Comics! Batgirl #5

Batgirl #5

Gail Simone: writer
Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes: pencillers
Vicente Cifuentes: inker

The Comic
I'm just not enjoying this comic or this character. There is so much about it that is so far removed from trying to show a character for Batgirl that I can get behind. I am seeing no reason for Barbara to be back in the role, especially after seeing Stephanie Brown, the previous Batgirl, in Batman: Leviathan. I took more from her in the role than I do from seeing Barbara in the role.

But I don't want to compare the two comics to each other in that way. Let's take a look at just Barbara as Batgirl.

The first page. Batgirl is swinging above the city. Way above the city. WAY above the city. How did she get up there? Is there some huge building on top of the bridge that she swung from? I can see the curvature of the earth in the background, that's how high up she is. Batgirl is also is some pose that reminds me of a porn actress modeling. Seriously.

Then we get some fight scene that really doesn't make sense. The people are shouting something about "338" and are being hypnotized to some degree by some multi-colored hair woman. That's the first half of the book that doesn't establish much in terms of what the villain wants or what is going on. Sorta like the last villain from the previous arc.

Then we get to the cliffhanger from the last issue where Barbara talks to her mother. Honestly though, I can't tell the characters apart. They are drawn in the exact same way with no distinguishing characteristics that show age on Barbara's mother. And that conversation goes nowhere. We only get the fact that Barbara's mom is coming back to Gotham, but she specifically tells Barbara that she can't explain why. Shouldn't that strike Barbara as odd in some respects? Wouldn't that alert Barbara and raise a red flag for her?

Then we shift gears to Jim Gordan wanting the detective from the first issue who held a gun to Batgirl to come back. Apparently Gordan wants her to start to follow Batgirl and the cases she is on. Which seems really off, because if Gordan knew that Batgirl was his daughter, why not confront her directly? Seems off.

Then we get Barbara at home. She is watching TV and is seeing a report about Occupy protesters giving a crap about Bruce Wayne wanting to tear down condemned buildings in Gotham and rebuild some better ones in their place. That type of protest makes no sense. But, this minor detail allows us to have Bruce Wayne come and make a speech at the site, so let's skip past that, because it becomes "important" later.

We then get a fight sequence that makes no sense when you think about it. And then the big "cliffhanger" ending, where Bruce Wayne looks to be possessed by the multi-colored haired girl and he starts to go after Batgirl. Yea, I'll buy that scenario.

Simone is a really wordy writer. Seriously, I feel like I am reading a novel. Which is not a bad thing necessarily, as long as you remember that you are writing a comic book. The art is also an essential part of the story telling. But when you use the words that the characters are thinking or saying to show and explain to me what is going on, and this is already information that I can get from the art, the words become rather redundant.

We also got the little throwaway line that hints at an explanation for how Barbara got healthy. Apparently, it is some neural implant. We are five issues into the story, stop throwing pebbles at us and get on with making this a bigger part of the main story. If the main story was more intriguing that the mystery of how she became healthy, then I wouldn't care so much about these little hints towards her healing. But that main story is about as dull as watching golf being played by rhinos, its slow, dull, and nothing is happening.

The Cover
The cover has the name of the villain. It is not mentioned within the comic. I have no emotional impact with the cover. It is simply a scene of Batgirl being punched in the snow. Big whoop.

Grades
Words: 4/10
Pictures: 4/10
Recommend: No.
Buy Next Issue: I will, but if it is the same as this one, then it will be the last.

Previous Issues
Batgirl #4
Three Issue Trial