What I like best about the current Batgirl series is that it is a series of individual stories, perhaps the occasional two-parter, rather than multi-chapter story arcs. I think it’s a strategy that works well with lesser heroes. Sure, Batgirl is part of the Bat-franchise, but Batgirl herself is hardly an A-list hero. As an individual she is better suited to single chapter stories.

In this issue, she is called upon to investigate a young man named Jacob Cesaro, a former classmate of Barbara Gordon’s who seems to be in trouble. What kind of trouble, that’s for Batgirl to discover. What she learns is Jacob has allied himself with Two-Face, and that means double trouble. Of course, Two-Face has a fiendish plot to extort money from the city of Gotham, if Jacob lives up to his end of the deal.

Jacob is a young man on the brink. He is consumed by grief and anger, with now way of channeling it in a productive direction. So he’s not too different from a lot of people these days, whose only outlet for their emotions is through anger, bitterness and resentment.

While the story has layers of merits, the artwork is a little disappointing. Scott Godlewski is good, but this issue is lacking something – an energy level that I’m used to seeing from previous issues. I don’t begrudge him that, as some days the creative well runs dry. But here’s hoping he’ll be back in his usual fine form ere too long.