Review: Batgirl # 1
Submitted by:
Kelly Aliano, PhD, Comics News Editor
26 July 2016
Full disclosure:
this was my most anticipated DC book this week.
“Beyond Burnside, Part One,” by Hope Larson with artist Rafael
Albuquerque, takes Batgirl out of her hipster neighborhood outside of the
center of Gotham and throws her back into the center of the Bat-verse
action. Batgirl seemed primed for a “rebirth,”
as the Burnside incarnation of the character had a very particular
contemporary, hip, social media-savvy appeal that may not have been sustainable
for the character long term. The book
emphasizes Barbara’s desire to leave Burnside behind, but sets up a narrative
remote from both Gotham City and her follow Bat-folks. It is great to see her new beginning in
action, but it is hard to see how this will establish her presence in the
larger DC Universe moving forward.
Barbara Gordon
reconnects with an old friend, Kai, while travelling, who she introduces to a “Batgirl”
of Asia, called “Fruit Bat,” who began fighting crime back in the 1940s. Much of the book focuses on Barbara and Kai’s
reminiscences as well as their visit to Japan as tourists, eating and drinking
and fighting jetlag. She then gets the
pleasure of meeting Fruit Bat, only to be attacked by a schoolgirl-looking
villain. Batgirl finds herself fighting
with Fruit Bat, proving that Barbara Gordon is not the only heroine to be able
to step out of her wheelchair. After the
fight, it becomes clear that Kai is not all he seems, yet it is he who confronts
Batgirl with her secret before she has time to interrogate him.
Batgirl has
always been one of my most beloved DC characters. I admit that “Batgirl of
Burnside” necessitated a period of adjustment for me, but I came to appreciate
its fixation on the contemporary and on the kind of “girl power” aesthetic that
it often exuded. This new chapter is
definitely that: NEW. At this early
point, it is hard to establish where it is headed, but the story, characters,
and artwork are compelling enough to keep me reading. The Verdict: Batgirl seems one of the most “reinvented” of the Rebirth
characters, shedding her Burnside identity and heading abroad. While the fresh start is appreciated, the
book does seem remote from the rest of the DCU and definitely is an introduction,
one that does not quite hint at where it is headed long term.
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