Review: Batgirl #38
[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Cecil Castelucci
Artist: Carmine Digiandomenico
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Andworld Design
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
New series writer Cecil Castellucci continues to take Batgirl in an exciting new direction! First up—the Terrible Trio is now a quartet?! After the reawakening of Oracle, the Trio has decided to team up with her and show Gotham City what they’re really made of. Meanwhile, Batgirl has her hands full with a real pest problem; Killer Moth! Can our hero exterminate his evil plans before it’s too late?
Positives
Carmine Digiandomenico and Ivan Plascencia’s cover is great. The colors are really great; this is a cover that will really stand out on the shelves. The Batgirl logo looks really cool with the glitches and misplaced letters.
I like the interior art as well. It has the energy that I tend to enjoy from Batgirl. It’s stylistic and expressive.
I love that Batgirl made a new costume in this. While I think it could use a lot more color, it still looks so much better than the one Babs has been wearing. A proper cowl made so much difference.
I enjoyed seeing Babs’ double life. I’ve been used to her circle of friends knowing for a while so it was interesting to see have to do the secret identity thing. I like that she uses a gym as a cover for her bruises; that’s clever. It’s also fun to see Barbara so worn out at work due to her superhero activities; it’s not reinventing the wheel but so many writers avoid the wheel. I still enjoy this dynamic.
Negatives
Structurally, this issue is a little weird. The issue cuts between Babs and the Terrible Trio but the they seem to be moving at different times. It feels like the Trio just stand in that room talking to Oracle for an entire day. The pacing is weird. It throws off the momentum of the book and most of the stuff with the Trio feels like padding. I’m not even sure why they’re involved with the Oracle story.
I’m not entirely sure why Babs would want to bring Oracle back at the end other than irony. It was shut down for a reason and there are other places Babs could turn before coming to that conclusion. It feels like she says that for the sake of a dramatic ending.
Verdict
This is an okay issue. I enjoyed everything with Babs. A lot of the secret identity stuff was fun. I love that she made a new costume and the fight with Killer Moth was cool. But the Terrible Trio feel like intrusions. Every scene with them was a kind of dull and a little unnecessary. The book feels clunky as a result despite its genuinely fun moments.
