One of the most overused phrases in modern media is “In this (issue, episode, etc.) everything changes.”  It is often applied when some small corner of a comic is changed.  For instance, with Birds Of Prey, you could argue that the final Gail Simone issue from the first volume (issue 100) is where “everything changes”.  Simone employed the Daredevil Handoff ™ by completely changing the lineup of the team in her final issue.  But while the team changed, and while McKeever wrote a few wonderful stories, the core of the book was pretty much the same: Oracle has a team of mostly female agents out fighting crime because they believe it’s the right thing to do.

In this issue, the team’s methods and motivations fundamentally change.  Oh, sure, the cover says this is only issue two, which is a bit early in a series for the whole “everything changes” banner, but the renumbering seems almost Marvely.  We went about a year without a BoP book, but it restarted with, arguably, its most popular writer popping back in as if she’d only gone out for a snack (which she then Twittered about, four thousand times).

In addition to the motivation changes, and new direction, there’s even some rather shocking death in this issue, where “everything changes”.  And they don’t even mention it on the cover.

One of the main things that intrigues me about this book, though, is the Brightest Day banner.  There is nothing Bright about this book.  Like her Secret Six title, Simone is taking her characters to some very dark places, showing us sides of characters that we either haven’t seen, or haven’t seen in a while.

I really hope that this isn’t a balk, and that Simone explores many of the possibilities she’s opened up in this issue.