Batgirl #36 - A Review

It's been a stressful week for Barbara Gordon. Bad enough that her home-life has been upended thanks to the presence of a vengeful Dinah Lance (Hell hath no furry like the former best friend whose home you accidentally burned down) and her thesis was endangered thanks to a fragged hard-drive. Now there's a gang of wannabe ninjas on motorcycles who have it out for Batgirl!


Batgirl #36 continues the bold new direction that began in the previous issue.  And yet, despite the changes, the new creative team has fashioned a book that seems like it belongs among the classic comics of yesteryear.  Much like the early issues of Amazing Spider-Man were just as much about Peter Parker's life out of costume as they were about Spider-Man fighting the villain-of-the-month, so too is this book about Barbara Gordon as both a doctoral student and a vigilante.




The artwork by Babs Tarr and Cameron Stewart is perfectly suited to this story.  The layout of this issue is reminiscent of many slice-of-life manga, with an irregular grid structure to the panels.  The action sequences of the book continue this aesthetic, with elongated figures and speed lines.