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BATGIRL #26
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Scott Peterson
Pencils: Vincent Giarrano
Inks: Jesse Delperdang
Colors: Jason Wright & Digital Chameleon
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Michael Wright
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Not only do we get a fill-in creative team this month, but the protagonist is a fill-in as well. This issue focuses on the Spoiler, the other young woman that's a part of the Batman Family these days. This is a nice character piece. Still, Peterson's story has an inherent problem due to the fact that he writes one element too well, and the art, though energetic, came off as a little stiff at times.
After Batgirl manages to get back to Oracle's loft safely after her climactic and taxing confrontation with Lady Shiva, she recuperates... for days. Unfortunately, one of Shiva's followers demands to face off against the young woman who defeated his master, and the only person available to answer the call is the teenage girl who feels she's living in Batgirl's shadow: the young heroine known as the Spoiler.
Giarrano and Delperdang's art is surprisingly consistent with the overall look of this series. Part of the credit goes to the regular coloring team working on this fill-in issue, but some is due to the thick, sharp lines in the art and its kinetic quality. I also detect a hint of Jim Aparo influence at play in the art. Still, for all of its strengths, there are moments when the action is awkward. Figures seem frozen at times rather than fluid, and the Spoiler's somewhat cartoony appearance, while it works with her sense of disbelief, works against the moments boasting more grave tone.
Peterson balances those two sides of the script -- the humorous tone fostered by the Spoiler's down-to-earth attitude and the more touching and deadly aspects of the plot -- nicely here. He successfully communicates just how the Spoiler is in way over her head; in fact, he does so too well. The way he described the odd, I fully expected the character to lie dead at the end of the issue, and her success doesn't really jibe with Peterson's set-up.
Easily the greatest strength of the issue is how Peterson manages to convey how the Spoiler feels connected to the title character. They're both girls of about the same age, so it makes sense that the Spoiler would feel a kinship. But what's interesting is that what really draws the Spoiler to Batgirl is resentment. Batgirl came into the Bat-fold after Stephanie, yet she perceives that Batgirl has managed to attain a higher status in the extended family of heroes than she has. It's an interesting character dynamic, and it merits further exploration.
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