I learned from Wesley Smith’s examiner column today that the comic book Birds of Prey will be coming back as part of DC’s Brightest Day arc. And I feel mixed about it.  Birds of Prey was one of my absolute favorite books when Gail Simone was doing it, and so the fact that Gail Simone will be doing it again is great news, however, all due respect to Ed Benes, I have never been a huge fan of his art, particularly in the way he portrays women, which in my opinion is hit and miss.

So this feels like yet another example of one step forward, half a step back.  I want to be excited, and I am, but I also have reservations, much like I do about the Black Widow ongoing series that was announced the other day.

Of note is that it sounds like BoP is part of DC’s Brightest Day run, which as I understand it, will run for a year (26 issues) – it’s unclear if the book is supposed to continue after that.  CBR’s Robot 6 makes it sound like it is an ongoing, and Simone’s interview on Comic Alliance also makes it sound like an ongoing, so perhaps it is just a book that will participate in Brightest Day…and continue beyond that?  I suppose if the series does well, that DC will find a way to continue it on regardless of the original plan (whatever that was). Though a specific release date has not been announced it looks like the new series will premiere in April or May.

There’s a great interview with Simone on Comic Alliance that is the kind of interview that makes it impossible not to get excited about the book.  It’s not unlike Simone saying that Black Canary is one of the most hopeful characters in the DCU and that it’s hard not to get swept up in her hopefulness.  I feel the same about Simone, it’s easy for me to get swept up in her enthusiasm for these characters that I already love, especially when I know she is a powerhouse of a writer and that she can back that enthusiasm up.  But the art, I still have to see about the art.

I know DC doesn’t care about my tiny little insignificant opinion, but the reality for me is that this book, with Simone writing it and with a different artist (oooh – how about Tonci Zonjic?!) is a must read for me.  It automatically (and immediately) goes on my pull list and I buy every single issue until they stop printing them and I probably rave about it both on this blog and on my CSBG column.  With Benes drawing it, it becomes like Gotham City Sirens, something I don’t put on my monthly pull list because I can’t fully get on board with and something that I pick up to try out, week to week, to see if I can get past the art.  Which is a shame.

I’ve been able to get past art in the past on other series (including the old Birds of Prey series when Simone and Benes were teamed up there), but I feel my tolerance for that kind 0f thing lessens with every year…so, we’ll see.  I obviously can’t say one way or another until the actual book comes out, but I’m going to try to hope for the best.  Mark me down as “tentatively elated”.  Yeah, that sounds about right…