Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batgirl Annual #3
DC Comics
Stewart, Fletcher, Bengal, Lafuente, Doyle & Chen
The "Batgirl" annual weaves a story among four different creative teams and with four different guest characters. The comic is a fantastic read because the plot is interesting, the transitions between scenes is perfect and the guest appearances all feel natural and bring out the best characterization for Batgirl. Though the artwork has some wide variations they do not detract from the reading experience. The comic book is as good as they come in terms of a one-shot and dealing with mismatching ensemble casts. This is definitely a comic to pick up.
The opening of the book deals with Grayson. Not only does it make up nearly half of the book, but it also opens the plot for the entire issue and pretty much tells its own self-enclosed story. Batgirl bumps into Helena while each seems to be tracking the same villain, the mysterious terrorist known as Gladius. The trick here is that Helena is working with Dick Grayson, whom Batgirl believes to be dead. The story has them tackling various bad guys through a building as they make their way to the roof. While this is occurring, Grayson is trying to keep out of sight. When the pair meets face to face, Grayson uses his facial distortion software to hide his identity. This story alone makes the comic book worth the five-dollar price of admission. The entire story is perfect.
Batgirl continues the chase for Gladius as Grayson and Helena depart when she bumps into Spoiler. This story is only five pages, but it gives the reader a great introduction to Spoiler and it also shows how Batgirl might be as a mentor. This was a fun little piece.
Batgirl then heads to the next part of her mission to find Gladius when she crosses paths with Batwoman. This is a more serious story as it deals with a hostage situation. It's a six-page piece that has such strong character work that this could easily have been a longer story. Again, the introduction to the character is perfect while advancing the plot to the final story.
The finale to the story is a seven-page, light-hearted story involving the kids from Gotham Academy. I didn't find this to be as strong as the others, but I enjoyed the interactions and this was a nice way to complete the comic book. I would have liked some more insight into these character's personalities than was provided here.
The book works because Stewart and Fletcher anchor the book throughout with the strong, quirky, sometimes funny, sometimes serious characterization of Batgirl. Without this holding the book together, the different tones of the stories within the issue just wouldn't work. The plot is good enough that it keeps the reader engaged as Batgirl is sent on one chase after another. The construction and execution is near-perfect all the way through.
The artwork is a big range. From the all-ages, painted-like style of the Gotham Academy story to the dark and gritty story that involves Batwoman, the comic book seems to run the full array. The comic definitely transitions through the styles without missing a beat. The one problem with my printed copy is that the word balloons blend in with the background on too many panels. This gives the appearance that the text is being spoken by a character not shown in the panel instead of from the character on the panel. This occurred on too many pages. It could be a bad printing, but it was a distraction. Overall, the comic book looks great and tells a great visual story.
The "Batgirl" annual is a nice trip through four of the Bat-verse titles. Batgirl is continues through the book trying to solve the same case, but she runs into a new character in each phase of the comic. The book is a fun read and brings out the best in Batgirl's characterization and provides a nice introduction to the supporting characters that make appearances. I highly recommend checking out this comic book if you have any interest in Batgirl, Grayson, Batwoman, Spoiler or Gotham Academy. This is a great read.
4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
