megankb's review against another edition
1.0
This volume starts promisingly with Annual #2 which focuses on Barbara's relationship with her serial killer brother James Jr. but it quickly devolves into a frighteningly ableist story involving the villain Grotesque. Scott can't seem to decide how to portray Barbara's time as a paraplegic and this is the crux of the problem with DC's retconning her from being the disabled hero Oracle to returning to being Batgirl - it is, at its core, ableist. It doesn't matter how many platitudes Scott writes in a seeming attempt to prove she does not think Babs was lesser when she used a wheelchair because at the end of the day the story demands that she continue to look down upon that time as inferior and choose to continue using her spinal implant. And what does Batgirl really do here that Oracle would not be able to accomplish using her hacking expertise? It's a shame because it's clear that Scott has talent and I would like to see her on a book that doesn't require her to employ ableist rhetoric.
kyera's review against another edition
4.0
This graphic novel combines Batgirl #26-29, Batgirl Annual #2 plus an 8 page story from Batgirl #2, which means that it was pretty long (because of the Annual). The Annual storyline focuses on the familial relationship between Barbara Gordon and her brother James. It is a creepy storyline, but you probably won’t really understand much of what’s going on unless you had familiarity with them from other comic runs. It also puts a strain on Babs’ relationship with her father, which is normally really healthy and normal.
The villain wasn’t particularly memorable, he was just an incredibly violent art thief... or so we think. They’re clearly setting up some new storylines and trying to work in some more humanizing stories for Barbara that pull from her struggles, family life, and introduce a new wannabe romance. Some of the people that disliked how post-Oracle Barbara Gordon was handled will appreciate her struggles to cope here when her chip malfunctions, but overall it wasn’t a storyline that added much in my opinion. I don’t feel that it would appease disappointed fans and it just felt forced.
Overall, this wasn’t the best series of comics that I’ve read of Batgirl, but I can’t really say they were the worst? They’re pretty middle of the road and forgettable, but the Annual made me want to read about Barbara’s backstory with her brother because now I’m curious.
The villain wasn’t particularly memorable, he was just an incredibly violent art thief... or so we think. They’re clearly setting up some new storylines and trying to work in some more humanizing stories for Barbara that pull from her struggles, family life, and introduce a new wannabe romance. Some of the people that disliked how post-Oracle Barbara Gordon was handled will appreciate her struggles to cope here when her chip malfunctions, but overall it wasn’t a storyline that added much in my opinion. I don’t feel that it would appease disappointed fans and it just felt forced.
Overall, this wasn’t the best series of comics that I’ve read of Batgirl, but I can’t really say they were the worst? They’re pretty middle of the road and forgettable, but the Annual made me want to read about Barbara’s backstory with her brother because now I’m curious.
jmbz38's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
librarimans's review against another edition
2.0
Pelletier's art was good as all always (beyond the new costume which he didn't design), but the story had a been there done that feel. Probably because Babs losing control of her legs and/or her eidetic memory has been done to death by this point.
depreydeprey's review against another edition
3.0
The annual that starts this collection is a five star comic book. it's creepy and mysterious and seems perfectly timed for the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders. The rest of the collection is a bit of a let down.
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