Batgirl #3

Series: Batgirl
Words: Gail Simone
Images: Adrian Syaf, Vincent Cifuentes
Issue Number: 3
Release Date: November 2011
Format: Comic

 

Batgirl 3 is amazing. We see more discussion of disability issues in terms of Babs. Especially in terms of her frustration with how everyone else is over protecting her. As a woman with a disability I can relate to that frustration. There are times when people step in too much, where there are things that I can do for myself and the people who love me try to take that control out of my life. Experiences like this are not unusual for people with disabilities. I like to see that reflected in Bab's recover. The more I read the less I am worried about Batgirl becoming an able-ist story that ignores the spinal cord injury or the impact that has had on Barbara's life.

 

A total side note.  Minor spoiler but has nothing to do with the actual plot or story line really. Barbara is no longer seeing her physical therapist. I am relived. Working in the disability field. Having a disability myself. Like I said in my last review that was a huge sticking point. There is no way a professional organization would support a physical therapist having a relationship with their client / patient. I am left very happy to see that relationship is over.

 

Nightwing shows up and Simone's writing of Nightwing is amazing. All the character traits that have my back up in the most recent Nightwing run suddenly are given a context. And one of the best parts? One while he still the rich play boy, he is also a human under that. Also, we see him within the rest of the D.C. world. We see a Nightwing that fits into the current D.C. universe that fits in with the existing Nightwing run. I am much more impressed with this over say the many, many, many different versions of Batman.

 

Batgirl is one of the better reads coming out of D.C. these days. If you are not reading it already well then you probably should.

Batgirl #2

Series: Batgirl
Words: Gail Simone
Images: Adrian Syaf, Vincent Cifuentes
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: In reality October 12th but our cover reads December 2011
Format: Comic

With the first issue I had a whole ton of concerns about Batgirl. Especially in terms of Barbara Gordon's ability to walk again. I just read the second issue while the mister and I were driving to his parents place. Luckily he was the on actually driving. In terms of disability? I am a little more reassured at this point. I am still not happy about the lack of people with disabilities in DC but Gail Simone has not used the reboot to magically sweep it under the rug. There is mention of the character not physically being able to maintain stunts and fights because while her spinal injury has greatly improved her physical stamina is still lacking. I am slightly reassured by this. I am still sulking a little bit (I hate change) but I'm also really excited to read more.

PTSD and Babs also has not magically disappeared especially with lines like "He pointed that gun at me, just where the Joker tore up my spine three years ago and I froze... the gun triggered something I thought was long over" A fairly classic symptom of PTSD is experiencing either a flash back or a dissociation when presented with stimuli that resemble or remind of the traumatic incident.

 One of the few things that took me out of the story is Babs going on a date with her physical therapist. There is no way in heck this guy could have any sort of relationship with Babs and it be okay with his registration board. As an allied health professional who works in the disability field it gave me pause. If you do not work in the field well then it will probably be a none issue for you. In retrospect I can understand why Simone opted to approach a relationship with the physical therapist. It gives more chances for her to explore some of the back story of how Babs' got from a wheel chair to standing. Gregor's background means that some context. Comments can be made about how sometimes with spinal cord injuries the unexpected does happen but it is very rare making this a much more realistic process.

I am very pleased to see that the return of Batgirl has not meant we have lost the strengths she had as Oracle. Physically unable to take the villain down Babs has to resort to her brains. Her ability to research and her ability to make computers do magical and wonderful things that no one else in Gotham or the D.C. universe can do.

Simone also made some commentary on class and social inequality during this issue of Batgirl that really impressed me. Slipped into the story are little gems along the lines of "... The only cemetery in downtown Gotham that hasn't been demolished. Oh, they've tried. Real estate developers have made a multitude of heatbreaingly sincere please to disinter the occupants of this place. Because we need more shopping and parking, you see. But it turns out, rich people don't like the idea of their loved ones switching accommodations for a new frogurt boutique. And unlike poor people who feel that way... they have the juice to make it not happen. Even here, there is a class system in Gotham." I am pleased to see more and more comic book authors making sociopolitical commentary.

I am really enjoying the level of depth given to the characters in Batgirl. I do have to confess that this issue of Batgirl made me cry. wince and smile. I found myself sniffling at the villain's back story. I have to admit he is quickly becoming one of my recent favorites among villains.

Again the colours and art were impressive. I love how the dark grey of Gotham is broken up with flashes of purple, a bright blue, and green tones consistently though the entire issue. The physical design of women in this comic has continued to impress me. There are more realistically sized. Babs has actual muscle and tone. There were a lot of moments where some of the great character development could have been set back by sexualized depictions of character taking away from Simone's work of developing her. Luckily for the story, the experience and the reader the Ardian Syaf and Vincente Cifuentes masterfully and smoothly avoided doing so.

The comics seem to be going fast. Some people on twitter have started saying that stores are sold out. If you like interesting female leads with a varied supporting cast I would suggest checking out Batgirl.

Batgirl #1

Series: Batgirl
Words: Gail Simone
Images: Adrian Syaf, Vincent Cifuentes
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: In reality September 7th but our cover reads November 2011
Format: Comic



Seconds after finishing the Action Comic post my will power crumbled and I tore through Batgirl in moments. Ever since DC announced that Batgirl would be in the relaunch and they were relaunching Barbra Gordon I have had some huge reservations.

For those of you who have not been cornered by me in person or ranted at online let me give you some context to these reservations. Babs. is by far one of my favourite heroines in either universe for many reasons:

1. She starts out as a side kick and actually grows and develops into a hero in her own right. That is right a female character who starts out as a side kick turns into an actual developed character that goes through hardship and grows beyond her side kick role.  No refrigerator's for that girl!

2. She's disabled. I am rarely a fan of how most of the top two handle disability. It is usually portrayed as a temporary plot device that is quickly overcome either with new powers, magically overcome, end in retirement or just totally forgotten. Babs was the exception to that rule. As Batgirl she's shot in the spine and eventually becomes Oracle. From a wheel chair she kicks some serious ass both physically and mentally. Add to point one and my love of the character may start to make sense.

3. And a part of what Oracle does pre-reboot is she gathers together a group of female hero's who work under her. From side kick to hero to group founder and leader. Rebooting the character seemed like a regression that took away a large portion of her growth and development.

4. I did not want Gail Simone to stop writing Birds of Prey. While I will give the new writer and the new line up a chance I will always have a soft spot for that series under Simone. Oh dear, maybe I do really hate change.

If it had been handed to any other writer I would have been up in arms. But I trust Gail Simone. As a girl I grew up in a house with a comic book collector for a father. When I stumbled upon Women in Refrigerator's all of a sudden I had a way of framing some of my own issues with the comic industry. When I branched back into hero comics I devoured her works. I love her writing style and how she seamlessly manages to blend concepts of oppression and privilege into engaging story lines that I can relate to. It was a very smart move on D.C.'s part.

So going into it with a love of the character, a fangirl crush on the author and a huge pile of reservations / fears of able-ism?

First, the artwork is amazing. Of this entire pull (and I suspect the relaunch) Batgirl has the best cover art. It is something that if I had a print of I would frame and hang in my apartment quite proudly. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the detail on the cover was fairly consistent with the art in the comic. Far too often I see comics that have graphically stunning covers but bland or dull artwork inside with flat colours.

There was brilliant use of partial views of the main villain that taunted and teased and left me wanting to know far more about them.

Also, I was impressed with how well proportioned Babs was considering she was a comic heroine. The character design while still very slender was built. She had muscles and something of a realistic torso with the definition that someone as physically active as the character would require. My hat goes off to the entire team for those details.

Stepping aside from my fangirl self and my reservations it was a good story. It emulated everything D.C. seemed to want from a relaunch. You can pick up this issue with out any familiarity with the character or her previous history and start reading. By the end despite everything I was left wanting to know where the story goes. Anything that reaches back into pre-relaunch territory is covered by the end of the first issue.

It certainly ran smoother then Action Comics #1 and was far less choppy.

I liked that Babs wasn't magically cured. I like that they didn't totally ignore her spinal cord injury and that her van still has a wheel chair lift. I enjoyed a great deal that there were nods to that history of the character. And that there was some talk of able-ism expressed via interactions with other background characters.

I'm still not happy to have lost Oracle. I'm still not happy that boom Babs can walk.

I was very happy to see PTSD being addressed in comics. I was overjoyed to see a hero with nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety. I can see huge potential in this area especially with the stigma around mental illness. When I think of mental illness in the top two I think of a small handful of villains for the most part. Though writing female characters who actually overcome trauma and develop is a strength of Simone's (she did great work pre-relaunch with Black Canary).

It also made the character seem more human. More real. I hope we see more of that as the series goes on.

In the end I am looking forward to reading more. I am excited to read more but I still have a lot of my original reservations in terms of able-ism and retrogression of a developed female character. Hopefully in the hands of this team she will grow and develop again.