Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice #1: A Set O’ Swell Gal Pals!

Simone is back on Birds of Prey in the latest DC Digital First series Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice! The first issue finds Harley attempting to work on her good nature as she assists the Black Canary and Huntress taking down some mobsters, but it quickly spirals into something with much larger implications. The story itself may not be all that groundbreaking, but the overt humor and strong characterizations offer just enough to keep you coming back for more.

There’s no doubt that Simone and the rest of the creative team are having fun with Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice #1. The first few pages are basically just a fun chat between the three “gal pals” and it’s still so entertaining to hang out with the characters because they have such a strong foundation in their writing. It’s like catching up with old friends after not seeing each other for quite a while. There is a sense of familiarity that is upended with interesting new elements like Harley’s craziness or the reveal of her Pammy angel that help to keep you hooked.

That’s really the best of what this issue has to offer. Aside from some fans complaints about Harley’s recent prominence with the Birds of Prey, she really does mesh well with the cast of characters we have here. It’s something that DC is obviously set on, so it’s nice to see the team handled in a way that feels true to their core while still being just a lot of fun to read.

The artwork from Miranda and Kalisz really stands out with some strong consistency. The character expressions are spot on to match with their personalities and when the action does start, it doesn’t slack up at all. Lanham helps to define some of the more action-oriented elements like Black Canary’s voice, but the text walls can sometimes be a bit too much as we navigate their conversations. It’s a great book to look at, but it’s also similar to the writing where the characters are much stronger than what is actually going on around them.

Seeing Harley betray the Birds of Prey as they try to take out a bunch of mobsters ultimately just feels a bit too by the numbers to really surprise readers and take the series to the next level. With these DC Digital First titles being reprints of the Giant Walmart issues, there is a lack of narrative weight of consequences that is more noticeable on certain titles than others. The inclusion of Poison Ivy helps to make this issue a bit more memorable, but it still doesn’t break out of being a bit to inconsequential to carry a lot of weight. Still, there is a lot of fun to be had with these characters and their crazy antics, so it’s worth buying on that alone.