| Title | : | Batgirl, Volume 2: Knightfall Descends |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1401238165 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401238162 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published February 12, 2013 |
A new chapter in the riveting adventures of Batgirl continue in stunning fashion, with script by fan-favorite Gail Simone and stellar art by superstar Ardian Syaf!
Collecting: Batgirl 0, 7-13
Batgirl, Volume 2: Knightfall Descends Reviews
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(A-) 80% | Very Good
Notes: Delightfully colloquial, it finds melody in the offbeats: accentuating imperfection and playing the past for poignancy. -
4.5 stars
This was better than volume one, in my opinion. You see some flashbacks in the beginning that explain more of her New 52 origin...not much difference, but still.
The reason for her mother's abandonment is also finally revealed. However, I'm not sure I can totally buy into the reasoning on that one.
Speaking of...James is back. The sub-plot involving him gave the story a creepy undertone that I really appreciated.
And the villains?
Grotesque was a b-rated bad guy and pretty much disposable, but Knightfall was really interesting. Her henchmen leaned toward cheesy at times, but I guess you can't have it all.
There's (what seems to be) a small tie-in with Court of Owls, but since I haven't read volume two of that title, I kind of guessing on that one.
The best part of the book (to me) was toward the end when Cherise/Knightfall is raging at Barbara about how she owns the servers and databases, and will use them to tear Gotham apart. There's a panel where you can see her thinking it over, and then Barbara tells her that she'll learn to beat those, too.
!!!!
Oracle?
Yes, please!
Anyway, this one title is one that I would highly recommend.
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In the second volume of Batgirl's new ongoing series,Knightfall Descends! Fortunately, the quality of Batgirl's adventures continues to rise instead!
Barbara Gordon has been through a lot in her lifetime. Her mother abandoned her, her brother was revealed to be a psychopathic killer, and she spent three years in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury. Yet she has risen to any challenge thrown at her and has always managed to achieve victory by refusing to accept defeat. Now things are looking bad once again. A chance encounter with a new criminal forces Barbara to relive her darkest hour. An army of unstoppable assassins have launched a massive attack on her city. And a new vigilante has descended upon the Gotham underworld and is willing to kill any superheroes who get in her way. When she's forced to face all these challenges, will Batgirl be able to rise once again?
Since this 2nd collection from Gail Simone's "Batgirl" series features four different storylines, I'm going to change my regular format and review each storyline separately:
Batgirl - Year Zero - (4 stars) 1 issue - This prequel issue explores the set of circumstances that led to Barbara Gordon becoming Batgirl for the very first time. Since people often go into them knowing how it's going to end, prequels can be really tough to successfully pull off...
"That still doesn't let you off the hook for the Star Wars prequels, Mr. Lucas!!!"
However, despite the pitfalls that come with attempting a prequel, Gail Simone pulls it off with aplomb. Opening with a truly sweet introspection of Barbara as she declares her father to be her hero, the spunky heroine is all charm as she finds herself (with her younger brother James Jr. in tow) getting a tour of the police station where her father works. However, when a recently-captured criminal attempts a break-out, Barbara is forced to rescue everyone she can. I loved the parallels between Batgirl's previous origin and the New 52's version. In both instances, Barbara pretty much became Batgirl by accident. But whereas the Batgirl origin from the 60's portrayed her in a weaker light (due to the rampant sexism that was permeating throughout the comic book industry at that time), Simone's Batgirl makes a much more impressive debut. An added bonus was the rather chilling foreshadowing when a criminal looks into 10-year-old James Jr.'s eyes and declares, "I know what he is!" It was also rather ironic to see Barbara trying so hard to "protect" her innocent brother, when the reader already knows about the monster he'll become. I would have loved to give this one the full 5 stars, but I found the main villain to be little more than a brutish thug with painfully insipid dialogue. But even if the villain disappoints, Batgirl certainly doesn't!
Grotesque - (3 stars) 2 issues - For me, this was easily the weakest of the four storylines, as I felt this suffered from the same problems that plagued the first volume of Simone's Batgirl series. Grotesque, a thief and self-proclaimed "snob", makes bizare speeches about how he only steals "the best". But much like "The Mirror" from the last book, Simone doesn't succeed in giving us a creepy villain, rather, she gives us a villain who just tries way too hard to be creepy! Also, a rather uninspired beat-em-up between Batgirl and Black Canary just comes off as simplistic. Still, Simone does offer an interesting twist when Barbara learns that one of Grotesque's henchmen was working with the Joker the night he shot and paralyzed her. I was initially rolling my eyes at the thought of yet another "Killing Joke" reference...KJ was released in 1988 and DC Comics STILL insists it's one of the greatest things ever written...(it's not...it's really, really not). However, Simone managed to come up with a previously unexplored angle of what happened that night, and it leads to one of the more moving moments in Batgirl's history. Another example of Batgirl shining but being saddled by dull villains.
Night of the Owls - (5 stars) 1 issue - Ahhh...now HERE is the Gail Simone who floored me when she first took over the "Birds of Prey" series! Batgirl's tie-in with Scott Snyder's "Night of the Owls" crossover event is only 22 pages long, but what an exciting 22 pages it is! Featuring terrifying and intimidating villains who harken back to some of Simone's creepier villains (Junior and the 12 Brothers in Silk spring immediately to mind), a reference to the fire balloon attacks of World War II that is almost never mentioned in the history books, thrilling action, effective character development, and a shocking climax, Gail Simone's contribution rivals even Scott Snyder's!
Knightfall Descends - (5 stars) 4 issues - At first I was afraid the "Owl" issue may have been a fluke, but with this brilliant story, Simone proves she definitely has her groove back. For any longtime Batman-fan, the name "Knightfall" already conjures up a horrific image...
"If you can look at the awfulness above without sobbing, you're far stronger than I am..."
But in this story, Knightfall is the name of a vigilante who is forming an army to combat the criminals of Gotham City. However, the fanatical Knightfall believes that criminals can never truly be reformed, so her solution is to simply murder them instead (as well as anyone who tries to prevent her from doling out her brutal form of justice). Much like the "Owls" tie-in, the villains of this piece are both compelling and frightening in a way that only Simone can execute. The reasons behind Knightfall's obsession is tragic enough to make her a sympathetic villain, while also disturbing enough to remind us exactly how sick she truly is. In addition to the great villains, we also witness Barbara's inner turmoil as to the excessiveness of her own methods, as well as a more tender side of her when she shows true concern for a criminal who was trying to hurt her just moments before. While such an enthralling "hero vs. villain" piece would have been enough to make this story a winner, Simone also ties a couple more threads together. The last volume introduced a subplot involving the return of Barbara's estranged mother. While it seemed like this plotline was going nowhere previously, here the story picks up momentum and leads to an emotional and satisfying pay-off. Add to that an unsettling appearance by Barbara's deranged brother, and you have an adventure truly worthy of five stars!
I feel a little awkward encouraging people to check out a graphic novel series when I myself had to admit the first few issues weren't very good, but if Simone can keep up the quality of storytelling that is featured in most of this edition, I can promise you that it's worth trudging through the weaker issues when the better ones are THIS good! -
The Batgirlaissance continues. I liked the story from Batgirl's origin quite a bit. Grotesque was a fun B villain. There's a Night of the Owls crossover which actually will come more into play later in Birds of Prey. Then the larger Knightfall story who is a corrupted version of Batman who brutally kills and maims criminals. All with James Jr. lurking in the background. I'm just waiting for him to make his presence known and make things much worse.
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4.5 Stars
Guys... this was great. It was exciting, creepy, emotional, well written and lead by a complex character, the villains are so much better than the ones in the first volume and Barbara is still progressing and getting confident and stronger every day. Gail Simone is doing an amazing job so far and the cliffhanger... come on, I can't wait to pick up the next volume.
This volume has a lot of different mini arcs. It starts with a short issue retelling Batgirl's origin story, there's really not much of a change, Babs become Batgirl by chance really, but that doesn't mean she wasn't ready to take the cowl. Seeing a young Barbara and the way she approaches life, how she loves her father, how she protects her brother, her quick thinking under pressure and the first meeting with Batman, in only a few pages I got so much more than what I did reading the 200+ pages of Batgirl Year One. I absolutely loved issue #0 and it was a great start for this volume.
Next up, Two issues where Babs must confront an old foe directly related to that incident. You know, The Killing Joke incident, and although the main villain this time, Grotesque, is not the best one out there, the story is powerful in other ways. Sure, having another connection to the Killing Joke can be tiring and repetitive thing, but Simone goes for a different approach and it works. It is so important for Barbara's character development and for the reader too.
Then, we have a single issue connected to the Court of Owls plot. Yeah, I'm going against the current here, I really didn't like that story, not the Batgirl story,the Snyder one. That being said, I actually did enjoy this one. The female Talon has an interesting backstory and we get to see what happens to the Gordons while Gotham is going crazy. Great storytelling and this issue works great as a stand-alone.
And lastly, we have four issues around the best villain so far on this run. Knightfall.
Things get violent and creepy this time and I loved it. So, Knightfall is an insane Vigilante, or criminal, that believes that the only way to save the city and eliminate crime is, well, permanent elimination... So let's kill all the scum with our zero tolerance to crime. Her backstory is creepy and morbid and her motivations are clear, adding to that her experience in Arkham and the crew she gathers, Knightfall and her companions are sadistic and relentless. Even though is not the most original idea for villains, it is always fascinating when the bad guy, in this case girl, thinks and consider herself the good girl in the story. Also, having Babs fighting against this group with the help, through a really nice and short cameo, of Batwoman makes this the best story so far in this title, and the ending... things won't get easier for our heroine. Because, did I tell you? Little psycho James Jr. is back in town.
Overall this was a blast to read. Gail Simone didn't have an easy task with this run, but she's writing a great story and her Barbara seems so real and it is so nice reading these dark stories with a character that refuses to become like Batman. Batgirl is still herself even after all the tragedies in her life and it's refreshing to read through her eyes. The artwork is not as great as the previous volume, but it is still good and there are some fantastic illustrations, a real highlight was Batwoman's entrance and how reminiscent was to her own title. -
Volume 2 of Gail Siimone’s Batgirl run, Knightfall, and the action ramps up with better villains than #1 (Mirror, Gretel and Grotesque), some backstory work on why Mom left (because of the Bad Bro??!! A little lame?), and lots of dramatic mayhem. Why did James Jr give Barbara’s roommate a cat?! Uh oh, but the cat looks adorable. . . . uh oh. . . And bear traps for criminals, a nice/sadistic touch?! It ends on several cliffhangers involving James Jr, and mom, and the three diabolical villains who want revenge on Batgirl. There’s a Court of Owls story that is just okay. . . a stand-alone.
Nightfall is the best villain in this volume. A sadistic vigilante serial killer. Shared artwork duties make this a little less good than in the first volume, but we like Babs and care for her and her sad past with the paralysis and Mom leaving and her bro. Good stuff! -
This was another great one!
Batgirl faces off against a new villain "The grotesque" and we see his origins and motives is quite twisted and I like how it relates to Babs and the killing joke incident and how she takes him down and then there was a tie in to Night of owls event which was meh and an okay-ish talon, nothing special and then the big story when Knightfall.. a new villain comes and we see the origins of that and her team and what her motives are and omg I love it, the direct corollary to Barbara and her team "Disgraced" and the fight and why Babs fights her and then having the Kid Ricky there and the meta-commentary of "who really are the criminals" and yeah its epicly written!
And then there are the subplot with James and her mother omg loving it, a big arc and then certainly the coming together of all her villains.. just wow, brilliantly written. And the art is just so damn good! One of the best runs easily on Batgirl already. -
Excellent volume. Good story and excellent art work, would have given this 5 stars on their own. What makes this even better is Batgirl's internal monologue. I like the fact that even when she knows she is in trouble, (in her internal monologue), she still show her toughness and defiance by telling her opponents she is going to kick their @$$.
I have to mention a couple of issues in this volume are a tie in with the Court of the Owls story line in the Batman. The continuation and conclusion of that story line is not in this volume for that you will need to either get Court of the Owls book itself.
What was slightly missing for me in Vol 1 was Batgirl really dealing with the trauma of what happened to her 3 year ago this is covered in this volume. As well as giving Batgirl her own distinctive villains to deal with. This volume starts what Batgirl issue 0. This show how Barbara Gordon got her first taste of action as a Bat, sowing the seed of her brothers career path, and when she through it was all going to end in The Killing Joke. The next couple of issues apart from introducing a new villain for Batgirl also allows Batgirl\Barbara to deal and get some (not complete) closure to her past as well as some "psychical therapy" with the Black Cannery. Then we have the Court Of the Owls (the best batman story in recent history) tie in story. The we have Batgirl introduced to a new nemesis and some major set up for Vol 3. -
Volume two trumps volume one, no doubt. The villains were better, the story arcs were more interesting, and Babs was finally sure of herself once again. Yay for Babs!
Grotesque may not have been the best villain, but like Mirror and Gretel from volume one, they're obviously going to be lending themselves to something bigger in the future. That is something I'm REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
Knightfall and her crew were the most interesting in this volume. Knightfall's past is seriously fucked up beyond belief, and I can see why she went insane and wants to get vengeance. Add in her buddies who escaped from Arkham with her and you have four people with a thirst for bad guy blood. It was refreshing to see McKenna and Babs team up for the greater good, and finding out about McKenna's past was seriously sad. And then enter BATWOMAN! I've never met her, but by the looks of it she and Babs could be related (hello fire hydrant hair). She was way cool though, and kicked serious ass.
The ending cliff(ish) hanger was really cool and I got giddy thinking about the next volume with all of these bad guys teaming up. Bring it on, Simone! -
Ooooooh, the madness, mayhem and murder continues!
I absolutely loved this sequel and Simone's writing continues to shine in Knightfall Descends. This collection focuses on Batgirl's kick-ass encounters with Mirror, Gretel and Grotesque who all have their various reasons and background stories for embracing their dark side.
We are also introduced to Barbara's brother, James Jr. who has escaped from Arkham Asylum. Now, I feel wrong saying this but I kinda have a thing for James Jr. He's pretty charming-looking.
In other news, Barbara's mom has come back on the scene and revealed the reason she left them was because of James Jr.'s strange behaviour and the supposed murder of their family pet cat, Alaska. HOWEVER...Alaska turns up later on after James Jr. befriends Barbara's roommate and gives her the cat as a present (this was pretty random I have to say but hey-ho it's a superhero comic).
Then, about halfway through Knightfall Descends, we really get a taste of the big story in this collection which focuses on Charise Carnes (aka Knightfall) and her crew (Bonebreaker, Katharsis and Bleak Michael) attempting to slaughter all of the criminals in Gotham in the quest of ridding the city of crime and any foul play. They set bear traps for petty car thieves and are hellbent on torturing the life out of Ricky. It's pretty graphic in places, but thankfully nothing too gruesome.
It ends on so many cliffhangers including 1) James Jr. helped Knightfall in setting up a showdown with his sister, Batgirl, so he is sure to be a recurring face on the scene, 2) the paralysis of Barbara Gordon looks set to repeat itself but this time the victim is her mom and 3) the three villains Batgirl took out before (Mirror, Gretel and Grotesque) have all been aided by Knightfall's crew with the sole intention of killing Batgirl.
So, there you have it. Plenty of action to get your teeth stuck into, plus what I can only describe as a nail-biting Volume 3 promising much much more of the same. -
ARC provided by NetGalley.
I'm still not entirely happy with the DC decision to heal Barbara Gordon and return her to her Batgirl roots. I am enjoying the new series, but I can't help regretting the loss of Oracle as a character. Oracle was one of the few purely intellectual heroes of the DC universe, a role that is not really duplicated by anyone else in the Batman family. With her return to being Batgirl she is once again on the streets beating up criminals, and it seems like beating up criminals might not be the best use of her unique talents.
That said, I enjoyed this volume. Gail Simone has written Batgirl well as someone who is recovering from trauma and still trying to get back on her feet. The stories presented here are engaging, and the return of an old (and very personal) enemy make me interested to see how the story progresses. While I miss Oracle, I'm willing to see where this new series takes the character and I hope that the writing and art continue to be as good as they were in this volume. -
Bullet Review:
After the massively disappointing Batwoman vol 2, I was fully prepared to regret buying and following this one too. Fortunately, my fears are unfounded. Simone continues to wow me with her perfect portrayal of Barbara/Batgirl - that fine line between snarky and relatable/likeable (unlike the nasty, distasteful Anita Blake). The art is awesome. The stories are a bit more one shot, but OK, though I felt I was missing a trillion storylines from other series. -
This one flows much better than the older volume - I kinda wish this is where Barbara started out. The allusions to her past in the chair and what led to it just feel a little more natural... sprinkled throughout without being forced down our throats. Like the story is about something other than "getting over the past" - Babs makes steps forward.
Simone does a great job conveying Barbara's inner monologue, and the first time she meets Batman really feels awesome - like, of *course* you would pee your pants when the brooding, near-silent and...purposeful costumed nut job just shows up out of nowhere, poses for a few seconds like a Mr. Universe contestant and doesn't hardly stick around once he acquires the info he needs.
The Court of Owls story is unsettling - plotting and storytelling are both superb. -
Well I enjoyed this volume a lot more than the last. It still had some issues but overall it finally found it's groove. Batgirl this time around is faced with the Knightfall! A dangerous group ready to take the lives of the villains, and heroes if they get in the way. Can the hot red head badass batgirl save the day? Well duh, of course she can!
What I liked: The zero issue was great. Seeing backstory of barb is always good. I also really enjoyed her inner dialog. It was a lot of fun, reminded me of a female version of Spider-man. I also loved the art. Very easy to follow and good action. I thought the ending was great too and builds on tension very well.
What I didn't like: The Villains. They seemed just meh. I wanted to care more about them. Fear them. I just didn't. Which is a shame. Babs needs a good villain. -
The Curse of the Volume 2s continues for DC’s New 52 line and after some terrible second volumes for Justice League, Batwoman, Stormwatch and Suicide Squad, the promising Batgirl series has also fallen prey to weak writing and a storyline lacking fresh, exciting ideas in “Knightfall Descends”. Full review
here! -
The first issue of this trade is an issue #0 origin, which fills in some nice gaps in the Batgirl mythos as part of the New 52, giving us a time frame for Batgirl's crime fighting career, time in a wheelchair, and recovery. It's odd to try and shove it all into five years, but at least Simone has tried, which is more than some other books have done.
The following two issues of this trade give Batgirl another villain to whallop, and he's not particularly special, but also gives Simone some time to wrap up Batgirl's lack of confidence storyline, which allows her to spread her wings properly in issues 10 and beyond.
The Night of Owls tie-in issue is fine, but like most of them, it kind of disrupts the flow of the story that Simone was trying to tell before the Owls came along and annoyed everyone. It's a serviceable story, but not particularly important to Batgirl.
Then comes the Knightfall four-part story, which advances the Detective McKenna subplot, as well as moving James Jr. to the fore as he infiltrates Batgirl's life and starts wrecking things from the sidelines. Knightfall herself is an intriguing nemesis for Batgirl, and looks to be the primary villain for the next few issues after Death of the Family too, moving her pieces into position whilst Batgirl wins her first real victory.
The art is remarkably consistent throughout this volume. Ardian Syaf manages to pencil most issues, but inker Vincente Cifuentes has already proven quite good at blending in with his style, so the few issues he draws are just as good, and Alitha Martinez also pops up for an issue and a half, and her style is again very similar, so you'd be hard pressed to tell who drew which issue. Ed Benes also appears for a few issues too, the Zero Issue and the final issue, and whilst I'm not the biggest fan of his work, he does well here too. -
I guess the "Court of Owls" storyline connects to the Batman story of that name, but it felt like a disconnection when the next chapter of this book was about something else. Overall, I didn't find the story as strong as the first volume's, but it was still interesting.
The "In the Line of Fire" chapter made me mist up a little with its references to Nagasaki and the little schoolgirls making balloons to deliver bombs.
I really like Barbara's voice and personality and how she struggles to counter her rage with her sense of justice.
The art is extraordinary; and for that reason alone, I have to give the book 4 stars. -
No sophomore slump here, the action and violence are cranked up even more in this installment. Only the one central story, which I glean from other reviews is connected to the 'Court of Owls' (I'm not familiar with it yet), seemed sort of an odd inclusion but was nonetheless good and even alludes to some little-known WWII trivia. The three others - especially the brief opening, featuring 'BG' in her salad days; and then the finale, with the deadly Knightfall and her trio of trouble - were uniformly excellent. Nice cameo by Black Canary (again being a fine voice of reason, just like in the newer Justice League of America series) as well.
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Just as good as volume 1; same problems, too. The color of Batgirl's cape changes from purple to yellow from one page of the same issue to the next. That's a pretty big mistake. Also, there were several times that dialogue between two characters seemed mismatched, like when one character's response to another's comment makes no sense at all. Ed Benes' art in the final issue is best of the book.
Nonetheless, this is a dark, cool, complex Batgirl story. It was a fun read and I'll be continuing the series. Highly recommended! -
Well, this was an improvement. Both Knightfall and James Jr. are far more interesting and credible villains than what we had in the first volume. That alone is a huge improvement. I also really liked the crossover with Batwoman. The two worked really well together, and I liked seeing somebody else in universe chime in with an honest, professional appreciation of Batwoman's skills and abilities.
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This was much better than volume 1. Plot became more coherent, there is some good character development going on, the origin story was quite cool. I would probably even give it 5 stars if not for the abysmally coloured thought bubbles of Batgirl. They still give me a friggin headache!
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Terrible villains and miserable characters are the order of the day.
World: The art is okay, the sense of motions is good but I want better facial expressions and characters. I find that the art does inform the art being dreary and dark and miserable. The world building here is okay for what it does. The cameos are alright but honestly the history reworked I don't like, the Talon origin was meh and the thing with Knightfall and Babs and her history...zzz.
Story: This book is not fun, characters are miserable and sad, it's just not a fun world. I know Gotham is suppose to be gritty and hardcore, but when all the Bat titles are like this, it's a bit too much. The reworked origin of Babs I don't really like, but what can I say this is the New52. The Knightfall story for me was highly forgettable. It's paced well and the tone was consistent but it's a terribly boring story. I'll talk about Knightfall as a character below but yeah the story was...zzz I've already forgotten about it.
Characters: Babs is fine, she's not the Babs I remember from Birds and Year One but a miserable, self loathing shadow of who she was. This Babs is not the leader of the Birds, she's not fully formed and far to miserable to be enjoyable. Knightfall as a character was boring also, in the short list of villains we've gotten for Babs since the New52 we've had many who are similar, where Gotham has made them who they are. The origins and how she got out of Arkham was such a stretch I just checked out. McKenna is also wildly inconsistent making her a rather unpleasant character to read. Alysia is nothing right now and James Jr...I don't remember fondly that Simone used him well.
Not my favorite, and not a fun read at all.
Onward to the next book! -
Soooooo close to five stars! I think this was the best New 52 volume I've read so far. And OMG, the creepiest thing ever was the thing with the brother and the cat (or should I say CATS...*shudders*). Just the allusions to the stalking yet to come. Lo and behold, Knightfall was actually an interesting villain too. She had characterization and a backstory. Halle-freaking-lujah! Can't wait for the next volume!
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I am digging this book! Excellent story telling and very good artwork. The series is consistently strong.
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Quick, easy read. I continue to adore Babs (surprise!) and while this was good, it definitely felt like it was building towards something bigger.
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I like the story plot and book cover. I give this book 5 stars.
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Wasn’t pulled into it like the first volume but enjoyed it nevertheless. And since I’m comparing it to the previous volume, here we see her more driven and brave and her strength (to me) felt so much more evident here.
I love getting to learn more about her and her past. Batwoman makes an appearance and the two redheads kickass together, which is of course very awesome. The villains were boring to me. I look forward to continuing and seeing what happens next! -
I think this might have been a stronger issue if I was up to date on some of the other New 52 stuff that I'm... not that interested in. Or maybe more of Barbara's past, since this volume features the (re)introduction of her brother James, who I know nothing about. It all just about hangs together, and some parts of this felt much more satisfying in terms of Batgirl getting some decent villains to kick around, but other parts were... well, a villain called Grotesque who wears a mask and kills a man to try and get a bottle of -- vintage wine?!
The art is strong, as with the first book, and I liked the cameos by Black Canary (must hunt up some of Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey) and Batwoman. Still not totally sure about that whole decision to bring Barbara back to being Batgirl as opposed to Oracle via a miracle cure, but overall, I'm still ready to follow more of Batgirl's adventures. -
I zoned out a bit while reading this but I still really enjoyed it. The plot line was more interesting than the last volume. I'm always a sucker for plot lines where vigilantes come face to face with executioners. Matt Murdock meeting Frank Castle was fascinating in Daredevil. Babs meeting Knightfall was fascinating here.
Babs fights criminals but there was a very well defined line between stopping them and torturing/murdering them. I never felt unsure of her morality which is more than I can say for some of the other vigilantes I've read about.
This book dragged a bit when it featured James Gordon Jr. I know it's going to become a bigger plot but it wasn't interesting enough to make the cut aways from the action worth it.
I enjoyed Batwoman and Detective McKenna teaming up with Batgirl to save the day.
I'll definitely pick up the next volume. -
I am new to DC comics ( I started with the new 52) and I have to say Batgirl is one of the non main title that interest me the most ( by non main I mean something else than Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern or Justice League), the other being Catwoman.
This volume expands on the previous one and we see Batgirl slowly building her confidence after recovering from the debilitating injury the Joker gave her three years ago. We see new enemies appearing ( Knightfall) and things being set up for the next big arcs ( Death of the Family and then Batgirl's brother, James).
The art is very good which is not necessary a given for a non main comic so that is a bonus and the writing is from someone I respect a lot : Gail Simone.
