Scan barcode
oddmara's review against another edition
5.0
I am using this last issue of Batgirl as a place to talk about the whole series.
Honestly, the Batgirl series stood out from the very beginning as something incredibly unique, just by artstyle and colour choice alone. It felt like finally we had a series that had serious art direction, and even when the artist changed, it still felt like we were within the same universe, the same cohesive story, which rarely happens in other runs. There was no filler. There were no punches pulled. Everything pushed forward or backward Cass' character and by the end, she was almost unrecognisable. In the most perfect way.
She's the one character we see consistently grow and change throughout their series, without stagnating, without regressing (in the sense that the writers forgot the character progression she went through, since she actually regresses quite a bit at times and that's the point), without ever making me feel bored whilst reading.
The fact that 20 issues of this are speechless leave /me/ speechless. She's such a wonderful character. Her backstory is mindboggling, the concept in itself brilliant. I won't lie, I was thoroughly disappointed when they used "plot reasons" to allow her to speak, but it somehow ended working out with her not being able to read and being destroyed by it for a large proportion of her series. She's weird. She's confusing (and confused). She hates attention, she craves attention and validation and care. The fact that speech is forever central to this story is probably its biggest strength. The writers knew how to use it, to make it central to her identity, to stop her, to almost kill her because of it.
There are some issues in particular that completely baffled me:
The Bruce Wayne: Fugitive issue, where Dick and Cass recreate the death scene. She is so broken by the prospect of losing another father figure, she goes all the way to try and prove his innocence. Which is probably the first hint we get about her upcoming character development. The lack of limits.
Her relationship with Steph is the queerest thing I have read. This is a story that does Cass justice as much as it does Steph. We see them rely on each other and imagine each other by their side. Cass sees Steph every single time she almost dies, for fucks' sake. But even whilst she was alive, them hanging out, Steph being the first person that wasn't afraid of her, but in awe of her. Them bonding over trauma and training together and generally hanging out is so sweet and the series is so good at portraying Cass' grief after Steph dies, more than any other series.
Her relationship with Tim, especially in those 4 issues where they work together in Bludhaven, is also tackled insanely well. They're comfortable with each other despite the fact they don't like each other, their shared grief for Steph's passing pulling them together and pushing them apart.
And don't even get me started on her relationship with Bruce. The issue where the two fight, which is the only way she knows to share affection? Broke /me/.
She is so full of wonder and passion which contrasts so well with her identity as a trained assassin. The entire story is about determinism. Daughter of Cain, daughter of Shiva, she defeats them both. She rises above them. And yet, the principles and future instilled into her since her youth prevail. It's why she cannot fully embody the Bat identity, since she's beyond those boundaries. She's killed two people. She believes in mercy killing. She believes in mercy. She's wonderful.
There's so many details I could go on about, her visits to see Cain, her relationship with Babs, her life in Bludhaven and the joy I got every time she interacted with the girl that worked at the cafe next door, her attention to detail but lack of sense of what to do with it are all too much to put into words. This was genuinely a series worth reading, and the 3rd best read of the year (or maybe the 2nd). Cassandra Cain's Batgirl is what all comic runs should be.
Honestly, the Batgirl series stood out from the very beginning as something incredibly unique, just by artstyle and colour choice alone. It felt like finally we had a series that had serious art direction, and even when the artist changed, it still felt like we were within the same universe, the same cohesive story, which rarely happens in other runs. There was no filler. There were no punches pulled. Everything pushed forward or backward Cass' character and by the end, she was almost unrecognisable. In the most perfect way.
She's the one character we see consistently grow and change throughout their series, without stagnating, without regressing (in the sense that the writers forgot the character progression she went through, since she actually regresses quite a bit at times and that's the point), without ever making me feel bored whilst reading.
The fact that 20 issues of this are speechless leave /me/ speechless. She's such a wonderful character. Her backstory is mindboggling, the concept in itself brilliant. I won't lie, I was thoroughly disappointed when they used "plot reasons" to allow her to speak, but it somehow ended working out with her not being able to read and being destroyed by it for a large proportion of her series. She's weird. She's confusing (and confused). She hates attention, she craves attention and validation and care. The fact that speech is forever central to this story is probably its biggest strength. The writers knew how to use it, to make it central to her identity, to stop her, to almost kill her because of it.
There are some issues in particular that completely baffled me:
The Bruce Wayne: Fugitive issue, where Dick and Cass recreate the death scene. She is so broken by the prospect of losing another father figure, she goes all the way to try and prove his innocence. Which is probably the first hint we get about her upcoming character development. The lack of limits.
Her relationship with Steph is the queerest thing I have read. This is a story that does Cass justice as much as it does Steph. We see them rely on each other and imagine each other by their side. Cass sees Steph every single time she almost dies, for fucks' sake. But even whilst she was alive, them hanging out, Steph being the first person that wasn't afraid of her, but in awe of her. Them bonding over trauma and training together and generally hanging out is so sweet and the series is so good at portraying Cass' grief after Steph dies, more than any other series.
Her relationship with Tim, especially in those 4 issues where they work together in Bludhaven, is also tackled insanely well. They're comfortable with each other despite the fact they don't like each other, their shared grief for Steph's passing pulling them together and pushing them apart.
And don't even get me started on her relationship with Bruce. The issue where the two fight, which is the only way she knows to share affection? Broke /me/.
She is so full of wonder and passion which contrasts so well with her identity as a trained assassin. The entire story is about determinism. Daughter of Cain, daughter of Shiva, she defeats them both. She rises above them. And yet, the principles and future instilled into her since her youth prevail. It's why she cannot fully embody the Bat identity, since she's beyond those boundaries. She's killed two people. She believes in mercy killing. She believes in mercy. She's wonderful.
There's so many details I could go on about, her visits to see Cain, her relationship with Babs, her life in Bludhaven and the joy I got every time she interacted with the girl that worked at the cafe next door, her attention to detail but lack of sense of what to do with it are all too much to put into words. This was genuinely a series worth reading, and the 3rd best read of the year (or maybe the 2nd). Cassandra Cain's Batgirl is what all comic runs should be.
More...