Back in the day, when WB and DC hadn’t completely abandoned the Birds of Prey, there was hope of actual merchandise the show. Not just promo poster and text book covers either, I mean real, promotional merchandise that would have been on shelves! In stores! Specifically comic book stores when it comes to the Birds of Prey tie-in comic that was in the works. DC planned a single issue comic to feature TV’s own Birds of Prey, which likely would have become an ongoing series if it sold well. I recently had the great pleasure of talking with Lysa Hawkins, who was the comic’s editor before the show’s cancellation. Lysa, who’s published credits include Birds of Prey (the original series), Batman: Gotham Knights, and Catwoman, to name only a few, very kindly not only shared the following artwork with me, but also added to my Birds of Prey collection. More on that next time though. For now, I give you the birds, as you’ve likely never seen them before…
Drawn by the incomparable Joe Prado, from what I can tell, this piece was created as a personal gift f0r Lysa. Drawn in pencil, this piece is incredibly detailed and shows the Birds as they would have appeared had the comic ever reached the rack. As usual with media tie-in art like this, the likenesses of the girls is based very much on promotional photos released by WB during the show’s run. Some interesting, artistic liberties are taken here as well, with the difference to Huntress’s choker probably the most noticeable to fans. So glad Lysa was willing to share this art, but it just makes the fact that the book was canceled all the more heartbreaking!
I hope to be able to uncover more art from this proposed issue some day and, if I’m lucky, maybe a plot synopsis at the very least. For now though, let’s all just enjoy this piece and fantasize about how great it would be if DC ever revived the show in comic form. Yeah, I’d buy that!