Batgirls #1 // Review
Three women all wore different masks under the same name in the recent past. Now at the end of 2021, they band together for the first time to fight crime together in Batigrls #1. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad (the current writing team behind Wonder Woman) establish the team with the aid of artist Jorge Corona (who recently did some beautiful work on Middlewest for Image Comics.) The breezy buddy action comedy lights-up Gotham in a way that doesn’t exactly embrace its darker side. Thankfully, this isn’t some campy version of the setting that would have been filmed for television back in the 1960s. There’s an appealing dramatic weight to it.
Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown have been fighting crime under the mask in Gotham City for some time now. For a city of madness, this isn’t anything special. They both happen to have taken the name Batgirl. So THAT’s a little weird. Thankfully, the original Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) isn’t upset about this. She’s serving as their support, reclaiming the mantle of Oracle as the central intelligence for a brand new team that finds itself up against the threat of a hacker named Seer.
Cloonan and Conrad manage an enjoyable first outing for the team of Batgirls in the first issue of their new title. The three central characters are very clearly defined. Stephanie is the brash, impulsive one. Cassandra is silent and composed. The two still manage some crisp bits of action dialogue as Babs runs everything from the center. Conrad and Cloonan maintain a very well-manicured plot that balances the establishment of conflict and the gentle rendering of a trio of characters who land their first issue with a respectable level of stylish appeal. The heavier weight of the story seems a bit distant, but that will clearly come in time.
Corona’s style doesn’t really seem to fit the feel of a Gotham City book, but DC is looking to aim Batgirls into the all-ages market. Corona fits the style perfectly… turning in an attractive sort of a Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Batgirls sort of a look. The style is nice and cuddly and everything, but the look of the series would benefit from some ominous darkness around the edges to provide a bit more menace. The color in the first issue is gorgeous, though. Corona’s colors always fuse well with his art. It’d be nice to see him pump up the contrast between light and dark to give the book a more distinctive Gotham City look.
Conrad, Cloonan, and Corona put together a remarkably sharp first issue. There’s a good connection between what editorial seems to be looking for with the series, what the writers are putting together, and the visual style of Corona. The series would be served much better by a slightly tighter look with more of a solid definition, but that will likely come in time as the creative team becomes more familiar with the team adventuring around on-page and panel.
