Batgirls #8 // Review
Babs wants to make sure that Batgirl got the sniper. She assures Babs that he’s not going anywhere. The fact that she’s got a purple boot resting on the back of the sniper’s head when she says this is evidence of how classy she is. She’s also the one narrating Batgirls #8. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad continue to chronicle the super-teams excavation of the most totally exclusive place in Gotham City this side of the Batcave. Artist Robbi Rodriguez and colorist Rico Renzi render the story for the page in a visual style that’s every bit as crisp and witty as the script.
Typically, it’s the girls in the field in the midst of danger, and Babs is acting from a distance in her command center. Babs rarely gets a chance to go on a date with her boyfriend, though. But since Babs is the original Silver Age Batgirl and her boyfriend used to be the original Robin...a date for them happens to involve breaking into a very highly secure facility that could mean great danger. The other two Batgirls aren’t exactly out of the way either. They’re on the roof of that facility. What could possibly go wrong?
Conrad and Cloonan switch things up a bit with Babs in the field with Nightwing. This keeps the dynamic between the three Batgirls fresh. The two characters have been working together on and off for decades. Conrad and Cloonan develop a cozy rapport between the two characters that gives a very authentic feeling of familiarity. The pacing of the action leaves room for the writers’ characteristic wit while maintaining a very steady pulse to the action on two different levels with clever foreshadowing and some astute choices in the length of each action beat.
Rodriguez casts an upbeat action style to the page. Batgirl and Nightwing have had several adventures together. Rodriguez’s style has a distinctive tone that feels quite unlike other outings between the two heroes. They’re both thrilled to be together, and there’s a strong sense of that joy reflected in their postures and expressions as the issue opens. Renzi gives the dark shadows of Rodriguez’s inks sharp definition with dark colors scurrying about in the inner reaches of an exclusive Gotham City club at night. The art team does a beautiful job of keeping the spotlight on the social end of the adventure. Even when action breaks out, the focus of the visuals remains the face of the heroes engaged in very appealing kinetically-rendered action.
The second major plot arc of the series completes with another hugely satisfying conclusion. There’s a great sense of momentum being built and a genuine feeling of character development in and amidst the team as the series reaches the end of the second third of its first year. The clever swashbuckling mixes with the dark damage of one Batgirl and the cheerier humor of another (who happens to serve as series narrator.) It’s a hugely appealing dynamic that Conrad and Cloonan have developed for a delightful action series.
