Birds of Prey, Vol. 3

Birds of Prey (1999) (New Editions)

by Chuck Dixon, Dick Giordano (Artist), Jackson Guice (Artist)

THE HUNT FOR ORACLE!

The Birds of Prey-the crime-fighting duo consisting of Oracle, the computer genius who used to fight crime as Batgirl, and Black Canary, the young adventuress who feels she has something to prove-are moving up in the world. Or should that be worlds? While on a routine mission, Black Canary finds herself, along with Catwoman, transported through a boom tube to Apokolips to face the Female Furies. After that, it’s a trip to New York to stop the Joker from nuking the Big Apple. Good thing Oracle has Power Girl on speed dial! But the real danger starts once the Birds get back to Gotham.

Time and again, Oracle has stolen the ill-gotten gains of Blüdhaven’s crime boss, Blockbuster, for her own use. Now Blockbuster has had enough and has assembled a team of mercenaries and cyberterrorists to track her down. Their first step in finding the person behind the screen will be to capture Blüdhaven’s costumed protector and known Oracle ally, Nightwing, and torture him for information. And with Black Canary being hunted down, Oracle will have to defend herself from the greatest threat the Birds have ever faced!

Collects BIRDS OF PREY #12-#21 and NIGHTWING #45-#46.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2016

About the author

Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.

His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.

In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.

His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.

He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .

While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.

In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.

On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to forget these days that Chuck Dixon used to be a good writer. He wrote all the peripheral Bat books of the time and they are all quite solid. This is right up there with Nightwing as one of his best. This book actually ends with The Hunt for Oracle, a crossover between the two titles. Oracle and Black Canary have a great dynamic. Their adventures are fun and exciting, exploring the far reaches of the DC universe. The art is top notch with Greg Land, Patrick Zircher, and Butch Guice contributing before they became household names.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun! It'll be a while before I can get the next volume (which seems to jump forward significantly, something that perplexes me since this one ends on a cliffhanger) but I've really enjoyed the three Birds of Prey volumes I did have. I especially love it when Catwoman appears - - I adore her costume, her quips, her fixation on diamonds.

However, I do think it's Barbara/Oracle who is my favourite - - I feel incredibly invested in her now.

Power Girl appears in this volume. I had never heard of her before (to my recollection anyway) but she's pretty cool.

I loved the Joker focused issue.

There was also a villain/hacker called Mouse and I liked her quite a bit too. Her costume was cute.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Birds of Prey, Vol. 3 continues to deliver on the fun and action, but still struggles when it comes to a strong overarching plot. That said, there are some solid character moments that make it worth the read, Ted Kord potentially stepping into a romance, Canary and Babs finally meeting face to face, and Nightwing showing a hint of jealousy.

It's these interactions that keep the volume engaging. Overall, a solid entry in the series. 3 out of 5 stars

[Hannah Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

Nice to see the Birds Of Prey back in action.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume, man. Not so good as the last one, but really decent.

We got the girls going to Apokolips, where we finally learn who's the mystery man giving the tips to Babs. It's silly, actually, but the war was cool. That cops brigade with armors was the essence of comics on the 90's. Then, we got some stand alone stories and finally the arc that is on the cover. The Hunt for Oracle was split between this run and Chucl Dixon's Nightwing as well, and it was all compilated here. Great arc, with all the characters being on good use as well. And what a cliffhanger on the end.

Unfortunaly, this was the last TPB released by DC of Chuck Dixon's run with our girls, which is really bigger than just that 3 volumes. Probably the sales numbers were not so great, and i guess this run got a little bit in the shadows of Gail Simone's one (which is next on my list).

But, overall, this was really good. Chuck is a very good writer, and Greg Land, especially, was on his early works, but was already shining on the industry. Good shit.

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book is action fun with a gorgeous US Marshall Dina (not Dinah) and team up with Catwoman. It's fun, but not nearly as interesting as the second half of the book where the hunt for Oracle starts! THAT I need more of - especially because this book leaves us with a cliffhanger!!! I need to find the next book! I can't leave off here!

Edit: So I've done some research and apparently there is no collected trade for the end of this arc... I can't believe they would leave off where they did...

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3 stars.

Birds of Prey Vol. 3 collects DC Comics issues Birds of Prey 12-21 and Nightwing 45-46 written by Chuck Dixon and art by Greg Land, Dick Giordano, Patrick Zircher, and Butch Guice.

Story arcs include Black Canary being boom tubed to Apokolips and facing the Female Furies, Oracle trying to stop The Joker from nuking New York City, and Oracle trying to stay of the reach of Bludhaven’s crime boss, Blockbuster.

This has been the best set of arcs to date. Everyone has found their strides and the art is great throughout the books. Unfortunately this seems to be the last volume that DC recollected in 2017 and I can’t find any of the next story arcs collected on Comixology. Of course this happened when I was really getting into the series and it ends on a cliff hanger.

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5* more Oracle and Black Canary adventures. Lots with Barbara’s love-life drama. In 2020s retrospect, Barbara unsuspectingly becoming internet friends with Ted Kord is kind of hilarious. Nightwing is still her best choice, though.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid set of stories! Good character development, strong plots, and lots of fun.
I assumed I would enjoy this series, but I underestimated just how much I would enjoy it.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t stand superhero movies anymore, with the exception of the Netflix series. After reading the third volume of Birds of Prey series, I still enjoy it as much as the first volume.

[cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great volume, I love how it starts with Dinah on a mission to prevent villains from escaping and Selina shows up and secret agents guarding led by some Agent named Dina and then that villain whose been mysterious.. sends them to Apokolips and its a mad max scenario and how will they survive, and there are other villains on board the train like Spellbinder and Joe from previous volume, and how Dinah and Selina stop them is the story and also Lashina shows up, and I felt like it could have been longer and had we gotten a full on fight between BC and FF that would have been better and more fun but oh well! There is a story where Dinah and Power Girl have to stop the JOKER from nuclear-destroying NYC and its a mad story and some sequence of events are confusing but its good to see Babs get over her fear and like stop Armageddon from happening and its a good story for her, high stakes situation and showing how she is best equipped to handle this.. also PG's costume was.. weird.

Then the date thing with Ted kord works out and I love that moment where Tim and Dick are there and he gets stuck in that VR room and the romantic tension and Jason bard is there too and the whole "hunt for oracle" starts up as Blockbuster is looking for them and how it affects Nightwing whose being tortured by mad scientists after getting capture and BC has to deal with Lady Vic and Brutale and the mad battles and Babs preparing for a big one time stand and I love so many villains/assassins being involved and the culmination of many plot points being addressed here!

I like how this story is so personal for all of them and how it pushes them to the limits and well Nightwing and Black Canary being her close allies, and the latter and Babs finally meet and the latter's sacrifice for her friend was super way to end this, and yeah after this atm its not collected and I have to read in single issues but its such a climactic moment and shows the big heroic moment for Dinah and their team pushed to a breaking point after so many awesome adventures and all!

AHH this story goes from wild to epic to emotional super fast and I just love this run for that and the high stakes emotion and how it challenges both of them and showing their heroic side and personal life and friendship and also the heroic sacrifice when situations call for them! Awesome run for sure and omg the art here is so good, Butch Guice is such a good artist and he makes Chuck Dixon's scripts all the more awesome!!

[Eskana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: While still not a fan of the Birds of Prey team, this was an okay collection. Not as entertaining as volume 2, but okay. Maybe because the stories weren't as interesting to me, and involved too many one-time guest stars, continuing plots from their own separate titles? For example, Power Girl shows up in two issues. In one, she's fine, but doesn't do much. In the next, for no explained reason (in this comic), she's lost her powers and is now using Atlantean magic. Also, I feel like the Birds of Prey do better when they're playing that super-spy, espionage card. They really aren't cut out for dealing with nuclear crises; after all, wouldn't the Justice League jump in on that? The art was still good though, so no complaints there.

Issue-by-Issue Synopsis:
The first 3 issues involve a mission in which Canary attempts to stop a super-villain breakout on a train. Catwoman is there, hired by the enemy, but they're all in for a shock when the train ends up in Apokalips.
The following three issues deal with a foreign country threatening the U.S. with nuclear/neutron missiles, and their ambassador ends up being the Joker, escaped from Arkham. Oracle calls in Power Girl (recently depowered) to help, and together the Birds of Prey work with the U.S. government to stop the missiles before they reach New York City. Also, we find out that Oracle's email-pal is Blue Beetle Ted Kord, of course. Computer geeks have so much in common..
The next issue starts off with a lot of irons in the fire.... Canary is on an investigative mission of some kind, but Barb's story takes centerstage. It's a bit of a comedy of errors... Robin (probably Tim) is over helping her with tech when Dick Grayson shows up... then Ted Kord (who Robin is delighted to meet, but Dick has to hide since there's no reason "Dick Grayson" would know Robin). THEN yet another person shows up, and Barb leaves to talk to him... meanwhile Canary is captured.
This leads right into the story of the last few issues: "The Hunt for Oracle," which is just that. The bad guys are on her trail, having captured Canary and Nightwing, and Barb is on the run, but can her friends make it in time??????
Find out NEXT week, same bird-time, same-bird channel! Also, why didn't she call Ted? He HAS the Bug... Anyway, Barb makes it, but only because Canary gets there in time and claims to be Oracle, and they take her instead. Cliffhanger!

[Nate]

I’d previously read “The Hunt for Oracle” crossover in Nightwing, Vol 5. It closes out this collection on a cliffhanger, and while the story hews closer to Nightwing than Birds of Prey, it contains several strong scenes with the latter, Oracle especially. Before that, we get more exciting secret agent stories plus some downtime with the ladies. The Apokolips arc that opens the book is over-the-top in a good way, while the Joker story reminds me of his diplomatic turn in Death in the Family, which I’d like to forget. The quieter moments all stand out, like Babs meeting her pen pal in person and geeking out with Tim over new tech. Honestly, I think this and Robin are Dixon’s best ongoing Bat titles. I found Nightwing to be overrated, which is surprising, considering he’s my favorite Bat family character. There’s something effortlessly fun and endearing about these Birds of Prey stories that Nightwing lacked.

[Arthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this volume. Black Canary is the badass we all know and love, and Babs the unstoppable force of good. As a fan of the batfam, I really enjoyed seeing Nightwing, Tim and Alfred interact with and for Babs. It was also nice for Black Canary to have someone to team up with in the battlefield. The story that took place in Kosnovc? (where Barbara sent her instead of London) was very well done and unfortunately outdated in the way America is described. I do think Babs has made a few too many mistakes, consequentially endangering Black Canary's life, but the latter's willingness to keep fighting alongside Oracle is just a testament to her character. I loved the ending of The Hunt for Oracle and am excited to see where it goes. Given Blockbuster's treatment of Nightwing in Nightwing (1996) I know its going to be a rollercoaster.

The artwork was also fantastic and not too overly sexualized as comics tend to be.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. The first half of the book is very superhero-y superhero team does superhero team stuff. There's alternative dimensions, there's neutron bombs, oh my. It's a pretty big departure from the rest of the Bat Family at this point, and that was somewhat surprising to me. This isn't, really, what I look for in a comic book, but your mileage may vary. For what it is, it was written well - Dixon knows what he's doing. The second half shifts into a more interesting ongoing story: Blockbuster is attempting to track down, and eliminate, Oracle, as she was stealing from him. The plot is fast and tense, and written well.

If you like the Birds of Prey, or you like Dixon writing the Bat Family, there's probably something for you to like in this volume. Otherwise? It's probably skippable.

[Aidan]

Inside Birds of Prey by Chuck Dixon are two wolves
- an ensemble story of the DC Universe B list and below with a focus on the female characters (😍)
- neocon foreign policy propoganda to get the US to intervene in all those crazy poor countries (🤮)

Fortunately it’s more of the former and the two types of story are largely separate, but it got a bit ridiculous in one arc when Qurac, DC’s favorite generic axis of evil Muslim country stand in, fires weapons of mass destruction at Manhattan, and the US is unable to defend itself because of protocols put in place by Jimmy Carter. Just say you want us to vote Bush!

That story is an outlier though, and the rest of this is fantastic. Absolute crime that the rest of Chuck’s run isn’t collected.

[roberto ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con dos arcos argumentales principales, el primero con Catwoman de invitada y un viaje a Apokolips, si no es chiste. Y el segundo y principal es Blackbuster cazando a Oracle con todo lo que tiene. Buen relato dinámico con números que tienen desarrollo de personajes.
Se va Greg Land a Nightwing (también escrito por Chuck Dixon) formando parte del cruce de la caza de Oracle. Llega Butch Guice en un momento que explica su evolución como dibujante, ya que lo conocía de su Superman en Action Cómics y lo vería luego en Capitán América de Ed Brubaker, el estilo de espías y operaciones encubiertas lo vemos acá.

[Jason Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. I liked the evolution of Oracle's and Canary's relationship in this one. I miss Huntress, though. I like the trio of Oracle, Black Canary, and Huntress; they all play well of of each other, in my opinion. The individual stories were good; I could have enjoyed reading any of the single issues by themselves. I haven't decided if I want to continue with this series or move to the Gail Simone series or one of the other reboots.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun series. I love that Birds of Prey has so much potential. It can follow Black Canary as an operative having friendly banter with her handler. It can follow Oracle as her role can build tension even though she is usually far from the action. The stories can see the pair encountering conflicts and characters across all of the DC universe like Apokolips, Gotham, and the Middle East instead of a single locale. I do wish the team would expand beyond just Dinah and Barbara.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these some years ago, back around ~2016-2017 probably.

Started collecting them all back in ~2017-2018 around the time of the reprint.

I sometimes forget that Oracle didn't even reveal who she was to Dinah until this book really.

The hunt for Oracle is on, as folks try to discover her true identity.

Dinah and Babs' friendship really is something, and it helps make the BoP books special.

[Paul Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Official rating: 3.5

Barbara Gordon is one of my favourite DC characters, and this volume of Birds of Prey places her as the main character as she tries to avoid detection from an old enemy that wants revenge (and his money back).

Black Canary also features heavily, with stories including a trip to Apokolips for her and Catwoman, as well as trying to stop a nuclear attack instigated by Joker.

All in all, a fun read.

[Amna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun and action in this volume. The main drive of these issues, especially toward the back half, is the progression of the relationship between Dinah and Barbara. We also end on the issue that features that iconic shot of Dinah holding Babs. The Catwoman teamup was just as fun as last time. Shoutout to Tim for being everybody's little brother.

The art's great, we've got early Greg Land so it's pretty good, and Butch Guice who's great.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author, Chuck Dixon always had a great voice for Oracle. I love the relationships he shows here for Barbara, whether its Dinah, Dick, Tim, Jason, or Ted. While the trip to Apokolips was less than stellar, the book was good. The crossover with Nightwing, while filled with too many hired goons was fun. Overall, a good look into the Oracle/Black Canary early days.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing and great art...but AGHHHHH that ending was such a horrible cliffhanger, and by horrible I mean it was great and I NEED the next trade...but I have no idea which one it is or where to find it.

Balls.

[Franck Martini · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s too bad the reprints stopped with this one, Dixon and the team really provide excellent entertainment with awesome art. I hope one day DC Finest will bridg3 the gap between this book and the Gail Simone run.

[Star · Rating 2 out of 5]

#19 was hilarious

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleased this set of graphic novels are a good length, 10 comics instead of the usual 5 around 300 pages. Some good stories and a cliffhanger ending, I hope there is more to come.

[Emma Francois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one and the end was unexpected!!!