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A review by sblake33
Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside by Cameron Stewart
3.0
I have been eagerly anticipating this release since the moment that DC announced that Batgirl was going to be rebooted. So definitely a huge thanks to the publisher for giving me this in exchange for an honest review!
I love that DC is looking to go in a lighter more fun direction for some of their stories, I’m excited for this new direction especially after reading Grayson which was an absolute hit in my eyes. In Grayson Tim Seely was able to combine a much lighter and fun storyline while still staying true to Dick’s character while also making it entertaining and interesting. I expect the same thing for all of DC’s reboots that are going in this direction, it’s what I expected from Batgirl. With Batgirl I got the light and fun side but in every other aspect it fell a bit flat for me.
It’s not as impressive as it should’ve been and this title should’ve been pretty freaking impressive. On one hand I’m satisfied and on the other I’m disappointed. I’m somewhat satisfied because this trade did exactly what DC said it would, was it a much lighter storyline? Yep. Was it fun? Yeah. Was it a completely different side of Barbara that we’ve never seen before who also had a new hipster suit? Oh yes, very much so. You see? Everything DC said it would be!
it was a lighter more fun side of Batgirl that we’ve never seen before and it was so interesting to watch
Barbara as she navigated through college, dating, partying, and friendships all while being the friendly neighborhood vigilante. This is what we were told we were going to see so with that being said, I’m satisfied it’s what I wanted to see and what I freaking got!
But… I’m still disappointed.
Babs has always been my favorite, I mean what’s not to love? I mean she’s strong, feisty, sassy, smart as hell, and she never stopped fighting for justice even when she was confined to a wheelchair, she’s freaking awesome! But the Batgirl I saw in this trade… she wasn’t horrible but she was definitely very different from the Batgirl I’ve come to love.
I mean I’m no fool, I knew going into this trade that this Batgirl would be different, obviously but Babs in this was utterly disappointing. She instead of being the vigilante that continued to fight for justice became obsessed with the fame that comes with it. She got sloppy, she pushes people away, and became freaking annoying and such a pain to deal with. She wasn’t sassy or confident, she became quite demanding which made me want to punch her.
The overall storyline and writing was pretty good but it left so much to be desired. I definitely wasn’t expecting that twist at the end so that was pretty great. I liked that we got really up close and personal with the way that Barbara’s mind works, the moments when got inside her mind were definitely some of my favorite moments. I actually really enjoyed the side characters in this book. Frankie was so adorable and smart, I want her to be friend. Dinah Lance, oh how I love thee! She was great in this, she was definitely a needed asset to the storyline and I’m super freaking excited that she got her own title because this!
Even though I was let down a bit I can ultimately overlook all of Babs’ annoying character flaws in this trade and definitely say that I will be continuing on with this run. I’m looking at the bigger picture and I’m excited to see where this story goes, especially considering all the new interesting developments in Gotham. This trade had its stumbles and downfalls but it’s only the first five issues and I have faith that this series will get better.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publishers for giving me a digital copy to review.
I love that DC is looking to go in a lighter more fun direction for some of their stories, I’m excited for this new direction especially after reading Grayson which was an absolute hit in my eyes. In Grayson Tim Seely was able to combine a much lighter and fun storyline while still staying true to Dick’s character while also making it entertaining and interesting. I expect the same thing for all of DC’s reboots that are going in this direction, it’s what I expected from Batgirl. With Batgirl I got the light and fun side but in every other aspect it fell a bit flat for me.
It’s not as impressive as it should’ve been and this title should’ve been pretty freaking impressive. On one hand I’m satisfied and on the other I’m disappointed. I’m somewhat satisfied because this trade did exactly what DC said it would, was it a much lighter storyline? Yep. Was it fun? Yeah. Was it a completely different side of Barbara that we’ve never seen before who also had a new hipster suit? Oh yes, very much so. You see? Everything DC said it would be!
it was a lighter more fun side of Batgirl that we’ve never seen before and it was so interesting to watch
Barbara as she navigated through college, dating, partying, and friendships all while being the friendly neighborhood vigilante. This is what we were told we were going to see so with that being said, I’m satisfied it’s what I wanted to see and what I freaking got!
But… I’m still disappointed.
Babs has always been my favorite, I mean what’s not to love? I mean she’s strong, feisty, sassy, smart as hell, and she never stopped fighting for justice even when she was confined to a wheelchair, she’s freaking awesome! But the Batgirl I saw in this trade… she wasn’t horrible but she was definitely very different from the Batgirl I’ve come to love.
I mean I’m no fool, I knew going into this trade that this Batgirl would be different, obviously but Babs in this was utterly disappointing. She instead of being the vigilante that continued to fight for justice became obsessed with the fame that comes with it. She got sloppy, she pushes people away, and became freaking annoying and such a pain to deal with. She wasn’t sassy or confident, she became quite demanding which made me want to punch her.
The overall storyline and writing was pretty good but it left so much to be desired. I definitely wasn’t expecting that twist at the end so that was pretty great. I liked that we got really up close and personal with the way that Barbara’s mind works, the moments when got inside her mind were definitely some of my favorite moments. I actually really enjoyed the side characters in this book. Frankie was so adorable and smart, I want her to be friend. Dinah Lance, oh how I love thee! She was great in this, she was definitely a needed asset to the storyline and I’m super freaking excited that she got her own title because this!
Even though I was let down a bit I can ultimately overlook all of Babs’ annoying character flaws in this trade and definitely say that I will be continuing on with this run. I’m looking at the bigger picture and I’m excited to see where this story goes, especially considering all the new interesting developments in Gotham. This trade had its stumbles and downfalls but it’s only the first five issues and I have faith that this series will get better.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publishers for giving me a digital copy to review.