Title: Batgirl
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Ardian Syaf
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Johnny Destructo

“Why is Batgirl wearing Witchblade gauntlets??” That was my first thought when I saw her. Well, ok, that’s not altogether true. That was my first thought when I saw the interior of the book. The cover was something else altogether. I’ve never really liked any Batgirl other than Barbara Gordon. Not Cassandra Cain, nor Stephanie Brown. Nobody ever mattered to me quite like ole’ fire-nethers Gordon. But I’ll tell you what, seeing her leaping off the cover of Batgirl #1 got me more confused than a bi-curious boy-lady. You see, I love Bat-Babs as a character, and that INCLUDES her as Oracle-Babs. Feel free to punch me in my PC nuts but having a character go through being paralyzed by a grotesquely grinning, guffawing madman and still being one of the most important characters in the Bat-Family is one hell of an example of handi-capable. Yes, I actually just typed that. My point being, part of me is excited to see Barbara back in the suit, and part of me is disappointed that she’s no longer in the chair.

Also, what does that mean to the continuity of The Killing Joke, one of the greatest Batman stories of all time? Did none of that ever happen? WTF DCnU?? I was all set to be annoyed at the ret-conning of one of my fave Bat-tales, but I guess the LOL is on me. (Note to slf: stop txt-typing this rview.) I won’t spoil anything here, but I will admit that the solution presented in this issue is just fine, and didn’t piss me off. That being said: the story. Methinks Gail Simone is a horror movie fan. There are elements of the Final Destination films here (albeit the original script idea for FD, if you know what that was) as well as The Strangers, starring Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler. That didn’t bother me all that much, as she took those elements and made them her own, but what did bother me was some of Batgirl’s bat-shit insane mumblings.

“There you are, you rotten monsters. Found you, didn’t I? Oh, yes I did, babies. How sad for you.”

She sounds like a friggin’ maniac, doesn’t she? Reading that dialogue, I picture her smearing herself in mayo while eating McNuggets made out of babies. It just felt very out of place for Babs. I’m hoping we won’t be seeing any more of that type of monologue from her in the future.

The Art is solid, if not amazing. Solid stuff. I’d say it’s akin to Justiniano (sans certain alleged illegal tendencies) with just a hint of Adam Kubert. Some interesting, dynamic work here.

I don’t want to get too much further into the book, but this is a solid step in the right direction for a character just getting back on her feet.