Batgirls #3 – Becky Cloonan/Michael W. Conrad, Writers; Jorge Corona, Artist; Sarah Stern, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This book continues to be one of the biggest surprises at DC in recent years, a non-stop chaotic romp through Gotham combined with some surprisingly tense plotting and great characterization for the three Batgirls. It also has a whole host of original villains, including some Magistrate offshoots, a mysterious killer—and most notably, the deranged artist Tudor, who uses a doctored fear gas to turn his acolytes into his minions. As the issue begins, one of his art shows has ensnared Steph in its mind control, and Cass has to safely get her BFF out of there while also not getting attacked by the rogue Batgirl. This book does a great job of showing just how deep their friendship is—some might say more than a friendship, based on subtext—in a way not really seen since the pre-Flashpoint era. Tutor himself is a particularly creepy villain, much more manipulative than Scarecrow and no less dangerous.
The plotting is surprisingly tense, but whenever the pressure is off, what stands out about this book is just how much fun it is. Steph and Cass have great banter, and it’s nice to see Babs in the mentor role that she used to be so good at. She’s mostly mission control in this series, but she gets roped into a mission at a Gotham art show this issue—where she meets Charles Dante, a never-seen old flame from Burnside who might as well have a giant sign saying “Suspicious” over his head. It almost seems too perfect. The ongoing subplot of Steph’s susceptibility to the mind control is interesting, and it gives the Batgirls a great chance to balance each other out and support each other. Jorge Corona’s art continues to be fun and kinetic, with the character designs being cartoony but never overly so. Special shout-out to the little chibi Steph and Cass who appear on dialogue captions briefly. I’m enjoying this book more than any other in the Bat-line right now.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
