Batgirl #18 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Takeshi Miyazawa, Artist; Juan Castro, Inker; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Batgirl has been spending this entire series running around the world, chased by assassins and confronting her family legacy. Now she’s back in Gotham – but the supernatural elements she’s gone after have followed her home. She’s now in the possession of a bizarre family curse, allowing her to control her own blood as a weapon, but at great personal risk. She wants it gone, and that leads her to the lair of the Bloodmaster, a deadly martial arts master with the same power – but he’s just been shot in the head, creating a portal to the Spirit World. And so in Cass goes, alongside Tenji and Jaya, in search of answers. This allows us to return to one of the best new worlds DC has created in a long time, defined in an excellent miniseries by Alyssa Wong and Haining. While Xanthe, the character most associated with this place, is nowhere to be seen, they’re replaced with someone else – the Bloodmaster, who was supposed to be dead.
Yeah, it turns out that’s a little flexible in this place. There’s more than one ticking clock over Cass’ head – not only does she want the power gone before it kills her, but she wants to get back to reunite with her family over a Wayne Manor dinner. There’s a great scene with Steph trying to stall and Bruce not having it, and that makes me just want more of Cass and Steph interacting under Brombal’s pen. Hey, he’s writing both of them in different books now! But this issue is mostly about our heroes exploring this strange new realm, as Cass verbally spars with the Bloodmaster as he attempts to get her to embrace her dark new family legacy. Where this issue excels is in its exploration of the complex legacy of both Cass’ parents – both of whom are seemingly now dead. There’s a scene towards the end that brings back a major player, but the closing line sells what Brombal is doing here.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
