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Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind (Birds of Prey III #1)

by Duane Swierczynski (Goodreads Author), Jesus Saiz (Artist)

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 501 ratings · 52 reviews

One is wanted for a murder she didn't commit. The other is on the run because she knows too much. They are Dinah Laurel Lance and Ev Crawford - a.k.a. Black Canary and Starling - and joining them are the villainous Poison Ivy and the heroic Batgirl and together, as Gotham City's covert ops team, they're taking down the villains other heroes can't touch. They are the Birds...more

Paperback, 160 pages

Published September 18th 2012 by DC Comics

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Feb 03, 2013 David Green rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, dashing-heroines, graphic-novels-are-cool, new-52, bad-girls-are-awesome, 2013-reads, naa-naa-naa-batman

Reading Trouble In Mind is a lot like watching an action-packed blockbuster movie...there's not a whole lot of depth or character development, but that doesn't make it any less fun!

A faceless monster is haunting Gotham City, turning unsuspecting people into living weapons. Even more frightening is that this may just be the first step towards a much larger terror plot. Now, a team of women on the run from the law try to save a city that wants them brought down. Sometimes the best person for a di...more Reading Trouble In Mind is a lot like watching an action-packed blockbuster movie...there's not a whole lot of depth or character development, but that doesn't make it any less fun!

A faceless monster is haunting Gotham City, turning unsuspecting people into living weapons. Even more frightening is that this may just be the first step towards a much larger terror plot. Now, a team of women on the run from the law try to save a city that wants them brought down. Sometimes the best person for a dirty job is someone whose hands are already plenty dirty...

I was a little apprehensive going into Duane Swierczynski's first "Birds of Prey" story. As Gail Simone's highly-revered first BOP run was one of my favorite graphic novels in recent times, I was afraid no one would be able to measure up. But while Swierczynski never quite surpasses Simone's work, his writing is more than good enough to make him a worthy successor!

For one thing, this is a very fast-paced adventure. Pages upon pages of heroes punching villains can get old really fast, but Swierczynski ups the ante with new situations and amusing banter. Also, while the storyline is strictly pre-Daniel-Craig James Bond stuff, there are enough twists and turns to keep you invested. One particularly mind-bending twist occurs about two-thirds in, when...well, I shan't spoil the surprise, but trust me, it's quite cool! Plus, while the established characters don't experience a whole lot of development, they still keep things interesting. Black Canary is a strong combatant and a crafty leader. Poison Ivy is a ruthless eco-terrorist who believes she's saving the planet by ridding it of the people trying to harm it. And Katana...Katana believes the soul of her dead husband lives in her sword and can communicate with all those she kills... shudders...

But for me, the real shining star of this book is brand-new character Ev Crawford, code-named "Starling"! Yes, Starling is tough and deadly (with or without her pistols), but ultimately, her most dangerous weapon is her smile! She is so sweet and perky at times, it's impossible not to love her. She also provides a lot of humor throughout the story...like when a man she's rescued starts flirting with her, and she just rolls her eyes and says, "Isn't that a ring on your finger, playah?!?" I went into this book wanting to see Black Canary in action again, but I came out wanting to read more about Starling instead!

While I found no major flaws in the book, the lack of depth prevents me from giving it a perfect score. Yes, the action is intense and the banter is pleasing, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still mostly reading a 7-issue fight sequence. Also, there were some minor nitpicks throughout, mostly with the Katana character. Why does Barbara Gordon object to Starling being on the team, when Starling doesn't seem to use lethal force, and then immediately recommends Katana, someone who racks up a larger bodycount than the villains in the story?!? Why does Canary freak out when she thinks Ivy is about to kill someone in self-defense, even though she seemed to have no problem with Katana killing several people earlier? These little inconsistencies did take me out of the book from time to time.

So, ultimately, Swierczynski doesn't reinvent the genre or revamp classic characters. Instead, he just gives us a really fun adventure, and in the end, that's more than enough!(less)

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Dec 28, 2012 Daryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a longtime reader, one of the questions that I have whenever I start reading one of DC's New 52 trades is, "How much of what went on before is still in continuity, and how much are things starting over?" I liked the previous Birds of Prey series a lot (both Chuck Dixon's stuff and, later, Gail Simone's), but I'm not sure how much is relevant here. Black Canary and Batgirl/Barbara Gordon know one another, but was there a Birds of Prey group before? Was Babs Oracle? I don't know from reading th...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

**spoilers

I heard on NPR that DC Comics was revamping their line or rather starting all over. New storylines that would stay true to the original characters, but allowed the next generation of writers to start afresh without being bogged down by what happened in the previous storylines. So this one comes across my desk and I have no idea who is Black Canary, Stirling, or Katana and I'm intrigued why Poison Ivy is hanging with them and Lo! Batgirl is on the back cover while "the sirens of Gotham...more

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Oct 19, 2012 William Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Women and comics, women in comics, is such a point of contention that it's hard to broach the subject in a manner befitting the gravitas of the situation, as well as without ruffling feathers. I'm a huge fan of women creators, and great female lead characters in books. I'm a minority in that, though, it seems. Especially when it comes to the current heads of DC. It's a big good-ol'-boys-club there and shows no sign of opening their doors any wider to let in the plethora of female talent begging...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Charles Lemme rated it 4 of 5 stars

The new incarnation of Birds of Prey has a lot going against it. It picks up after an amazing reboot series by Gail Simone was flat lined due to DC's new 52 initiative which rebooted DCU's continuity for a new generation.

Thankfully, Duane Swierczynski seems to be adept at taking broken pieces and making amazing things out of them. While Batgirl/Oracle is no longer the central leader of this team(though she does have a minor guest starring role), Black Canary takes the reins and gives us a good n...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Vanessa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: superhero, dc, modern-age

The writing in this volume is great. Duane Swierczynski maintains a very suspenseful plot throughout. Each issue is full of action. This volume establishes what I think is a new villain, and I am very interested in seeing what direction this story will go into in the future. This series really handles the connection between the books in the Batfamily the best. This is one of my favorite titles in the New 52.

I like several parts of the new team. Starling is a pretty interesting new character, and...more The writing in this volume is great. Duane Swierczynski maintains a very suspenseful plot throughout. Each issue is full of action. This volume establishes what I think is a new villain, and I am very interested in seeing what direction this story will go into in the future. This series really handles the connection between the books in the Batfamily the best. This is one of my favorite titles in the New 52.

I like several parts of the new team. Starling is a pretty interesting new character, and I am interested in hearing more about her. Katana is not a character that I would think of as a member of my ideal Birds of Prey team, but I have always liked her. I think this is an entirely new design for Katana, and it is one of the few redesigns that I really like. All of the characters look pretty good, actually. I don't exactly love this characterization of Poison Ivy, but this is more of an issue of preference than her being out of character. The team feels a lot like the Secret Six, which I think is a very good thing.

I was a big fan of the earlier Birds of Prey, and I feel the loss of some of the characters and history that the book previously had. Oracle was a huge part of who the Birds of Prey were, and I miss her. I am not sure if I like the writing of Dina and Barbara's relationship, especially in issue one. While I like this team, it feels much smaller than I am used to for the Birds of Prey. While it isn't necessarily relevant to a review of this volume, I am not sure if I like the membership of this team that I am expecting in the future.

The majority of the art in this volume is done by Jesus Saiz, who is amongst my favorite comic book artists. He is a great choice for drawing an all-female team. His women are drawn much more proportionately, and the art comes across as much less sexualized generally.

Their is an issue with a lack of consistency in the art. As often happens, if you like the art on the inside, you'll hate the covers, because they are in entirely different styles. Jesus Saiz is the artist for the first five issues. I did not like the first colorist, because everyone looks like there is a massive spotlight shining on them no matter what the lighting in the scene should be. After the first issue the comic has a completely different style, which does not go as well with Saiz's art, but I still like it. In issue five, Saiz is joined by Javier Pina, and the art may actually be the very best in this volume. In issue six, Pina does all of the art. The style is similar, but Saiz's work is definitely superior. Saiz returns for issue seven. That is a lot of changes, and it can take a reader out of a story, especially when the quality is not consistent.

The only major criticism I would have of this volume is that it is much better when read as single issues. Duane Swierczynski's plotting of each issue is fantastic, and each one ends with an exciting cliffhanger. The best aspect of reading them individually, other than supporting the only all-female team, is Swierczynski's handling of the usual recapping of the previous issue. Without giving away plot details, the way he reminds readers of the plot of the story is very creative and much more engaging than the usual means.(less)

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Apr 06, 2013 Crystal Starr Light rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, superhero

Probably more like a 3.5 stars.

Birds of Prey sees four female superheroes - Black Canary (Dinah), Starling (Evelyn), Katana (Tatsu), and Poison Ivy (Pam) - team up to solve a crime. It seems that someone named Choke is able to control a person's mind, turn them into anything from a silent radio to a human bomb. Occasionally Batgirl joins them to help them out.

I liked the actual characters for the most part (even if I felt that Batgirl's appearances were just to show off Batgirl, not because Batg...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Forrest rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cbr5

I came to (American) comics relatively late in life, and entirely because of Joss Whedon. I started collecting the Buffy Season 8 trade paperbacks in college, but couldn’t really get excited about trying to break into the enormous continuity clusterfuck of ether DC Comics or Marvel’s main universe. I would read a few stray issues here or there if an author I liked was guesting, but that was about it. When DC decided to do a partial reboot of their continuity it seemed like a good opportunity to...more I came to (American) comics relatively late in life, and entirely because of Joss Whedon. I started collecting the Buffy Season 8 trade paperbacks in college, but couldn’t really get excited about trying to break into the enormous continuity clusterfuck of ether DC Comics or Marvel’s main universe. I would read a few stray issues here or there if an author I liked was guesting, but that was about it. When DC decided to do a partial reboot of their continuity it seemed like a good opportunity to start seriously exploring comics. That lasted all of three weeks, but now that the first trade paperbacks from the reboot are coming out, I decided to take another stab at it.

Birds of Prey is an interesting series that walks in the shadows of some of DC’s biggest names, but has managed to stand on its own as both a concept, and as a storyline. The original concept was the pairing of a paralyzed former Batgirl, now called Oracle, and the impulsive Black Canary taking on organized crime in the city of Gotham. The team grew over the years, but at the core of the series was the conflict between the headstrong Black Canary and the cautious and organized Oracle. The reboot undid Oracle’s paralysis, and made Black Canary the team leader in charge of a new batch of unknowns, including the mentally unstable Katana and the former bio-terrorist Poison Ivy.

The story is much more of a mystery than a typical comic book plot. The main opponents of the first story arc are a team of stealth-suited ninjas with a penchant for subliminal mind control and bio-weaponry. The lack of a highly visible arch-villain lends an air of seriousness to the story and helps ground the superhuman action moments. Not that I would qualify the book as realistic by any stretch of the imagination, but there are elements that shift the series away from the fantastic scale of many modern comics.

The strongest aspect of this iteration of Birds of Prey lies in the interpersonal conflict within the team. While Black Canary is primarily interested in justice, the same can’t really be said of the rest of the team. Starling, a baseline human with a background in espionage and wetwork, is definitely a good guy but isn’t afraid to cross a line or two to achieve her ends. Katana is a vigilante with a very bloody past, just wrapping up a year-long murder spree targeting Yakuza leaders. And everyone can agree that Poison Ivy isn’t trustworthy in the slightest. This dynamic can feel a bit overplayed at times, particularly because it is compounded with an insidious mind control plot that may or may not be affecting the entire team, but I think it helps more than it hurts.

Another major selling point is the skilled use of these strong female characters. DC Comics has taken a lot of criticism for their use of female characters in a large number of the New 52 reboot series. And Birds of Prey didn’t dodge that bullet entirely. However, for the most part, the cast is written with a lot of style and grace. They feel like women, not like pin-ups. There are definitely some aspects of these ‘femmes fatales’ that are sexualized more than they need to be, but with the exception of Starling’s ridiculous corset number, the book takes a much more mature approach to women than a lot of the DC reboots do.

And there’s definitely a strong story at work here. With the exception of major crossover events, most comics wrap up storylines in 4-6 issues. In Trouble in Mind, a seven-issue run, we barely get one layer off the onion. Some of that is due to space taken up by team arguments, but this opening storyline was clearly intended to be a long term mystery with a lot at stake for both the heroes, and the victims. Swierczynski’s background in mystery writing is serving the series very well, and giving the reader something a little different than the standard Hero vs. Villain mentality. The Birds of Prey title has historically had a more ‘shades of grey’ approach to superheroics, and that aspect is still critical to the series’ feel.

Birds of Prey is definitely worth a read if you’re already into comics. If you’re not, or just have a passing interest in the medium, there’s still a lot here to like. While it’s no Watchmen, there is a surprising amount of depth for a mainstream imprint. I’ll definitely be sticking around for at least the second trade paperback, if only to find out why Poison Ivy is playing the part of good guy.(less)

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Oct 01, 2012 Danie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc_comics

From the beginning this version of the Birds of Prey is slightly different than the pre-New 52 ones. It's much more about taking the heroes and the villains who are in the grey and pointing them (mostly) towards the greater good (sorta). Not to mention, it's started by Dinah Lance, Black Canary, and she's the one who asks Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) to pitch in here and there.

I was happy to see that the writers kept the friendship between Batgirl and Black Canary there. That was one of my favorite...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Timothy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-reviewed-in-2013

The Birds of Prey are a crime-fighting team in the DC Universe, that is made up of female super-heroes. Though this was an editorial decision for the team's titular comic book, it was never an exact goal of the characters to make it an “all-girl” team in the comics. It is merely how things keep turning out.

The reasoning for the “all-girl” construction of the team in the continuity of the post-Flashpoint “new 52” reboot of the the DC Universe, is one of absolute necessity. As Birds of Prey, Vol....more The Birds of Prey are a crime-fighting team in the DC Universe, that is made up of female super-heroes. Though this was an editorial decision for the team's titular comic book, it was never an exact goal of the characters to make it an “all-girl” team in the comics. It is merely how things keep turning out.

The reasoning for the “all-girl” construction of the team in the continuity of the post-Flashpoint “new 52” reboot of the the DC Universe, is one of absolute necessity. As Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind begins, Black Canary is seeking to use her abilities for good, and she is unable to go to many people given her status as an (I presume) falsely accused murderer. She must go to those she can trust, which happens to be her best female friends or contacts. Though we know she has male contacts she can trust, so this makes little sense in a way, but okay, sure.

The first member of her team we meet is a woman named Evelyn, or Ev, for short. Her code-name is Starling, and she is a brand new character created for this new series. Her attitude, actions, and comportment absolutely screams “military background”. And she is probably nearly on par with Canary in terms of fighting skills.

The second member of the team is Katana, who is one of the foremost martial artists of the DC Universe, and a valuable member of the team. Of course, this value needs to be taken into account with the fact that she thinks her murdered husband's soul is trapped in her sword's blade and speaking to her....

The team is rounded out by eco-terrorist and mass-murderer Poison Ivy (whom, in an unbelievably stupid delusion, Canary thinks she can control somehow) and Batgirl Barbara Gordon. Batgirl wants nothing to do with the team, as she has her own issues to deal with (having regained the use of her legs recently after a three-year paralysis), and Poison Ivy seems to be in this more out of amusement than anything else.

The first story arc was quite good, and in fact was better than most of the initial story arcs post-reboot that I have read. It was a real page-turner with a pretty decent mystery, and some good character development, and the promise of more of the above still to come. I was a tad bummed that the first arc seemed to end on a downer, but I hear that the team bounces back in the next volume, so I'm looking forward to that.

There were some problems I had, but more with the unanswered questions and lack of logic to the series on some points. For those who snark that this is a comic book, so what? You can still have internal consistency in a comic story.

The two main problems on this score are Canary's reasoning in bringing the team together, and putting Ivy on the team. Is this the first time there was such a team? Or is this a new team based on an old one? If the latter, it makes sense for her to start a new one, but if the former, then why start a team? Hopefully when Canary's new back story is explained more, we'll find some answers. Secondly, why Poison Ivy? Just why? I mean, the whole “needs to interrogate without killing” thing could easily be done by the sorceress Zatanna, or other characters in the DC Universe. If her relationship with the members of the Bat-family is any indication, it's not like she can't find a fellow super-hero to trust her that could do Ivy's job. It just seems that the reasoning behind the formation of the team and the inclusion of Ivy is really weak, and I hope this is addressed in future issues.

This is one of my favorites titles with the new 52 in DC Comics, despite these weak points. What's more, some of the overt sexualization of the female characters pre-reboot was toned down, and the costumes aren't at the insanely “stripperific” levels of yore. Though they are still drawn to be improbably beautiful, they also come across as believable, dynamic female characters, and not just eye candy. Definitely a comic worth checking out.(less)

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Oct 14, 2012 John Hansen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Of all the titles that got a relaunch with DC Comics' "New 52," I had some concerns about Birds of Prey, a title which prior to the reboot was so closely associated with Gail Simone.

This time writing duties are handled by Duane Swierczynski who gives us an updated Black Canary and Poison Ivy, as well as a new character named Starling, and an updated Katana who has a wicked look and sword that contains the spirit of her murdered husband.

I do love super teams with members who are wanted by the la...more

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Dec 08, 2012 ***Dave Hill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: illustrated

One of the few bright spots of DC's New 52 is this title. I liked the previous BoP, but the new one is just as good, and the maze of mind games, friendship, craziness, and "you won't know who to trust" in this volume demonstrates why.

Black Canary, wanted for murder. Starling (a great new character), the master strategist, driver, and shooter. Katana, crazy lady whose husband's soul lies within her blade. Poison Ivy, plant elemental and super-villain. Together ... they fight crime! And try to wa...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Cale rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the best Birds of Prey I've read that wasn't written by Gail Simone. I didn't even miss Babs in her Oracle role, which is shocking because Oracle was one of my favorite comic characters. But the presence of new character Starling (taking over the role that used to be Lady Blackhawk's) made for a very fun dynamic, and the use of Poison Ivy (in appropriate attire for once, too) and Katana made for very enjoyable action and banter. The villain was relatively creative, and worked well as a f...more

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Oct 14, 2012 SugarRay Dodge rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but wow. Great story! Great characters! Great art! While female empowerment element is subtle, its definitely there, which is great because it gives girls a reason to be interested in super heroes and it doesn't turn off the male audience like say... The Craft or The Shining. The Shining had WAY TOO MUCH girl power stuff in it, man. I mean SHEESH! Seriously, this is an awesome book. Its engaging on a lot of different levels, but the...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Maureen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-comics, comics, superhero

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. While I miss Gail Simone's writing, Huntress, Blackhawk, and (most of all) Oracle, there is still much to love about Birds of Prey. The writing may not be Simone-level, but it is still above average. Swierczynski excels at action and each of the main characters has a distinct, complex personality, and their different motivations provide as much narrative interest as the antagonist. I struggled with Black Canary at first, since she is both like-and unlike-...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Jeffrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, library-copy, new-52, super-hero

Usually these mystery stories are fairly straightforward, and I figure out who the mastermind is without any trouble. Not so this time, and I enjoyed playing the guessing game. Granted, my wife would probably have figured it out a LOT faster, but she wasn't the one reading this story. :)

The writer of this book is doing a great job on the story, and blending together a diverse cast of characters like this is a very interesting experiment that I think is going very well. I am very curious to see h...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I have read some Birds of Prey in the past and wasn't all that impressed, so I wasn't expecting much from this volume, even if it is a reboot. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book! This volume does a good job of introducing each of the characters and how they fit into this new ragtag team of outcasts. I'm not saying it's the best comic out there, but I found it to be surprisingly good.

[I received this book free through the goodreads.com giveaway program but I was no...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, graphic-novels, read-in-2012

Bear in mind that I'm new to Birds of Prey, so I have no idea how Trouble in Mind compares with older titles.
Once again, this doesn't seem like much of a reboot due to the feeling that this is an ongoing continuation of older stories. Maybe it's not, but certainly didn't have an origin story feel to it.
For a newbie like me, I would've liked to have known a little more about each of the Birds, and why they decided to start the team to begin with. However, I still thought the story was very entert...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Sam Quixote rated it 3 of 5 stars

Black Canary, EV Starling, Katana, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl join forces to defeat a villain, Choke, who controls people through nursery rhymes implanted in their heads. But it seems almost anyone can fall under the power of Choke’s words… even the Birds of Prey.

“Trouble in Mind” has a lot of cool action, the characters have some nice dialogue, and the mystery of Choke was interesting, as were his murky goals. That “Birds of Prey” has killers on the squad adds a nice edge to the stories as more t...more Black Canary, EV Starling, Katana, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl join forces to defeat a villain, Choke, who controls people through nursery rhymes implanted in their heads. But it seems almost anyone can fall under the power of Choke’s words… even the Birds of Prey.

“Trouble in Mind” has a lot of cool action, the characters have some nice dialogue, and the mystery of Choke was interesting, as were his murky goals. That “Birds of Prey” has killers on the squad adds a nice edge to the stories as more than one of them is likely to lose it and do something extreme and very un-heroic. The art is serviceable though Jesus Saiz made the strange choice of adding red on the tips of every character’s nose making it seem like they all have colds.

The book was great fun but if you’re new to “Birds of Prey” (like me), a lot of questions will pop up for you that won’t go answered. And it’s frustrating – this is supposed to be a reboot, why skip over some very basic questions to draw the reader in? I read another superhero team up in the “New 52” recently - “Suicide Squad” - and it was established pretty quickly that this odd collection of characters were forced to work together because of bombs implanted inside them – any disobedience and it’s goodbye Chinatown. Reading “Birds of Prey” I didn’t know why any of them would work together or why. Poison Ivy- really?

This is another example of the New 52 not being a reboot of the series but a continuation of a series already in progress, mislabelling this book as “Volume 1”. Black Canary is wanted for murder – but we never see the murder nor is there an explanation. More importantly, why has Black Canary started this vigilante group in the first place? What are their goals and purpose? Why do such disparate individuals like Katana and Poison Ivy even want to work in a team? The writer, Duane Swierczynski, gives the lamest explanation for why Katana joined, but the others? Doesn’t even try. So reading this I had no clue why this group were together or why Black Canary chose each person to start with. I recognised some of the characters because I’m a big Batman fan but I have no idea who EV Starling or Katana are. The absence of any backstory to any of the characters left me with an overall impression of constant arbitrariness.

“Trouble in Mind” is not a bad book but it is definitely unsatisfying from the perspective of someone coming to this series for the first time. There are too many questions that any first book in a series ought to be addressing rather than ignoring and rolling right ahead – it makes everything that follows much less involving for the reader. It’s exciting and fun but I expect old readers of this series will get more out of it than new ones. (less)

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Dec 27, 2012 David Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

Swierczynski's written some terrific novels but his comic book work to date has been awful. Here though, he's redeemed himself quite nicely. Perfectly written mystery and very enjoyable. The artist does a fine job. The only distraction is the terrible costume designs for the heroes. I hate them. Completely. On every character. Who in their right mind would take Black Canary out of her classic fish net stockings and black jacket? What's with the shoulder pads... it's not 1980!

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Oct 10, 2012 Jordan rated it 3 of 5 stars

So, Birds of Prey without Oracle is kind of weird, but I'm willing to give it a shot. The team is interesting enough, almost got a Secret Six feeling with the band of misfits thing they've got going on. I like the current story as well with the super-paranoia mind control stuff and trying to figure out who can actually be trusted and who is a sleeper agent and doesn't even know it. I'm hoping future volumes expand on why exactly everyone is on this team.

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Jan 03, 2013 Liam Jennings rated it 4 of 5 stars

Huge surprise! From the writer of Severance Package and the Wheelman brings the oddball super heroine team up to date with the DC universe. For a comic always known for its barebones storytelling and scantily clad leads, Birds of prey is incredibly clever and it's team now intriguing as they are a force to be reckoned with. Duane Swiersczynzki brought his A game here and should be applauded putting a brave spin on a tired universe.

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Apr 01, 2013 Shannon Appelcline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, comics-dc

As with most of the New 52, the story in this volume is too decompressed, just continuing on and on. However, that’s my only major complaint with the volume.

Swierczynski has put together a good team of “Birds” here, and he does a great job of characterizing them as interesting individuals. Beyond that his somewhat noir and somewhat espionage adventure really seems to play to his strengths, resulting in a fun story.

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Feb 19, 2013 Kendra Healy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-comics, ladies-being-awesome

Super-fun and engaging, if a bit confusing at times. It's hard to give a fair review, considering the book ends mid-plot, but I love nearly ever iteration of Dinah Lance, and this one is no exception. Indeed, nearly all the characters are vivid and engaging, the story has plenty of action and twists, and the art is clean and attractive, even if the coloring is baffling inconsistent.

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Mar 12, 2013 Sesana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, superhumans

Mixed feelings here. On one hand, Birds of Prey is a fun action comic. On the other, it's ultimately a little shallow. There are questions that are left unanswered here, but it's done in such a way that leads me to believe that the writer didn't know the answers at the time. The characters have interesting enough personalities (Starling is likely to be the breakout star of the book) but act in sometimes inconsistent ways. For example, Dinah seems to be just fine with killing... except for when s...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Chris Witt rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are 3 DC titles I've been following since the launch of the New 52 and this is probably my favorite. It's like a good bag of potato chips - hard to put down. I could go through a dozen issues in one sitting, I think. Well done. Good team-oriented writing, but also good individual characters and story-lines. Thumbs up.

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Jul 27, 2012 Usman Ahmed rated it 3 of 5 stars

The characterization was great, I particularly liked Starling and Katana. However, there was a lot of pacing issues in this volume, and the story did get too complicated as it went further along. Having Poison Ivy on the team was a great move, it makes you wonder what her aims are, and that is revealed in later issues.

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May 13, 2013 William rated it 4 of 5 stars

First volume of the New 52 version of the Birds of Prey. A good start establishes the new team in the post-reboot universe, a team whose dynamics are more than a little unusual, what with including someone the reader is used to seeing as a villain. I still don't see much of a point to the reboot, however.

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Apr 09, 2013 Mike Klein rated it 3 of 5 stars

The deal about this book is that the story is pretty good,it might not be Duane Swierczynski's best but it still pretty good. The art is also fine, nothing spectacular, but certainly up to modern comic standards. The problem is that they really don't support each other. A really good graphic novel needs both art and words to carry the story, and this book doesn't need the art.

It is a fine read, just not a great one.

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Oct 11, 2012 Jessie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-compilations

I wanted to like this book. An all-girls superhero crew? What could be better? But I was just never drawn in. It wasn't bad, but nothing captured my attention. It's one title that I might have liked more if I had more back story. We'll see. I'll read more and reserve my judgment.

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title link	preview: Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind
avg rating	preview: Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind Goodreads rating: 3.66 (501 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13532148-birds-of-prey-vol-1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344370854l/13532148.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13532148-birds-of-prey-vol-1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind by Duane Swierczynski[/url]

Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind (Birds of Prey III #1)

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