Batgirl #5 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Takeshi Miyazawa, Artist; Wayne Faucher, Inker; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: At its core, this series has been about two characters – Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva. The two have possibly the most complex mother-daughter relationship in the DCU. While Cass’ abusive upbringing at her father’s hands has left her with deep scars and little affection for the man (good), her dynamic with Shiva is much more fraught. Shiva wants to test her daughter and push her to her limit, and their near-death fights may just be how Shiva shows her twisted form of love. But now Shiva has been captured, taken deep into the lair of the unburied, and Cass may be her only hope. The first part of this issue actually has shades of the original Cass run, which was mostly silent and showed off her extreme skills with body language and stealth. It’s not long before she’s found by the two deadliest assassins of the Unburied – and while she gives it her all against these supernatural enemies, it’s not enough.
And that’s where she finds herself once again in a dreamscape, where she’s met by the person closest to her, Stephanie Brown. These two tend to see each other when at the brink of death. Steph has been notably missing from the book until now, and all I’ll say about a certain dynamic is that Brombal absolutely understands the assignment just as Cloonan and Conrad did. The scene between them is very powerful, as well as beautifully illustrated. But when the dream lifts, Cass and Shiva find themselves in a much more dangerous situation one where their lives literally hang in the balance. This arc has been the best focus Cass and Shiva got since the end of Cass’ last solo series, and with one issue left to go in this arc, next issue has a lot to still resolve. Absolutely love the direction this series is going so far, and highly excited to see what Brombal has planned for Cass next.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
