Birds of Prey Series Moves to DC’s Black Label, Gets New Cover

DC is preparing for the release of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) early next year, and it sounds like that involves a bit of a change to the upcoming Birds of Prey comic. On Thursday, it was announced that DC would be canceling orders for the upcoming Birds of Prey comic series so that the title can now be resolicited as a part of DC’s Black Label imprint. In a memo to retailers (via ICv2), DC reportedly credited the move as being due to the series’ “hard-hitting storyline”. The announcement also came with a new cover from Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, which you can check out below.

The new Birds of Prey series is written by Brian Azzarello with art from Emmanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy, and Trish Mulvihill. Previous solicitations had revealed that the book will follow a team-up between Black Canary, Huntress, and Harley Quinn, similarly to the set up for the Birds of Prey movie. It is unclear exactly what date the series is scheduled to debut, although reports indicate that it will coincide with the movie’s theatrical release in 2020.

You can check out the original solicitation for the first issue below.

“BIRDS OF PREY #1
(W) Brian Azzarello (A/CA) Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy
Black Canary’s life has spiraled out of control: her personal life is going through the ringer and her band is in crisis when an old flame resurfaces only to flicker out and set her on an all-new mission against an all-new opponent. The only thing she can be grateful for is the fact that she’s not alone, as Huntress finds herself on a collision course with Black Canary’s quarry at Detective Montoya’s urging. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn has resurfaced outside of Gotham City and out of the Suicide Squad, with a new lease on life that is sure to make everyone else’s life more complicated. And that’s only the first five pages.
Needless to say, the Birds are back in town! With more pressure and higher stakes than they have ever faced before, brought to you by hard-boiled superstar writer Brian Azzarello and the bombshell art team of Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy.
In Shops: Oct 30, 2019
Final Orders Due: Oct 07, 2019
SRP: $3.99″

Given what we already know about the upcoming Birds of Prey movie – namely, that the film was initially pitched as R-rated – the fact that the comic is being branded in a similar way is certainly interesting.

“I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, ‘Harley needs friends.’ Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone film,” Margot Robbie, who will be playing Harley Quinn in the film, said in a 2018 interview. “She’s got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn’t seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it.”

Birds of Prey will see Harley joining forces with some of DC’s most beloved female characters, including Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez).

What do you think of this news surrounding DC’s Birds of Prey comic? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!