| Title | : | Batgirl, Volume 3: Death of the Family |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1401242596 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401242596 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 |
| Publication | : | First published June 27, 2013 |
Collecting: Batgirl 14-19, Annual 1; Batman 17; & material from Young Romance 1
Batgirl, Volume 3: Death of the Family Reviews
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(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: A junk drawer jumble of misfit stories, where villains incline to mundane malice while drunk on cans of cliché crazy. -
I did not really enjoy the Death of the Family arc. However with Batgirl/Barbara's history with the Joker this tie in was done very well. I was a bit dubious of the change in artist but I think Benes art work does go very well with the storyline. The Books does start with a one shot special. With the digital art work and is more of an epilogue to the Court of the Owls storyline. Than the book continues from where volume 2 left off. Barbara's mother has been attacked in the same style Barbara was starting the Jokers plans for her. I do like the way Batgirl is portrayed she really has no problem killing the Joker she has rationales it, she even fantasises about it. This volume does actually have the conclusion to the Death of the Family in the Batman comic.
We also get a look at the most demented member of the Gordon clan James Gordon Jr. The sibling rivalry show down. Something I like especially is in this series is Batgirls rage she fights angry and brutally. I think it is a good touch to show Batgirl bruised bleeding in fights, the only thing is on the next panel she is back to Barbara besides from a few bruises and bandages on arms and legs but her face seem the heal at a Wolverine level. Another great set of books. There is even a short valentine’s story to break up all the darkness of these issues. All in all a great series, one of the best of the Bat books. -
In my humble opinion, Gail Simone is probably one of the most consistent writers in comic books. As in, her stuff is consistently good. I'm not going to claim that she's never written any stinkers, just that I haven't read them if she has. Take this title, for example. Bringing Barbara Gordon back into her original role as Batgirl could have easily gone veryvery wrong.
A lot of people loved Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, and everyone loved Babs role as Oracle.
I'm still crossing my fingers that somehow Simone will manage to merge a version of Oracle into this title. Pretty Please!
Not sure how, but Simone sidestepped some pretty big landmines, and pulled off one of the biggest changes to the Bat family universe. In fact, she has turned this into one of the few titles that I continually look forward to from DC.
Now, if you haven't been keeping up, what we have here is the Death of the Family arc. The title is a nod toward the famous Batman: A Death in the Family. You know, where the fans got to vote on the outcome of what happened to Robin (Jason Todd). Unfortunately for Jason, he was so annoying that the fans voted to let the Joker kill him off.
But as I've mentioned before, nobody stays dead in comics. Jason is back. First as the villain Red Hood, and now as the not quite as villainous anti-hero Red Hood.
And Joker is back, as well...minus the skin on his face. Well it's there, but it's just sorta taped on or something.
Huh?
Sorry you'll just have to read the books if you wanna know the answer to that one.
In this arc, the Joker is coming for everyone Batman loves, not just Robin. Naturally, Barbara is high on the list of targets. Unfortunately for her, Joker isn't the only one who is out for blood. She also has to contend with one of the scariest villains in DC's recent history, her brother! In case you don't know, James Gordon is the super-creepy serial killer who has special things planned for his sister.
*shudder*
Will what the Joker has in store for her be good enough for James? Or will her be unwilling to share Babs with anyone else?
Read it and find out!
Highly Recommended! -
Batgirl must confront the Joker for the first time after he shot her when he kidnaps her mom. This volume is really dark. Barbara's brother is in the background working with the Joker during all of this too. After the Death of the Family stuff ends, James finally makes his move, ending with Batgirl at odds with her dad. Impressive stuff.
BTW, if you're wondering why Ray Fawkes wrote a couple of issues, it's because DC fired Gail Simone via email until fan outrage forced DC to hire her back. DC has a long history of doing stupid things. -
This is kind of a mishmash of issues, some of them continuing the work Simone was doing in Volumes 1 and 2, some of them intersecting with the Scott Snyder Death of the Family work, some of them written by Ray Fawkes. The Simone stuff introduces Catwoman to the mix, which I enjoyed quite a bit. The Death in the Family stuff has its moments (Joker!), as we get a little freaked out by Joker, some ptsd moments related to Batgirl’s paralysis and fears about her mother, but overall it is a diversion for Simone, and it calls attention to the fact that Snyder is a better writer of the Batworld she is, but it’s still pretty compelling stuff.
The Fawkes pieces have to do with Babs and her crazy bro, connecting them to the middle issues of Death of the Family, and while these issues also have their moments, they are also a kind of diversion of sorts for Simone and not as well written as the others in this trade. The dude (the bro) is creepy, though! And there’s new artists, so there is a shift in the feel of the thing, more of a contribution to the mishmash feel of the volume. Overall, in spite of what I have said above, I think it is worthwhile to check out Simone’s run of Batgirl. -
One of the downsides to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s runaway success with their Batman series has been the way the Batman editors have decided to tie in the many, less-successful Bat-titles into it in a desperate attempt to boost sales.
Every Snyder Batman arc is an event, it seems, so with Death of the Family Batgirl has to awkwardly find a way to fit into it without appearing contrived - which she doesn’t manage to do. There are also unsuccessful tie-ins to Night of the Owls and Damian’s death.
The flipside of this is that Snyder clearly has better ideas than Gail Simone - that Knightfall stuff in the last volume was rubbish - so forcing her to write about the Talons, the Joker, and James Gordon Jr, instead of some street kid called Ricky, her sexually-ambiguous roommate Alysia, and a space-jockey-helmeted Firebug, makes for slightly better comics in Volume 3.
Catwoman is hired to bust out the female Talon Batgirl fought in the last book (why didn’t the Court just have one of their many other Talons do this?) and Batgirl gets tossed into the mix for an all-female superhero team-up. It fleshes out the female Talon’s character some but it’s still an unnecessary extra issue on top of all the other Owls shenanigans.
Then we’re onto the main event as Joker tries to marry(!) Batgirl… for some reason. Joker’s got Babs’ mum tied to a bomb so she’s gotta go along with it, but why marriage…? I’m guessing the Bat-editors decided that they couldn’t get Batman and Joker to marry (Joker just thinks they’re besties) so they decided to make Barbara marry the guy who crippled her because that’s messed up, ie. something the Joker would do? (In the New 52, The Killing Joke still happened but Barbara recovered the use of her legs after a spell.)
It’s really not the best storyline and has no payoff but I guess Simone had to come up with something for the event and actually it’s not a terrible read - the Joker is just too good a character to be boring!
Continuing the smorgasbord of random storylines, the short from Young Romance #1 where Batgirl kisses Ricky, a street kid with a crutch, because it’s Valentine’s Day, is also included. Like the Night of the Owls issue, it’s very throwaway stuff.
At some point Damian dies so Batgirl has to acknowledge it leading to an awkwardly shoehorned-in two and a bit pages where she calls up Dick Grayson and has a cry before pulling herself together and getting on with her own storyline - so pointless!
Ray Fawkes steps in to write a couple of terrible issues focusing on a new storyline about another of Snyder’s hits, James Gordon Jr, Babs’ psychotic bro. Fawkes (and Simone, who comes back for the final issue of the book) take a superbly creepy chap like James Jr who stole the show in The Black Mirror, and turn him into a cartoony villain whose motivations, when revealed after a drawn-out game of cat and mouse, are so embarrassingly stupid I would’ve preferred he kept quiet at the end.
I did like how at the start of the James Jr story Babs is at her computer trawling the GCPD’s files and catching crooks that way - just like she did as Oracle way back when. Ah!
It’s worth mentioning that the reason Fawkes took over was because DC fired Gail Simone via email. This is because DC is seemingly run by knuckleheads who change their minds at the drop of a cowl! Anyway, Fawkes didn’t exactly set the series on fire and the readers demanded Simone return or they’d boycott the title, so back she came.
These aren’t bad comics but they’re definitely not great. Batgirl does the same thing every time: punch, kick, move onto the next enemy. The Talon? Punch, kick, done. Joker? Punch, kick, done. Firebug? Punch, kick, done. James Jr? Punch, kick, done. The stories are resolved in the least inspired ways, which is all the more disappointing given that Babs is written as this genius intellect yet she uses none of her brains in resolving her problems, just the same old punch/kick combo (with some trick Batarangs thrown in for good measure). It’s a case of the writers not living up to the level the characters have been portrayed as.
Batgirl Volume 3 collects perfectly average superhero comics that are unchallenging, unoriginal, easy-to-read and instantly forgettable. B-sides to Snyder’s A-sides. -
3.5 Stars
Okay, this one I didn't enjoy as much as the previous volume. It is good though, but let me explain. Just like volume 2 this trade collects a few stories and, well, it feels forced. It makes me feel bad for Simone, she was setting this incredible storyline, but she had to make space for the Death of the family event. Oh Snyder, oh Death of the Family we meet again. She also has to connect later issues with the death of Robin and not only that, but the female Talon is back.
For one volume, that's simply too much. It cuts the flow of what she was trying to do with this title and instead it feels like she had little creative freedom to take Babs on her own direction. Add to that the fact that there was another writer for a couple of issues who decided to change the POV... well, it just didn't work. I felt that he messed with all the work Simone has been doing to give Babs her own voice, so at the end, I was quite frustrated with this volume and it didn't live up to my expectations.
Now, let me break down this trade.
First we have the annual, which I really liked, Catwoman makes an appearance and I freaking loved it. After what I read of her in New 52 I just want to say: Thank you, Gail Simone. Also, she's not the only cameo, the Talon we met in the court of owls tie-in issue is also in here and it's so interesting to see where her story is going.
Then we have 3 issues + Batman 17 that connects directly with Death of the Family. This mini arc starts where Volume 2 ended and... it's okay. I mean, there are some creepy moments in there for sure. Barbara having to confront the Joker is definitely the most powerful thing in this volume, even more if this confrontation happens when her mother is in danger and her creepy brother is lurking around. Yeah, not the best time for Babs, but a great and intense moment for the reader. The Joker is in full psychopath mode and is forcing Babs to marry him. What a romantic soul.
A sudden change of tone with the few pages of Young Romance 1, gosh I hate those mini stories. Let's ignore this.
And lastly, three issues, the first two written by Ray Fawkes, that deal with James Jr obsession with her older sister and the final confrontation. Such a shame, what looked promising in the previous volume was the weakest part of this trade and, like I said before, I blame the Snyder event here and how everything had to connect with the Batman storyline. It took away the spotlight from this story and it didn't live up to the promise.
I still enjoyed this volume, there are some great personal moments for Babs, the stakes are high and Gail Simone shines writing the confrontation with the Joker. I also loved her Catwoman. But I can't help but feel that the plotline that she was developing with James Jr ended up in a pretty low note. It felt rushed and underwhelming. I did not like the issues written by Ray Fawkes, it was such a decrease in quality and the artwork throughout this volume is pretty inconsistent. -
I thought this was the best volume of the entire series. This is Babs dealing head on with her past. This volume contains cute little side story and the later half mostly around James. You know James...not me James. No the piece of shit brother of Barb. This sick fuck lovesssss to fuck with his family. So he takes no mercy on them. However, the part I liked more was Joker event. If you don't know by now Barb was shot by the piece of shit and paralyzed. Now he's back, she's back walking, and she faces him one on one...kind of...but guess what? he doesn't want to fight! He wants to get married...wUT!?
What I liked: Everything to do with the Joker. Not because of him, even though he is entertaining. It's because Batgirl had to deal with a lot internally to get through this one. I loved watching her struggle and figure out how to do it. The cute little love story with Ricky was nice as well. I also like James. He's sick, he's twisted, and he's family. Giving a bit more stakes to it than just a random weirdo which is nice.
What I didn't like: I felt like the James storyline got wrapped up too quickly. Another 3 or 4 issues to flush out why he's so scary would have been better. His reasoning seems a little weak to for what he does.
Overall this volume really made me a Batgirl fan. I really enjoyed her story arc here and knowing that the last volume is Gail's last makes me a tad bit sad. Hope it ends well! -
There’s a lot of individual elements I like in this book — Barbara’s bravery, her struggles with her anger at the people who put her in a wheelchair, her sheer ferocious intelligence (and yet she spends so much time punching her way through problems, sigh), some of the family issues that are brought up… But where it ties in with the other Batfamily books, it feels clumsy. I don’t know what’s going on with Damien, with Nightwing, etc. Nor do I really get chance to care, since it’s all a whirlwind of action.
The art is good, expressive, etc, but ye gods, I forgot how dark DC comics can be. Grit, grit, and more grit.
I do like Alysia’s coming out; I like the casual way Barbara takes it, and yet how important the moment still feels.
Originally posted here. -
My God, I LOVED this Volume! *swoons*
Death of the Family really cranks up the tension with plenty of action, hard-hitting graphics and punchy dialogue. We see Batgirl face the bastard who paralysed her for three years (Mistah J) and are once again reacquainted with his psychosis and the depths of his depravity.
We also learn that Barbara's brother, James Gordon Jr. is actually pulling the strings behind these hideous attacks and forcing his sister to relive nightmare after nightmare after nightmare.
This volume is brilliant for sooooo many reasons: firstly, it comes across as more mature (both in tone and the topics discussed), we learn a lot more about the extremely complex family Gordon dichotomy which is key to understanding why James Gordon Jr. became a homicidal maniac, we also learn the true relationship between Batman and the Joker which can also be extended to Batgirl and her brother (kind of) - the Joker knows that Batman will never kill him because without him, Batman would be nothing (Batman needs an arch-nemesis, someone who justifies him wearing the Bat-cape, the Joker gives him a sense of purpose, and both know it).
I always love these little insights into their characters because it forces you to reconsider their position on the superhero/villain spectrum - is Batman really so heroic after all? Are they actually on the same side and is it just a case of the Joker being at the extreme end? They actually do have a lot of things in common and I loved to see this facet of their characters explored.
Going back to the title character - Batgirl is as kick-ass as ever, and I really do empathise with Barbara and all of the shit she has endured. I think one of the most harrowing details concerns her paralysis, and with the Joker and her own brother threatening to put her back in the wheelchair, I am rooting for Batgirl on every single page. She is such a likeable, wonderful and inspiring character. I hope there are many more Batgirl volumes to come because she is simply an extraordinary creation! -
3.5 stars.
I have no idea why they didn't/couldn't(?) get Gail Simone to write Batgirl and the Birds of Prey because she's the only writer aside from Dixon to truly give me a Babs to root for. Babs is not a Kate Bishop clone, she's a grown ass woman and she's better than smarmy one liners. (don't get me wrong, I adore Kate Bishop but lately comics have decided to clone her for every female led book. I have no idea why)
Babs is angry in this book.
Understandably so: she's still dealing with the trauma of the Joker shooting her, her crazy brother is running around hurting people, she's living a double life and on top of all of that, the Joker is after her again.
The first story about the random fires was a 5 star story for me. It was a true Batgirl story. I felt like I knew who Babs was and I understood where she was coming from. Solid, A+
The next part where the Joker kidnapped her mother was a 5 star story as well. Babs is clever and has a plan for anything the Joker might throw at her. The action was really entertaining and I loved Babs' characterization.
The next part was Death of the Family. As a Batgirl story, 1 star. Babs is barely in it. Like at all. As a Batman story, 4 stars but again, this is a Batgirl book.
The James subplot gets 3.5 stars. It didn't move me because I knew nothing about him outside of this series and the few moments of him in Batgirl Year One. As a villain he's fine but I just needed more history, there. He does all of this because he didn't get any attention? boo freaking hoo.
Anyway, there were some throwaway developments in the last part. Babs' decision to tell Alysia she's Batgirl seemed to come from nowhere.
This ends with Gordon chasing after Batgirl so that might be interesting.
3.5 stars. -
Bullet Review:
There are three distinct stories (actually four if you think of it) in this collection.
Story 1: Catwoman and Batgirl collaborate against the Night Court. This one is my favorite, incredibly clever and fun. I was disappointed when the story ended and wasn't addressed again.
Story 2: Death of the Family. This deals with the return of the Joker, an attack on the Bat Family, and Barbara facing the man who crippled her. Good, but I think that reading only the Batgirl parts may have hampered my understanding of this storyline. Not that it wasn't pretty well summarized and concluded, just that I was missing key pieces from other comics.
Story 3: A brief interlude between Rick and Batgirl. It's OK, but if Batgirl settles down with this guy, I'm gonna punch a wall.
Story 4: James Gordon, Barbara's brother, returns to act creepy and psychotic. Seriously, this guy is messed. After the way it ended, I will be VERY interested in how it ends!
Somewhat confusing, but I liked it overall. Gail Simone (and her coauthors) do a great job overall with the Batgirl line, so I continue to look forward to the next installments. -
Making me eat my hat after my review of volume 2, this volume opens with an Annual that reintroduces the Talon from Batgirl's Night of the Owls issue, who I hadn't realised was Strix, who would go on to star in Birds of Prey, and currently Secret Six. The annual has great artwork, and shows us a side of Catwoman we don't get to see very much either, plus it's a little heartbreaking too.
Death of the Family takes up the bulk of this volume, with Batgirl, her mother, and James Jr. all in his crosshairs. This story brings a lot of things to a head, as James finally makes his presence known, and Batgirl's battle against the Joker hits home after all that he's ever put her through. This is one of the stronger DotF tie-ins due to the personal nature of it all, and Simone definitely lets that shine through.
The next two issues are a little sub-par, compared to the rest of the series. Ray Fawkes writes these two issues, and they're basically just Batgirl chasing a random pyromaniac, and a very vague tie-in to the death of Robin. He does however move James Jr. into a position to finally have his story come to a head - I'm not sure if this was Simone's intention, but when she returns to the title for the final issue in the trade, she continues this plotline through to its conclusion, and launches into the storyline for the next volume, Batgirl: Wanted, too.
The artwork in this volume is a little cleaner than we're used to after 13 issues of Ardian Syaf, with Daniel Sampere's lines being a bit less rough, but no less able to capture the darkness that Batgirl's life goes through in this book. Sampere is one of those reliable artists that you might not be able to pick out of a crowd, but can always count on to get the job done. -
The new 52 Batgirl has recovered from her wheelchair after a few years and is out fighting crime. In this installment she deals with the Joker and her crazed brother.
Almost a five star but not quite.
MY GRADE: B plus. -
After rating both Vol. 1 and 2 with five stars, it was disappointing that I did not enjoy Vol. 3 nearly as much as those earlier installments. While there were some great moments (the late conversation scene between BG and her roommate - "The people I love call me Babs" - for one example) it was unrelentingly brutal and bleak. The violence seemed cranked up and very unpleasant - of course much of it involves the Joker and his hired goons - to the point it was just distracting overall.
-
Remember how Catwoman: Death of the Family was a pessimistic cash-grab tie-in barely connected to the story? Well this is NOT.
This does tie in with the Death of the Family rather well (and in fact, includes the penultimate issue of Batman with the Joker/Bats showdown with everything else hanging in the balance - one of the few times I re-read an issue I'd just read the day before in another TPB, because it's THAT GOOD.)
Gail Simone, congrats. Also, could they give you Catwoman to rescue from the Vet who should be putting it down soon? Please?
Simone understands that story works, not stupid posturing and trying to be "sexy" or "strong-woman"; these things are qualities that can be in women without beating the reader over the head with the reverse-subtlety stick.
I say this stuff because the first story in this Volume is a team-up, albeit an unplanned one, between Catwoman and Batgirl, to fight the Talons, and in some ways, try to save a young woman (who just happens to also BE a Talon!). This was a good match, with friction between the 2, but enough mutual respect and common sense to realize that survival is a good enough goal to strive for.
Once the Joker shows up, you think things are going to be pretty crazy, and they are, but what's not counted on is the appearance of another psychotic man who likes to play games with the Gordon family: James Gordon Junior!
If you'll recall, DC decided to make Jr. into a sociopath, and he's right in his element here, terrorizing his mother and sister, and going toe-to-toe with the Joker for the right to destroy the Gordon family.
This is, in fact, a more appropriate title for Death of the Family here, because the Gordon family was already fractured, but what happens here will most likely tear them apart for good.
Junior is a very good adversary for Barbara, as he's able to manipulate very well, and knows her better than nearly anyone.
I strongly recommend this, and it's also very nice to see Batgirl stand on her own strength (mostly, other than some brief cameos). She deserves the success and I hope DC doesn't screw it up.
(PS. the roommate being transgender seemed kinda thrown in last minute, like there was a quota to fill, or DC felt like they hadn't done enough of it in Batwoman this time around. I am sure they could have let Simone do a better job if they'd saved this for later on, instead, it just feels forced upon an already great story that needs no other focus.)
Strong recommendation for this one. Keep up the fine work! The best of the Gotham women series (consistently). -
The first chapter, "The Blood That Moves Us"--written by Gail Simone--connects to the previous Knightfall storyline and the Court of Owls thread (which I still haven’t read, so I know I’m missing something) and features the Owl assassin known as Mary, plus Catwoman. It’s an okay story with plenty of Girl Power but didn’t have as much emotional impact as I would have liked.
The Death of the Family story arc includes three chapters written by Simone; a chapter written by Scott Snyder, which turns things to Batman’s point of view; two chapters written by Ray Fawkes; and then finishes with a chapter by Simone. The story intertwines threads involving the Joker and his warped plan to ruin Batman’s protégés and James Gordon Jr.’s continuing quest for revenge against his family. Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) continues to be a great character—smart, strong and brave yet vulnerable, relatable and believable. Her struggle to deal with all the forces at work in her life and keep her (justifiable) rage in check is compelling. I’m not a fan of the Joker; but his dialogue here is quite good, with lots of twisty, quirky phrasings. I still find James Jr. a more frightening villain than the guys with painted faces and freaky gadgets; he’s simply an ice-cold psychopath. I was impressed with the last-chapter twist involving their mother.
Snyder’s Batman-focused chapter--"The Punchline"--makes a good point that also made me think of the debate that raged across fandom after the Man of Steel movie came out. Is it really taking the high ground to refuse to kill the villain when not killing him puts so many more innocents in danger and costs other people their lives?
Stuck in the middle of the volume is "Dreamer," written by Ray Fawkes. Showing a bit of flirty what-ifism between Barbara and a young man named Ricky (a petty criminal Barbara once rescued and has enlisted as something of a C.I.), it serves as a fluffy little break from the heavy themes and violence of the other storylines.
I’d been disappointed when I saw that Ardian Syaf was no longer an artist for this series, but I shouldn’t have been. Daniel Sampere’s art is every bit as rich and detailed as Syaf’s; and the other contributors are good, too. The colorists have done a fabulous job. Greg Capullo’s version of Bruce Wayne is the most attractive one I’ve ever seen on a page. The Joker is too grotesque for my liking, though. -
I enjoyed this but it suffers from inconsistency. The first issue is a tie in to the Night of the Owls/Court of Owls storyline. It's good, has fantastic art, but it is smack dab in the middle of the previous storyline and it doesn't flow. After this issue, it goes back to the original story where Barbara finally meets the Joker again. Simone takes us through all of her emotions, which seemed real and justified, but a little lackluster somehow, maybe too short. This leads directly into the finale of the Death of the Family storyline, which I've read before and felt was a terrible conclusion.
What follows are three issues, NOT written by Simone, but do continue the main story involving Barbara's brother James Gordon Jr. as well as Firebug. In this middle of THIS arc, is a very small moment that places this at the same time as the finale to Batman Incorporated. There's no real need for it though because it doesn't change anything in the story. It has some rotating artists and a few worthwhile character moments but that's about it. There's a rather cliche ending too that seems to close everything up for a new chapter to start in the next issue. -
Hooray for Gail Simone including a trans character in her story just over a decade ago. And being really cool about it and making Batgirl cool about it too.
-
Better, not by much.
World: The art is still only okay. I don't really like the sense of motion and the all dark and gritty nature of the art, just my preference. The world building is probably the best part of this arc. Not only does it go into the amazing Death of the Family but also deals with Babs' past and family. Solid.
Story: The story was solid for a tie-in, though if you read all the tie ins you will find that they are pretty much end the same with the dinner plate and the Joker. The meat of the Joker story is good and is in line with what Snyder is doing for the series so the ultra violence and super gritty and near torture porn nature of the story makes sense. That being said, I found James Gordon Jr to be completely out of place in this story. He is a very strong character created by Snyder and Dark Mirror was fantastic, here not so much. I felt he was tacked on and should have had his own time in the story and not be a part of the Joker story. After the Joker stuff with Ricky (stupid) and the JGJ stuff was okay. I felt that JGJ was not smart enough compared to Dark Mirror but I guess it's just a writing issue and two psychos one after another really did not do JGJ any favours.
Characters: Babs is still too dark for me and too broody and miserable. I know Simone is playing that PTSD angle but man the Bat books are bleak and I'm not enjoying this Babs. Joker was what he is, a force of nature and JGJ I think is a bit half baked here and could be done way better. The family stuff is alright but really there is no where near enough development to warrant the affection that Babs feels for Mom. Ricky...zzz.
Better than the rest of the series so far but it was only okay.
Onward to the next book! -
I almost gave this four stars. ALMOST. Surprisingly enough Batman's story is what saved it for me. I now want to read all of the Death of the Family run.
Babs is still a babe who had a really rough patch and is still learning to be fully at peace with herself. The action is not missing from this volume. The characters are not missing from this volume. And the self growth is damn sure not missing from this volume.
Highlights:
Joker looks creepier than ever. His first close up actually made my skin crawl. He has now cut off the skin of his face and wears it as an obvious mask (for reasons you can read about). This development leads into a kickass story line involving Bats and his boy band of sidekicks. LOVED IT! So much, seriously. This was the part of the story that won me over. It was dark and torturous and twisted. But I'm not giving anything away!
The play-by-play between Batgirl and Joker is crazy insane here. Not only does the Joker have Babs' mom hostage, but James is sneakily playing into (and out of) Joker's hand. And Joker has an interesting proposition to ensure everyone's safety. (ENTER MEGA CREEP FACTOR ON ALL ENDS!)
The thing that will keep me coming back:
Not only is it clear that Simone has breathed life, sass, and power into Barbara, BUT THAT ENDING! Those things. I really need nothing but that. I am in love with this. Entirely. I want MORE. -
It's a shame that this had to be wrapped into the Death of the Family event. Nothing against that storyline, but Simone had been building quite a story with Babs and her brother. Worse, it cuts off a really rewarding storyline with Catwoman and one of the Owls. The same one who had featured in Batgirl's part of Night of the Owls, naturally. I can't complain too much, though, because the Joker storyline isn't bad. Joker is every bit as as terrifying and calculating here as he is in the main story. But I was left confused about a few things. Does Joker know that Babs is Batgirl or not? And if he doesn't, why'd he kidnap her mother? And why try to force her into a marriage? Maybe for the sheer horror factor on her part, but it isn't clear. Luckily, the storyline with James Jr. picks up right after the Death of the Family stuff. It does end up feeling a little rushed, which is a shame. Those are the few criticisms I have of this volume. Overall, it was a great read. Plenty of action and suspense, with enough calmer scenes to keep the whole thing from becoming too overwrought.
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Wow. This book is excellent! I enjoyed this volume even more than the first two. Simone really nails this Batgirl's characterization after giving her a retconned origin in the first volumes. Really fantastic!
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Så galet bra!
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2.75 stars.
This ties in with
Batman, Volume 3: Death of the Family which I actually own a copy of. This joker is just really really weird.
I leave you all with one important image and one important image only. Because it's important.
That is all. -
I still found the second volume to be my favourite, I think, but this was definitely full of revelations!!
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Absolutely freaking awesome!!! I got a tiny glimpse of Batgirl in Night of the Owls and I was interested, but after this book, I want more and have placed an order to read this series!! Wow! What an excellent, exciting, very creepy story. This story has the dark, eerie atmosphere that I love from the serial killer mysteries I love to read. Batgirl is awesome! The book starts off with Batgirl investigating some arsons being committed by homeless people but that is cut off and left hanging when she finds out from a source that the Court of Owls are still active. Then Catwoman and Batgirl team up together against the Owls to save a halfway decent female Talon. As I've said before I'm not into Catwoman, but I actually enjoyed this team-up with Batgirl. This was an action-packed thrilling story, very intense, and I loved knowing the Owls are still out there working behind the scenes. Then comes the best part of the whole book as both Barbara Gordon and her Batgirl persona deal with The Joker, Barbara's psychopath brother and the kidnapping of their mother. This was freaking creepy to the extreme. Heart-pounding reading and intense to the max. Very, very disturbing storyline. I never liked the old Joker, but this new one is a deranged psycho and demented beyond belief. He gives me the shivers. We also get a lot of backstory on Barbara's shooting that paralyzed her and her recovery throughout the book. Then comes a story which I believe must be a cross-over from Batman where the Joker has all the family kidnapped and tortures them. Again Intense. Finally, the ending is emotional. the death in the family secret is revealed and closure comes to part of the storyarc but it leaves us and Batgirl drained feeling that the next volume will possibly take a new direction for her family. The art throughout is gruesomely creepy. I'm majorly impressed with this book. Just loved the intensity of it and the outstanding quality of the story.
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In my opinion, this is the height of Simone's Batgirl run (with the addition of this story's fallout in "Wanted"). I mean, we're talking a one-two punch of the Joker and James Gordon Jr., two great antagonists with a built-in history with Barbara. Joker's inclusion is a natural extension of Barbara's struggles with PTSD after The Killing Joke, and while it's unfortunate that their encounter is limited by Death of the Family, it leads to some great moments. Ray Fawkes does a good job of carrying the torch for two issues while Simone was temporarily removed from the book, setting up the confrontation in the final issue that remains one of my favorite moments from the run. The drama with James is so good, and I wonder if the series suffered a bit from ending the conflict this early. I don't know if it was Simone's decision or DC's, but I would've liked to have seen a version where James and Barbara encountered each other throughout the series.
The book's not perfect - the Joker flashbacks in issue 15 don't really add anything, the budding romance with Ricky is one of the weakest parts of the run, and there are a few continuity inconsistencies. All that said, Daniel Sampere is the best penciller of this entire series, and his work in this volume is fantastic.
The following spoiler regards vol. 4, so read at your own risk. -
One thing is for certain: Batgirl can multitask.
Actually, I think it is one of the strongest characteristics of Simone's run on Batgirl, the numerous, interweaving, overlapping story lines that keep Babs moving at a relentless pace. It takes real talent to balance four or five narratives all at once.
Sadly, I felt the series nearly flatlined when it transitioned over to Ray Fawkes as writer. All of that hard work that Simone put into developing a razor sharp, precise character's voice for Batgirl was thrown out the window in one fell swoop when Fawkes decided to change the POV of the narrator to Babs' brother. Why did he do that??? A huge mistake in my opinion. It was like opening up a gulf in the continuity of an otherwise seamless melding of multiple story lines.
3.5/5 -
I kinda loved this. Catwoman and Batgirl together, yes please. Plus Strix, very much liking Strix (Birds of Prey is waiting on my nightstand, I'm getting to you soon). I have not read any Death in the Family so I felt a little confused but wowzers, Joker is really one of the most interesting villains ever. He is so beyond creepy. I thought the side story with Barbara and Ricky was sweet, yet also sad. There's a lot of sad and dark in this series. And then family issues. James Jr. and Joker are both Criminal Minds material, absolutely banana-nuts. The artwork differs slightly from issue to issue but still beautiful. I have not read any of the other Batgirl's so nothing to compare it to but this series just gets better and better.
