I was just getting to ready to rave about how much I love Birds of Prey as written by Gail Simone when I read the news that Simone is leaving the book. Then, almost as quickly, I read that Simone was set to take over Wonder Woman.

I'm going to be really sad to see Simone leave Birds of Prey. I really love the relationships she's created between the different female characters in the book. In particular, I like the back story Simone set up recently between Katrina Armstrong (Spy Smasher) and Oracle. The two women are shown as rivals going back to their college days, where they competed in everything from sports to dormroom debates, as seen in this panel from issue #103. They share the same alpha female energy, but as they mature, they express it in different ways.

There are a lot of alpha females in Birds of Prey, which is part of the reason I like it so much. I've become very fond of that big-boned gal Big Barda lately. I hope they keep her around awhile, and Manhunter, too.

Even though I'll miss reading Simone on Birds of Prey, I think it's great that she's going to be on Wonder Woman. Right now, I actually enjoy reading various comics bloggers' passionate opinions on Wonder Woman more than I like reading the comic book. I hope Simone will be able to turn the title into something I want to read consistently, instead of something I pick up now and then out of curiosity and a desire to want to read it.