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Review: Batgirl #25

By Philip Schweier
August 15, 2018 - 08:17

This issue boasts an extra-sized anniversary issue. Two year anniversary? It is #25, but I’m not sure two years is all that laudable in the wake of Action Comics #1,000. Regardless, it does offer four stories of varying quality.

It begins with “The Reason,” sharing insight as to why Batgirl took up the cause. However, it plays out like the grieving mother scene in Captain America: Civil War, complete with a (you guessed it) a grieving mother. She may not be as angry and bitter as Alfre Woodard’s character, but you’d never know it from the bipolar facial expressions the art team gives her.

In the aftermath of this encounter, Babs seeks solace with the other junior crime fighter, Dick Grayson, “Hopeless Romantic.” They share the honeymoon suite reserved for Bruce and Selina, and wax philosophical on love, marriage and life. All dialogue, no action. No fighting, no chasing, no masks, just two people in pajamas sharing thoughts on romance and love. Well, those kinds of stories are nice, too.

Writer Marguerite Bennett makes some legitimate points, but so would your girlfriend after her second apple-tini. Can’t say I care for Dan Panosian’s work on the story. Kind of looks like Jack Davis inked by Klaus Janson back when, as one of his colleagues put it, he inked with a Q-Tip.

“Value” is the third story in the quartet, and sets the stage for upcoming issues, as Batgirl faces an old foe who broke jail and is on the lose. It’s a little bit Sherlock Holmes, a little bit CSI, and a healthy fist fight in the mix.

Finally we have “March Madness,” an Alice in Wonderland variation by Paul Dini. Batgirl goes up against the Mad Hatter’s moll, March Harriet, featuring a big ol’ flashback in the middle of the story recounting Harriet’s secret origin. But there’s also a bigger mystery in play, reminding me why I enjoy Dini’s work so much. And Emanuela Lupacchino’s pencil work is stellar. Or maybe it’s Ray McCarthy’s inks, I don’t know. Either way, they’re two great artists that work great together.

Rating: 8/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12