Letters to Birds of Prey #3

[lissilambe]

Please let us know what you thought of this issue.

[ryokowerx]

Lots of fun moments in this issue that has quickly moved it up my "read immediately" pile. Admittedly, being the editor helps (and makes it a requirement that you ... you know... actually read it). But Don and Sam keep on hitting this thing out of the park. It isn't the action but the character moments that never sound forced and are integral to the story rather than seeming tacked on.

With that said, my favorite thing of this story was Dawn. I've always liked her since Justice League and she gets a lot of good moments here, the capper being her "always" statement to Red Claw. Her story only seems like its just getting started and I can't wait to see what happens with the moondancers and the council of the First Nations surely set to impact her life.

And can I say that there is some wonderful duos at work here with the pairings of Gypsy and Halo and Zenobia and Onyx? Again with those little moments like with Gypsy getting insects off her dress and her crush on Nemesis. Halo with her anger at guns (a direct hint back at their first appearance in All-Star). And Zenobia and Onyx have that rapport of bred warriors, comfortable with each other and confident in the other's abilities to look out for each other. If they were men, you'd see them hanging out in a bar knocking back some beers and shooting pool.

The bit with the hawk spirit caught me completely off-guard. I most certainly didn't see THAT coming and brings up some interesting ideas that perhaps Dawn hasn't even fully realized the extent of her own abilities. Not a whole lot of Jonni this time around but she does get to blow that schmuck through a wall. It's forgivable given how much the others have to do.

I also really liked Nemesis showing up. It makes perfect sense for him to be the (SPOILER ALERT!) mole in Claw's operation and his line about escaping exploding headquarters was a very good nod to his actions in Suicide Squad. If nothing else, this certainly gives the Birds a contact with the government (which might be interesting if their and Mockingbird's agendas ever conflict).

In short, loved it and I'll be back for issue four if only to see what kinds of mess they get themselves into this time

[Susan Hillwig]

Don't have time for a long note here, so instead of raving about every single wonderful thing in this issue (and there were many), I'll just skip to the end and say YAY WE'RE GETTING AMETHIST!!! ;D

[lissilambe]

Thanks for speaking up, you two. It's great to get comments of any length, especially such glowing praise. Susan's given the series a 5-star rating six out of six times. I consider that to be a holy grail of writing on this site, because she's a hard audience to please. This is great.

Wonderful insights on our characters, James. It may have surprised you that Dawn summoned Hawkgirl to the battle, but no more so than Dawn herself. You're right, she clearly doesn't understand her own limits yet, but she'll be getting a better sense of that as the tribal council and its representative, Wenonah, step up to push her to her boundaries (Owlwoman is coming! Whoot!).

As for Zenobia and Onyx grabbing beers at the local bar if they were men; I think Zeno would slap the taste out of your mouth for implying they need to be men to drink beer at a bar. LOL Guaranteed, it's not been shown yet, but they've gone and celebrated a hard day's fighting with a hard night's drinking, and it weren't no Cosmopolitans they were downing. You're lucky Susan let that one slip by, I think.

Making sure everyone gets their little moments is so much of the fun of this series, so it's great to see those moments get enjoyed. Don't you worry, more female bonding and more Tom Tresser are coming, as well as answers, excitement and mystery.

And yes, Susan, Amethyst! Sam and I have been aching to get her into the series since we first laid out our plans to write this series. One of our favorite DC characters, so ill-used since Crisis on Infinite Earths we feel. Hopefully, we can handle her story well, and the wait will be worth it.

Take care
Don

[HoM]

I've been a very poor editor of this title the last few months, not pushing Don for issues, not giving feedback as soon as the issues are edited and sent back to Don for posting. I try and keep on top of these things but Real Life got in the way, so I'm going to have to go for a twofer and share my thoughts for the arc here in this column:

I'm loving this title. I am. These characters are so real that their adventures are a joy to read. Don and Sam have taken everything that was great about Don's Justice League run and distilled it into a pure, undiluted form... you wouldn't get these characters in any other kind of medium, so we're damned lucky to have this title here, with covers so expertly done by Steve and blueserjo! Classy art from two classy fellows. I think blue is on #4 and then Steve is back for #5? Oh, if we get these guys taking turns then this series is gonna be can't-miss-reading-- even more so than before!

I love Zenobia. I do. I feel like I helped shape her, and I know Don played a major role in shaping who she would end up being. I know Dave and Simon (it was Simon, wasn't it?) created her, but true to the root of the DC2, someone offered up a character for the world to use, and she was shaped and crafted in three dimensions. I've started work on something new, and she gets a mention because SHE IS WONDER WOMAN too. That's how I see it, anyway. There are two Wonder Women, not like how it was with Diana and Artemis-- they aren't taking turns, they're two heroes with different methodologies and approaches to the work, but they're both Wonder Women. Would you agree, Don? Sam? I'm interested in your answer, muchly!

Red Claw was always one of my favourite DCAU villains (she was DCAU exclusive, right?) and she's written expertly here by the creative team, and Nemesis' role in the story was great, a nice little surprise, and the Easter Egg line about him not being fazed by explosions (paraphrased) was a wonderful wink and nod to Suicide Squad.

From my discussions with Don, and my access to the overarching story plan, I can't wait to see Amethyst enter centre stage. My exposure to her was #... 11? #12? Or COIE, and I loved her. I did. She was an interesting character, had an interesting back story, and I've never seen it materialise in the way I would want it. From what Don said, we're all in for an exciting treat!

My struggle with Justice League has been the size of the roster, and making sure everyone gets a moment to shine. I think that's been the fault of my run, that I have too many heroes that I don't have a solid enough handle on, and that's a shame to me, because I feel like I'm short changing characters and the reader. Sam, Don, your work here with a small cast (growing every issue!) is inspirational, and I'm hoping to apply what I've "learned" to my own work, and hopefully introduce nuance and shining moments to all who appear in the pages.

Great work, guys!

[lissilambe]

I'm loving this title. I am. These characters are so real that their adventures are a joy to read. Don and Sam have taken everything that was great about Don's Justice League run and distilled it into a pure, undiluted form... you wouldn't get these characters in any other kind of medium, so we're damned lucky to have this title here, with covers so expertly done by Steve and blueserjo! Classy art from two classy fellows. I think blue is on #4 and then Steve is back for #5? Oh, if we get these guys taking turns then this series is gonna be can't-miss-reading-- even more so than before!

Let me state here, I love Serjo's "fill-in" cover for Birds #3. He really stepped up and gave us a damned fierce looking Zenobia. And a thank you to James Stubbs for the "placeholder" cover he whipped up for us, which was pretty sharplooking all things considered. Serjo was off to holiday just as we are wrapping up #4, and had to bow out. Right now, Steve is working on #4, and it seems #5, and after that, we'll see how it goes, but I hope indeed to see Serjo's art grace our covers. And a certain artistic workhorse of DC2's (hiya, Jamie) has volunteered to help us out in the future, so Sam and I consider ourselves truly blessed to have such artistic interest in our project. After years of scrambling for Danger Trail and Gotham Girls covers (and sometimes failing), it's a such a thrill (and relief) to have such a stable to help us.

I love Zenobia. I do. I feel like I helped shape her, and I know Don played a major role in shaping who she would end up being. I know Dave and Simon (it was Simon, wasn't it?) created her, but true to the root of the DC2, someone offered up a character for the world to use, and she was shaped and crafted in three dimensions. I've started work on something new, and she gets a mention because SHE IS WONDER WOMAN too. That's how I see it, anyway. There are two Wonder Women, not like how it was with Diana and Artemis-- they aren't taking turns, they're two heroes with different methodologies and approaches to the work, but they're both Wonder Women. Would you agree, Don? Sam? I'm interested in your answer, muchly!

She was an interesting character in the old Wonder Woman series, but her potential seemed to get lost in the need for her to be an antagonist and more of a plot device for Diana, then put aside when that challenge was overcome. When you pulled her back out in your Wonder Woman run, Charlie, you really seized on the opportunities inherent (due to her creators, I'm sure) and ran with them, and really fleshed her out. By the time you left her, I was champing at the bit to find a place to use her, and Birds just seems to fit. She fills so many story roles in the book. James above mentioned Zenobia and Onyx tossing down beers together, and I mentioned privately to him, and to Sam, that I see an almost "Xena and Gabby" vibe to them. In that regard, I can also see Zenobia as Diana's "Callisto" as well (if not as insane LOL). It makes her a fascinating character. And I agree with the Wonder Woman assessment too. I won't speak for Sam, but I made my answer in the story, when Tom Tresser specifically said that the government would let Onyx off light if a Wonder Woman is speaking for her. After all, Wonder Woman is a champion for all, but particularly for women...but not all women are the same, and so maybe more than one champion is needed. And as Onyx smartly inferred in a teasing way to Zeno "maybe you are an idol to millions after all" (to paraphrase). I'm glad you approve of the direction we've taken her based on the foundations laid by our literary predecessors.

Red Claw was always one of my favourite DCAU villains (she was DCAU exclusive, right?) and she's written expertly here by the creative team, and Nemesis' role in the story was great, a nice little surprise, and the Easter Egg line about him not being fazed by explosions (paraphrased) was a wonderful wink and nod to Suicide Squad.

I love Red Claw's visual, and her presentation in Batman: TAS. Her two stories were kind of weak in areas, but she as a character, I felt, was stronger than that, and I'm glad to use her. As far as I know, she's only a DCAU character, and indeed, only BTAS even. To give her a bigger playground to work in just makes my heart warm. Heh As for Tom Tresser, aka Nemesis, I love that character, always have, he's in that same "obscure but pivotal at his point in history" category as so many others. But this is where the artistry comes into play: Steve did such an amazing job on the cover to #2, and the Red Claw agent had such detail and personality in his face, that when I saw the cover (and Sam will tell you this) I knew right there he had to be bigger than just a walking MacGuffin to get the girls to Red Claw for the final battle. And then it hit me...he's Nemesis. Yup, it was like he looked out of the cover and winked at me conspiratorially. And that's how Tom has become a supporting player in the book. And thanks to John for being open enough to share him with us.

From my discussions with Don, and my access to the overarching story plan, I can't wait to see Amethyst enter centre stage. My exposure to her was #... 11? #12? Or COIE, and I loved her. I did. She was an interesting character, had an interesting back story, and I've never seen it materialise in the way I would want it. From what Don said, we're all in for an exciting treat!

Sam and I are eager and excited for Amethyst. A fascinating character that never got worked into the DCU correctly, I felt. I'm not sure she ever should have been, honestly; she should maybe have been left as her mini-series, maybe a sequel here or there, and that's that. But now that DC has done it, I feel like there's a way to do it that really stays true to the character. We'll see if it works out here.

My struggle with Justice League has been the size of the roster, and making sure everyone gets a moment to shine. I think that's been the fault of my run, that I have too many heroes that I don't have a solid enough handle on, and that's a shame to me, because I feel like I'm short changing characters and the reader. Sam, Don, your work here with a small cast (growing every issue!) is inspirational, and I'm hoping to apply what I've "learned" to my own work, and hopefully introduce nuance and shining moments to all who appear in the pages.

Well, I'm not sure if eight core characters, and at least three supporting regulars is a "small" cast, but I know how you feel. It's so hard, especially in the short story format, to get these characters out there, to shine and still show off who they are. Thanks for the high praise about our handling of it, it definitely makes me (and Sam, I'm sure) feel very good to know that we're not stumbling quite so bad as we worry about sometimes.

Take care
Don

[mockingbird]

Well I guess there's not very much more to say that Don hasn't covered, but thanks to everyone who took the time to read and to comment. We had a great time hashing this story out, if it got tripped up once or twice, but it's so great to see it was worth all the effort. As for Amethyst coming up, well I've been excited for this ever since I found out she existed. I forget who it was, but someone on this site commented that an Amethyst series sounded like something right up my alley, and then I bought the maxiseries on ebay and fell in love with her. I'm so excited to see everyone else looking forward to her debut and I hope she lives up to it all

I also really had a good time working with Red Claw - Don did a lot of the heavy lifting story-wise, but she was so much fun to play with and write, this weird combination of sultry and completely badass. And again, it's great for us to have a place where we can share these really obscure characters and have people go "oh yeah, I loved her that one time!"