Scan barcode
Reviews
Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside by Brenden Fletcher, Irene Koh, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
Dinah Lance: What the hell do you think you're doing? You're like a completely different person. You think you're some kind of celebrity? ....
Babs: ...I'm in the spotlight now whether [Batman] likes it or not, and I'm gonna roll with it.
The above dialogue excerpts are a pretty good summation of this volume of Batgirl. Gone are Gail Simone's more mature stories bringing Barbara out of her wheelchair and back to a life of fighting against some of the most notorious baddies in Gotham. The relaunched Batgirl is brighter, lighter, and very obviously aimed at a younger, hippper target demographic, even if at times the subject matter seems to skew a bit older than said demographic.
The new arc opens with Babs moving to a new neighborhood (the titular Burnside), getting blackout drunk in the first few pages, and possibly having a one-night stand with a dude whose name she can't remember. Late, she instigates a street race against a driver she knows to be heavily intoxicated (because, seriously, what could POSSIBLY go wrong there?) in an effort to bring him to justice. Babs is the queen of bad decisions in this book, for these and other reasons, and those reckless choices clash with the otherwise near-campy tone of the story and art. This is a revamped Batgirl that isn't quite sure of what it wants to be.
Social media fame is an ever-present device that's almost as over-saturated in the story as real-life social media, and it permeates into the rogues gallery for this volume consists. Batgirl goes up against a series of pseudo-baddies straight out of fanfiction, including the aforementioned anime motorcycle twins, an overly-sequined and Bedazzled Batgirl imposter, and reality TV personalities, among others.
No, really.
It's a stark contract to The Court of Owls, her brother, and The Joker.
I don't like the obvious demographic switch that accompanies this volume. It's bright, it's cute, it's adorable, sure. But it's also a pretty sharp curveball from previous issues, and it jarred me. I would have much rather seen the series continue in the vein of previous volumes, even if the storytelling was uneven.
All of them are working for a mysterious puppetmaster, of course, but everything is so over-the-top that it comes off as silly. The big reveal didn't inspire any kind of shock or awe, just a mildly annoyed sense of "you have got to be kidding me."
Tarr's art, which is adorable, is much more enjoyable than the social media-obsessed storytelling, and one of the highlights of the volume.
Though I've been on a huge girl-power comic kick lately (Batgirl, Squirrel Girl, Spider-Gwen, Lumberjanes, Lady Killer, Delilah Dirk), the radical creative shift in Batgirl is not something I have enjoyed, and I'll probably cancel my subscription soon. It's a shame, too, because the New 52's Barbara Gordon was one of my favorite characters.
Babs: ...I'm in the spotlight now whether [Batman] likes it or not, and I'm gonna roll with it.
The above dialogue excerpts are a pretty good summation of this volume of Batgirl. Gone are Gail Simone's more mature stories bringing Barbara out of her wheelchair and back to a life of fighting against some of the most notorious baddies in Gotham. The relaunched Batgirl is brighter, lighter, and very obviously aimed at a younger, hippper target demographic, even if at times the subject matter seems to skew a bit older than said demographic.
The new arc opens with Babs moving to a new neighborhood (the titular Burnside), getting blackout drunk in the first few pages, and possibly having a one-night stand with a dude whose name she can't remember. Late, she instigates a street race against a driver she knows to be heavily intoxicated (because, seriously, what could POSSIBLY go wrong there?) in an effort to bring him to justice. Babs is the queen of bad decisions in this book, for these and other reasons, and those reckless choices clash with the otherwise near-campy tone of the story and art. This is a revamped Batgirl that isn't quite sure of what it wants to be.
Social media fame is an ever-present device that's almost as over-saturated in the story as real-life social media, and it permeates into the rogues gallery for this volume consists. Batgirl goes up against a series of pseudo-baddies straight out of fanfiction, including the aforementioned anime motorcycle twins, an overly-sequined and Bedazzled Batgirl imposter, and reality TV personalities, among others.
No, really.
It's a stark contract to The Court of Owls, her brother, and The Joker.
I don't like the obvious demographic switch that accompanies this volume. It's bright, it's cute, it's adorable, sure. But it's also a pretty sharp curveball from previous issues, and it jarred me. I would have much rather seen the series continue in the vein of previous volumes, even if the storytelling was uneven.
All of them are working for a mysterious puppetmaster, of course, but everything is so over-the-top that it comes off as silly. The big reveal didn't inspire any kind of shock or awe, just a mildly annoyed sense of "you have got to be kidding me."
Tarr's art, which is adorable, is much more enjoyable than the social media-obsessed storytelling, and one of the highlights of the volume.
Though I've been on a huge girl-power comic kick lately (Batgirl, Squirrel Girl, Spider-Gwen, Lumberjanes, Lady Killer, Delilah Dirk), the radical creative shift in Batgirl is not something I have enjoyed, and I'll probably cancel my subscription soon. It's a shame, too, because the New 52's Barbara Gordon was one of my favorite characters.
deetour8's review against another edition
2.0
Barbra Gordon just moved to Burnside, and all of her Batgirl equipment is destroyed in a fire. She takes the opportunity to reinvent herself, a new Batgirl the hero of Burnside. However, her new image is based on social media and making herself a star rather than just the hero and she loses herself, the real Batgirl, for a while there.
The storyline and artwork worked together great. Teams of people often make graphic novels, so they don’t always come together as cohesively as this one did. I loved that they included designs for the characters and their different looks giving you great ideas for cosplay and how to build the outfits as well as insight to drawing them as well. I think the idea for the story was a good one, especially for the intended target audience, with a good message. I just didn’t like the story myself as I couldn’t relate or immerse myself into it. That doesn’t mean I love Batgirl any less though!
For more book reviews check out my blog!
The storyline and artwork worked together great. Teams of people often make graphic novels, so they don’t always come together as cohesively as this one did. I loved that they included designs for the characters and their different looks giving you great ideas for cosplay and how to build the outfits as well as insight to drawing them as well. I think the idea for the story was a good one, especially for the intended target audience, with a good message. I just didn’t like the story myself as I couldn’t relate or immerse myself into it. That doesn’t mean I love Batgirl any less though!
For more book reviews check out my blog!
labunnywtf's review against another edition
4.0
Man, there's a lot of bad reviews for this comic on GoodReads.
This isn't exactly shocking, I don't think I've read a comic yet that didn't get panned pretty hard by GR users. Par for the course, and a reminder that when it comes to comics, I can't go by GR reviews to see if I'll like it or not.
It's been a couple of years since I read the previous volume of Batgirl. I missed her. I love GBG, Barbara Gordon, Babs, so very much. I loved Gail Simone's version better, I'm not going to lie. But I really didn't have that much to complain about here. The storylines are quirky, Barbara is trying to find her identity in the world, which devolves into superhero selfies.
The Dinah fight. Was...was that in the last volume? Was that in another series I haven't read? I feel like I should know about that and I'm completely lost. She is so beautifully drawn throughout, though. The artwork overall is pretty fantastic.
We did have an AWFUL lot of phlebotonum throughout, though. Hi, nice to meet you pretty red-haired girl I've literally never seen before. Let me tell you all about the theft we had last night seconds after I tell you my name.
Like...really? Really? That's the opposite of organic.
Other than a few glitches, I did find this absolutely delightful, and I loved diving back into her world. Onto the next!
This isn't exactly shocking, I don't think I've read a comic yet that didn't get panned pretty hard by GR users. Par for the course, and a reminder that when it comes to comics, I can't go by GR reviews to see if I'll like it or not.
It's been a couple of years since I read the previous volume of Batgirl. I missed her. I love GBG, Barbara Gordon, Babs, so very much. I loved Gail Simone's version better, I'm not going to lie. But I really didn't have that much to complain about here. The storylines are quirky, Barbara is trying to find her identity in the world, which devolves into superhero selfies.
The Dinah fight. Was...was that in the last volume? Was that in another series I haven't read? I feel like I should know about that and I'm completely lost. She is so beautifully drawn throughout, though. The artwork overall is pretty fantastic.
We did have an AWFUL lot of phlebotonum throughout, though. Hi, nice to meet you pretty red-haired girl I've literally never seen before. Let me tell you all about the theft we had last night seconds after I tell you my name.
Like...really? Really? That's the opposite of organic.
Other than a few glitches, I did find this absolutely delightful, and I loved diving back into her world. Onto the next!
christiana's review against another edition
4.0
I'm no graphic novel expert, but I appreciated the entry level ability of this one and thought it was pretty fun. Definitely not for tweens, but teens would probably be fine (we shelve it in teen at my library). I liked the technology aspects of this one. It felt very Girls Can Code to me, which I appreciated. Even though there was some falling down Babs did in this one, I think it's relatable from a everybody-messes-up type standpoint.
Maybe I just like Batgirl enough that I'm willing to cut her some slack (even though she passes on library school in this one)?
Maybe I just like Batgirl enough that I'm willing to cut her some slack (even though she passes on library school in this one)?
4saradouglas's review against another edition
2.0
Did not finish... just wasn't for me. It wasn't nearly as good as Ms. Marvel or Gotham Academy. I thought the action scenes were badly drawn and confusing. I had no idea who the characters were... am I supposed to know Dinah? Also, the roommate all of the sudden had crutches and I was so thrown off. Did I miss something? Was she always on crutches? I just felt pretty lost.
myungzion's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
love hot girl batgirl
melinichole's review against another edition
4.0
3.75
I think batgirl has room to grow. I enjoyed it so far. I like how they are going towards the social media route with this one. Babs is adorable and so are her new friends.
I think batgirl has room to grow. I enjoyed it so far. I like how they are going towards the social media route with this one. Babs is adorable and so are her new friends.
viera's review against another edition
4.0
The 4 stars are for the art. I mean it. It’s that great. The story is nothing. No real villains, the characters were bland and lame. The story is rushed and the text is bloated. The plot should have been rejected out of hand. But the art is SO good! I want to read this again and again and just take apart the layout and stare at the art. This is an art book and the plot is just an excuse to showcase it.
morgharker's review against another edition
I got about halfway through and I can't read anymore. the New costume is awesome, the artwork is actually pretty neat, but the story and the way these characters interact is too much. I think the book is targeting towards a much younger audience.