Batgirls #2 // Review
Led by Barbara Gordon in her newly-reprised role of Oracle, a pair of Batgirls find themselves up against a group of people who are still fighting the battles of an old authority. Hey--at least they’ve got a cool new muscle car to engage them within Batgirls #2. The writing team of Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad expand on the relationship between the three Batgirls in another faced-paced action issue with heart and humor brought to the page by artist Jorge Corona. Colorist Sarah Stern provides appealing depth that keeps the action moving along with wit and charm.
Oracle is in the middle of telling Batgirl and Batgirl not to engage The Saints. They would probably be paying a lot more attention to her if it weren’t for the fact that they’re in the middle of engaging The Saints as she’s talking to them. They’re an extremist cell born from the Magistrate. Simon Saint may be dead, but his spirit has come to live on in some of the most vicious hold-outs from the Magistrate. Oracle is delivering the intel on the group from the files of Gotham City Police as they fight for their lives.
The second issue has heart and humor. Cloonan and Conrad expand on the team dynamic that they established in the first issue. Though it’s sad to see Barbara Gordon sitting back in the role of support, the three-Batgirl team has a stylish sense of fun about it that finds itself introduced to a new team of villains all its own. The writers introduce The Saints to feel structured and comprehensive without feeling stilted. Background is thrown at the heroes as they actively engage in a fight which sharply establishes the tone and rhythm of the issue.
Corona’s art immerses the page in a rich, rubbery action that’s both cute and weirdly cool. The energy on the page is so richly rendered that it tends to drown out the impact of what’s actually going on. Stern’s colors add to the intensity...giving the action a rich graffiti feel that turns the art into a really appealing kind of jello. It’s fun and everything, but Conrad and Cloonan’s writing demands a bit more of a direct flow of action. Everything gets lost on the page. It looks beautiful...it’s just not the type of thing that’s terribly conducive to a coherent or impactful story.
Cloonan, Conrad, Corona, and Stern definitely have something unique in Batgirls. There’s a great sense of momentum and combustion about the action that feels like it could be great fun if the visuals could only be honed just a little more to allow for more of a sense of modulated intensity. This may come in time as the creative team settles down into a deeper understanding of how everything comes together on a finished issue of the series. The Batgirls are really cool. Given the right rhythm, they could have quite a run together.
