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BATGIRL #20
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Damion Scott
Inks: Robert Campanella
Colors: Jason Wright & Digital Chameleon
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Michael Wright
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Guest writer Chuck Dixon delivers a story that's a little bit on the predictable side at times, but he manages to win the reader over with the charm of the Spoiler, who brings some fun and everyday personality to the title. Though this is far from the best episode of the series, it's a nice little fill-in.
Batgirl stumbles upon a gang of thugs giving a semingly ordinary citizen a hard time, but the altercation erupts into a gunfight in which all but the young heroine are slain. That's when she discovers the $1 million the guy was carrying, and an accompanying note. She consults the Spoiler, the Batman's newest partner, to find out what the note says, and the pair teams up to get to the bottom of an odd kidnapping case.
This is one of Scott's better efforts on the title in recent months. The art in some past issues seemed overly inky, but there's a crisper quality -- though still appropriately shadowy -- to the visuals this month. It was a little difficult keeping track of all of the cookie-cutter gangsters though.
The new Batgirl isn't an easy character to write. She only utters one or two words at a time, and a mask covers her entire face. Still, Dixon manages to convey her emotions through those barriers. I also enjoyed the plot twist in the end, even though one could see it coming a moment or two too soon.
The real highlight of this issue, though, was the Spoiler. Stephanie is the perfect choice to partner with the title character. She's inexperienced, she's goofy and she's... well, normal. The characters play well off of one another, and I hope we see more of the pairing in the future, either in this title or in other Bat-books.
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