Let's show some Batgirl love! Come on, now!
These girls sure love being Batgirls - yes, crimefighting partners Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain are both called Batgirl here, don't know how that's not confusing, but anyway--! - they talk with each other about being Batgirl a lot. Whether there is one of them, two of them, or three of them, being a Batgirl is the best, let no one forget that.And Batgirls stick together, and are the best of girl-friends.
The comic volume, 'Batgirls Vol. 1: One Way or Another', is far from perfect. It continues a DC storyline I'm hopelessly ignorant of, so in the beginning, issues from there are put in here, in an attempt to properly begin these Batgirls' story and bring readers up to speed, which doesn't end up working. Parts and events are outright skipped, other stuff is still going on, and it's all rather jumbled and confusing.
BUT...I got more invested the further I read on, when the book's own storyline receives a more appropriate starting point. The structure and pacing can still be iffy, but the characters and colours make it appealing.
A lot is happening - the main plot basically revolves around Spellbinder, and this is yet another 'Batgirl' mind control story (she gets many of those); meanwhile on the sides, there is a hacker called Seer, a main-threat-to-back-burner-nuisance who is out to destroy Barbara/Oracle's life for some reason (cool name, Seer, for an adversary of someone called Oracle, though); there is a serial murder mystery going on; thieving's going on, too; there're these Magistrate mercenaries called the Saints who're out to kill the Batgirls; said Batgirls - Babs, Steph and Cass - are also fugitives (LONG story there) in hiding, and are readjusting to living in a new headquarters in a Gotham precinct called The Hill; Steph and Cass
It sounds complicated. It is complicated. But overall, taking everything into consideration, it isn't so annoying and clunky. Moments of deep thought, introspection and clarity, expressed in both dialogue and art, show up more often than not. As mentioned above, the characters more than make up for any deficiencies in the plotting.
The three Batgirls are a great team. They care deeply for one another, they clearly have history and experience together, and they have their funny moments, banter and quirks; they are like a comfortable family unit in a most definitely uncomfortable, difficult and dangerous situation. They go above and beyond as superheroine friends and comrades. Theirs is a bat-bond that's wonderful and meaningful, flaws and dysfunction and all. They feel like real women and young girls living together, who love each other dearly. They are the Bat Family women (minus Batwoman, sadly).
Babs is a kindly and reasonable but strict-when-need-be mentor and big sister figure to the two younger Batgirls, who remains Oracle and slightly disabled (she has a limp, I think; she has a cane at one point), but the redheaded brainbox dons her classic Batgirl costume and gets into the action in one issue (she's also currently dating Dick Grayson. I approve). Steph is the impulsive, hyperactive, emotional, blonde-and-blue-eyed cheerleader type, who needs all the support she can get. Cass is the same as she's always been - raised to be an assassin since birth, now fighting for truth and justice. She's also still naive about some social interactions, different word meanings, and figures of speech, and she is freaking adorable. Her newfound love of reading, combined with her serious and scary/cute face, is iconic! Or it should be. Cass is the quiet (and deadly) one to Steph's loud chattiness. Other than their Batgirl monikers and vigilante identities, daddy issues is another common ground they share.
Further note: Barbara Gordon may not be as smart and observant in this comic as she normally is, when she's at her best, but she is and always shall be a computer and intel genius, and the ending makes up for her previous misgivings by showing how she's trained and used her upper body strength for years while tied to a chair. There are glimpses; evidence of why she is an equal to Batman, why she is deserves the same amount of respect as him, and it's part of the reason why I love her so much, why she is my favourite superheroine:
It's because she can defeat her enemies by outwitting them. By being clever. It's not all punching. She has brains and tech as well as heart. She shows the many strengths there are to being only human, to having limitations. She shows how a single person can overcome multiple traumas and tragedies, physically, emotionally and mentally. Life is painfully unfair to her, but she will never give up, never stop fighting, never stop finding reasonable solutions from every angle, never stop loving, never stop laughing.
Barbara Gordon will never give up her goodness, her humanity.
To quote Babs in 'Batgirls':
"[...]--Being routinely underestimated by people like you who think they know what's best for me! As if I don't know myself! I've faced so much worse than any vision from your toxic gas will ever be. Pain is an old friend. And as for fear... [...] I thrive on overcoming it."
Bravery, thy name is Barbara.
Not that the other Batgirls aren't brave, mind you. They certainly are. They're amazing.
Another flaw in the comic: you know the serial murder mystery and mass thievery plots I mentioned? They're pretty much forgotten about in the last couple of issues. They won't be resolved in this volume. Dang.
'Batgirls Vol. 1: One Way or Another' - a treat for Batgirl fans, once they get past the confusing beginning and roll with the rest of it. I also love the colourful and expressive art, and the issue covers, plus those from the variant galley, are massively bold, gorgeous, creative and cute!
Batgirl(s) returns. And she is forever.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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