Batgirl #32

By Gail Simone, Fernando Pasarin, Jonathan Glapion & Blond

Gail Simone’s Batgirl has been one of the best books on DC’s shelves and month after month it has been delivering some consistently strong quality for fans of Barbara Gordon and/or Simone to enjoy. As always, one of the best things about this book continues to be Alex Garner’s amazing cover arts, which are not only very cinematic but also excellent, and he never fails to disappoint each month. This month it’s a particularly awesome cover, with Batgirl being under surveillance from an unknown foe. It creates an aura of mystery and is a great way to kick-start the comic before you’ve even opened page one.

Batgirl is beating up thugs in an attempt to distract herself from the fact that Ricky, her boyfriend – is trying to sue Gordon after he shot him during the Wanted arc. However, Knightfall has other ideas. And to make matters worse, Barbara also has to deal with the return of an old friend thought dead.

Batgirl #32 continues to be incredibly strong. The Ricky suing James Gordon drama has not lost its steam even with the events of Batman Eternal, and the way Simone handles this in comparison to Barbara’s adventures as Batgirl is very well done, keeping it fresh and exciting. We also get to learn about an extra development of Knightfall’s character as well in this issue, which helps flesh her out all the more. And the other side plot, involving the Batgirl being watched storyline (it’s hard to avoid spoilers when talking about this issue in depth, but it’s handled very well) doesn’t lose any of its momentum and both threads are pulled off amazingly well.

And that’s before we get to the last few pages, which make this issue a must read for Birds of Prey fans. It’s something that should have readers really looking forward to the prospect of #32. The reveal isn’t mentioned here, and you’ll want to go into this issue unspoiled to get the best out of that last page.

The artwork by Fernando Pasarin is awesome as always. With inks from Jonathan Glapion and colours from Blond, Batgirl is a very strong book when it comes to artwork and the artistic team didn’t disappoint, adding to the atmospheric feel of this title. Simone, Pasarin, Glapion and Blond are all working together to make this comic excellent and it shows, with some great work on this title being pulled off.

So on the whole, Batgirl #32 is another strong outing from Simone that fails to disappoint, setting up a last page reveal that should excite and have readers coming back for the next issue for certain. Birds of Prey fans – you won’t want to miss it.