Batgirl #49 - A Review

With Barbara Gordon's mind shattered in the wake of The Fugue's psychic assault, it will take a miracle to bring her back at all, much less as the woman she once was. Luckily, Frankie still has the digital back-up that Barbara made of her mind - the same one that took on a life of its own and became a hostile artificial intelligence. But even if Frankie can keep Babs' wandering mind under control, can it still be used to determine which parts of Barbara's memories are real?

This issue utilizes its multiple artists to marvelous effect. Having different artists with vastly varied styles draw the various aspects of Barbara Gordon's mind visually symbolizes the conflict of the issue perfectly. The final effect crafts a perfectly jarring counterpoint to the text of the story.


Unfortunately, the actual text of the story is still something of a mess. And while Fletcher and Stewart have finally given one of Barbara's supporting cast a distinct personality, it seems that Frankie has been given the personality of the pre-New 52 Oracle-era Barbara Gordon. And making me think of better Barbara Gordon comics while reading this one is never a good idea.

At this point, I am content to write off any incongruity I've noticed in this series regarding Batgirl's personality as being due to the manipulations of The Fuege. To that end, I'm dropping this title immediately and hoping someone else is writing the Batgirl books post-Rebirth.

Batgirl #48 - A Review

Barbara Gordon's perfect memory is failing her and her friends have reported her acting strangely. This happened once before when an artificial intelligence born of Barbara's rage following her paralysis tried to take over her life. Could it have returned? Barbara's going to need some help figuring it out and there's only one person who can match her when it comes to solving mysteries and kicking butt - Black Canary!


I wish Batgirl was written like this on a more frequent basis. There's not a lot of chaff in Fletcher and Stewart's script this time around. And I'm in favor of anything that helps to explain away Barbara's out of character behavior.


Alas, it seems that this month it is the artwork's turn to be uneven. With two different artists working breakdowns and two colorists, there's not a lot of uniformity. None of it looks bad, persay, but the sudden shifts between Tarr's sketchy breakdowns and Rob Haynes thicker inks coupled with the brighter palette used by Lapointe conflicting with the more neutral one favored by Loughridge make it hard for the book to maintain a consistent visual tone.

Batgirl #47 - A Review

Someone is illegally using Barbara Gordon's research and all signs point to the GCPD. When asking her father for information doesn't pan out, Barbara recruits the other mystery women who protect Gotham City to pull a daring heist on the police department's network. Yet the answers Babs seeks may lead to more questions...

The best thing about last month's issue was its inclusion of The Spoiler. The addition of Bluebird and focus on the heist aspect of the story offers an additional enhancement of the book. I wish we had more high-action issues like this one, finding them infinitely more entertaining than the endless scenes involving Barbara's roommate drama or her relationship with Lucius Fox's son.
Regular artist Babs Tarr is replaced by two artists this month. Eleonora Carlini - most recently seen on Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor - proves capable of matching Tarr in terms of quality.  Moritat, on the other hand, appears to be trying to ape Tarr's style, crafting sloppy artwork that is serviceable but ultimately forgettable.

Batgirl #46 - A Review

Gangs are becoming an increasing problem in Burnside - both because of how they're forcibly recruiting young men and in how they're trying to force the working poor out of their homes. It's a problem Barbara Gordon tries to tackle both as an activist and as Batgirl, but tonight she has more immediate problems. One of the mobs has put a hit out on The Spoiler and the more inexperienced heroine is in need of a rescue.
I can't say enough about the phenomenal Babs Tarr's artwork. Tarr has an amazing grasp of action and her work is full of personality and the colors of Serge Lapointe build perfectly upon her foundation. This is one of the best-looking books on the market today.
Alas, the script this month doesn't quite live up to the visuals. It's fortunate that Tarr's artwork has personality because the supporting cast doesn't. Even Batgirl herself has been reduced to a generic strong female protagonist. There's none of the wit or humor from when Gail Simone was writing the series.

Batgirl #45 - A Review

It's Wedding Day for Babs' best friend Alysia and she's totally rocking the Maid of Honor duties, solving all the last minute problems from sudden dress stains to lost earrings with ease. It's going to be a magical day and the best part is finally getting some time with Luke Fox, her new maybe-boyfriend. Unfortunately, this is the moment Dick "Wait, aren't you dead?" Grayson chooses to come back into her life... and steals the wedding ring to lure Babs into a talk about where they stand!


Your enjoyment of this issue will come down to one simple question - how do you feel about Dick Grayson being written as an unreformed Flynn Rider? I'll admit to not having read Grayson or much of the earlier Nightwing book, but was a decision made at some point that Dick should live up to his name in the New 52 universe? Because I can't believe that the character who was always Batman with sensitivity training would be as thoughtless as he is in this issue.


At least the artwork by Babs Tarr continues to be amazing. Her characters are cute yet sporty and the issue's one action sequence is very well blocked. And the colors by Serge Lapointe perfectly enhance Tarr's pencils and inks.

Batgirl #44 - A Review

The good news is that Batgirl has found the person responsible for killing several freelance techies and framing other people for the murders. The bad news is that the guilty party is an aspiring super-villain called The Velvet Tiger. And she's just as tech-savvy as Babs and armed with the tools needed to neutralize all of Batgirl's wonderful toys!


Brendan Fletcher and Cameron Stewart are to be commended for trying to expand Batgirl's rogues gallery as much as they've expanded her supporting cast of friends. A hero needs good villains to be effective and the revamped Velvet Tiger is shaping up to be a worthy arch-enemy for Batgirl. Ignoring the animal motifs, VT is just as smart as Babs and a dark mirror of what an evil Barbara Gordon might be like. Hopefully she'll be back for more fun in the future.


Am I the only one amused that Bengal is the guest artist on the same issue of Batgirl that introduces a tiger-themed villain?  Probably so. But Bengal proves a worthy substitute for regular artist Babs Tarr and the artwork for this issue looks amazing.

Batgirl #43 - A Review

Techies all around Gotham's Burnside district are dying from tiger attacks.  Even by the standards of Gotham City, this is a strange case. Unfortunately, between helping her ex-roommate plan her wedding and stopping her current roommate from taking to the streets to assist in Batgirl's crime-fighting, Barbara Gordon already has her hands full!


I enjoy Babs Tarr's art style. It reminds me of Bruce Timm's designs for the classic Batman: The Animated Series for all the right reasons while also maintaining an aesthetic that would not look out of place in a Shojo manga. Yet I have to praise her more than usual for her tigers, which are more realistic than I expected yet somehow blend in perfectly with the cartoonish people.


The story by Brenden Fletcher and Cameron Stewart is a hoot. We've seen this broad story before - the hero has difficulty balancing friends, work and heroism in the face of a case only they can solve. Yet despite the trope-filled plot, the execution is handled very well and the sheer absurdity of the concept of techies being assassinated by tigers does much to mitigate any sense of familiarity.

Batgirl #42 - A Review

The good news for Batgirl is that the new Batman - who is secretly her father, Jim Gordon - is trying to dodge his orders to bring in the rest of Gotham City's vigilantes. The bad news is that he's also after Livewire - an electricity manipulating metahuman who can easily overcome the defenses of his power armor.  Can Batgirl help him ground Livewire without blowing Batman's cover or her own secret identity?!

I was skeptical about the idea of Jim Gordon as a police-backed Batman... and I still am. But the script for this issue, by Brenden Fletcher and Cameron Stewart, makes the idea work by playing off the sheer absurdity of Barbara's position in having to help her father while not revealing herself. And it's nice to see Livewire - a favorite from the Batman/Superman Animated Series - being given new life and an update from her shock-jock DJ origins as a YouTube sensation.


The artwork for this issue is, in a word, phenomenal. This may be Babs Tarr's best issue yet, which is saying a lot. There's a great sense of motion in this issue and the battles between Batgirl and Livewire are particularly well blocked. And the colors by Serge Lapointe are incredibly vivid and well-chosen.

Batgirl #41 - A Review

Things have gotten complicated in Barbara Gordon's life. Even more complicated than usual and that's saying something! Her roommate has been clued in on her secret identity and is determined to help Babs with her Batgirl work whether she wants it or not.

Of course Batgirl could use the help with an escaped super-villain from Metropolis called Live Wire on the loose in Burnside. But there's a new Batman, backed by the GCPD, who is working to bring down every masked hero in Gotham City. And the man behind the mech-suit is Barbara's father!


Stewart and Fletcher are to be commended for using this issue to immediately address the elephant in the room post-Batman #41  -  how does Barbara react to her father revealing that he too has a double life? While the very idea of Jim Gordon in power armor as Batman was enough to lead me to drop the current Batman book, this needed to be taken on immediately. And the issue is well-handled despite my fear that we're going to be treated to more of the same faux-drama that dominated the end of Gail Simone's Batgirl run, vis-à-vis Jim Gordon having a mad-on for Batgirl.  Thankfully, the rest of the issue more than makes up for it and the bits with Barbara fighting Live Wire are an amazing bit of action.


The artwork proves to be equally astonishing!  Babs Tarr has made this book her own and it is hard to imagine anyone else drawing it now.  The backgrounds by Joel Gomez are well-done and the color art by Serge Lapointe rounds the final package out perfectly.

World's Finest #5 - A Review

World's Finest #5 surprised me.  Coming fresh off of Zero Month, I wasn't expecting another story that would serve as a perfect entry point for new readers.  Then again, Paul Levitz has surprised me a lot with this book so far so perhaps I should stop being surprised at being surprised.  That might be a wise crack, but I doubt it.

As in previous issues, we are given a frame story which explains the situation our heroines find themselves in while the inner stories detail their more action-packed solo adventures.  Refugees from a parallel Earth, Karen Starr and Helena Wayne have reestablished themselves in the main DC Universe as Power Girl and Huntress.  For five years, the duo have lived their separate lives, discretely doing good as their gifts allow them.  Karen dreams of finding a way home and funds several technological companies in her secret identity working toward that end, but Helena would prefer to build a new life in this new world.

George Perez, whose work should need no introduction, handles the penciling duties on the framing sequences with his customary skill.  Backed by the inks of Scott Koblish, his work has never looked finer.  The two interior stories are handled by two separate but equally skilled art teams.


The Power Girl sequences, in which Karen fights with a piece of machinery for another dimension, are illustrated by another legendary artist - Jerry Ordway.  Best known for his work with Superman and Captain Marvel (to say nothing of Crisis Of Infinite Earths!) Ordway proves the perfect choice to depict Power Girl's adventures. Ordway's figures are larger than life and seem to be poised for action even as they stand stock still.

The Huntress sequences by Wes Craig and Serge Lapointe are equally enjoyable.  A penciler with a gloriously diverse portfolio of work (I don't think any artist has worked on both Guardians of the Galaxy AND The Texas Chainsaw Massacre comic), Craig's darker sensibilities are put to good use depicting Huntress's encounter with a sniper out to cause chaos at a rally.  Lapointe's inks further help to contrast the styles of the two heroines visually.


If you aren't already reading World's Finest, this issue provides you with the perfect jump-on point.  It offers a great story with two strong female protagonists.  The variety of art presented by three skillful teams of professional creators makes this an interesting study in contrast for fans of the genre and aspiring artists alike.  But most importantly, it's just plain fun to read!