Review: Batgirl #37
[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Cecil Castellucci
Artist: Carmine Digiandomenico
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Andworld Design
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
Eager to prove himself as a guardian for the criminals of Gotham City, Killer Moth has set his sights on taking out one of Gotham’s finest heroes”¦Batgirl! Does this insect menace really stand a chance against Batman’s smartest ally? Meanwhile, after their daring escape, the Terrible Trio is on the hunt for new ways to cause trouble for Batgirl. Little do they know, Lex Luthor has already beat them to it and is about to bring Batgirl’s worst possible nightmare to life! Oracle is back online. And she’s angry.
Positives
The cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith and Jean-Francois Beaulieu is good. I like the silhouette of Killer Moth over a trapped Batgirl. It’s well drawn, sets up the basic premise of the issue and looks good.
The interior art is also good. It’s energetic and colorful. This fight between Batgirl and Killer Moth takes up a lot of the issue; the art is a big part of making it engaging.
The other thing that keeps this fight fresh is the well written dialogue and narration. Cecil Castellucci has Barbara’s voice down well. There’s a lot of good back and forth between the two. And Babs’ narration is genuinely funny and feels perfectly in character.
Additionally, I like the rising stakes of the fight. Barbara underestimates Killer Moth and he’s able to surprise her a couple of times. She also has a limited amount of resources and gadgets which is a really fun idea. We always just accept that the Bats have an unlimited number of batarangs and toys ready to go at any moment. During the fight, Babs runs out and has to remind herself to pick them up later. That’s a fun touch to the story.
Negatives
I’m not really sure why Fox and Vulture are still working together. I was genuinely surprised to see them. Vulture tried to burn Fox alive last issue and Shark died as a result. I figured he wouldn’t be too keen on getting the band back together. I’m also curious what role they’re going to play because I figured they were just going to be in that last story.
This is a tie in to the Year of the Villains thing and it does feel like a tie-in. Castellucci does a good job of making it feel fun but there are constant references to the offer and I have no idea what that means. It’s fine but I tend not to like when events take over the individual books.
Verdict
This is a really good issue. The fight between Batgirl and Killer Moth is a lot of fun with good dialogue. It’s well paced and interesting. The art is solid. I’m unsure about the motivations of Vulture and Fox but other than that, this is an enjoyable issue.
