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A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
Batgirl, Volume 2: Knightfall Descends by Gail Simone
4.0
Volume 2 of the New 52's Batgirl collects two Batgirl arcs and two single issues which tie in to other DCU events. The first is the 0-issue, introduced to give background to each of the characters and some sense of what's different in this version of the DCU. Having recently read [b:Batgirl: Year One|105724|Batgirl Year One|Scott Beatty|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298562500s/105724.jpg|101907] and had a few concerns about it, I was looking forward to Gail Simone's take on Barbara Gordon's transformation into Batgirl. The result is a mixed bag. Ultimately, one issue is not enough to tell this story in great detail: Simone covers her first encounter with a villain, in which she dons the GCPD's mock "The Bat" costume to fight, then skims her time with Batman and Robin, her decision to give up the cowl, and the Joker's attack on her. It's not bad, but it's a little disappointing. Rather than telling old stories well, though, it focuses on setting up what is yet to come: there are more flashbacks to that night with the Joker to come; furthermore, we're introduced to James Jr - Barbara's brother.
The story-arc are pretty good, although not exceptional. The first has a MacGuffin metahuman baddie, who happens to have recruited one of the thugs who was with the Joker the night Barbara was shot. It's moving the story of her recovery a little bit further. Batgirl's encounter with [b:Batman: The Night of the Owls|15784159|Batman The Night of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344000972s/15784159.jpg|21501850] then intercedes, but while it's an interesting one, it feels a little empty because it doesn't really conclude. The final arc, from which the volume gets it title, is one of the inward-looking DC stories which questions how far the capes really help Gotham. It doesn't say anything very much and it would have been much more interesting if it had focused more on the different ways in which Bruce Wayne and Charise Carnes try to revitalize districts of Gotham. It does hint at the ways in which the innocent are criminalized when falsely imprisoned - or even the not-terribly criminal escalate when put into contact with much worse criminals. But it doesn't get very far with it. Perhaps, also, there's speculation on the purpose of the death penalty, but like most DC comics it sticks to the line that their heroes just don't kill people, end of conversation. There was more to be explored, but it wasn’t.
There's a good appearance from Batwoman, which did lead me to wonder how the regular people of Gotham distinguish Batgirl and Batwoman. They both have massive, long red hair, and from a distance, their costumes are close enough - and why wouldn't they have alternative costumes anyway? Their regular ones are bound to get sweaty. It clear how Batman and anyone who has regular contact with them would distinguish them, but if I were a member of Gotham City Police Department, I'd definitely apply Occam's Razor and assume there was only one Bat-female.
Throughout the volume there are some frustrating moments: #0 begins with Barbara insisting that "Every daughter wants her dad to be a white knight" in a patronizing, diminishing fashion, then fails to really build on Barbara's admiration of her father and the role this may have played in her decisions - this Barbara has not been rejected from police training because of her height, as far as we are told; Barbara encounters about the only female Talon seen until [b:Talon, Vol. 1: Scourge of the Owls|17137595|Talon, Vol. 1 Scourge of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372056969s/17137595.jpg|23539635], which could work if the conclusion to that story were presented anywhere in a Batgirl collection; Barbara is depicted recovering from her injury in her underwear and a shirt, which seems like a sartorial decision based on the assumption of a teenaged male audience rather than young women who might relate to Barbara as a character. Batgirl is far from the worst DC comic for this, but the art fairly frequently puts her or the other women in the volume in those unrealistic poses designed to stick out their bums or boobs. This flaw is particularly obvious on the covers, the worst place for it. On a slightly different track, the clothes Barbara and her flatmate wear look like they're trying to be exciting clothes worn by early-twenty-something women, but the art seems unenthusiastic and the colours drab. I'm looking forward to the changes in artist later on in the series.
Batgirl remains one of the better New 52 DC titles, and there is much to be happy about in the volume. Barbara has surrounded herself with likeminded women, and when she has a problem she goes to Dinah Lance (Black Canary) rather than to Batman or Nightwing. She fails to have much of a relationship with her house-mate, but the important relationships do tend to be with women - including her mother - with men there, but relegated to background position. I'm pinning my hopes on [b:Batman, Vol. 4: Zero Year - Secret City|18339834|Batman, Vol. 4 Zero Year - Secret City|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395626522s/18339834.jpg|25893199] being a bit more exciting with regards to Barbara's past, and the fact that the subsequent volumes all have higher Goodreads’ ratings, to maintain my hopes that this series can fulfil its very strong promise, though.
The story-arc are pretty good, although not exceptional. The first has a MacGuffin metahuman baddie, who happens to have recruited one of the thugs who was with the Joker the night Barbara was shot. It's moving the story of her recovery a little bit further. Batgirl's encounter with [b:Batman: The Night of the Owls|15784159|Batman The Night of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344000972s/15784159.jpg|21501850] then intercedes, but while it's an interesting one, it feels a little empty because it doesn't really conclude. The final arc, from which the volume gets it title, is one of the inward-looking DC stories which questions how far the capes really help Gotham. It doesn't say anything very much and it would have been much more interesting if it had focused more on the different ways in which Bruce Wayne and Charise Carnes try to revitalize districts of Gotham. It does hint at the ways in which the innocent are criminalized when falsely imprisoned - or even the not-terribly criminal escalate when put into contact with much worse criminals. But it doesn't get very far with it. Perhaps, also, there's speculation on the purpose of the death penalty, but like most DC comics it sticks to the line that their heroes just don't kill people, end of conversation. There was more to be explored, but it wasn’t.
There's a good appearance from Batwoman, which did lead me to wonder how the regular people of Gotham distinguish Batgirl and Batwoman. They both have massive, long red hair, and from a distance, their costumes are close enough - and why wouldn't they have alternative costumes anyway? Their regular ones are bound to get sweaty. It clear how Batman and anyone who has regular contact with them would distinguish them, but if I were a member of Gotham City Police Department, I'd definitely apply Occam's Razor and assume there was only one Bat-female.
Throughout the volume there are some frustrating moments: #0 begins with Barbara insisting that "Every daughter wants her dad to be a white knight" in a patronizing, diminishing fashion, then fails to really build on Barbara's admiration of her father and the role this may have played in her decisions - this Barbara has not been rejected from police training because of her height, as far as we are told; Barbara encounters about the only female Talon seen until [b:Talon, Vol. 1: Scourge of the Owls|17137595|Talon, Vol. 1 Scourge of the Owls|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372056969s/17137595.jpg|23539635], which could work if the conclusion to that story were presented anywhere in a Batgirl collection; Barbara is depicted recovering from her injury in her underwear and a shirt, which seems like a sartorial decision based on the assumption of a teenaged male audience rather than young women who might relate to Barbara as a character. Batgirl is far from the worst DC comic for this, but the art fairly frequently puts her or the other women in the volume in those unrealistic poses designed to stick out their bums or boobs. This flaw is particularly obvious on the covers, the worst place for it. On a slightly different track, the clothes Barbara and her flatmate wear look like they're trying to be exciting clothes worn by early-twenty-something women, but the art seems unenthusiastic and the colours drab. I'm looking forward to the changes in artist later on in the series.
Batgirl remains one of the better New 52 DC titles, and there is much to be happy about in the volume. Barbara has surrounded herself with likeminded women, and when she has a problem she goes to Dinah Lance (Black Canary) rather than to Batman or Nightwing. She fails to have much of a relationship with her house-mate, but the important relationships do tend to be with women - including her mother - with men there, but relegated to background position. I'm pinning my hopes on [b:Batman, Vol. 4: Zero Year - Secret City|18339834|Batman, Vol. 4 Zero Year - Secret City|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395626522s/18339834.jpg|25893199] being a bit more exciting with regards to Barbara's past, and the fact that the subsequent volumes all have higher Goodreads’ ratings, to maintain my hopes that this series can fulfil its very strong promise, though.