Birds of Prey # 98
DC COMICS
WRITER: Gail Simone
ARTISTS: James Raiz, Robin Riggs
COVER: Jerry Ordway

There is a new Batgirl in town and Babs, Black Canary and the Huntress are in a quandry over who she is and what to do with her. The Canary and the Huntress confront this new Batgirl only to discover that she is more than human as she easily outfights them. The creative team make it clear that this "new" Batgirl isn't going to around for long as she looks and acts like an oversized fan-girl. Still, she seems to be an intriguing character as her actions and motives are so different from the usual vengeance-seeking villains our heroes run into. The art is equally unusual as Raiz and Riggs depict the characters with a sharp realism that gives them all individual faces while also minimizing the glamour-girl looks of the numerous females in the book. It may seem stupid of DC to make hot-looking girls look less appealing but this style does add a certain degree of suspense and genuine menace to the story. The art may not be great but it is certainly dramatic and well-suited to the story. The book itself may not shake the world but it tries to stand out from the crowd by combining crime drama and superheroics without shortchanging either genre.