Batgirl #36

By Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr & Maris Wicks

Batgirl #35 got the new adventures of Barbara Gordon off to an incredibly strong start and if possible, Batgirl #36 is even better. With Babs settled into her new life the issue hits the ground running, by pitting her against two cosplaying, sword-wielding motorcyclists. The lighter, more energetic tone of the comic is kept with several humorous sequences that work. The book continues to have that fresh and different feel and with Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr and Maris Wicks on the book everything seems to be headed in a great new direction.

With new characters being introduced, the dynamic is shaping up pretty well so far under some great direction from Stewart and Fletcher. Everything is handled smoothly as the new supporting cast is given plenty of page time to flesh them out. There’s also plenty of action featuring Barbara as well, and the fight sequences are handled pretty well. In comparison to the gothic and dark atmosphere of most of the other Gotham titles in this line, the book feels like it could take place in an entirely different city. It’s a refreshing change from what we’re used to, and incredibly welcomed with some excellent work being done by the entire creative team.

Babs Tarr’s artwork continues to be unique and refreshing, as per what this reviewer has already mentioned above. The distinct approach that she’s taking on this book is visually awesome and with some great scenes going on here, they’re really brought to life. Maris Wicks brings some excellent colours to the table as well, and it’ll be great to see how Batgirl can continue to flourish as the creative team continues to carve out their own corner in Gotham City. We haven’t seen Barbara pitted against the major Batman villains yet in this book and it’ll be interesting to see what happens if they were to show up at some point down the line.

Although the tonal shift of the book is taking a while to get used to particularly for someone (like this reviewer) whose first exposure to a Barbara Gordon comic was through Gail Simone’s run, the change has been appreciated and it turns out that so far, it has been very awesome indeed. There’s very little where Stewart and Fletcher put wrong and Babs Tarr’s involvement makes an excellent addition to an already fantastic book.

With this issue being pretty spectacular, it’ll be great to see what Stewart, Fletcher, Tarr and Wicks can come up with next month. This reviewer has full confidence in the new incarnation of Batgirl after an incredible second issue for the new creative team. This is becoming one of the best titles at DC right now, and if you’re not reading it already, then you really should consider jumping on whilst there’s not too much catching up required.