Birds of Prey #123 - DC

I love this book. It's one of my favorite team books out there. I think what I like about it is that it doesn't follow the traditional team-book formula. The core team is Babs, Huntress and Zindy. But then there's a half-dozen or so other characters that rotate in and out of the line-up, depending on the needs of the current operation. This issue, they include Misfit and Infinity, the new rather ambiguous character that Babs made the other team-members aware of last issue, and . . the Calculator. They need his help because there's information he's been withholding from them that he knows about the Silicon Syndicate. So, for this issue, and maybe the next one or 2, they're going to have to accept the help of a strange bedfellow. Their words . . not mine. Oh yeah, and what about the Joker. Well, he goes in to the building and confronts Babs, but . . . he doesn't remember who she is. She ends up convincing him that her only involvement is that she heard some motorcycles and found a Blackhawk jacket back in her alley. He appreciates her moxy . . she doesn't appear scared of him, which impress' him . . plus the arrival of actual police officers . . so he departs without any damage. However, at the end of the issue, as the Joker is driving to the airport . . that's where the Calculator has taken the team . . it dawns on him . . . "Hold the phone! Gordon's little girl. Right in front of me, and I didn't even recognize her?! I wonder what postage is on a severed head to Gotham?" So next issue, apparently, will be their actual confrontation. I do have one question though, is the Calculator working with the team, or with the Syndicate? The Birds think that he's offering to give up to the Syndicate, but when he lets them know that he's at the airport they immediately respond in force. "The Calculator has delivered our enemies. Converge on Hilby airfield. Bring all available back-up. I will engage them until you arrive. Failure to comply, and you forfeit Syndicate membership." Oh, and in case your wondering, when the team confronts the Calculator, they convince him that Infinity is actually Oracle. I like what Tony Bedard is currently doing with this title. I like the way that he's handling the characters and the story-lines. Michael O'Hare appears to be the new artist. His stuff is good, but I don't think his inker is doing him any favors. He's using a lot of heavy lines and shadows, and it kind of seems to be bogging down the work. I guess I just don't like the look that he's given the Joker. Anyways, I just think his stuff could be really good with the right inker. And of course we have another fantastic Stephane Roux cover.