Chuck Dixon’s script for Birds of Prey #21

So the page. The panel. You know what I’m talking about. The page where Dinah and Babs meet for the first time? The one that was one of the most memorable moments in DC history?

So what did Chuck Dixon’s script for that issue say about the scene? You can read it after the jump.

There’s no date on the script, here’s what it says:

PANEL FOUR
Canary crouches and holds Oracle to her. Oracle is curled in a fetal position and dripping wet. The more drama you can squeeze from this the better. We’re going for The Pieta as opposed to anything that HINTS of the sexual. This scene is apparently RIPE for misinterpretation (or OVERinterpretation.) by some of our readers.
BARBARA: (WEAK) not Oracle…
BARBARA: (WEAK) BARBARA.
BARBARA: (WEAK) CALL ME BARBARA

Is this one of the biggest failures of communication between a writer and artist ever? Dixon’s direction is so specific and so the antithesis to how the scene is viewed it’s amazing.

And I’m confused as to how a scene be “ripe for misinterpretation” if no one has seen it? And if he was concerned about it being misinterpreted why is Guice’s final art so leaning towards innuendo? I’ve mentioned many times my love for Pieta poses. And there have been many in comics through the years. And I’ve never seen one like this:

You can down load the script here.