Written by: Hope Larson
Art by: Rafael Albuquerque & Dave McCaig
Publisher: DC Comics
Since the start of the Burnside run, Batgirl has been a lot like a failed relationship. I used to love Barbara Gordon as a character. She was one of my favorites in the DC Universe. I was always excited to read a book with her in it, almost regardless of who was handling her. But then Burnside happened, and, well… she changed. Maybe this was the real Barbara Gordon, and I just hadn’t been cued to that. Or maybe it was me that changed. Things haven’t been the same since.
The thing is, I just wasn’t able to cut the relationship off. I would often tell people I wasn’t reading Batgirl, but then, under the cover of darkness, pull out the new issue. And every time, it just got worse. It wasn’t healthy. I needed an intervention. As it turned out, I wouldn’t need one, because the book’s overbearing corporate parents got involved. They decided it was time for a Rebirth. And I got excited. Would my relationship with the book go back to being a healthy one, rather than the book bleeding me dry because I was so invested in its lead character?
Sadly, the answer was no. Look, I know that was a long set up, but I feel like it was necessary to really get across how devastated I am by the fact that almost nothing has changed. I may sound like a whiny, entitled, white dude, but fuck me sideways, I want to enjoy a Batgirl comic again. Considering the direction DC feels is right for the character going forward, I’m not convinced that will ever happen. This isn’t a book targeted at my demographic, and, surprise surprise, I’m not enjoying it, no matter how hard I try.
And look, this book has actual flaws that have nothing to do with me wishing Gail Simone’s run on the character would never have ended. First and foremost, Rafael Albuquerque is not the artist for this book. I appreciate that he’s getting out of his comfort zone a bit, but his style doesn’t fit the book. It’s clear that he’s trying, but it’s not working super well. It certainly doesn’t help that the color pallet is tinged with tans and browns. I don’t know what Dave McCaig was hoping to accomplish, but it looks kind of ugly.
Writing wise, the book isn’t all that great either. There are a couple fun character moments, but even putting aside my issues with this interpretation of this character, the writing is super difficult to get through. It’s dense and over written beyond the point of comprehension. Babs’ inner monologue goes on way too long, and none of it is particularly interesting. Nor does it accomplish all that much. There’s a redundancy to it that elicited multiple groans from me while I was reading the book.
There’s also this really dumb plot point that involves Babs remembering a Chinese tattoo perfectly, despite only fleetingly seeing it in the last issue. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for superhero comics, but I’m not willing to take it that far. But whatever, I’m sure there are people that will find that to be really cool.
Batgirl #2 is, to put it mildly, an overwritten mess. I want to like it, and you know what? I’m going to read the next issue. And probably hate myself for throwing $2.99 at it. Unless I get a review copy and review it for next week, in which case I’ll feel a little bit better about it. At some point, I hope I’ll be able to give up the character, but as long as there’s the tiniest sliver of hope that I’ll like it, I doubt I’ll be able to get over it.
Never get too attached to fictional characters, kids.
To be fair, the tattoo she saw was writing in Chinese/Japanese, not design and she is fluent in both – so it’s not strange at all that she’d remember it. It’d be like if you saw a tattoo that said “student” on the arm of someone who was attacking you, you’d likely remember the tattoo more than most other features.