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The Birds track another under-the-radar vigilante, this time in a rural Kansas community where the “spirit of vengeance” stalks the unpunished for their crimes. Called Harvest by the local townspeople, this eerie creature murders her victims and accelerates their corpses’ dessication and decay.

The book opens with Harvest’s most recent killing, which draws the Birds of Prey to investigate. Barbara sends Black Canary and Huntress into the town to stir up the townspeople into telling them about their resident vigilante. The Birds’ new pilot, Zinda—AKA Lady Blackhawk—tags along to a local bar. It isn’t long before Canary and Huntress anger the locals, the sheriff and Harvest herself.

Gail Simone continues to impress with her intricate, swiftly moving plot, making the often used trope of an urban/regional legend coming to life surprisingly fresh. Simone again emphasizes the deepening relationships between Black Canary, Huntress and Oracle, and even gives Zinda an important and highly amusing supporting role. Huntress and Canary are becoming a team, but Simone knows these characters well enough to write to their respective strengths and differing personalities. She also draws a contrast between Huntress’ and Canary’s greater affinity for one another with Barbara’s increasing tendency to go her own way, an entirely plausible turn of events that might have a deep impact on the team as a whole.

This issue’s art from guest penciller Tom Derenick is this book’s one detraction. In several panels the characters’ proportions appear distorted, and throughout the book the art seems sketchy—which is especially noticeable in contrast to regular artist Ed Benes’ own strong line work.

From a craft standpoint, Simone manages to incorporate enough meaningful exposition in the first three pages to satisfy the reader while keeping the story moving. And if the coming confrontation with Harvest wasn’t enough to get readers to pick up #78 in January, Simone piques greater interest by granting just enough glimpses of Barbara for readers to wonder what she’s up to while the rest of the team is fleeing the town.