For Whom The Bells Toll
Ok, I'm super annoyed with Ed Benes' tendency to significantly overemphasize T&A, and Batgirl's certainly fallen a bit conveniently to show them off.... but otherwise this is a PHENOMENAL cover. The teeth and roses all around Batgirl, and The Joker in an elegant spotlight, it's clear he's meant to have just stabbed her, but he also probably danced a tango with her, and you don't know if he stabbed her before or after that. It's just so great.
I'm already not really a fan of Ed Benes' artwork, but he seemed even more off than usual this issue. The linework was a lot more rough, and of course we had a whole scene of Barbara without any pants on. There was also an overuse of close ups that made the characters feel a little detached from the setting. And Benes' portrayal of Joker's face in this issue feels like it's trying too hard to be creepy, instead of being more subtly unnervng.
Anyone reading this series should know right away who's REALLY on the phone. When Joker is the arc villain, he LOVES to grandstand. He wouldn't use a voice modulator. Not to mention that Barbara's instant certainty that it IS him, combined with the fact that we're not privy to his identity initially makes it obvious that it ISN'T The Joker. And if not him there was only one other possibility that made sense.
Barbara has finally come around from her PTSD, and showing more of her true self as opposed to this weirdly forced partially spunky teen personality she's been exhibiting. She almost goes too far over the edge, and while that could be an interesting story, it's pretty sudden and directly contradicts the lesson she just learned one issue ago at the conclusion of the Knightfall arc. And it makes her feel too much like Kate Kane.
The flow for this issue is kind of off the whole time. I slugs through the beginning, and then skips ahead to the Joker confrontation. Though the dialogue is all great, and the story is pretty compelling. This issue has a crazy ending that caught me a little off guard. There's a sick twist, but it's a little tame compared to some of Joker's other recent stuff.
In Conclusion: 4/5
Two steps forward and two steps back. Batgirl's been floating around 'adequate' territory for a while, issues like this spiking up a bit before returning back to normal. The artwork and pacing could use some polish, but honestly there's so much that no longer works. But I'm saying that all the time. This was a solid issue of Death of the Family.
