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Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside by Brenden Fletcher, Irene Koh, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
fishgirl182's review against another edition
3.0
DC rebooted the Batgirl franchise not too long ago with their New 52 rollout. The run, written by Gail Simone, was an intimate look at Barbara Gordon and her recovery after having been wheelchair bound for years. It dealt with both her mental and physical recovery and was applauded by many as an honest portrayal of PTSD. As you can imagine, the tone and topics of the book were quite dark and DC recently decided to reboot the franchise yet again with a new writing and artist team, hoping to give Batgirl a younger, hipper vibe.
Barbara (or Babs) loses all of her belongings in a fire and moves across the river to a new apartment with new roommates to focus on her thesis project at a local college. She runs into some trouble though when she's targeted for attacks and a mysterious person starts sending her messages signed as "Batgirl." In addition to dealing with super villains, Babs must also deal with new friends, dating, her academic work and how to navigate the world of social media.
I definitely think that writers Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr were successful in bringing out a younger, happier Batgirl. While she hasn't completely moved on from her past, she is definitely trying to move forward with her life. While I enjoyed seeing her deal with some of the more typical problems for a woman her age, it did feel a little juvenile at times. I did not find the villains particularly scary and the over emphasis on social media started to grate on me after a while. I get that social media would play a big part of trying to be a masked superhero in today's world but it felt like overkill.
The art definitely complimented the new tone of the book with really bright colors and a bold, dynamic style. The new costume is hip but still looks very functional. At times, some of the panels felt a bit cramped with the dialogue, but overall I really like Tarr's style.
I am not sure how I feel about this new Babs yet. I am glad that Batgirl is coming out from her shell and having more fun but I am not sold on the tone of this book just yet. I will probably read volume 2 to see how the character develops.
Barbara (or Babs) loses all of her belongings in a fire and moves across the river to a new apartment with new roommates to focus on her thesis project at a local college. She runs into some trouble though when she's targeted for attacks and a mysterious person starts sending her messages signed as "Batgirl." In addition to dealing with super villains, Babs must also deal with new friends, dating, her academic work and how to navigate the world of social media.
I definitely think that writers Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr were successful in bringing out a younger, happier Batgirl. While she hasn't completely moved on from her past, she is definitely trying to move forward with her life. While I enjoyed seeing her deal with some of the more typical problems for a woman her age, it did feel a little juvenile at times. I did not find the villains particularly scary and the over emphasis on social media started to grate on me after a while. I get that social media would play a big part of trying to be a masked superhero in today's world but it felt like overkill.
The art definitely complimented the new tone of the book with really bright colors and a bold, dynamic style. The new costume is hip but still looks very functional. At times, some of the panels felt a bit cramped with the dialogue, but overall I really like Tarr's style.
I am not sure how I feel about this new Babs yet. I am glad that Batgirl is coming out from her shell and having more fun but I am not sold on the tone of this book just yet. I will probably read volume 2 to see how the character develops.
jessirainej's review against another edition
5.0
I loved everything about this, from the amazing storyline to Batgirl's bright yellow doc martens
tmwebb3's review against another edition
4.0
Messy but fun. Art was bright and fun. Story a little all over the place but lots of fun. Kind of comic book I would like my daughter to read.
vulcanlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I'm new to Batgirl, but this came recommended by someone at Torpedo Comics, so I got it and really enjoyed the story line. It's a great starting point for new fans that want to get into her story but aren't sure where to start.
maryehavens's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know much about reboots or the history or hierarchy of the Batgirl series. I picked this up because I'm interested in female centric graphic novels and I needed palate cleanser in between fiction novels. I liked this series. The updates are interesting but hard to follow. I liked the diversity of characters and the fact the Batgirl "owns" all her decisions, good and bad. She seemed to have to deal with alot of real life and I'm glad they showed that side. The story was well paced and intriguing. Good stuff!
mazloum's review against another edition
3.0
Good things: Stellar, colorful art. Great representation. Dialogue that doesn't drive me up the wall.
...now, the things I'm not so psyched about..
I understand that I might be experiencing some tonal whiplash after finishing the Gail Simone run, but the idea of independent, strong badass Babs turning into slightly clueless and confused roomie Babs did not go down super well with me. I understand and respect the writer's decision to go in that direction, but everything seems too dumbed down and the stakes are almost non-existent. It's weird too, because the previous run was dark, and yet Babs just gritted her teeth and moved on. Here, the mopey unsure attitude really doesn't fit the character at all. Weirds me out.
Anyways, it's still somewhat fun, so check it out.
...now, the things I'm not so psyched about..
I understand that I might be experiencing some tonal whiplash after finishing the Gail Simone run, but the idea of independent, strong badass Babs turning into slightly clueless and confused roomie Babs did not go down super well with me. I understand and respect the writer's decision to go in that direction, but everything seems too dumbed down and the stakes are almost non-existent. It's weird too, because the previous run was dark, and yet Babs just gritted her teeth and moved on. Here, the mopey unsure attitude really doesn't fit the character at all. Weirds me out.
Anyways, it's still somewhat fun, so check it out.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Going to give this 4-stars against my better judgment. The stories are hit-or-miss, the tech stuff annoying. But it does one thing I always want Batman books to do: make Gotham feel like a livable place, not just a concrete hellscape of crime. Exploring the Burnside neighborhood, gentrification, etc. was interesting and makes it unique among Batman/Batfamily tales.
moonpie's review against another edition
3.0
What is this even. Batgirl of Burnside is Batgirl, but it's like a focus-grouped try-hard fast-fashion version of Batgirl. The new costume is fab, and I liked the art, but the rest of it was underwhelming. The villains were vaguely ridiculous; even the arc villain of the entire volume was brought down in a totally predictable, laughable way.
That said, it was a quick read, no worse a time-waster than a couple of sitcoms I watch, and it's Batgirl, so I'll probably read the next volume if my library gets it.
(two-and-a-half stars)
That said, it was a quick read, no worse a time-waster than a couple of sitcoms I watch, and it's Batgirl, so I'll probably read the next volume if my library gets it.
(two-and-a-half stars)
geekbrocade's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what to think of this. The amount of social media thrown in the story line makes me cringe.