DC Women Kicking …the Flu?

A chance to hear about a bunch of the ladies of DC Comics coming together was what it took for me to return to posting after a few months. Today DC Comics released Batgirl and the Birds #15 which starts a new arc “Manslaughter” which sees the DC women coming together after an outbreak of flu downs the men. I spoke with the writers, sisters Shawna and Julie Benson about what readers can expect, the return of Oracle (!) and which Bird is has a big take out bill!

I’m so excited to see DC women coming together and kicking ass in the Manslaughter arc. How did you come up with the idea of a flu that hits only the men?

We wanted a story that would allow us to bring together a lot of women in the DCU. It seemed like the best way to bring both heroes and villains together was to give them common cause. Taking out ALL of the men of Gotham felt like a way to do that. Once we landed on that idea, the rest of it clicked into place. A story like this hasn’t really been done before in DC. Sure, there are a few BoP/Sirens team-up’s and individual cross-overs, but this felt unprecedented and well overdue. To their credit, DC JUMPED on the opportunity when we pitched them the idea. We weren’t sure how they would take, “So… all the men in Gotham are sick and out of commission.” But they were down from the start.

I was super excited to see Lois Lane in this because she’s always fun when she hangs out with the Birds once every decade. Which lady or ladies were you most excited to get to write and include?

We love writing all of the characters! But we were very excited to try our hand at Gotham Girl, Batwoman, Orphan, Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman. Coming up with a way to bring Lois Lane to Gotham was a huge victory for us. We knew there weren’t many non-Gotham women we’d be able to include due to canon and availability, so getting her felt like a big win.

Anyone you wanted to include that you couldn’t?

There were so many – when you think of writing a story like this, the “ultimate female team-up” you want to have everybody – but we knew we’d have a tough job balancing the 13 or 14 we were already jamming into the issue. Supergirl would have been a lot of fun. We talked about others like Hawkgirl, Power Girl, and Barda… But again, their availability was limited to us, so we took who we could and ran with it!

One of things I’m looking forward to are the alliances between characters who don’t often get together. Are there two characters you were excited to put together.What’s the most interesting team-up that you think we’ll see?

We’ve had such fun with unlikely pairings, like Poison Ivy and Huntress. Bouncing these other women against our core Birds of Prey team was such a fun idea, so we couldn’t wait to mix them up a bit. Batwoman going toe to toe with Catwoman felt fun – especially since there’s another level of relationship there that can’t be discussed (see Tom King’s “Batman” to understand that!) Harley with everyone was exciting as was getting to play with Gotham Girl, who Tom King created and we felt was a really good fit here.

The men of Gotham seem to be handling their illness in different ways. Who were you most excited to send to their sickbed? Who is the biggest baby? (Say Bruce, it’s Bruce isn’t it?)

We definitely felt that Jim Gordon would be the worst patient ever. But Bruce probably comes a close second. He’d be the guy too stubborn to realize he’s really sick. We included Grayson because if someone was going to be a big drama queen about it, it would have to be him!

So I noticed that Barbara was back at the keyboards in this issue, with Gus gone will she start doing double duty as Oracle and Batgirl?

Yes! That’s been a slow story burn for us through the series. We wanted to get Barbara back to being Oracle, but without losing her Batgirl side. It’s an issue that causes a lot of conflict for Barbara, which for us means, great stories to tell.

You’ve been writing the Birds for 15 issues. Do you feel you have a good feel for the characters? Care to answer a few questions?

These ladies live rent-free in our heads now. We love them as if they were real people – they ARE real people, to us. They are living, breathing, heroines and we are SO LUCKY to get to hang with them every month. We have enjoyed writing every issue of this book and are excited for people to see where we are taking them. As for questions, ask away!

Which Bird spends the most on delivery food?

Dinah. We estimate she burns like 3000 calories a day, more if she’s busting out the Canary Cry. She needs to stay fueled. Tacos, pizza, kale salads, she’s open to it all.

Which Bird spends the most time on SnapChat?

Now that she knows all about those kinds of apps, Dinah, for sure.

Which Bird takes the most selfies?

Dinah. (Sensing a pattern?) Helena wouldn’t want her face too be out there on too many facial recognition apps and Barbara is probably too busy to care.

Which Bird has the most unwashed laundry?

Once again, Dinah. She kinda got used to living out of suitcases when she was on the road. Helena probably has the most drycleaning, what with her professional day job.

Thanks Julie and Shawna!

issue #15 is out today and it is a fun read; pick it up.