Boring art, nostalgia story-telling, but I love Batgirl and Birds of Prey so I enjoyed it well enough. I think it's almost always obvious when women write women, because I find I like the characters more then.

Nice re-team-up of the Birds of Prey with consistent Batgirl writing and good artwork that mirrors Babs Tarr's redesigns of Barbara and Dinah.

This was really fun! The art in this volume wasn’t my favorite but I really enjoyed the story.

I know a bit about Babs from having read Batgirl: Year One and Batgirl: Beyond Burnside but my only knowledge of Black Canary and Huntress was from the CW’s Arrow and the animated show Young Justice so it was really nice getting to know their characters in this volume. I also really loved Babs and Dinah’s friendship and the developing friendship between all three of the ladies. Even though the art style wasn’t my favorite, I found the story to be really engaging and I plan to continue reading the next installments!

This felt flat to me. It was just a way to reunite the Birds of Prey team but it didn't get me excited to read more of this series. I don't know if a different author would help or maybe tweeking the storyline would have made it better. But this was just not for me.

Reinventing comic book heroes can be a difficult feat, but in Batgirl and The Birds of Prey, we are once again introduced to unique versions of beloved heroines. The background of each heroine contains elements of their original background, but with new elements, which adds a sense of comfort to the reader; These are still the super heroines we know and love, and I am sure if you pick this comic book up, you won't regret it.

Let’s get the band back together! But first they have to meet.

This first volume of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, finds Batgirl taking down the villain of the week when an alias from her past comes back to haunt her. Oracle.

Someone has taken over the Oracle title, and is using it for evil deeds with mobsters. Uh oh.

Batgirl must assemble a team, well at least a duo, to find the new Oracle and take them down. Black Canary takes a break from protecting her band and rejoins the Birds of Prey.

Enter the Huntress, ready to kill and with her traditional backstory.

Whenever you have mobsters, the Huntress is not far behind.

Black Canary and Batgirl immediately start fighting the vicious and murderous Huntress, but of course Batgirl and her have to talk about their mutual connection to Dick Grayson.

After a couple of issues of trying to harness the Huntress’ rage and tame the revenge obsessed killer, we have our new trio. Ready to find Oracle and make sure everyone's secret identities are safe.

As a first volume, it actually takes the time to explain some backstory and clues us into this new version of rebirth events. I much appreciated this, after being thrown into first volume after first volume, with little explanation to what is going on.

I also think the choice of having Barbara revisit her old alias, and a clear fan favorite, is really smart. It nods to what was great about Oracle and tells readers that she is not forgotten.

Overall, I think this was actually a pretty strong title. I enjoyed reading it and it was pretty easy to finish it in one sitting. There are some twists and turns that are not surprising, but they still have the payoff that is worth it.

Also, of course there is a Batman cameo. He must show his face in every bat title.

I do plan on reading volume two of this, I think this might be a really fun team book!

**I received a digital copy of this trade from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Meanwhile in Gotham Batgirl has to deal with Oracle becoming a legacy mantle, or maybe a villain is punking her by making think that. Either way she finds herself forced into confronting this part of her backstory with punk-rock vigilante Black Canary and spy-turned hero Huntress; infighting ensues.

Verdict: Try it. There's a good pace and energy, but the actual plot and characters comes off as thin when compared to other runs of Birds.

I haven't posted a review for this on my blog yet.

This is a really good place to jump back into reading the Birds of Prey after having taken a break from comics for awhile. I really appreciated the acknowledgement of Oracle and the possibility of seeing Barbara Gordon in that position again in addition to her being Batgirl. The interactions between Batgirl and Black Canary felt solid and familiar, if a little different than what I'm used to. Having Huntress be fairly early in her vigilante career was an interesting choice that I feel paid off. She makes for both a good team member and a solid wrench in the works for the other two Birds.

I'm a little iffy on the guy acting as Oracle though. He's clearly set up for something nefarious, but it doesn't seem like enough was done with him to make it feel like a solid threat. The arc villain was well set up though. I saw it coming, but it wasn't disappointing when I was proven right.

I enjoyed the book though and bought a copy for my library when the review copy cycled out of Adobe Reader.

I was approved for this graphic novel and about two days later it went into the archives so I was never able to download it.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Batgirl’s nemesis in this volume is Oracle. But wait, isn’t Batgirl Oracle? Well, she was, but now there’s a new Oracle in Gotham, and it’s not a software company.

The story first recaps Barbara Gordon’s history as a disabled crimefighter and her relationship with Black Canary and her rebirth as Batgirl. Now recapped, the story follows Batgirl, reunited with Black Canary, to find this new Oracle, a hacker who seems to be selling information to the Mafia.

The story takes it first wrong turn by introducing the Matron, who is reinventing herself as yet another tedious purveyor of vengeance, taking out Mafia hitmen because she got fired by Spyral. That makes no sense, but neither does bringing a crossbow to a gunfight.

The story makes even less sense, and in fact becomes incoherent, when it focuses on snake villains. Eventually the story gets around to explaining why there’s another Oracle, but the explanation is lame.

Interspersed with the snakes are scenes of weepy melodrama, as we learn about Black Canary’s sad childhood and Huntress’ sad childhood. I would have wept if I hadn’t been busy gagging. And the melodrama leads to a reveal that’s just Oh So Surprising … except it’s too contrived to pass as good writing. Worse, it’s followed by an even more preposterous round of melodrama.

But then at the end … group hug! Superhero bonding!

Sigh.

The art is a little cartoony for my taste, but it isn’t awful.

Another great read for young female readers. For readers who've already delved into Bab's world, they'll enjoy this volume as well. Those who are already into comics or are looking for a great place to start will enjoy reading about the amazing Birds of Prey.

This is a good quasi origin story of the Birds of Prey. Being a Rebirth title, it does take a bit of a different path than the original story and the characters have a slightly different feel, but it works pretty well overall. Not a big fan of the newest Batgirl, but I like the way they've done Huntress this time around.

ARC from Netgalley.
Batgirl goes out patrolling one night and finds that the group of criminals has been receiving orders from "Oracle", the moniker she went by when wheelchair bound (back in the 90's and early 2000's). Who is Oracle? Knowing it isn't her and wanting to clear her name, Barbara tracks down Black Canary and reforms the Birds of Prey, cracking down on crime and searching out the mysterious Oracle.

On a bust and shakedown of some local criminals, they cross paths with Huntress, who seems to be on the same path they are, and she (reluctantly at first) joins with them. Tracing Oracle finally, the Birds close in on him....only to find a Batgirl superfan, who has been using her moniker to lure them to him, wanting to join the team. (LOL not only was this a hilarious moment, but with his collection of Batgirl gear.... I kept shouting at Barbara to grab up one of her old uniforms to stop looking like the "young adult" she is NOT.) He joins and helps them take down the bad guys.

As a side, the villains in this story are these very cool animal hybrids who are being led by Helena's mother. When they reunite, Felice is still arrested because Huntress is that dedicated to making sure the laws are followed.

I was really skeptical about this title, having such a strong dislike for the current run on Batgirl, but I am glad I went through it. Really looking to see if this balance can hold for Volume 2.
Recommend.

This felt more like Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey. The story was ultimately nothing special, just a way for the team to get back together. Someone's using the Oracle to name to sell information to the highest bidder. So the team goes on the hunt for Faux-racle as Dinah keeps referring to them.

Barbara Gordon's past is catching up with her. Batgirl stopped some hoodlums only to find that their info had come from the Oracle. Batgirl had a problem because she had been Oracle befor she had special surgery that allowed her to return as Batgirl. So she recruited a former partner, Black Canary to help her track down the Mafia thugs that were getting the info. Which led to them encountering The Huntress who was working on knocking off those same thugs. They made a temporary truce that became permanent when they tracked down the Oracle (crazy fanboy) and solved the murder spree of the Mafia dons. Fun team, but will there be more Birds of Prey stories?

Thank you to Netgalley, DC Entertainment, DC Comics, Shawna Benson, and Julie Benson for the chance to read and review this ARC;

I am a long time, deep dedicate to the story of Barbara Gordon, but I haven't always loved Burnside Batgirl's rebirth, add this to my absolute love for Birds of Prey, though, and I could not turn down a chance at reading this book. DC has always given The Birds of Prey an amazing female dominated cast and they did not fall short of the mark on doing it again.

I found the story a little lackluster and the art deeply lacking, but I was cheered by good dialogue and relationships between the women. I give this a solid C and look forward the DC digging deeper into this team as it pulls these women all into the orbit of each other again.

It seems like every comic arc needs a shocking twist nowadays, which makes the shocking twist less than shocking. This volume's attempt at the twist was pretty well telegraphed, so if you are looking for suspense, this isn't the book for you. However, if you are looking for a team book with superheroes fighting C-list snake villains and mobsters, and the origin of the all new Birds of prey, then pick this one up. Shows promise, needs work.

I am beginning to think that with the exception of Wonder Woman, DC Comics just does not know what they want to do with their female characters. Its disappointing when you consider the upward trek Batgirl was on and Black Canary as well. Though DC has never really seemed to know what to do with the Huntress.