A calculated death
SPOILERS ABOUND IN THIS REVIEW....BE WARNED
We have a start of a new Batgirl arc brought to you by Bryan Q Miller, Lee Garbett and two inkers Jonathan Glapion and Richard Friend. The issue starts with a beautiful cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau. His covers are fantastic! Steph looks beautiful and the Gotham back drop is classic bat-family! When I walk into a shop the first thing I look at are what covers are poppin off the shelf and this one does. Dark coloring be dammed it sticks out.
Bryan Q Miller spins a tale that harkens back to Battle for the Cowl Oracle mini. He brings the Calculator in as the antagonist for this arc. You know that Wendy will be involved and it is about time. We have seen her in several issues and now we'll see the next step in her new life. Confronting her evil murdering father will be interesting. I am a fan of Stephanie as Batgirl. I don't care if it was an editorial mandate that kind of push her into the postion. She is the right person for the job. If you haven't been reading this book it is not to late to jump on with this new arc. Onward now to the review.
We open with a human bomb threatening a subway train in Gotham. Miller gives us some cool interaction between Batgirl and a young passenger. Steph saves the day with the ever present technical help of Oracle. At the end of the sequence with have Commissioner Gordon. Who really establishes her presence in Gotham as a member of the Bat-family and solidifies her contact with Detective Gage. Next up is a quick interlude between the action. We have Barbara with Wendy working on a project furthering Wendy's rehab. We have a flash back to the Teen Titan's issue where Wendy was injured and Marvin was killed. Good tool to bring those readers that didn't have the back story. We also see a new hideout/cave for Oracle and Batgirl to call home. A bit drippy but it foreshadows the return of a certain man to the cave they had been using. It's not done yet but will be soon. An unexplainable murder takes place and has Detective Gage investigating. While on the scene another alarm goes off in the building. We have a number sequence spouting perpetrator that makes a hasty exit out the window. This was a bit of misdirection by the Calculator so as to obtain the goods he was after. Like the end of computer code his human tools expire as they become of no use to him. Cold blooded murder to reach and end. Or should I say calculated murder to achieve an ends. Apokolips tech is in the blood of the human tools which tips Oracle off as to whom they are facing. Oracles reaction was great!
We end with a rather macabre seen with Calculator and a rather dead Marvin.
Lee Garbett's art is solid. Good flowing action and expressive facial work. The change in inkers isn't really noticeable. I really like the feel that Garbett's style gives this book.
Overall this book is a 4 out of 5 for me. Good opening chapter that gave us the back story to explain what is going on and a good set up for the rest of the arc.
Bryan Q Miller spins a tale that harkens back to Battle for the Cowl Oracle mini. He brings the Calculator in as the antagonist for this arc. You know that Wendy will be involved and it is about time. We have seen her in several issues and now we'll see the next step in her new life. Confronting her evil murdering father will be interesting. I am a fan of Stephanie as Batgirl. I don't care if it was an editorial mandate that kind of push her into the postion. She is the right person for the job. If you haven't been reading this book it is not to late to jump on with this new arc. Onward now to the review.
We open with a human bomb threatening a subway train in Gotham. Miller gives us some cool interaction between Batgirl and a young passenger. Steph saves the day with the ever present technical help of Oracle. At the end of the sequence with have Commissioner Gordon. Who really establishes her presence in Gotham as a member of the Bat-family and solidifies her contact with Detective Gage. Next up is a quick interlude between the action. We have Barbara with Wendy working on a project furthering Wendy's rehab. We have a flash back to the Teen Titan's issue where Wendy was injured and Marvin was killed. Good tool to bring those readers that didn't have the back story. We also see a new hideout/cave for Oracle and Batgirl to call home. A bit drippy but it foreshadows the return of a certain man to the cave they had been using. It's not done yet but will be soon. An unexplainable murder takes place and has Detective Gage investigating. While on the scene another alarm goes off in the building. We have a number sequence spouting perpetrator that makes a hasty exit out the window. This was a bit of misdirection by the Calculator so as to obtain the goods he was after. Like the end of computer code his human tools expire as they become of no use to him. Cold blooded murder to reach and end. Or should I say calculated murder to achieve an ends. Apokolips tech is in the blood of the human tools which tips Oracle off as to whom they are facing. Oracles reaction was great!
We end with a rather macabre seen with Calculator and a rather dead Marvin.
Lee Garbett's art is solid. Good flowing action and expressive facial work. The change in inkers isn't really noticeable. I really like the feel that Garbett's style gives this book.
Overall this book is a 4 out of 5 for me. Good opening chapter that gave us the back story to explain what is going on and a good set up for the rest of the arc.
