Reviews

Batgirl, Vol. 7: Oracle Rising by Cecil Castellucci

Only show reviews with written explanations

hetellama83's review

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I liked the art in this volume. I thought the story was better than the last volume I read before Castellucci took over. But, it feels like a pretty slight premise to stretch over six issues. It gets a little repetitive, and I'm not sure Oracle as a villain is as interesting a villain as the writer thinks she is. Partly because Oracle's pathos, such as it is, seems to be rooted in a criticism of Batgirl that doesn't really fit what we know of the character. I don't know every single bit of the character's backstory, so I don't really understand why there is a robot body version of Oracle to start with. But that it's main beef seems to be that Batgirl "abandoned" it, but in this volume we're not really told how/why that actually happened, feels odd. But even if you just roll with that, Oracle doesn't really evolve as a villain , and her seeing herself as somehow "helping" feels kind of half-baked. Also, I have to note... maybe it's just by chance that the last few stories I'm reading right now seem obsessed with Batgirl getting shot/her implant and I really dislike that it's become such a focus with every other villain zapping her implant.