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iffer's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still finding this enjoyable, and there's a lot of action in this volume, but part of me feels like Batgirl is standing in front of a revolving door of villains all of whom have tragic stories, became unhinged, and then decided to try to make the world a better place by being homicidal.
I see a lot of potential, as far as Knightfall becoming a decent longer-term villainous threat, as well as for Barbara's relationships to be explored, but I'll have to see if the potential is ever fulfilled. A lot has been thrown out there, including, but not limited to Knightfall, James Jr.'s escape and the cliffhanger of restaging the shooting that paralyzed Barbara (junior) with Barbara (senior).
I see a lot of potential, as far as Knightfall becoming a decent longer-term villainous threat, as well as for Barbara's relationships to be explored, but I'll have to see if the potential is ever fulfilled. A lot has been thrown out there, including, but not limited to Knightfall, James Jr.'s escape and the cliffhanger of restaging the shooting that paralyzed Barbara (junior) with Barbara (senior).
rhganci's review against another edition
5.0
Be it editing or writing, the masterstroke of the Gail Simone's BATGIRL run--as least as far as the TPBs go--is the placement of the #0 issue between the major story arcs. What worked so well about V1 was that it maintained Barbara's steady climb back to crimefighting competency while allowing her to confront her survivor's guilt and the appertaining trauma of being shot and left to die the Joker (a pre-New 52 lore clarification that Simone makes beautifully). The #0 issue gives us the new background of her first appearance as Batgirl, and then sends us on our merry way into volume 2, another standout piece of writing and art from Gail Simone, Adrian Syaf, and my favorite comics artist Ed Benes.
Batgirl's crossover chapter with THE NIGHT OF THE OWLS followed suit like all the rest, but I particularly enjoyed getting Barbara's take on the events of the evening, as well as some key perspective from Commissioner Gordon himself. As its own narrative, however, V2 reads much like V1, as Barbara gets a pair of her own adversaries to confront: the creepy barefoot Grotesque and the sociopathic Knightfall. Both are great villains with the right kind of characterization for them to function as foils to Batgirl, but Knightfall particularly works as a nemesis: a young female looking to respond to the corruption in and depravity of Gotham City. With the promise of ongoing conflict rife throughout issues #11-13, Simone keeps it simple and keeps the stakes low for now. It's really just a rescue narrative, but she works within that simple structure to let Barbara continue to grow--no character anywhere in DC can be this well developed, though Aquaman is a close second--with the best narrative voice DC has going right now. With short quips or longer observations, reflections or promises, Barbara's "secret diary" narrative of her crimefighting adds the depth to the story's structure that makes it the best kind of story to read: we know what the objective is, and the problem prohibiting that objective, but the characters' words sort the problem out. The Knightfall arc is far from over, and though we're heading into THE DEATH OF THE FAMILY in short order, the promise of the book's final pages maintain's Batgirl's own narrative solidly and unflinchingly. We get a sense of her responsibility to Gotham City and to the things that are going on in her corner of it, and in that, Simone's writing provides an immersive story that really does stand above just about all of the other high-quality stories going in the New 52 right now.
The addition of Ed Benes to some pencil and cover duties makes this an even more enjoyable book. Most notably, his work in the last issue of the volume blends a huge range of styles and approaches, with a few really, really stylish pages becoming immediately memorable. One particular sequence takes place from the perspective of jailbars, but rather than draw them, Benes arranges the panels to reflect that perspective during a fistfight. His parallel structure in the book's final pages adds a great deal to the aforementioned promise of the next Knightfall story arc, as does the intensity with which he draws faces. As before, the colors show a unique look to Gotham City with purples and yellows shading much of the scenery in a way that makes this a book with its own visual style. All things are working for BATGIRL in this first year of the New 52, and there is no book I am more excited to read in the volumes 3 than Gail Simone's next contribution here.
Batgirl's crossover chapter with THE NIGHT OF THE OWLS followed suit like all the rest, but I particularly enjoyed getting Barbara's take on the events of the evening, as well as some key perspective from Commissioner Gordon himself. As its own narrative, however, V2 reads much like V1, as Barbara gets a pair of her own adversaries to confront: the creepy barefoot Grotesque and the sociopathic Knightfall. Both are great villains with the right kind of characterization for them to function as foils to Batgirl, but Knightfall particularly works as a nemesis: a young female looking to respond to the corruption in and depravity of Gotham City. With the promise of ongoing conflict rife throughout issues #11-13, Simone keeps it simple and keeps the stakes low for now. It's really just a rescue narrative, but she works within that simple structure to let Barbara continue to grow--no character anywhere in DC can be this well developed, though Aquaman is a close second--with the best narrative voice DC has going right now. With short quips or longer observations, reflections or promises, Barbara's "secret diary" narrative of her crimefighting adds the depth to the story's structure that makes it the best kind of story to read: we know what the objective is, and the problem prohibiting that objective, but the characters' words sort the problem out. The Knightfall arc is far from over, and though we're heading into THE DEATH OF THE FAMILY in short order, the promise of the book's final pages maintain's Batgirl's own narrative solidly and unflinchingly. We get a sense of her responsibility to Gotham City and to the things that are going on in her corner of it, and in that, Simone's writing provides an immersive story that really does stand above just about all of the other high-quality stories going in the New 52 right now.
The addition of Ed Benes to some pencil and cover duties makes this an even more enjoyable book. Most notably, his work in the last issue of the volume blends a huge range of styles and approaches, with a few really, really stylish pages becoming immediately memorable. One particular sequence takes place from the perspective of jailbars, but rather than draw them, Benes arranges the panels to reflect that perspective during a fistfight. His parallel structure in the book's final pages adds a great deal to the aforementioned promise of the next Knightfall story arc, as does the intensity with which he draws faces. As before, the colors show a unique look to Gotham City with purples and yellows shading much of the scenery in a way that makes this a book with its own visual style. All things are working for BATGIRL in this first year of the New 52, and there is no book I am more excited to read in the volumes 3 than Gail Simone's next contribution here.
burntfries's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jhstack's review against another edition
4.0
An improvement from the first volume, but the connection to the larger Bat-universe (Court of Owls, Death in the Family, etc.) took me a little out of the story.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
4.0
2015: Part of my massive Barbara Gordon Re-read which I had a glorious amazing time with. Birds of Prey, under the hands of Gail Simone, was a gorgeous thing and It made me super happy to have all my amazing women back together doing amazing things!
2013: Gaaaaah. I do not want to fall in love with someone from 52, especially not the character I'm still mourning.
But I might be doing just that. Barbara is not Oracle, but she's still Barbara and I'm finding myself sucked deeper and deeper in. Loving shoutouts and guest appearances. This one added Lois in. (Who is another one of the stories I haven't been willing to touch or forgive or try to look into yet. So seeing her in a Bab's story was a tiny balm.) See Canary was a cheering point, and hopefully we'll see more of our girls together.
Surprisingly falling in love and applause for a zero/origin issue (and i'm notorious for being all brow furrowed, face making about origin stories, because I feel they are narrative cheating -- but, you know, what can you do when your conglomerate just white washed the whole universe and started over again. Even a cheater is better than no background then.)
2013: Gaaaaah. I do not want to fall in love with someone from 52, especially not the character I'm still mourning.
But I might be doing just that. Barbara is not Oracle, but she's still Barbara and I'm finding myself sucked deeper and deeper in. Loving shoutouts and guest appearances. This one added Lois in. (Who is another one of the stories I haven't been willing to touch or forgive or try to look into yet. So seeing her in a Bab's story was a tiny balm.) See Canary was a cheering point, and hopefully we'll see more of our girls together.
Surprisingly falling in love and applause for a zero/origin issue (and i'm notorious for being all brow furrowed, face making about origin stories, because I feel they are narrative cheating -- but, you know, what can you do when your conglomerate just white washed the whole universe and started over again. Even a cheater is better than no background then.)
carroq's review against another edition
4.0
Batgirl, Volume 2 collects issues #7-13 and #0. In some ways I liked Volume 2 more and less than Volume 1. Batgirl has some more confidence here and really hits her stride. On the other hand, this arc was all over the place. It didn't feel quite as cohesive as the previous arc.
Barbara Gordon is Batgirl and the daughter of the police commissioner, James Gordon. She is back fighting crime after being shot and crippled years ago. There is some exploration of the shooting in this arc, but it doesn't feel like a rehash from before. This is something that haunts her, so it makes sense that it shows up in the story from time to time. We start out seeing when Barbara originally chose to take on the mantle of Batgirl. A pretty good depiction. I think this shows a lot of Barbara/Batgirl's personality.
Next, a masked figure calling himself Grotesque is robbing the rich of Gotham city and Batgirl is on his trail. What she finds will open up an old wound. The format on this one is a little weird. It starts in the middle of their fight, jumps back to what instigated it, and then jumps ahead again. I enjoyed where the creators took this part of the story. Barbara is faced with a tough choice and her decision makes sense after everything unfolds.
From there, she encounters the Court of Owls. They are targeting prominent figures in Gotham, and use threats against Commissioner Gordon's family to keep him from contacting Batman. This chapter ties into the Night of Owls event, and those that aren't familiar with it could feel a little lost. The goals of the Court of Owls aren't explained. They come and go pretty quickly, making this feel less integrated into the whole.
The third group that Batgirl runs up against led by a woman calling herself Knightfall. They are attempting to eradicate crime in Gotham by ruthlessly targeting criminals. After they try to recruit Batgirl, she teams up with a detective who has been tracking her and Batwoman to bring them down. These chapters were great and foreshadow a bit. I am interested to see if that foreshadowing comes into play in future volumes.
There is a side story involving Barbara's brother, James Jr., throughout the volume. It is building to a confrontation between them. This portion of the story is not my favorite, but it is setting the groundwork that I hope to see explored in more depth.
Barbara Gordon is Batgirl and the daughter of the police commissioner, James Gordon. She is back fighting crime after being shot and crippled years ago. There is some exploration of the shooting in this arc, but it doesn't feel like a rehash from before. This is something that haunts her, so it makes sense that it shows up in the story from time to time. We start out seeing when Barbara originally chose to take on the mantle of Batgirl. A pretty good depiction. I think this shows a lot of Barbara/Batgirl's personality.
Next, a masked figure calling himself Grotesque is robbing the rich of Gotham city and Batgirl is on his trail. What she finds will open up an old wound. The format on this one is a little weird. It starts in the middle of their fight, jumps back to what instigated it, and then jumps ahead again. I enjoyed where the creators took this part of the story. Barbara is faced with a tough choice and her decision makes sense after everything unfolds.
From there, she encounters the Court of Owls. They are targeting prominent figures in Gotham, and use threats against Commissioner Gordon's family to keep him from contacting Batman. This chapter ties into the Night of Owls event, and those that aren't familiar with it could feel a little lost. The goals of the Court of Owls aren't explained. They come and go pretty quickly, making this feel less integrated into the whole.
The third group that Batgirl runs up against led by a woman calling herself Knightfall. They are attempting to eradicate crime in Gotham by ruthlessly targeting criminals. After they try to recruit Batgirl, she teams up with a detective who has been tracking her and Batwoman to bring them down. These chapters were great and foreshadow a bit. I am interested to see if that foreshadowing comes into play in future volumes.
There is a side story involving Barbara's brother, James Jr., throughout the volume. It is building to a confrontation between them. This portion of the story is not my favorite, but it is setting the groundwork that I hope to see explored in more depth.
delaneybull's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this one. The plot felt more coherent and there were some good setups for future action.
emlovestrees's review against another edition
4.0
In which Barbara Gordon continues to be my favorite superhero and role model always. I LOVE HER.
lberestecki's review against another edition
5.0
I'm really enjoying this series. I haven't been able to find as many DC titles that I enjoy, but Batgirl has kept me from giving up on DC. I think Volume 2 was better than Volume 1 - it was a bit more cohesive, and I also thought Knightfall was a super interesting villain. I like the art in these books a lot too, which is important in comics! I'm definitely looking forward to picking up Volume 3 when it comes out in paperback later this month - with some of the developments made in this volume, volume 3 should be quite interesting/dramatic.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
4.0
Gail Simone + Batgirl = OTP, honestly. I love love loove the tone she's set here, smart and tough and funny and, real?? I guess?? I also give major probs to the way she's handling the New 52 reboot. Oh also I love anytime it's even suggested that Bruce Wayne needs to ~check his privilege~, obviously. Hooray!!
PS Black Canary cameo <3
PS Black Canary cameo <3