I feel so dumb for not knowing Cecil Castellucci was the current writer on Batgirl! And I LOVE Barbara Gordon. She gets a lot of shit from male readers, but she's like many of us women reading comics--trying to make her mark in man's industry. But it's been a long time since I read Batgirl regularly, which I'll explain again in this post, under the review for issue #47.
This is an ongoing series still, so I'll be reviewing the final issues as they come out! Continue Reading to see what I've already got covered, and find out a little about this run of Batgirl!
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#47: Tie-in to Joker War, response to Killing Joke
(*note: much of this review is taken from previous posts about this comic issue) First, a note on Batgirl's absence from my pull list: Back mid-New 52 at DC Comics, Batgirl was given to writer Cameron Stewart. They made national news when they redesigned Batgirl's outfit, and de-aged her to be in high school again. It was a great move to bring in new female readers, as well as younger female readers. Due to the de-aging of the character, however, I found I couldn't connect with the series. Fast forward to just a few months ago, and the very same Cameron Stewart has been outed as having attempted to "groom" multiple teenage girls for relationships. Meaning, he would find underage fans, start an online relationship, and do everything he could to make it romantic. You can find more information on him, and other male comic industry abusers, here. Knowing this, it's sickening to think back on how Stewart was the writer who de-aged Barbara in the first place. These days, Batgirl has been subtly and gratefully brought back up to being a more appropriate age for running with the rest of the Bat-Family. We can also thank Sean Gordon Murphy for a brilliant new design for her crime fighting look! Now, Barbara is being handled by Castellucci, and I'm sure she's been doing the series more than justice. I've been following Castellucci for only a short time, since she wrote Female Furies for DC last year. That series is striking in so many ways, and in my opinion is one of the best mini-series from DC in the past decade, easily. Unfortunately, it suffers from Female Comic Syndrome: when anything in comics that is female led, female based, female driven, or female created is seen as "less than", because it it for/by/about women. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pointed out unconscious bias against women that existed similarly in the Symphony Orchestra. There just weren't women on the orchestra, and people believed this was because women weren't as good of musicians. However, when a curtain was put between the auditioning player and judge, more women started getting accepted onto the Symphony. Similarly, female based comics are often seen subconsciously as inferior and not given a chance. Batgirl #47 isn't just special because it's one of her last issues, it's special because it addresses the longtime favorite Batman story, The Killing Joke, in which the Joker shoots, paralyzes, and brutalizes Barbara Gordon. Having read the story myself, it isn't made totally clear, but it can be easily assumed the Joker raped her as well. This attack left Barbara paralyzed from the waist down, with some PTSD, but still wanting to be a hero. Using her computer and tech skills, Babs re-titles herself as Oracle, and runs the all-woman Birds of Prey team from her wheelchair. It's a phenomenal comeback story, and a big part of why I like the character of Barbara Gordon so much. A couple years ago, DC decided to put Babs back into the fight, and wrote up a simple technological fix for her spine so she can fly through Gotham once again. While this was taken mostly as a positive change, many believed this was DC writing off disabled peoples as a whole, which I can understand. Even more recently, after the tragedy that was Cameron Stewart at the helm of her book, Barbara had an incident with another villain that caused her spinal implant to short out, and left her temporarily paralyzed again. This story was done in an attempt to show growth in Barbara from point A to point B, and if I recall, was paired with a fairly inconsiderate cover. The cover was pulled, apologies were made, but Barbara Gordon has yet to be allowed closure on her life's biggest trauma. Knowing Castellucci's history on Female Furies and how she handled the topics of violence against women in it, I knew this would NOT be an issue to miss. This issue was incredibly satisfying to read, as a fan of Batgirl and Barbara Gordon. And I can't quite explain the loosening feeling in my chest when I see her portrayed not only at an age that is appropriate for a character with her history, but to see her thriving at it. When we first see Babs, she's coming in from what must have been a sweet interaction with a new character, Jason. As I understand it, Jason had an accident that Batgirl was responsible for, and now Barbara is dating him. Don't quote me, I haven't caught up yet. She pours herself some wine and makes some mental notes of pride in personal growth before her bat-training notices the table was moved (intruder alert!), and she spins to face the Joker himself. A moment later, and he's triggered a device to disable the spinal implant allowing Babs to walk. The way this scene is written is decidedly female. There is no satisfaction given to the Joker on his arrival. In fact, when he's busy giving his villainous monologue about how he thinks she's so frail and so helpless, she's not hearing him, and neither does the reader. She's actually fighting back the raging fear and PTSD, and doing something about it. The Joker doesn't even notice her movements until she's swung her whole body at him, breaking his nose before he can defend himself. Already, Barbara is a thousand times more formidable than in their Killing Joke encounter. But being the nasty villain he is, the Joker has more plans for her, and uses her spinal implant to force her legs to walk her onto her building's balcony. He delivers is second villain monologue here, although we can hear what he's saying this time. It's mainly accusatory, calling her cruel names and assuming the worst intentions behind her actions. It took me a while to figure out why this struck home so well. This monologue the Joker is giving her is an example of the daily criticism many women face online. Especially if you look at female politicians, absolutely everything they do is scrutinized and treated as if every breath is taken with an ulterior motive. You can even see the pattern these online harassers tend to take in the Joker's attack. First comes the verbal attack, name calling, and jeering, demeaning and degrading in whatever way they can. Then, when they don't get the response desired (shown here as Babs breaking his awful nose), it turns accusatory, blaming the woman for the problems of the world, trying to turn the table on her, make her the real bad guy. But it doesn't work, and the Joker doesn't get what he wants (which literally is information). Instead, as he continues to monologue, Barbara does what he would least expect. When she finds a weapon, instead of trying again to attack to Joker, she takes out his power over her--she stabs it into her spinal implant. Knowing he has no power in the situation anymore, the Joker starts to run, but doesn't escape before being caught by Barbara's makeshift javelin. The issue ends with them both crippled on the floor, and I can't say I'm sure what happens next. Batgirl #47 is part of the event Joker War, which spins out of the current Batman series. I'm massively NOT a fan of the current Batman series, for many reasons, and do not respect the writing of the man in charge. Because of his failure to portray women well, I worry what he will do with Batgirl going forward. But for now, thanks to Castelluci, Barbara finally has some revenge. Batgirl #48 comes out August 25th, so I hope to catch up with Castellucci's run before then!
#48- the return of James Gordon, JR.-- In Stores NOW!
This issue is a tie-in to the Batman event, Joker War. While I'm not following the rest of the event, this issue made total sense to me. It does have a good deal of references to past and more recent DC comics history, which isn't necessary to understand this issue but might help a little with insight. Since the last issue ended with Barbara carving out her spinal implant to keep from being used by the Joker, this issue starts with her waking up in the hospital. The only person there to greet her, to her surprise and shock, is her brother, James Jr, or JJ. Babs' history with her brother is as convoluted as anything in DC. As best as I can understand it, JJ turned his sister over to the Joker in the Killing Joke in exchange for their mother's life. While this is a strange, backwards way of showing love for his mother, this makes James Jr the direct cause for Barbara's trauma, paralyzation, and battle back to full strength. With this in mind, of course Babs is hesitant in listening to what he has to say. But he's the only option she has to help her home fro the hospital, so she has to trust him. Not long after they arrive back at her apartment, JJ finds her discarded implant on the roof, and their father arrives on the scene. Jim Gordon, Sr, hasn't had such a great track record of heroism himself recently, as he was infected by the Batman Who Laughs' Joker Toxin and turned into a villain. It's pretty recent that he's out of that, but he's still not commissioner, and his son is sure to remind him of his failures. Based on their interactions, both boys need to calm down and have some serious T-L-C. Later on, alone again in her apartment, Babs is avoiding all the men in her life. Between her brother, her father, and her coworker-slash-maybe-something-more, none of them have the peaceful levelheadedness she needs right now. In this moment of need, she calls Luke Fox, son of Lucius Fox from Wayne Enterprises, who is also a close friend and confidant to Batman. Luke is a fairly seasoned tecky himself, as well as Babs' ex-boyfriend. His presence is clearly incredibly soothing for her as soon as he arrives. They embrace, and work together on fixing her spinal implant. While they work, they catch up. Their conversation seems to flow easily in an honest river, and Babs even notes to herself how she's always been in sync with Luke. When the implant is fixed, Luke takes the brutal job of attaching it to her spine. The table-top surgery is intimate and full of immense trust, and I can't help but wonder why these two ever ended their relationship. He clearly brings out the absolute best in Barbara--around him, she's honest, vulnerable, straight forward, and completely herself. Surely these two logical thinking minds can find a way to make things work? Luke and Babs' chemistry aside, she gets fixed up like new, but Castellucci makes a point here of having Luke tell Babs this is the last leg of her implant. Any further damage, and she won't be able to use it again. Barbara understands his meaning. Use the implant while she can, but know that life will go back to being seen from a wheelchair before the end. This is a seriously intriguing point in the comic, because it firmly gives the future of Batgirl two directions to go in. The first, and more obvious, is to find some convoluted way to give her a new implant or a new "magical" bit of tech to help her use her legs. The second option if leaves is a future where Babs permanently works as a hero from a wheelchair. Ideally, that would mean her going back to behind-the-scenes work, and taking up the mantle of Oracle again. Since Oracle was brought back as an A.I. system in issues #37-#42, it would fit perfectly for this to be Barbara's last run (pardon the pun) as Batgirl. Many fans might feel put off by that change, but it would not only be a great way to offer representation of disabled peoples, but also offer the mantle of Batgirl to a new or different character for a change. With her implant back in and working again, Batgirl takes to the city skies once more. A montage of Gordon family members listening in on police scanners, starting with Babs flying across rooftops, listening in through her ear-piece. It shows lonely, restless Jim Gordon, fighting with himself about his desire to be back in action. Then it shows James Junior, his medication reminder buzzing as he scratches a wooden table with a long knife. He downs the pills, but it doesn't make him look any more sane. Batgirl gets to the scene of the crime to see the last thing she would have expected: herself. Someone is killing red headed girls, and dressing them up like Batgirl. This is obviously her brother, right? The coincidence is just too much to ignore. It makes me think of the first episode of the TV show Hannibal, where a father, afraid of losing his only child when she goes off to college, starts obsessively killing young women who look like her. Maybe JJ is afraid of Barbara rejecting him, so he's playing out that uncertainty with other similar looking women. Of course, there's always the possibility that JJ is working for the Joker, so I could be really far off. In any case, this two issue arc is looking like a blast, and I'm even m ore sad the series is ending. The idea of Barbara becoming Oracle again became a hope as soon as I thought of it, so only time will tell. Batgirl #49 comes out September 22nd, which leaves plenty of time to ruminate on possibilities! The combination of Castellucci on script and Robbi Rodriguez's art with Jordie Bellaire's colors paint a world reminiscent of Marvel's Earth-65. It isn't a necessarily feminine look, but the world does feel a little more female forward with this team.
#49 OUT NOW!
This issue picks up directly where #48 left off, with ex-Commissioner Jim Gordon showing up on the scene of a crime to help out his former coworker and longtime pal, Harvey Bullock. The scene is grim, with the apparent death of Batgirl in front of the men. Its definitely worth noting that Gordon doesn't know his daughter is Batgirl, so he doesn't have much of a reaction to this development.
The real Batgirl watches from above as her father and his buddy examine the scene of her supposed murder. It doesn't take long for the tragic news to break, and for her fans to start mourning. But what they don't know, is this isn't a one-time occurrence. Before long, the GCPD (and Gordon) have a handful of dead Batgirls on one hand, and only more questions on the other. Surprisingly, when Babs speaks with her coworker (and sometimes love interest) Jason on the matter, he feels sadder than expected. Batgirl (still Babs) threw him off a roof some time ago, and he's been on a mostly hate-filled rampage to take her down ever since. But their relationship has been made more complicated as time went on, so it isn't too surprising that he would have mixed feelings on Batgirl's apparent murder. At this point in the story, a new idea occurred to me. All this time I've been focused on Babs' brother, James Jr, being the obvious killer. He's mentally insane, although medicated, which is debatable based on a scene from the last issue, where he may have skipped a few doses. But I had forgotten, Batgirl has another mentally confused male frenemy--Jason. After her talk with Jason outside of their work, Babs is confronted by her father, who comes with bad news-- the Batgirl murder was actually a string of murders, and he thinks she is going to be the next target. Remember, he has no knowledge of her life as Batgirl, ever. So to the former detective, his daughter's safety is in danger, and it's Batgirl's fault. After she receives this news, Barbara takes it upon herself to find and stop this killer, before ore innocent women end up dead in her costume. In a scene that would make Batman's eyes well up with tears of pride, Batgirl goes on a mission of detection, following every thread she can find until she gets a lead on the killer. My theory about Jason being the killer is compounded by Batgirl showing up to where she suspects the killer is hiding out, only to find her brother there. They argue, of course, because this looks like he's guilty. But James insists, he's doing all this work to try an find the killer, not kill more Batgirls. Interestingly, there is no real reason to believe James, but Babs finds herself thinking that he must be right--the killer is elsewhere. Before leaving, Jason gives her the only bit of information he says he hasn't followed up on--a lead that the killer will strike at the local lighthouse. Babs thanks her brother, who responds unheard to her in a voice that isn't his own. At this point, I realize Jason isn't the killer, because James is clearly sick again. The original theory ends up true, as Batgirl swings to the top of the lighthouse, hoping to save the day. All she finds, unfortunately, is her own brother. James has been mostly taken over by some second personality again, who has been trying all this time to satisfy his need to kill Batgirl...or maybe both of them, since he was privy to her secret identity. Below the lighthouse, Jim Gordon shows up to try and save his daughter, but what he see's isn't what he expected. At the top of the tower, his son James battles Batgirl. Unheard to him, his son and daughter are actually stuck in a battle of wills. Barbara, as Batgirl, trying to bring her brother back to the front of his psyche, and chase out the invading, evil personality. But James couldn't find the right opening, and took the only option he felt he had left to save his sister. From below, Jim Gordon watches his son tumble to his death on the rocks, pushed by Batgirl. The reality is that he jumped, trying to stop his alter-ego from causing more harm, but seeing her father's horror at her brother's body, seeing him blame her even though he doesn't know who she is, seeing his pain for his son turn to hatred for Batgirl, she knows that there will be no explaining this to Jim Gordon. The issue ends here, with tragedy. After everything she's been through, all that she's done and witnessed, all the people she's saved, this was the straw that breaks Barbara Gordon's back, so to say. She flies home, tears streaming down her face, as she admits defeat, "I give up." The road that Castellucci has laid out for Barbara to take in her final issue feels so clear and so firm, I find myself second-guessing the only thing I can see as an ending. The last issue was full of foreshadowing and hints that her spinal implant will soon stop working, and she'll have to quit being Batgirl. Tied with the fact that Oracle was recently brought back in, and its a solid theory. This week's final pages of Barbara feeling completely finished with the experience of Batgirl only strengthens the theory that her future as a hero will be as Oracle. Again, in this issue, I'm struck by what an excellent art choice this team was. Artist Robbi Rodriguez is known for his work on Spider-Gwen, which translates just as well into Batgirl's universe. While his line-work is great, the star, for me, is colorist Jordie Bellaire. This isn't the first time she's worked with athletic red-heads in big cities, and her experience shows. While Rodruiguez give Babs her legs, Bellaire makes the series fly. With one issue left in Batgirl's story, I have to acknowledge that Castellucci and her team weren't given the time they wanted to originally tell Babs' story the way they wanted. If these past two issues, or even just this one, felt rushed, I can understand that feeling. But also remember that the series was canceled after the arrival of issue 46, so only a few months ago. Whatever Castellucci and her team had in store for these characters, we're seeing it likely very toned down, and very pressed for time. Still, these past few issues I've been reviewing have been a delight to read. I hope that for whatever is in store for Barabara Gordon, Cecil Castellucci is at the helm again. The final issue of Batgirl, #50, comes out on October 27th, and is the end of an era for the character. Whatever comes after, we'll have to wait and see, and hope DC does right by her.
#50 out NOW!
While I'm torn about the ending of this Batgirl journey, there is a lot to be taken in and appreciated about this final issue. For starters, Cecil Castellucci requested and was allowed an all-female team of art-leads, with far more women on the book in total than men. She is joined by illustrators Marguerite Sauvage, Aneke, and Emanuela Lupachino as the main interior artists. Other women on the full creative team include colorists Jordie Bellaire and Patricia "Trish" Mulvihill, variant inker Rachel Dodson, letterer Becca Carey, and editor Jessica Chen.
There is so much greatness in this single comic! The female perspective driven stories inside include one full comic and two sub-stories, all with their unique messages, styles, and side characters. I don't think there is a need to pull apart the sequence of events in this issue so much as it is important to acknowledge and understand their importance. Between the three stories contained in Batgirl #50's finale, Castellucci and her team touch on highly relevant topics such as (deep breath) voting, the housing crisis, civil disobedience, wealth distribution, mismanagement of public funds and efforts, the death of James Gordon Jr, the use of Batgirl as a replaceable sidekick, Bruce/Batman’s avoidance of actually helping Gotham instead of beating it up, Dick/Nightwing’s history of using Babs, and the friendships between the modern Birds of Prey+. Those are the points that I felt were being made most strongly, while I'm sure there were others. This all works because Barbara's job-- working closely with Gotham's local Congresswoman, Ms. Alejo. Alejo was apparently elected on a foundation of helping the underclass of Gotham, the same class that feels spurned by her, now. Babs says it outright to a key character in the first story: "Voting is a way to change things." at a different part of the story, Barbara joins a group of protesters in the streets of Gotham, trying to get the attention of government officials. When those the public elects stop representing their constituents, it is the duty of those citizens to make their voices heard, and Barbara firmly believes protesting is one way to follow through with that ideology. The pages of Batgirl "having it out" with the men of the Bat-Family is genuinely something I've been waiting for for years. And it was worth the wait, because she does it so well! She tells Bruce how he's not so bad off or being a millionaire, just because he isn't a billionaire anymore. She tells him he's a hypocrite for beating down Gotham's villains, but never using his near-endless assets to put his money where his mouth is. When questioned, he gives the $20k she suggested he donate, without a second thought, proving her point that he doesn't actually care, if he could have done that all along. She moves on to Dick, then, calling him out on his habit of using her emotionally when it's just the two of them, no matter what his love life is like outside. He gets briefly offended when she denies their ongoing romance, then apologizes quickly for his years of mistreatment, to which Babs responds perfectly: "You don't get a pat on the back for doing the right thing." That sentiment alone is something many of us could use to be reminded, now and then. This issue also features the first comic book appearance Ryan Wilder, the new CW Batwoman show’s Batwoman! Her first appearance was elegantly written, giving her solid backstory and motives to ground her first TV appearances as the notorious Gotham hero, as well as a connection to the inner Bat-Family, although she wouldn't know it now. There has been a lot of recent hullaballoo about Wilder's character, since the first images of her in the Batwoman suit were officially released. Wilder was created after the previous actor for Batwoman, Ruby Rose, quit the series. Instead of recasting or trying to explain why she looks different, the CW went an entirely new route and created a new character--Ryan Wilder. There have been "replacement" Bat-Family members plenty of times before--what catches people up about Wilder is that she's a Black woman. While I'm immensely and continually disappointed in the world's ongoing ingrained racism, I'm proud to own her first comic appearance, and will support her time as Batwoman as best I can by way of viewership. One of my favorite moments in this issue, though, was a much smaller event. This issue also introduces a new villain to be a part of Babs’ rogues gallery, Vi Ross! She wears a Pandemic2020 inspired look that makes me think of bubblegum laced with glass shards, and attacks with her stores of every kind of virus--biological and technological and everything in between. In an era where many DC writers are creating villains who seem to go to the same grunge-themed costume store, Vi Ross' supremely extra appearance is a delightful breath of fresh air. Additionally, Castellucci made a point of having Babs narrate her frustration with not having her own rogues gallery, necessarily, just other characters' villains who she has to deal with on their behalf. There are ever Batgirl events, just Batman events she has to handle the fallout from. In writing the Vi Ross pages, Castellucci is firmly stating that that trend ends today, with this issue. Welcome to Babs' Rogues Gallery, Vi Ross! Castellucci spoke on a panel at Baltimore Comic Con Online just before this week's release, saying no matter her appearance and villainous habits, Vi Ross was designed coincidentally pre-pandemic. Either way, I love the look, and the game! With all of the thoughtful commentary Castellucci and her teams fit into this issue, it makes sense readers who are less considerate, empathetic, or don't care/ have an understanding about the character of Barbara Gordon think this issue was pandering or just a bunch of do-gooder moments. Well, that's exactly Babs for you. Castellucci captured her heart and her identity has a hero of Gotham gloriously in her final issue. The future of Barbara Gordon is still uncertain, as I see it, but the feet I stand on in saying that are on much firmer ground than before this issue. There is still no news on if Barbara will be in DC's Future State event this coming January and February, but I definitely see room for her there. Otherwise, I'm keeping my fingers cross she'll play a key part in whatever comes after, starting up again in March.
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