Written by Gail Simone
Illustrated by Ardian SyafYes, it’s really happening!
Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl — and she’s going to have to face the city’s most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past. You won’t want to miss this stunning debut issue from fan-favorite BIRDS OF PREY writer Gail Simone!
Easily one of the most controversial books amidst the various DCnU titles coming out this month, Gail Simone launched Barbara Gordon from one era of her life into another this week after leaving an indelible mark on the character during her stint as Oracle. Does it live up to the positive or negative expectations held for it? Or does it turn out to be something no one really expected?
Click after the jump to find out.
For the last 25 or so years, Barbara Gordon operated as the paraplegic one woman super hero support network known as Oracle. Throughout this time, she had become a beacon of sorts for disabled comic book fans and a shining example of strong female characters within the realm of comics. When it was announced that DC would be returning her mobility and her former heroic identity, many people were (to say the least) unhappy, became determined to blast the book before it even came out, and boycott it once it came out. Of course, it’s BECAUSE of this controversy that I was drawn to the book in the first place after having little to no interest in it when it was announced. So many people not wanting to read it only served to make me want to read it more (what can I say, I am still prone to teenage tendencies).
One thing is stunningly clear to me after reading this comic: Gail Simone did NOT want to be writing it. I’ve read in a few places that she was initially reluctant to take on the assignment and accepted, in so many words, because she knew that if she did not write the character then someone else WOULD and it would be better to keep Barbara Gordon, even a mobile one, in her court. After all, Simone arguably made one of the biggest impacts on the character during her Birds of Prey years and while the exact history of the new Batgirl post-relaunch status quo remains dubious, it is 100% certain that Barbara Gordon was, indeed, paralyzed for a lengthy period of time.
And oh, does the book not shy away from mentioning that.
To be brutally honest, Barbara seemed to be much more traumatized now that she can walk again than she ever did while in the wheelchair, and I suspect that was much the point on Simone’s part. While the book does not deal with this explicitly (and I may be incredibly off the mark here), it seemed to me that launching back into the Batgirl mantle was almost a reactionary move on Barbara’s part. While the exact reasoning behind the fact that she could walk again is not detailed beyond it’s apparently miraculous nature, its clear that while it may have been a miracle that there was something traumatic involved in the restoration of Barbara’s spine, becoming Batgirl again seems almost like a coping mechanism for her. Launching through the air to kick masked murderers in the face is as cathartic to her as, well, reading comics is to many of the readers of this website.
Simply put, it is obvious through the writing of this book that Barbara being able to walk was something unexpected and not entirely welcomed by Simone and Gordon, and her new beginning as Batgirl is clearly weighing heavily on both, which absolutely drags this book down. I couldn’t even bring myself to focus on the seemingly silly mystery villain, the new supporting cast members or the jumpy police officers everyone else was focusing on. Instead, my attention stayed pointed on the fact that the book itself in both writing and content was unsure of why it even existed.
Another thing that dragged down the plot was the CONSTANT mentioning of Barbara’s time as a disabled woman (the name Oracle or any of her exploits under that moniker are not mentioned once this issue, leading me to wonder if they are still in continuity) and the flashing back to the incident that crippled her in the now (in)famous story that I really shouldn’t need to name. Right, we get it – she couldn’t walk and now she can and the bulk of the dramatic push in the issue stems from that fact, but it was seriously mentioned on at least 10 of the 20 pages of this story. Having it be an important element to the story makes sense, but beating us over the head with it is just poor storytelling.
Continued belowOn the other hand, Ardian Syaf’s work is much stronger than I have ever seen him before. However, his strong use of shading and impeccable character design are not enough to hide some very glaring visual continuity errors or make the damn costume look any better. I’m not sure if Barbara was given a Jim Lee redesign like the rest of the Justice League or not, but the tubes, creases and unnecessary bulkiness of her suit that has become commonplace in the DCnU was just entirely irksome here and really served to take me out of the story and let out a few exasperated “really?!”‘s.
Overall, while there are some well crafted moments here and there and while Simone excels at writing a traumatized character attempt to make headway and move on from the experience that traumatized them, this is not a self help book. If it were a slice of life tale about the power of the human spirit, then it would be great (if not a little hokey), but this a super hero book, and a Bat-book no less. Given that, the tone is just all wrong and I suspect that it will not be changing as the book progresses. If that’s your thing then by all means pick it up, but I have my doubts that I’ll be back for a second helping.
Final Verdict: 5.0 – Meh
