Birds of Prey #1 Variant

I discovered this weekend just how much I enjoy cycling when the weather is good - I discovered this while is was out when the weather was bad and got caught in a hail-storm while 20 miles from home on Saturday afternoon. As a result of the subsequent cold I've picked up I abandoned my plans for a weekend in the saddle in favour of a weekend catching up on my reading: a couple of collected-editions and eleven issues of Batman & Robin later ... where did the weekend go?

Anyway, onto business. DC's The Source have revealed Cliff Chiang's variant cover for the first issue of the forthcoming new series of Birds of Prey.

I've got to say I really do like this cover - it's bold, stark, very eye-catching. Although it lacks much of the warmth of the 'regular' cover from Ed Benes I think it nicely captures much of the essence of the team: they look dynamic, there's a sense of fun and a feeling of purpose.

Birds of Prey #1 is on sale 12 May 2010.

Birds of Prey #1
Written by Gail Simone, with art and cover by Ed Benes, and variant cover by Cliff Chiang
Soaring out of Brightest Day, the Birds are back in town! Because you demanded it, fan-favorites Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Secret Six) and Ed Benes (Justice League, Green Lantern) reunite to reinvent the book where they made their explosive debut as a team. Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress and Lady Blackhawk all return to Gotham City where they belong – and they've brought a couple of new friends (or are they foes?) along with them!

Guest-starring a major Bat-villain and the first appearance of the most dangerous, most twisted new Birds villain ever!

DC Universe, 32 pages, colour $2.99

Gail Simone was interviewed by Newsarama recently while at C2E2 and she spoke at length about Birds of Prey and her work on Wonder Woman.