A Bit Lost
Approaching one year behind the wheel of Batgirl, Gail Simone brings Ardian Syaf along for another Barbara Gordon adventure.
The Good: To begin, Syaf provides more solid yet unspectacular artwork for Batgirl. At this point into the series, you know what you're going to get: good work on the main character, a bit of pop in the action sequences, solid clarity, and a pretty consistent look. It works well enough. On Simone's side, there are interesting developments about new villain Knightfall and the returning Det. McKenna that add some much needed depth to what have otherwise been relatively stale characters. As always, Babs is lively, clever, and enjoyable. Thus, this issue has, in and of itself, enough quality to maintain the interest of the reader.
The Bad: The big problems with Batgirl #11 are beyond those of the actual issue. At this point, so much more can and should have been built. In the surrounding Batman books, we've seen the development and culmination of plots that have validated the renumbering of the New 52 by breathing fresh air into their comics. In Batgirl, DC unveiled one if its biggest changes to continuity by re-mobilizing Babs after 20 years. For this, we were treated to a short but encouraging story with Mirror. Since then, the comic has stagnated. Multiple villains have passed through without leaving any real repercussions. The roommate's the same, the family's the same, and, for all intensive purposes, Batgirl hasn't changed a single bit since returning to jumping on rooftops. More than most comics, this one has to fight through the burden of expectation; it has to be great, and, quite simply, it isn't.
Overall: For all intensive purposes, this is a good issue in an okay series. 2.5/5.
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