Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batgirl #7: A Review


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By Zak Edwards
February 4, 2017 - 10:08

Batgirl is back. In Burnside, that is, but things have changed while Barabara Gordon was galavanting around East Asia. Her favourite coffee shop was replaced by a “nonconformist pet store,” her new coffee place charges $5 for pour-over coffee, and her rent just doubled. It’s classic gentrification, something almost anyone in any major city can watch happen. Of course, Barbara Gordon is affected by it more abstractly than concretely, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t taking a stand.

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Variant cover of Batgirl #7 by Francis Manapul.
One of the major issues about even talking about gentrification is what I like to call the “ reasonablism.” Neighbourhoods undergoing the process are hailed as “up-and-coming” and “changing for the better.” And of course everyone wants neighbourhoods to improve but the underlying argument in this sort of general praise is that “it wasn’t good enough before, and neither were the people.”

The thing that makes Batgirl #7 so great, and writing this review so easy, is that it doesn’t try and couch any of its set-up. The plot is established in conjunction with its critique and it isn’t afraid to directly engage with the people who participate in gentrification. And while I usually roll my eyes at the many ham-fisted ways comic scribes hammer their arguments into scripts, Hope Larson does it so naturally, with such a clear and strong voice, that it doesn’t come across like most. It comes across as, well, naturally. Every conversation on the subject, whether with those who agree or those who don’t, is interwoven into the story so it doesn’t feel like a tangent. Barbara’s transfer from computer science to library science, for example, is about trading gentrification for access. In today’s world, that is absolutely key and the switch makes perfect sense.

But Larson’s thoughts on gentrification also give us a chance for a whirlwind catch-up with Batgirl’s biggest strength: her supporting cast. Alysia & her partner are back, as is Frankie, and they have been missed while Barbara was in Asia. This is Larson’s first issue with them and she has a handle on their voices, which is nice.

As someone who went away for a year just before I turned twenty, it was nice seeing the rapid change. Some may dislike Alysia’s big announcement or Frankie’s big decision but I, for one, saw it as exactly how it goes. Things that are new to you when you go home are old news for everyone else. They get treated with a certain casual indifference and, here, they all play it that way while still being the loving, lovely characters they are. And when Barbara calls Nightwing for a friendly chat, it comes off as one of the most genuine conversations I’ve ever seen in a comic. I mean, it sounds like how I talk on the phone and was just a total delight for a brief two pages.

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Barbara Gordon on why libraries matter. Art by Chris Wildgoose.


I could talk about this issue for much, much longer, but I would rather wait for the rest of the story before singing too many praises. I jumped off Batgirl while she was in Asia but I am so happy I came back now when she returns to Burnside. It’s all back and humming along as good as ever. I doubt anyone is dissatisfied with the pieces in place here. Now it’s time to see how they fall.

tl; dr review: A book that weaves its story into its subject matter, seamlessly and beautifully. Batgirl’s back, everybody, and thankfully her supporting cast is along for the ride again.


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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