Birds of Prey #9 is out today, but things are already looking forward for the Birds and how their team will survive each other. Comic Book Resources talked with Duane Swierczynski about what is coming up in Birds of Prey.
CBR: In the book, you've wrapped up Choke, and going out of "Night Of The Owls" we have Poison Ivy heading to the Amazon, as well as the agency from issue #8 trying to literally burn Black Canary. While these current issues have been Black Canary-heavy, it seems the next arc is Poison Ivy-heavy. Will you be delving more into Ivy's back story, wrapping up the Kurt and Dinah threads?
Duane Swierczynski: Well, there is a major Poison Ivy story coming right after the Night of the Owls-based issue #9. The Kurt and Dinah stuff, there will be more track laid for that train, but that won't really reach its peak until a few issues down the road. This is a Poison Ivy-centric storyline, as you'll see.
CBR: One of the biggest themes in the book is trust, and with the Choke storyline, we've seen the team's trust erode as Katana and Ivy are becoming murdering loose cannons and Black Canary and Starling's relationship is more and more strained. At this point, what keeps the Birds running?
Duane Swierczynski: I'd say it's Black Canary's moral center. I think she's had things she's sorry about, things she wishes had gone differently, but at her core she wants to help. She wants to do good in the world; that's always guided her. She's had this setback, which we'll learn more about, and she's had this big tragedy in her life, but she is still determined to do good. And when someone's determined to be a force of good in the world, even when they have every temptation to turn to the other side, to be tempted by other forces, it's a fun character to follow. I think she is the guiding force for the Birds. I guess the big question is, who can she trust in the coming months to support her or go along with that mission of doing good? Everyone has dirty laundry; it isn't the "Saints Of Prey" for a good reason!
CBR: Then let's talk about the actual story in the next arc. What can you tell us about the plot and the team moving forward?
Duane Swierczynski: At the end of their encounter with the Talons from the 1840s, Poison Ivy saves the day; she's the only one strong enough to pull this Talon into a meat locker in a train car and really neutralize him. We learn early on that Black Canary promised Poison Ivy, if anything went wrong, she would take her back to the Amazon, the heart of the Green, and help her rejuvenate. That's a pivotal thing, that promise. That's Black Canary's MO. She'll honor her promises. She wants to do good. But that may not be the best thing for the team coming into next issue. The trust thing is big; that's a big thing, for me at least, of who can you trust, how far can you trust them. It's not as easy as Poison Ivy is a mustache-twirling bad guy — that's not the case at all. I think she has good reasons for what she does. She's not being deceitful, necessarily, but I think she's sort of casting the team in her own image and it's at odds with how Black Canary sees the team — as we'll see playing out.
For the entire interview, including talk about elements crossing into Teen Titans and other DC titles, head over to Comic Book Resources. Birds of Prey #9 is in stores today.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
