Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth #1

Second of the five recent comics I picked up at Newbury Comics in Braintree MA during my quick trip back to the US.

Title: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth
Issue: #1
Date: September, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Julie Benson, Shawna Benson
Artist: Claire Roe
Colorist: Allen Passalaqua
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Dave Wielgosz, Chris Conroy
Cover:Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

I had mixed feelings on the amount of time this issue devoted to origin-recapping. It's part of DC's "Rebirth", so it wasn't unexpected, and there were some insights that I thought were pretty good. But in the end, yet another retelling of the events of The Killing Joke felt unwelcome and I enjoyed this story more once I was past that part.

The story itself has Batgirl, having been operating for a while now in her return to the Batgirl identity (since the New 52), discovering that someone else has taken over the identity of Oracle, and is providing the information that Oracle used to deal in to the bad guys.

Black Canary gets recruited for the case, and Huntress soon returns, although for the moment she's not exactly acting as one of the good guys. There was also a lot of references to plot points that I wasn't familiar with as far as Huntress goes, but there was also enough direction to the main plot here that I didn't have a problem putting the backstory aside and just going with the flow.

The revelations at the end did a nice job of setting the stage for some big plot points to follow.

The book has a nice look to it, and it makes a good effort to incorporate a lot of the continuity and flavor that has been put into Batgirl over the last few years.

Rating: 6.5/10

Batgirl #40

The last of a three-issue run of Batgirl that I bought last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH. My review of the previous issue is here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 40
Date: May, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Defeating Batgirl, murdering citizens of Gotham, and unleashing weapons of mass destruction? Turns out, there's an app for that.

Barbara confronts an out-of-control AI that's imprinted with her own brain patterns, and it's decided that Gotham isn't big enough for the two of them. It's also planning on stopping crime that has yet to happen through some strategic mass murder.

This was a solid conclusion, perhaps a bit too neatly wrapped up, but still loads of fun. Barbara employs some classic Star Trek tactics against her digital likeness, and gets a hand from Canary to deal with a fleet of ill-intentioned drones.

Good fun that wraps up a bunch of loose ends, and nicely transitions into a new chapter of Batgirl's story.

Rating: 7/10

Batgirl #39

I have a small run of three Batgirl issues that I picked up last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH (they happened to have some signed issues in stock!). I reviewed the first of them (#38) here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 39
Date: April, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl discovers that a social media mob can escalate quickly, in this case turning into a good old-fashioned literal mob with torches and pitchforks (well, clubs and rolling pins anyway).

And as the world seems to be turning against her, Barbara begins to suspect that there is more going on with her internet presence than meets the eye. She's going to need help, and she's alienated the one friend best equipped to help her.

This was loaded with plot twists, some good action, a few high-five moments, and the continued really strong and diverse supporting cast. There turned out to be a lot more going on than I picked up on in the previous issue, and it all worked really well.

Looking forward to #40!

Rating: 7.5/10

Batgirl #38

I'd been hearing a lot about the new-look Batgirl, and Double Midnight Comics & Games in Manchester NH happened to have a couple of signed issues in stock.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 38
Date: March, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl has become a neighborhood social media celebrity, and Barbara Gordon is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, even if it's put her friendship with Dinah in jeopardy. And then there's her budding relationship with a young cop who has no use for Batgirl's brand of vigilante justice.

When she goes after a street-racing reality TV star, the lines begin to blur between her brand of social media attention-seeking and his, and social media has a way of being very fickle.

As mentioned, this was my first chance to read the new version of Batgirl. Like a lot of people, I like the new costume, and I enjoyed the down-to-earth low-key style of story.

Boyfriend Liam is a bit longwinded in what is a pretty standard run-through of the pro-law anti-vigilante argument, but there are also some hints that there is more to Liam than meets the eye.

The action was good, and I liked the new supporting cast. Lots of minor characters with good potential.

I'm glad I picked up three issues of this, so I'll get to follow the story a bit.

Rating: 6.5/10

 

Batgirl #27

Got an unexpected gift of a Barnes & Noble giftcard, so I headed to the mall tonight and picked up a couple of books I'd been looking at, along with a random DC comic. I thought the cover of this issue looked interesting, so, why not?

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 27
Date: March 2014
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Robert Gill
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Katie Kubert
Cover: Alex Garner

As mentioned above, this issue was pretty much a random grab. Alex Garner's cover, featuring a new, grey costume for Batgirl was gorgeous, and Gail Simone's writing is usually good, so it seemed a nice issue to check in with what's going on in the DC Universe.

Except that it turns out this issue does not take place in the DC Universe. Welcome to Gothtopia, an alternate universe in which Gotham City is the happiest and safest city in the country, and the superheroes seem to spend their time rescuing people from burning buildings when they're not saving cats stuck up trees.

Barbara Gordon patrols the streets as Bluebelle. Her sidekick (who seems to be an alternate version of Spoiler... um... I think...) is Daybreak.

It's a beautiful day, and things are about to go horribly wrong in a city where crime is almost unheard of, courtesy of one employee of the Joker Ice Cream Company who has gotten a glimpse of a Gotham that is a much darker place.

On its own, this is a pretty simple story. The real fun here is the mirror image version of Gotham. In spite of the emphasis on sunshine and happiness, the setting is still handled realistically. The cops still carry guns, and Batgirl still knows how to fight.

The interaction with the villain is intense and effective, and I also like the interplay between Bluebelle and Daybreak.

Apparently, this story continues in Detective Comics #27, although this issue stands on its own as an interesting Elseworlds-type tale.

Rating: 7.5/10

Batman And Batgirl #21

Title: Batman And Batgirl
Issue: 21
Date: August 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Penciler: Cliff Richards
Inker: Mark Irwin, Marlo Alquiza
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Darren Shan, Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz

 You might be wondering where all the previous issues of "Batman And Batgirl" are. Well, actually, they were titled "Batman And Robin". With Robin dead (again!), we're left with something of a rotating slate of guest stars getting second billing in the title.

This issue was good. Bruce Wayne is feeling angst over the loss of Damien. Barbara Gordon is trying to help, and Bruce is having none of it.

The confrontation between Bruce and Barbara at the end is good. A scene in the middle of the story involving Barbara and Jim Gordon is even better. In between, there are a couple of generic battles with jobber-thugs just to remind the reader that Batman comics have fight scenes in them. The action is all very nicely drawn, and both scenes have several levels of interaction going on beyond just the immediate putting of fists to faces.

Good, intense issue.

Rating: 7.5/10

Batgirl #4

Another DC issue for tonight. I'll be heading to Queen City Kamikaze tomorrow and to Boskone on Sunday, so I may pick up some comics to review at those shows.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

It took a few issues, but this one finally gets it right.

Opening dream sequence was effective, tying in nicely with the current ongoing plot while also filling in some background and giving insights into Barbara's emotional state.

This was followed up with a good scene between Barbara and her roommate that finally felt like a natural interaction. Then Barbara gets to win one. Okay, so it was a jobber squash of some muggers, but it was necessary. And it also featured one of the cleverest little details I've seen in a while: A batman-tracking smartphone app in use by the criminals (and it actually made pretty decent sense and even hinted at a possible future villain).

Then the final confrontation with Mirror, which saw Barbara use some downright nasty psychological tactics in a fight where she was physically outmatched.

Ending surprise came out of left field, but after a bunch of really good scenes I'm not complaining. This is the level of quality that this series really needed to start out on, but I'll definitely accept it as better late than never.

Rating: 8/10

Batgirl #3

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

This is basically split into two parts. First up, in something that was a bit reminiscent of the film Speed, Batgirl chases down a subway train carrying a bomb planted by villain Mirror. Barbara tries to out-mindgame mirror, and it works about as well as her attempts to brawl with him, which is to say, not well at all.

Unfortunately, Mirror still comes off as needing all sorts of trumped-up contrivances in order to "outsmart" Batgirl. His overly-complex plans don't actually make much sense, and they only end up working because that's how the plot needs to advance.

The whole train scene is also full of logical flaws from atrocious physics to gaping holes in the continuity. I'm still not exactly sure what happened with the trains.

The second half of the story involves Batgirl in a confrontation with Nightwing. This is a lot better, even if it falls back on some cliches in places. There is some good intensity to their relationship, and I really liked the dynamic between Barbara's need for respect and understanding and Dick's love for her. The brawling was a bit silly in that whole "whenever two superheroes meet they need to fight" sense, but there was enough emotion in the dialogue to give the scene some punch. The use of flashbacks was good too.

Looks like we're done with Mirror after next issue, which is probably about three issues longer than he needed to appear.

Rating: 5.5/10

Batgirl #2

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

As you might recall, I had some serious reservations about the new version of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl as presented in issue #1 (see my review).

This issue gives the reader a bit more of a chance to get inside Barbara's head. While I'm still not totally warmed up to vibe that they are going for here, I feel like writer Gail Simone's concept came through a lot better in this issue. Barbara Gordon came returned to her costumed identity too soon. She is skilled and talented, but out of practice, and she is paying a price for that.

Okay, I am buying into it a bit more here.

We pick up right where we left off, and we proceed directly to Babs vs. Mirror, who is quickly established as very formidable in a brawl. Batgirl may be outmatched against this guy. The running fight is a good mix of strategy and brutality. There's even a momentary comic relief bit involving a woman cab driver that actually works pretty well (these things usually don't). We can finally call the thing a close-fought draw (or possibly a saved-by-the-bell situation for Barbara), and we make the switch over to detective mode.

Oh, but first we have a couple of scenes establishing Barbara's new life.

Scene involving roommate was cringe-worthy. The tough and confident roommate takes one look at Babs' injuries and immediately assumes (quite reasonably) that Babs is a domestic violence victim. But then she backs down on the flimsiest of excuses. I think I actually would have preferred it if they'd simply gone with Babs revealing that she's Batgirl on the spot. Okay, admittedly that wouldn't have made for interesting logic, but at least it would have been a bold and different approach. This was just awkward, and it left me with the feeling that the roommate is in line to suffer a horrible fate (ironically, at the hands of the writer who was responsible for the original "Women in Refrigerators" essay). Really hoping that Simone is going to prove me wrong on this one.

We also get an introduction to Barbara's boyfriend (her physical therapist, conveniently). Decent scene. Good dialogue. Character is likeable enough. I wonder who will survive longer, him or the roommate?

Now we get the detective work. Nice little nod to tradition with Barbara doing her research in a library. This leads to an ending cliffhanger that was pretty standard fare, but should keep the pace of the story brisk to start the next issue.

This was a lot better than the first issue, but I remain unconvinced.

Rating: 6/10

Batgirl #1

More New 52 from DC. Probably the most controversial book in the new lineup.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

A villain called Mirror is going around killing people who miraculously survived deadly peril. It's a lot like those Final Destination movies except that instead of Death being after the survivors, it's just some (admittedly really dangerous) dude. He kills them by the same fate they escaped, so the lone survivor of a shipwreck gets drowned. Oh, and he's got Barbara Gordon on his list.

Speaking of which, we're rebooting Barbara Gordon.

Before I get into some of the (huge) controversy surrounding this book, let me mention that the art here was great, especially on the fight scenes, which were creative and fun. The supporting cast was solid, and I liked the villain. He's genuinely scary without being ridiculously unbelievable. Oh, and the bit where the victims that Barbara saves mistake her for Batwoman? HA! Nice!

That being said...

This comic has opened a huge can of worms that involves all sorts of issues around advocates for people with disabilities and so on. As Oracle, Barbara Gordon was something really unique. A character who lives with a paralyzing spinal injury and is still a capable superhero. The Oracle character has been consistently one of the best-written characters in DC comics over the last 20 years or so, so it's understandable that people have been a bit leery over simply giving Barbara Gordon the use of her legs back and having her go back to being Batgirl.

There was also a lot of speculation about how exactly that would be handled. Would she be healed? Would she be using some kind of bionics or other science fiction plot device? Or would they just change history so the whole shooting by the Joker never happened?

(I usually don't bother with spoiler warnings in these reviews, but what follows is pretty major...)

SPOILERS

Essentially, they took the retcon route here, but left the shooting and the ensuing paralysis in the continuity. They made it temporary. Barbara was in the wheelchair for three years, but gradually regained the use of her legs. She's back in shape (with, as she puts it "upper arm strength like a mother" after the time in the chair) and ready to return to her Batgirl gig.

Or is she? She handily takes out a group of thrillseeking home-invaders (as per the film The Strangers). But she's having doubts all the way through (thanks to convenient captions). And in her first confrontation with Mirror, she freezes up at the sight of a gun.

That was pretty much where this book lost me.

I get it. Getting shot, paralyzed for three years, unsure if you'd ever walk again, your father tortured (by the Joker, no less!). That has got to leave some serious PTSD. Makes sense.

Still, absolutely horrible idea to play up in the reboot of this character. Barbara Gordon was nothing but strength as Oracle. She was awesome because of what she overcame. And now, she's letting someone die because she freaks out? I buy it on a logical level, but my heart's not in it.

And you know what? I have some serious doubts that they'd go this route with a male character in the same set of circumstances.

I've read some great stuff by Gail Simone, and I understand that the point of this is that Barbara overcomes these issues. Got it. But like many fans, I was really dubious about the change from Oracle back to Batgirl.

This isn't the way I was hoping it would be handled. And I would guess I'm not alone in thinking that.

Big disappointment.

Rating: 4.5/10