Batgirl #17
PREFACE:
Now I know that I am pretty much late to the party, but I am nothing but persistent. Ray Fawkes is gonna be writing these next couple of issues, but Gail will return. This is still an interesting set up, and with James Jr. lurking around, it seems like Babs isn't going to get a break. We will see what James had planned in DOTF, and what his future entails, but on to the review.
PLOT:
THE GOOD:
Fawkes is a nice replacement for this issue as he really gets in deep with the characters, especially James Jr. It is an interesting concept to finally have these two face off, since he has been in the shadows for over 6 months. The dialogue is spot on, and the banter between James and his mother is so painful to hear, but with a psycho son it doesn't have the effect intended. Also, to see Babs back to work so fast isn't necessarily bad but it shows that she is strong enough to carry on and continue what she does best. The page with Gordon and Bullock was also very memorable as it reflects that this is Gordon's son as well, and he might not be taking it like Babs or Babs Sr.
Sampere delivers a nice issue, and does a really nice job with the huge amount of explosions and fires from Firebug. Overall, the panels were done nicely, and was done in a simple and somewhat effective way.
BEST STORY MOMENT: Babs Sr. ripping James a new one emotionally and him not caring was just awesome.
BEST ART MOMENT: The two pages where Firebug was blowing up cars, and Babs was saving the surrounding cops.
THE BAD:
This issue was just a nicely wrapped package of crowded average. Nothing was significant save for the BSM above. The art was a bit above average but I don't like how Sampere draws Babs' batsuit. I would have preferred the cover artist to do the interiors, but it wasn't outright terrible. Nothing about it was terrible, just rushed. There were things that I really didn't like though; I hate Ricky, and for l Fawkes (Fawkes wrote the V-Day special with these two, and I swear if they end up together I will lose hope for any possible DickxBabs relationship) to include him here is just not to my liking whatsoever. One of the biggest gripes is with the Firefly wannabe. Why not have it be Firefly? If there was seriously a problem for having that character in the series then don't try. It would have made more sense for Junior to have rigged the car to blow, thats a very psychotic thing to do anyway. In a nut shell, this issue brought my worst fears to life, and has hit an immediate low point.
Fawkes, like I said, was just pretty much average, with no real stand out panel or feature. I mentioned the Best Art Moment because that was just a panel I liked the most.
WORST STORY MOMENT: Firebug.... He really didn't need to exist.
WORST ART MOMENT: The fact that nothing stood out past one page.
OVERALL:
I have reviewed Fawkes' take on Babs in the V-Day special, and noted that the story was nothing significant, and his use of pointless characters or characters I didn't like hindered the story itself. He has done it again, and though I feel he is a talented writer, I don't feel that this is a good fit for him. I have been contemplating this for a bit, and I have decided to drop Batgirl for the time being. I think I will pick this up for issue 20, Gail will be back on and this story will be over and done with. Happy Valentines Day!
