Batgirl #33 // Review
The life of a masked crimefighter is impossibly complicated. Dealing with the malicious end of humanity for so long can call into question the very nature of success. Things can get all the more convoluted when the family is involved as Barbara Gordon finds out in the latest issue of Batgirl. Writer Mairgrhead Scott delves into a crossover with the Batman Who Laughs miniseries. Artist Elena Casagrande is aided with a couple of pages drawn by Scott Godlewski. Color comes courtesy of John Kalisz. Scott explores territory rarely tread in traditional superhero stories as a heroine edges further into darkness at the prospect of a criminal actually reforming.
Barbara Gordon has been notified that her brother James Gordon Jr. has been released from prison. Her brother is a killer. She’s been assured that he’s on medicines which keep him from homicidal tendencies, but how can she be sure? Convinced that her brother will kill again, Batgirl swings into action trying to locate him. Batgirl’s investigation finds her blurring the lines of acceptable behavior in the interest of protecting the public while simultaneously engaging in activity that brings her ever closer to seriously dangerous criminality of her own. A masked crimefighter begins a descent into darkness.
Magrhead Scott chronicles Barbara Gordon’s descent in gradual, subtle tones. Batgirl’s internal monologue is both calm and passionate. She knows that the public is at risk and she’s willing to go to great, questionably ethical lengths to see that it remains safe. From within the context of her own instincts, nothing that Batgirl is doing seems to be excessive. From outside the captions of her own thoughts, it’s clearly a hardcore kind of justice that she’s immersing herself in. She’s absolutely terrifying innocent people to try to track down her brother. The issue contrasts this against the life of her brother: a man trying to get his head straight in spite of a head full of conflict.
Casagrande doesn’t pull any punches with the artwork. The brutality of Batgirl’s investigation is by no means glamorized. There are shadows and splatters of ink that suggest a raw atmospheric grittiness. Casagrande delivers darkness to the page without any movement towards graphic depictions of physical aggression. The physical action isn’t on the page, but its aftermath is seen quite clearly. Godlewski handles a couple of pages in which we see Barbara’s brother living a ghost of a life working in a corner grocery store and going home to a small apartment. It’s not a terribly strong contrast with the art in the rest of the issue, but there’s just enough of a stylistic jump to show the dull life of someone trying to find some kind of life after prison.
The heavy inking of Casagrande doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for Kalisz to work with, but there are some exciting moments of color. One of the more beautiful chromatic choices happens in a dramatic scene between Barbara and her father Commissioner Gordon. He’s just hopped out of a police squad car with its lights running. The father/daughter argument takes the form of two vertical stacks of five page-width panels that alternate between the red and blue flashing overhead LED lights of a police squad car. It’s a really effective use of color to amplify the mood.
Though the issue fits into a more massive crossover event, Scott and Casagrande put together a story that stands quite well on its own. There are more profound implications of the overall psyche of Barbara Gordon that carry plot lines from previous issues, thus making this a chapter in the life of a crime fighter that works well both on its own AND as a part of a long-running saga.
