It's been quite some time since I visited this title and its unusual super-hero protagonist, and this special issue, with its extra pages, seemed like a good point at which to delve back into the world of violence and redemption of the enigmatic girl named Cassandra. The good news is that the title's new writer, Dylan Horrocks, offers up an accessible script; pretty much anyone can pick this book up and learn what s/he needs to know in order to catch up on the adventures of the new Batgirl. The bad news is that most of the extra pages are filled with an extended fight scene that's pretty much gratuitous.
A criminal known as Dr. Death has decided to test out his latest weapon of mass destruction on the people of Gotham City, and it's a drug known as Soul. It throws everyone exposed to it into a riotous rage, and the Batman and his young protege, Batgirl, have both been exposed. The girl's resentment of the way she's been treated by her heroic mentor give way to anger and violence, and the pair fights across the city. Meanwhile, the other members of the Batman Family -- Robin, Nightwing and Oracle -- deal with the effect of Soul on the general populace and scramble to find an antidote.
James Jean's cover artwork on Fables has helped that Vertigo series stand out from the crowd on comic-shop shelves, and I wish I could say the same strength is to be found on his work here. That's not the case, though. Perhaps super-hero subject matter just isn't his thing. The interior artwork, while competent, isn't all that striking either. The Dr. Death design is generic and dull, and Leonardi's loose style just doesn't grab me. His work here reminds me of the styles of such artists as Klaus (Batman: Death and the Maidens) Janson and Scott (Superman) McDaniel, though, but it doesn't really strike me as all that dynamic here. I'm not sure if his style is suited to the darker atmosphere of Gotham and its more unusual citizens.
Dr. Death? Riot-causing gas? These elements are far too conventional for modern super-hero storytelling. Furthermore, there are lapses in logic in the plotting. Where the heroes find the antidote makes no sense, and how they dupe the villain makes the supposedly brilliant mad scientist seem about as bright as a potato.
There's a strong premise at the heart of this story, but it's all but lost in the super-hero cliches. Horrocks taps into the notion of the title characters inhuman upbringing and addresses the similarities between Cain, her cruel father figure, and the Batman, the new figurehead from whom she seeks approval. Explanations offered in the issue's denouement rob that plot idea of some of its emotional impact, though.
