Batgirl #7: A Review
By Zak Edwards
February 4, 2017 - 10:08
DC Comics
Writer(s): Hope Larson
Penciller(s): Chris Wildgoose
Colourist(s): Mat Lopes
Letterer(s): Deron Bennett
Cover Artist(s): Francis Manapul
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.
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
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.
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.
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