The Light in the Darkness
The Good: It's Batgirl, and Bryan Q. Miller is writing. The dialogue is fantastically funny without loosing itself in the comedy, allowing proper balance for the serious parts.
The way the issue title and credits were presented deserves special recognition for impressing me, something that I rarely pay attention to the layout of.
I like how consistent Miller is with Batgirl's supporting characters. Francisco and Jordanna are more than just characters from that one story arc, especially Jordanna, who keeps showing up to unknowingly drive various plot elements, and it works really well.
The Order of the Scythe were already really interesting for seeming to be more normal people, and they managed to knock their cool and intrigue factor up a notch with this issue. There's still a lot of mystery behind them and I love it. Plus it sets up a nice running plotline for Batgirl, and of course starts setting up her own rogues gallery.
Oh, and Dustin Nguyen's artwork. He did the art, 'nuff said.
The Bad: The story arc felt a little short. I dunno what it is but it felt like things could've been dragged on a little more to add up the dramatic tension. Batgirl was only 'wanted' for like, a day? And Jordanna already had her protest up and running? The social impact could've been explored a bit more.
This undertone of Batgirl's need for acceptance was worked into the story, but it wasn't really emphasized enough to feel necessary.
I wished The Gray Ghost would've shown up again. It seems odd that he'd just make such a random one-time cameo in this arc so casually.
In Conclusion: 4/5
What this and the previous issue are, is a prologue of the next year or more of Batgirl. A whole lot of little things have been set up here, and really all the way back to #13. After 'Batgirl Rising' ended, we've been on a run of one-shot issues, and this 2-issue arc, and it's been a lot of nice setup. #15 would be a fine jumping on point and I recommend it. Batgirl is a very fun Batman Family title that doesn't lose any of Gotham CIty's shadows. Stephanie Brown is the light shining inside the darkness that engulfs most of the Batman Family.
