Weekly Comic Reviews Part 2 - Batgirl Issue 1

         
       Batgirl Issue 1 (DC's New 52) - "Shattered."

DC Comics

Written by Gail Simone.

Pencils by Ardian Syaf. Cover Art by Adam Hughes.

  
Characters: Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Commissioner Jim Gordon, Mirror*,, Graham Carter, The Brisby Killers, Mr and Mrs Otega, The Joker (brief flashback cameo), Alysia*, Heidi, Theodore Rankin and two Gotham Police Detectives - Mel McKenna* and her partner. 

 The Plot: A mysterious villain called "Mirror" is targeting the lone survivors of horrific accidents who by some miracle survived their ordeal and Barbara Gordon is next on the list. He kills Graham Carter in his back garden, showing him his "true face." Meanwhile in another part of Gotham, Batgirl swings into action to take out the Brisby Killers - a gang of horror-masked criminals that break into homes and torture their victims. Batgirl interrupts the Brisby Killers threatening Mr and Mrs Otega and takes out the gang leader with taunts and a swift batarang to the hand. Despite the fact that she is back in action, we learn that she's nervous about being back in the field and she's still physically and emotionally fragile.

Old memories run deep for Barbara Gordon.

We cut to Barbara at home, reliving her ordeal with the Joker. She reveals she was brutally shot by him and left paralysed and in a wheelchair for three years, until a miracle happened and she was somehow, slowly able to walk again. We have a brief and touching scene between Barbara and her Dad, Commissioner Gordon. Her Dad is protective of her, but she announces she's ready to find a place of her own again and get back on her own two feet - literally and figuratively. We see Babs show up at a new apartment and get shown around by her new quirky room-mate Alysia, who quickly gives her a new nickname "GBG" and announces that she is an activist and paints by day and tends bar by night. Some girl-bonding ensues! Yey! Unfortunately followed by Alysia noticing the wheelchair ramp on Barbara's moving van and making an inadvertent "ableist" comment. Barbara can't begin to tell her new roomie about her recovery and condition and so keeps silent, feeling awkward.
Meanwhile two Gotham cops Mel McKenna and her partner are at Sacred Hands Hospital keeping watch over Rankin - the injured leader of the Brisby Killers. We see Mirror enter the hospital and punch a receptionist - he's here to see Theodore Rankin - and he's prepared to shoot security guards who get in his way. Barbara has been taping into Gotham Police's text alerts using her phone and sees that there's trouble going down. In true super-heroine style, she makes her apologies to Alysia, grabs her Batcycle from the back of the van and gets her costume on to ride to the rescue. Mirror enters the room holding Detective McKenna and her partner, shoots McKenna's partner dead and turns on McKenna. Apparently Rankin is on Mirror's list and must die.  Batgirl races to the door and finds Mirror's gun trained on her spine, she has a horrific post-traumatic flashback to the Joker's shhoting of her and completely freezes up, unable to act. Rankin pleads with her to help, but she is frozen in place as Mirror launches Rankin out of the 14th floor window in his hospital bed. Mel McKenna trains her gun on a horrified Batgirl - accusing her of murder.

                   DAN DAN DAN! EPIC CLIFF-HANGERY MUSIC!
 

Best Lines:  Gail Simone writes amazing interior monologues for Barbara and that's where her writing really shines. I've highlighted a few examples I loved in this issue:

"I'm not Batgirl. Not tonight. Not Batman's former star pupil, as I used to be. Not the girl who did everything right...who danced through Gotham and dazzled everyone she met. Tonight, I am Barbara Gordon. She of the eidectic memory. She who never forgets. Never. Except how to breathe sometimes." - Barbara/Batgirl.

"I panicked every time I heard a doorbell for months after. But I survived. The Joker never beat me. The bullet never beat me." - Barbara/Batgirl.

 "It's tempting to stay where you are most loved. But as with everything...sometimes you have to let go." - Barbara/Batgirl.
  
I love Simone's take on Barbara - She's smart, possesses an absolute steel core of emotional and physical strength and tenacity and yet there's an emotional fragility and a quiet wisdom to her that makes her endlessly relatable. Also, I'm a bit of a Daddy's girl myself and the relationship between Babs and her father is one of the most touching parent/child dynamics in comics. Having just left home to try to stand on my own two feet myself - I can relate to that need to get out into the world and make a difference, yet being nervous about what could happen. Moving from safety to independence. She's not superhuman, she's just a girl trying to make the world a better place and that's what makes her so easy to warm to.


"Come on. I'll help. Then I'll make some tea and we can discover what things we both hate." - Alysia
"Really? That'd be...that'd be nice." - Barbara/Batgirl
"But, just fair warning okay? I'm kinda an activist. All good?" - Alysia
It took a while, after the shooting, to let strangers back in. It'd be nice to have someone to have tea with. - Barbara/Batgirl.
  
I admit it. I'm a sucker for well-written nuanced female friendships in comics and entertainment in general. Buffy and Willow are my OTF (One True Friendship - it's a phrase. I'm coining it.) and I would really like to see more relatable female friendships in comics. It's something Simone does really well. I really like Alysia, she has a strong voice and I love Barbara's tentative hope that she can make a new friend. Plus tea? Who doesn't love tea and good conversation right?

"That's my biggest fear, being trapped in a chair like that. Can you imagine? Like prison." - Alysia
 "She doesn't mean anything by it. I know she doesn't. She doesn't know what the chair helps you do. And I guess I don't feel like explaining that to her able-bodied-but-well-intended-self right now." 
- Barbara/Batgirl.
  
These lines made me so sad for Babs. It's so hard when people judge or misread without thinking. The comment comes off as insensitive, but unintentioned. I still winced though. I'm really glad they didn't write off Babs' struggles as if they never happened. It's far more respectful to the character and I expect physically disabled people have to deal with off-the-cuff unthinking comments like this every day. It sucks.

  
The Artwork: Adam Hughes' front cover art is gorgeous. This is a dynamic portrayal of the new Batgirl and the use of bats in the background art reminded me of the recent Christopher Nolan Batman films. I really like the new Batgirl costume and that they've kept purple in the colour scheme. It still has that classic feel. I also love the new Batgirl logo. Everything about this cover makes me happy.

I think what really helps me key into Batgirl as a character is that she's not as heavily sexualised in the way she is drawn, unlike Power Girl's infamous "boob-window" and Catwoman. As much as I enjoy Catwoman as a character, Selina Kyle is a character that is defined by her sexuality and depicted in artwork as a highly sexualised character. I'm fine with healthy expression of sexuality, but not when its expression overwhelms a female character's depiction to the point where that becomes all I can see and no substance. There's a fetishistic subtext to Catwoman's whip and leather cat-suit that's hard to ignore. She's a dominatrix in appearance and a femme fatale by nature and it's hard to get away from that in how she is drawn. Selina is a compelling and interesting character to me, but the way she is drawn is often incredibly male-gazey.  If you don't believe me, take a look at the fervour surrounding the first issue of the"New 52" Catwoman and the craziness its artwork and storyline caused online recently. (It depicted a softcore sex scene between Catwoman and Batman that wouldn't look out of place in R-rated fanfic and the first image you see of Catwoman is not of her face, but of her breasts and then her arse.  No. Really. There are no words.)

One LJ blogger "drvonfangirl" heavily critiqued the direction of the new Catwoman first issue and I'm inclined to agree with her. Check out her detailed response here.

The "New 52" Catwoman cover.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

 Getting back to Batgirl. Adain Syaf's pencils render her beautifully. She is womanly, youthful and dynamic, without being over-exposed or posed in any anatomically impossible positions. Barbara is drawn as an appealing young woman and I have to say I really like the artwork. One thing I love is that he's not bad at drawing detailed backgrounds. So many comic artists are great at drawing faces, anatomy, you name it - but phone-in their backgrounds and make them really shabby and it takes me out of the story, so thumbs-up for Syaf for giving us a better view of Barbara's world. His art is expressive and dynamic. I look forward to seeing more of both artists! 

Batgirl swinging into action.

Reflections and Verdict: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding DC Comic's 'New 52' reboot this September. In a nutshell, the company has taken all 52 of their comic's titles (including Action Comics and Detective Comics - which have been running since the 1930's and 40's) and rebooted many character's origins and story-lines. There's been a huge amount of changes - some which have hit long-time DC Comics readers hard - mainly in the pursuit of gaining new younger readers in a difficult economic market. I'll admit I'm one of those readers who has used the New 52 line-up as a great "jumping-on" point, but I'm determined to honour the growth of these iconic characters and intend to read what has gone before as well.

No change has been more controversial than the decision to make Barbara Gordon Batgirl again; to give you an idea of the controversy, I'm going to give you all a little background, not only into the history of Batgirl/Oracle in comics, but also what she meant to me growing up.

Barbara Gordon as Batgirl:
Barbara Gordon has always been a smart and capable female character in Batman comics.  Her character actually originated in the 60's Batman TV series as a way to attract female viewers, but her popularity was such that she soon became part of Batman/Detective comics canon in 1966. Played by the - quite frankly gorgeous - Yvonne Craig in the TV show, she high-kicked her way across the screen and into my tiny little heart. You see, even as a child of the Nineties, I grew up on Sixties Batman re-runs and Batman: The Animated Series.  Gawky, bookish nine year old me was desperate for any kind of female ass-kicking role models to emulate and look up to. In that sense, Batgirl was a goddess-send. I used to put on my brother's Batman costume and run around our house and garden fighting imaginary criminals - socking and kapowing them into oblivion. I wanted to be Batgirl. She was amazing and inspiring to me! Plus, I look good in purple okays?

Yvonne Craig - The Batgirl of my childhood.

Barbara Gordon was Police Commissioner Jim Gordon's daughter and Head Librarian at Gotham Public Library by day and put on her cape to fight crime as Batgirl by night. Her popularity was such that she became one of the iconic female heroines of the Silver Age of comics. She was an independent crime-fighter, not a side-kick.

The turning point for her character came 20 years later in 1988 with Alan Moore's The Killing Joke. This saw the Joker enact a horrifying act of violence on the Gordon family, shooting Barbara in the spine, stripping her near-naked and photographing her many times as she cried out in agony. The injury to her spinal-cord left Barbara paralysed and in a wheelchair. Her career as Batgirl had seemingly come to a traumatic end.

The turning point in Barbara's life.

One Batgirl fan who was outraged by the physical and sexual violence perpetrated on her favourite character at the time and on female characters in comics in general was Gail Simone. In the Nineties, she created a website called Women In Refrigerators - to critically challenge the ways in which female characters were mistreated and made victims of violence as a recurrent plot device in comics. 
 An incredibly worthy cause in this fan-girl's eyes. 

Through that one act of genuine moxie, Gail managed to her getting a gig writing a comics column and then getting into writing comics for the characters she loved like Wonder Woman and created a career-defining run writing DC's premier female crime-fighting team Birds of Prey. She's now writing the new 52 Batgirl. Not bad for a Batgirl and comics fangirl (and a great writer).

 Barbara Gordon as Oracle:  
Luckily there were others besides Simone who objected to the sidelining of one of DC's most beloved heroines. In 1989, a year after Barbara's devastating accident, writer Jim Ostrander and editor Kim Yale reinvented Miss Gordon as Oracle - a brilliant computer hacker and information broker. Despite being in a wheelchair, Babs was able to save the world by using her research skills and her sense of empathy to catch criminals and mentor heroes. She also trains in eskrima, a form of martial arts that enables her to fight even whilst in her wheelchair.

Creating and co-commanding her own team of female heroines - the Birds of Prey, through her friendship with Black Canary, Barbara was able to find new meaning in her life.  The comic in its original incarnation became the longest running female team-up series in comics history, running for 16 years from 1995-2011. Over the past 22 years, Oracle has become a beloved character in Modern Age comics and an icon for disabled and handi-capable readers. Framed as Batman's intellectual equal and the key source of information and tech support for all DC heroes and heroines, Barbara became a formidable presence in Gotham City, despite the cards life had dealt her.

Oracle. Comics' original Net-Girl Extraordinaire.

On the New 52 Reboot Controversy:
This September the announcement came that Batgirl and many other titles were to be rebooted and Barbara was to become Batgirl once again. Oracle was to be no more. The main argument being that Barbara Gordon has always been the most recognisible  Batgirl in popular culture and as a disabled female heroine in a comic-book world where miraculous healing Lazarus Pits exist and even Batman could be seen to recover from a broken spine, it seemed illogical that Batgirl never recovered from her injuries. A cynic might say the main idea for the change was reckoning on nostalgia and character familiarity to sell comics. It's no secret that despite the recent comic book blockbusters, the industry is still struggling right now and DC's decision to go back to the drawing board every few years is a symptom of that. I'd argue Marvel's "event" grand-standing every few years is for the same reason.

Many perspectives on Babs were bandied around online and many were rightly vocal about these changes to a beloved character and a symbol of hope for disabled readers that life doesn't have to stop as a result of an illness or handicap. One very poignant commentator was Jill Pantozzi - a female comics blogger and writer for both her own blog  Has Boobs, Reads Comics and geek girl go-to site The Mary Sue - who wrote an impassioned post for her Newsarama column about her love for Oracle. Jill has Muscular Dystrophy - a condition that means she has to spend a lot of time in a wheelchair. She even been known to dress up as Batgirl at conventions. Her love for Oracle is clear in her post, which you can check out here. 

The response was so vocal that Gail Simone herself responded by arranging a two-way interview between herself and Jill about the character changes and they both raised some interesting points. 
Check it out here.

Is really as simple as walking away from Oracle?

My own perspective is this. I have a genuine love for Babs and will follow this character where ever she goes as long as the writing stays true to the essence of the character. As far as diversity representation goes, Oracle's absence as a mentoring figure and a beacon for the disabled community is a real blow. It's a shame the two aspects of her character can't co-exist, so I have to make them do so in my own mind.

Author's note: I recently read all of Bryan Q. Miller's run with Stephanie Brown as Batgirl with Oracle as Steph's mentor and really enjoyed the character dynamic between the two. I really hope they find a way to bring Stephanie back, but fear it'll be an undoing of some great character development. Also, the "New 52" Birds of Prey line-up isn't really clicking for me without Oracle and Black Canary's friendship at the helm. The Birds were very much part of Barbara's path in making something of herself after her accident, so it seems weird to see the Birds team-up without that being the guiding factor in their origins.

  

I can see why Batgirl commentators and genuine fans such as Jill Pantozzi feel short-changed at Oracle's loss. I feel the only way I can really compartmentalise the two aspects of the history of Barbara as a character is to treat this new incarnation of Batgirl as an "alternate reality - what-if?" tale. What if Barbara had recovered from her injuries over time? What if she did return to fighting crime as Batgirl after suffering such trauma? How would it affect her? Where would it take her as a person and as a heroine? These are the questions the new Batgirl comic will hopefully answer and I trust that with a strong female writer such as Gail Simone at the helm, who has a clear genuine love of the character, she is in safe hands. For me, Oracle still exists out there as another side of the coin. Another path Barbara's story could've (and has) taken. I can still pick up my old Batgirl and Birds of Prey trades and see her saving the day. 

Either way, this is a woman who would never let the horrific hands she has been dealt beat her - whether in or out of a wheelchair - and that's what makes her so compelling. She never gives up. So I'm not giving up on reading about her.

 Score - 4/5  A compelling new beginning, that still remains true to Barbara and Batgirl's emotional journey.

Speculation:  This issue ended on a real cliffhanger where it was clear Barbara had not fully gotten over her ordeal at the hands of the Joker. I'd like to see her becoming strong again and putting these bad memories to rest. I'm sure she will, but it'll be a tough road getting there. What I love so much about Simone's writing of Barbara is that she keeps the emotional centre of the character at the forefront of her actions. I'm just as interested in Barbara's life outside of Batgirl as I am in her kicking ass. I really like Alysia - Babs' new roommate and hope there's room to develop a budding friendship between the two women.  I like Mirror as a villain and love that his motivation is so strongly tied into Barbara's emotional issues. I look forward to seeing them clash and finding out his origins. I predict that the consequences of Batgirl's inaction will be felt and I can't wait to see where this comic goes.  
I think I both discovered and rediscovered a heroine I'm going to love for a long time to come.