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A review by rhganci
Death of the Family by Gail Simone
3.0
(3.5 stars) The first fourteen issues of BATGIRL that were collected in the previous two trade books were among the best of the New 52 over the course of the first year--Barbara's struggle through survivor's guilt, the threats represented by Mirror, Gretel, and Knightfall, and against the Court of Owls stood out as a particularly remarkable character story that's greatest strength was Gail Simone's development of Barbara's narrative voice. That continues to be the strongest aspect of the book, but the departure of Adrian Syaf's and Ed Benes' pencils and Simone's two-issue hiatus from writing duties really diminished the overall quality of this collected edition of one of the New 52's most surprisingly excellent titles.
Vol. 3, THE DEATH OF THE FAMILY is a bit of a misnomer--while the collection does include both Barbara's 3-issue "lead-up" story arc to BATMAN #17 and that conclusive chapter of the DEATH OF THE FAMILY crossover, that event spans less than half of the collected material of this paperback. The story arc involving James Gordon, Jr.'s escape from Arkham Asylum takes center stage, meshes with and departs from DEATH OF THE FAMILY, and finally ranges to its conclusion in by the end of the collection, but a few departures from the formula diminish the overall quality of the book.
The first of these is Gail Simon's very noticeable departure from writing duties after DEATH OF THE FAMILY, during which she continues her superb storytelling, writing Batgirl's DEATH OF THE FAMILY story that complements Snyder's nicely. After the Joker story concludes, Ray Fawkes's contributions to the story aren't exactly negative, but the contrast in quality between his story and when Simone is in the driver's seat is very noticeable. The thoughtful and humorous narrative voice that Simone has cultivated disappears when Fawkes temporarily takes over writing duties, and is replaced by narration by James, Jr. that sounds forced and lacks any of the development that Barbara's possesses. These books advance the story, but do not develop the characters, thereby undercutting what has made BATGIRL such a standout title of the New 52. Thankfully, Simone's departure lasts only two issues, and she returns to pen the final chapter of the James, Jr. story with as much style and substance as any of her previous installments, concluding the arc and launching the next expertly and restoring the high-degree of quality that the book has enjoyed.
Secondly, Adrian Syaf's pencils are absent, and while Ed Benes contributes his striking artwork intermittently (mostly in the form of some terrific covers), Daniel Sampere's pencils lack the consistency of Syaf's. The colors are less stylish, and without the purple and gold motif for Gotham City, the book feels less like Batgirl's, and as such, less distinct. It is my hope that as Fernando Pasarin inherits artwork duties in Vol. 4 (due out in December), some of the consistency that Syaf and Benes contributed to the first two collected volumes can return to accompany what is sure to be another terrific story from Gail Simone.
You can read this review and a bunch of other awesome articles at our blog, The Unending Backlog: http://unendingbacklog.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/review-batgirl-vol-3-death-of-the-family/
Vol. 3, THE DEATH OF THE FAMILY is a bit of a misnomer--while the collection does include both Barbara's 3-issue "lead-up" story arc to BATMAN #17 and that conclusive chapter of the DEATH OF THE FAMILY crossover, that event spans less than half of the collected material of this paperback. The story arc involving James Gordon, Jr.'s escape from Arkham Asylum takes center stage, meshes with and departs from DEATH OF THE FAMILY, and finally ranges to its conclusion in by the end of the collection, but a few departures from the formula diminish the overall quality of the book.
The first of these is Gail Simon's very noticeable departure from writing duties after DEATH OF THE FAMILY, during which she continues her superb storytelling, writing Batgirl's DEATH OF THE FAMILY story that complements Snyder's nicely. After the Joker story concludes, Ray Fawkes's contributions to the story aren't exactly negative, but the contrast in quality between his story and when Simone is in the driver's seat is very noticeable. The thoughtful and humorous narrative voice that Simone has cultivated disappears when Fawkes temporarily takes over writing duties, and is replaced by narration by James, Jr. that sounds forced and lacks any of the development that Barbara's possesses. These books advance the story, but do not develop the characters, thereby undercutting what has made BATGIRL such a standout title of the New 52. Thankfully, Simone's departure lasts only two issues, and she returns to pen the final chapter of the James, Jr. story with as much style and substance as any of her previous installments, concluding the arc and launching the next expertly and restoring the high-degree of quality that the book has enjoyed.
Secondly, Adrian Syaf's pencils are absent, and while Ed Benes contributes his striking artwork intermittently (mostly in the form of some terrific covers), Daniel Sampere's pencils lack the consistency of Syaf's. The colors are less stylish, and without the purple and gold motif for Gotham City, the book feels less like Batgirl's, and as such, less distinct. It is my hope that as Fernando Pasarin inherits artwork duties in Vol. 4 (due out in December), some of the consistency that Syaf and Benes contributed to the first two collected volumes can return to accompany what is sure to be another terrific story from Gail Simone.
You can read this review and a bunch of other awesome articles at our blog, The Unending Backlog: http://unendingbacklog.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/review-batgirl-vol-3-death-of-the-family/