Birds of Prey #7 (DC - Simone / Syaf / Cifuentes/ Lau)

One of Oracle’s fiercest enemies finds her alone and far from her allies and safe houses – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg as Batman returns! Rising star artist Ardian Syaf (BRIGHEST DAY) makes his BIRDS OF PREY debut in a story you must not miss, which we’re calling “The Death of Oracle”!

I’m not going to lie to you. A piece of me squealed like a twisted little fangirl when I laid eyes on the cover art for this issue. Coming off a stellar January, #7 continues the trend with the return of Batman and the introduction of a new, unnamed baddie (whom I have dubbed, “Veiled Creepy Chick”) in the first part of a four-issue arc. The story here involves a lot of setup for events to come, with one decent fight scene along the way. Gail Simone has a writing style that always seems to just work, and even though the plot moves a little slow, her knack for dialogue more than makes up for it.

Grade: B+

Bottom line: A well-written setup issue that gets bonus points for Batman. The revolving set of art talent is a little bit distracting, but looks great.