance still alive, but comatose was rather a surprised twist.
Romano Molenaar (Birds of Prey #18–24, 26), Robson Rocha (Birds of Prey #22 and 24), and Graham Nolan and Miguel Sepulveda (Talon #9) are the pencilers for the trade paperback. For the most part, the penciling styles complement each other rather well, which makes the artistic flow of the trade paperback rather smooth.
All in all, Birds of Prey: The Cruelest Cut is a rather good continuation to what would hopefully be an equally wonderful series.
The first half of the trade paperback: "Burning Cold", "A Cold Day in Hell", and "The Cruelest Cut" (Birds of Prey #18–20) has the Birds of Prey in the middle of the feud between Victor Fries as Mr. Freeze and the Court of Owls who has stolen some of his technology. In the melee, Evelyn Crawford as the Starling is kidnapped and later revealed to be a traitor of the group.
The crossover story is sandwiched between the two halves: "Talon vs. Talon" (Birds of Prey #21) and "Uneasy" (Talon #9), which has Mary Turner as Strix and Calvin Rose as Talon, who is blackmailed into working for the Court of Owls again, teaming up to save those that he loves who are in the clutches of the Court of Owls.
The latter half of the trade paperback: "Operation Kaizen", "Dreams that Never Were", "Together Again", and "Torn Apart" (Birds of Prey 22–24, 26) has the Birds of Prey going against Basilisk, which is a fledgling terrorist cell, one that Benjamin Reyes as Condor was a part of and seemingly betrays the Birds of Prey when the two clashed. Furthermore, Kurt Lance, the husband Dinah Drake as Black Canary long thought to be dead was being held by Regulus, the leader of Basilisk.
With the exception of Talon #9, which was written by James Tynion IV, the rest of the trade paperback was written by Christy Marx. For the most part, it is written rather well. The Birds of Prey has two main villains they faced in this trade paperback in the Court of Owls and Basilisk – revealing two traitors in Evelyn Crawford as Starling and Benjamin Reyes as Condor seemed at tad repetitive as they already had a traitor earlier in the series in Pamela Isley as Poison Ivy. Event though, it looks like Condor was playing traitor to help the Birds of Prey. However, having Kurt Lance still alive, but comatose was rather a surprised twist.
Romano Molenaar (Birds of Prey #18–24, 26), Robson Rocha (Birds of Prey #22 and 24), and Graham Nolan and Miguel Sepulveda (Talon #9) are the pencilers for the trade paperback. For the most part, the penciling styles complement each other rather well, which makes the artistic flow of the trade paperback rather smooth.
All in all, Birds of Prey: The Cruelest Cut is a rather good continuation to what would hopefully be an equally wonderful series.
August 24, 2017
what het nonsense is this
March 9, 2015
It was interesting to find out who the traitor in the group was. Like that Strix is with the Birds of Prey. What's going to happen now that Dinah knows her husband is alive?
August 30, 2018
This series has gone completely off the deep end. What was once a noir-ish, character-driven action comic with a great team dynamic is now a plodding mess of missed opportunities, unjustified motivations and middling artwork. It feels like new writer Christy Marx has completely abandoned the story Duane Swierczynski was building to at the start of this run, often instead opting for plot developments that utterly contradict things that have already happened, or at least undermine them so much that they lose their meaning.
For instance, two books ago, a major reveal let the reader in on one member of the team's secret motivations, throwing a wrench in the works of the team dynamic and leaving us unsure where things were going or who to trust. Now, with this volume, not only does that reveal get swept under the rug, it gets completely changed to something else. Basically, It's sloppy to say the least.
Beyond that, I have no idea which characters to care about anymore. Everyone has turned into a one dimensional archetype, and on top of that, the dialogue doesn't even crackle anymore. Canary has a sudden, totally unexplained, out-of-nowhere kiss with Condor that made me literally say "What??" out loud. They were never even close to a thing, and suddenly it's like they've been holding in their passion for each other for years (they've known each other for maybe 2 weeks). Starling all but vanishes from this book, and her motivations are nonsense. Batgirl is more present, but she's basically just there to punch stuff, and Strix the (terribly-named) Talon who joined the team last volume, does nothing but brood. With Katana and Ivy out of the picture, this team just doesn't have any variety.
I hate to say it, but this series is officially a dud. Nothing has paid off as promised. There's nothing left to truly root for. I really liked where it started, but it's just tanked completely now. Another New 52 series in the graveyard.
For instance, two books ago, a major reveal let the reader in on one member of the team's secret motivations, throwing a wrench in the works of the team dynamic and leaving us unsure where things were going or who to trust. Now, with this volume, not only does that reveal get swept under the rug, it gets completely changed to something else. Basically, It's sloppy to say the least.
Beyond that, I have no idea which characters to care about anymore. Everyone has turned into a one dimensional archetype, and on top of that, the dialogue doesn't even crackle anymore. Canary has a sudden, totally unexplained, out-of-nowhere kiss with Condor that made me literally say "What??" out loud. They were never even close to a thing, and suddenly it's like they've been holding in their passion for each other for years (they've known each other for maybe 2 weeks). Starling all but vanishes from this book, and her motivations are nonsense. Batgirl is more present, but she's basically just there to punch stuff, and Strix the (terribly-named) Talon who joined the team last volume, does nothing but brood. With Katana and Ivy out of the picture, this team just doesn't have any variety.
I hate to say it, but this series is officially a dud. Nothing has paid off as promised. There's nothing left to truly root for. I really liked where it started, but it's just tanked completely now. Another New 52 series in the graveyard.
February 17, 2015
A new writer for Birds of Prey brings a new era. Marx seems willing to concentrate more on the backstory of his characters, and so we get some nice background for the Talon and Condor and Black Canary. Unfortunately, this volume isn't without problems. First up, Starling is rather unceremoniously ushered off-stage with almost no explanation. Second, the final three issues are crammed together with some utterly incomprehensible continuity that turns them into a dull mess. If DC was going to reboot their whole universe, you'd think they could at least clean up their continuity, but apparently not.
Marx shows a lot of promise as a new writer for Birds of Prey and the result occasionally shines, but she gets side-tracked here with the need to clean up old plot lines and old continuity, and that drags her run down, as does the requirement to stay in tune with New 52's dull house style of fights and cliffhangers.
Marx shows a lot of promise as a new writer for Birds of Prey and the result occasionally shines, but she gets side-tracked here with the need to clean up old plot lines and old continuity, and that drags her run down, as does the requirement to stay in tune with New 52's dull house style of fights and cliffhangers.
April 19, 2015
Pretty good book, but Christy Marx stumbles with the dialogue a few times. At nine issues, this is a big book, but the addition of the Talon issue was just weird, considering how DC collects its other tie-ins. Just one more volume, I think, before this title gets canceled, but so far I have enjoyed this BoP series.
February 22, 2018
An interesting evolution from the start of the series. Picked this up on a whim from the library and glad I did. Definitely not a favorite but a solid series nonetheless.
June 3, 2019
Not a fan. Stories take too long to tell, cast is changing too often and everyone's motivations are... comic-book??? Guess i expected something more sophisticated.
April 10, 2020
Okay so this volume of Birds of Prey was better than it’s two predecessors. The new creative team of Christy Marx & Romano Molenaar did improve the storytelling of this book & on par with the art. The stories in this book are less confusing even though it still feels like too much action & not enough character development. I’m still disappointed with this version of Black Canary. She’s one of the DCU’s best martial artists & this new version has taken that away to make her more & too reliant on her “Canary Cry”. Stryx is still very reminiscent of Cassandra Caine’s version of Batgir (which I don’t know if she’s still a character in this universe). Condor comes across as waaay too needy & wanting love from Black Canary plus overly eager to prove himself. I’m still not entirely sure what his powers are.
One more volume to go before I’m done with this series.
One more volume to go before I’m done with this series.
July 16, 2014
I realize that this is the "New 52" and so what I'm used to is gone and I just have to get over it, but even in this "New 52" universe, the new concepts have to make at least a little sense. This was just shabby execution all the way around.
February 1, 2015
I like Batgirl, Black Canary & Eve Starling but this volume was a miss for me.
February 10, 2020
Przedostatni i jednocześnie najgorszy tom przedstawiający przygody grupy bohaterek znanych pod nazwą Birds of Prey w ramach DC New 52.
W "Najokrutniejszym cięciu" mamy naprawdę sporo akcji, aczkolwiek nie wszystko gra tak jak powinno. Na pierwszy rzut autor rzuca nam naprzeciw Ptaszyn samego Mr. Freeze. Na łamach tego komiksu to dość dobry badass, który wydaje się mieć plan, którego podstawą jest zemsta. Na Trybunale Sów, który wykorzystując formuły naukowca, jest zdolny do wskrzeszania Szponów. Gość szerzy zimny klimat i zachowuje się dość ozięble w stosunku do bohaterek. Ba, nawet uprowadza jedną z nich. Zaczyna się wyścig z czasem, gdzie główną rolę gra Strix, dawna Pani Szpon, teraz realne wsparcie dla Batgirl, Black Canary i spółki.
Relacja między Kanarkiem z Kondorem nabiera rumieńców, w szeregach wojowniczek (i wojownika) kryje się zdrajca, który ma swój udział w intrydze Mr. Freeze'a, co akurat było dość oczywiste, więc ten "największy" twist takowy nie był. Ponownie przyjdzie nam podążyć śladem Trybunału Sów, co więcej w całe zamieszanie dalej zaangażuje się Calvin Rose, bohater pobocznej serii Szpon w New 52, zeszyt #9. Był on najsłabszym elementem omawianego tomu. Zero wyrazu. Tandeta nastawiona na walkę. Słabe. To jaki i historia widziana od strony dziewczyn, kiedy Strix zniknęła im z oczu.
Potem to dziewczyny zostają napadnięte przez jakąś lamerską złoczyńców, z których tylko Up-Link ma według mnie jakiś potencjał z jej mocami. Reszta jest tylko bandą chodzących worów do bicia na usługach organizacji Basilisk, a z którą już ktoś mający kontakty z New 52 miał już nieprzyjemność oglądać w Suicide Squad. Ich dowódca Rommulus ma dla Dinah całkiem sporą niespodziankę... (swoją drogą tak durnego originu złoczyńcy już dawno nie widziałem). Taką, która postawi jej rozwijający się związek Kondora w zastanawiającym kierunku.
W takim dużym skrócie Marx snuje swoją opowieść, ale robi to bez jakiegoś wyrazu czy polotu. Były momenty ciekawe, ale były też zbędne dłużyzny i rosnąc senność nad niektórymi partiami czwartego tomu Ptaszyn. Swierczynski zaczął przecież całą to serię z takim ogniem i serduchem, że byłem bardzo bliski dania piątki. Tutaj... Całość wygląda nadal bardzo dobrze, ale fabularnie jest głupio. (poprowadziły Freeze'a "nieświadomie" tam gdzie tak naprawdę chciał, ale w sumie to się spodziewały takiego podstępu. A jako specjalistki światowego formatu oczywiście nie sprawdzały czy ktoś podąża ich śladem, albo czy mają urządzenia podsłuchowe, skoro nawet wcześniej były sygnały, że ktoś z drużyny gra na więcej niż jeden front... Zaiste "ynteligentne".)
W "Najokrutniejszym cięciu" mamy naprawdę sporo akcji, aczkolwiek nie wszystko gra tak jak powinno. Na pierwszy rzut autor rzuca nam naprzeciw Ptaszyn samego Mr. Freeze. Na łamach tego komiksu to dość dobry badass, który wydaje się mieć plan, którego podstawą jest zemsta. Na Trybunale Sów, który wykorzystując formuły naukowca, jest zdolny do wskrzeszania Szponów. Gość szerzy zimny klimat i zachowuje się dość ozięble w stosunku do bohaterek. Ba, nawet uprowadza jedną z nich. Zaczyna się wyścig z czasem, gdzie główną rolę gra Strix, dawna Pani Szpon, teraz realne wsparcie dla Batgirl, Black Canary i spółki.
Relacja między Kanarkiem z Kondorem nabiera rumieńców, w szeregach wojowniczek (i wojownika) kryje się zdrajca, który ma swój udział w intrydze Mr. Freeze'a, co akurat było dość oczywiste, więc ten "największy" twist takowy nie był. Ponownie przyjdzie nam podążyć śladem Trybunału Sów, co więcej w całe zamieszanie dalej zaangażuje się Calvin Rose, bohater pobocznej serii Szpon w New 52, zeszyt #9. Był on najsłabszym elementem omawianego tomu. Zero wyrazu. Tandeta nastawiona na walkę. Słabe. To jaki i historia widziana od strony dziewczyn, kiedy Strix zniknęła im z oczu.
Potem to dziewczyny zostają napadnięte przez jakąś lamerską złoczyńców, z których tylko Up-Link ma według mnie jakiś potencjał z jej mocami. Reszta jest tylko bandą chodzących worów do bicia na usługach organizacji Basilisk, a z którą już ktoś mający kontakty z New 52 miał już nieprzyjemność oglądać w Suicide Squad. Ich dowódca Rommulus ma dla Dinah całkiem sporą niespodziankę... (swoją drogą tak durnego originu złoczyńcy już dawno nie widziałem). Taką, która postawi jej rozwijający się związek Kondora w zastanawiającym kierunku.
W takim dużym skrócie Marx snuje swoją opowieść, ale robi to bez jakiegoś wyrazu czy polotu. Były momenty ciekawe, ale były też zbędne dłużyzny i rosnąc senność nad niektórymi partiami czwartego tomu Ptaszyn. Swierczynski zaczął przecież całą to serię z takim ogniem i serduchem, że byłem bardzo bliski dania piątki. Tutaj... Całość wygląda nadal bardzo dobrze, ale fabularnie jest głupio. (poprowadziły Freeze'a "nieświadomie" tam gdzie tak naprawdę chciał, ale w sumie to się spodziewały takiego podstępu. A jako specjalistki światowego formatu oczywiście nie sprawdzały czy ktoś podąża ich śladem, albo czy mają urządzenia podsłuchowe, skoro nawet wcześniej były sygnały, że ktoś z drużyny gra na więcej niż jeden front... Zaiste "ynteligentne".)
January 14, 2023
New writer. Thank goodness.
This was an improvement. The traitor is finally unmasked. Like seriously…finally. That subplot went on for too long.
Mr. Freeze is our villain, but he is against The Court of Owls. Yes. More Owls. DC was determined to cement The Court of Owls in The New 52 run.
The traitor obviously leaves the team. Black Canary leads this story. She’s the main character. Batgirl has her own series, so it would make sense we don’t get much Babs. BTW, if you’re reading Batgirl with this series, it does help and add layers, so that helps me love this.
Oh and Basilisk returns. I kinda remember them from before, and I vaguely remember them from Suicide Squad.
So I did enjoy this. Why the 4 Stars? Because the story is derailed by some story about this random Talon we are supposed to care about. I guess it was to add more layers to Strix. Still kinda threw me. And of course there was no resolution. Oh yeah! Another Batman villain is in this. He’s from Santa Prisca.
Oh heck I’ll just say it: Bane.
Anyway, next volume is the last. Will I get a five star Birds of Prey? Probably not.
I’m hoping for four stars and not three stars.
This was an improvement. The traitor is finally unmasked. Like seriously…finally. That subplot went on for too long.
Mr. Freeze is our villain, but he is against The Court of Owls. Yes. More Owls. DC was determined to cement The Court of Owls in The New 52 run.
The traitor obviously leaves the team. Black Canary leads this story. She’s the main character. Batgirl has her own series, so it would make sense we don’t get much Babs. BTW, if you’re reading Batgirl with this series, it does help and add layers, so that helps me love this.
Oh and Basilisk returns. I kinda remember them from before, and I vaguely remember them from Suicide Squad.
So I did enjoy this. Why the 4 Stars? Because the story is derailed by some story about this random Talon we are supposed to care about. I guess it was to add more layers to Strix. Still kinda threw me. And of course there was no resolution. Oh yeah! Another Batman villain is in this. He’s from Santa Prisca.
Oh heck I’ll just say it: Bane.
Anyway, next volume is the last. Will I get a five star Birds of Prey? Probably not.
I’m hoping for four stars and not three stars.
May 25, 2022
Christy Marx takes over Birds of Prey but frustratingly this is the worst volume yet.
It opens with Mr Freeze which should be promising but isn’t. He’s hunting down the Court of Owls. Starling betrays the team because she and Freeze are secret besties. Starling is never seen again. Not even joking - that really happened.
The series set up Starling was secretly working for Amanda Waller. Where the bananas did her secret friendship with Mr Freeze come from?! Why do we never see her again? Where is the explanation or closure?
Bad goes to so much worse though as Birds of Prey decides to drag up Black Canary’s secret Team 7 past, to introduce the worst villain I’ve seen in quite some time. The rubbish secret origin of Kondor is revealed. Huge amounts of exposition are thrown at us. Canary’s husband is less dead than expected.
It’s awful. Avoid it like the plague.
It opens with Mr Freeze which should be promising but isn’t. He’s hunting down the Court of Owls. Starling betrays the team because she and Freeze are secret besties. Starling is never seen again. Not even joking - that really happened.
The series set up Starling was secretly working for Amanda Waller. Where the bananas did her secret friendship with Mr Freeze come from?! Why do we never see her again? Where is the explanation or closure?
Bad goes to so much worse though as Birds of Prey decides to drag up Black Canary’s secret Team 7 past, to introduce the worst villain I’ve seen in quite some time. The rubbish secret origin of Kondor is revealed. Huge amounts of exposition are thrown at us. Canary’s husband is less dead than expected.
It’s awful. Avoid it like the plague.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2025
This was pretty awful. Christy Marx takes over the writing chores and its an unpleasant experience. First, we get the culmination in the Starling subplot and it makes sense and portrays everyone as an idiot. Then there is nice two-parter with Talon that quickly shifts into a terrible story with Basilisk that might be connected to other stories and books but readers have no idea. Its written poorly and shows little promise. I thought the art by Molenaar was very good though. Overall, absolutely no heart, charm, intrigue, or interest.
February 20, 2025
I thought this was a super fun read, I just thought that the threads that brought it into the overarching plot of the series seemed to just be thrown in at the end. There wasn't a lot of building up to the connect so the connection itself felt rushed and very coincidental. Overall, by no means a bad read, I just feel that it could've been revised to make everything more cohesive; a note I have for this entire run of Birds of Prey.
May 3, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised by this. When the New52 went through a creator overhaul, it didn't end well for many books. Birds actually got better while building really well off of what Sweirzynky did in his run. Marc has a little more energy in her writing. It made a long volume breeze by.
January 2, 2020
Taking revenge for the events in Night is Owls, Mr. Freeze faces Birds of Prey, Talon & the Court of Owls. I liked the way the whole story was set along with the backstory and the structure. Probably could have more action. Still a good story!!
July 24, 2017
Birds of Prey fight Basalisk.
November 25, 2017
W tym tomie sporo się dzieje. Zdrady, walki, wybuchy, a na scenie pojawia się nowy przeciwnik. Kreska mogła być lepsza, wszystko wygląda jak w latach 90'
November 14, 2018
Forgot to add this. It was eh. Read a lot like any DC paint by numbers collection. Art was a bit dated and specifically DC. Not anything special really.
August 4, 2019
Better than average buts doesn't quite live up to the first three
March 1, 2020
Was not a fan of the art at all and found it distracted from a story that wasn't fully my deal either.
April 27, 2021
Would have liked a little more with the Birds of Prey, but did enjoy Strix’s development and the appearance of Calvin Rose.
December 27, 2024
A fun read, will try to find more of this series
March 19, 2017
lots of betrayal
October 16, 2015
Pretty average really, probably. I don't really know seeing as I generally only read really well done super hero comics. I actually found myself wishing I was reading something by Frank Miller... Despite our rather strong differences in opinion. Anyway, pretty much encapsulates everything I don't like about superhero comics.
1) Tie ins that aren't explained in the series. Not having read too many of the new 52, I felt myself getting steadily more and more annoyed as the court of owls became more and more involved in the plot.
For all of their supposedly trying to draw in new reads, and my working knowledge of the original Birds of Prey team, I felt like I still had a lot of homework to do. While this complaint is certainly not unique to me or this comic series, it is something about the big two that really annoys me.
2) Guys who think with their ****. How many times was Black Canary randomly kissed in these volumes? Or had guys making random comments about her or Sterling? Is this what guys like to read? Because it makes them look incredibly rude and entitled.
Are they aiming for super angry man hating feminists who want to show that all men are scum? And don't actually exist... Mostly. I'm a pretty die hard feminist and I thought they were doing mankind a huge disservice.
3) Soup Oprah style drama. Moping around about being betrayed, betraying your friends, people coming back to life, people falling in love, revenge and crotch shots - this comic series has it all! I just couldn't not get over how dumb and childish everyone was.
This is why I stopped watching Arrow! I like characters who deal with their emotions and have richly developed personalities. I do not like reading about a bunch of emo high school punks who are trying to pass as adults.
On top of that, it really undercuts whatever kind of empowered female action I might have found in this comic series. Canary especially spends so much time worrying about her powers and angsting about her dead husband that she just takes up space.
Batgirl isn't much help either. Her support for Canary and Strix is touching at times but mishandled to the max. There is simply Waaaaay too much drama going on and I just can't work up enough energy to care about any of it.
4) Random male character joins all female team and saves the day. Need I say more?
5) Bitch tries to steal romantic interest from the "good girl".
6) Only other female character to be nearly as sexual aggressive as the guys turns out to be a bad guy as well.
1) Tie ins that aren't explained in the series. Not having read too many of the new 52, I felt myself getting steadily more and more annoyed as the court of owls became more and more involved in the plot.
For all of their supposedly trying to draw in new reads, and my working knowledge of the original Birds of Prey team, I felt like I still had a lot of homework to do. While this complaint is certainly not unique to me or this comic series, it is something about the big two that really annoys me.
2) Guys who think with their ****. How many times was Black Canary randomly kissed in these volumes? Or had guys making random comments about her or Sterling? Is this what guys like to read? Because it makes them look incredibly rude and entitled.
Are they aiming for super angry man hating feminists who want to show that all men are scum? And don't actually exist... Mostly. I'm a pretty die hard feminist and I thought they were doing mankind a huge disservice.
3) Soup Oprah style drama. Moping around about being betrayed, betraying your friends, people coming back to life, people falling in love, revenge and crotch shots - this comic series has it all! I just couldn't not get over how dumb and childish everyone was.
This is why I stopped watching Arrow! I like characters who deal with their emotions and have richly developed personalities. I do not like reading about a bunch of emo high school punks who are trying to pass as adults.
On top of that, it really undercuts whatever kind of empowered female action I might have found in this comic series. Canary especially spends so much time worrying about her powers and angsting about her dead husband that she just takes up space.
Batgirl isn't much help either. Her support for Canary and Strix is touching at times but mishandled to the max. There is simply Waaaaay too much drama going on and I just can't work up enough energy to care about any of it.
4) Random male character joins all female team and saves the day. Need I say more?
5) Bitch tries to steal romantic interest from the "good girl".
6) Only other female character to be nearly as sexual aggressive as the guys turns out to be a bad guy as well.
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