Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batman And Batgirl #21
DC Comics
Tomasi, Richards & Irwin
Batgirl makes a guest appearance in the comic formerly titled, Batman and Robin. The comic continues to deal with Batman in his angry phase while dealing with the death of Robin. The comic has some high points and it has some low points. Depending on how you are entering this book you may find more to like than I did or you could find less. Overall, it was a solid read.
Basically, Batgirl follows around Batman in hopes of talking with him. She boxes herself into a corner because she's torn off the bat on her chest, essentially quitting the team. Batman turns her away citing this slight against the Bat-family. The oddity here is that this occurs over in the Batgirl comic book and not in this title. I happen to read Batgirl but would someone only picking up this book know what this means? Why there is no footnote about it I will never understand.
Batgirl heads over to her father instead and a very touching scene occurs but it is an odd one. Over the course of two pages, Batgirl sits on a ledge and speaks to her father who is sitting with his back turned to the open window sitting at his desk. It's unclear from the scene if a) he hears her speech or b) whether he hears it or not knows that this daughter is Batgirl. It's a great scene but the questions linger too much about what is actually happening here.
Eventually Batgirl traps Batman into a conversation. It doesn't go over well but the tension and the anger help to make this comic book finish on a strong note.
The comic is great in some areas, such as how Batgirl stands up to Batman and how Batman is simply consumed with anger and it drives his every decision. On the other hand the comic is held back by some odd scenes and dialogue. For example, I just can't picture Batman saying the following, "you dare put me under surveillance!" The dialogue reads like it is coming from Darkseid not a human being.
The artwork is good, especially for a fill in. There are some pitfalls along the way. There is one panel where Batgirl's symbol appears when it really shouldn't. There is another scene where Batman is yelling and he looks like Clayface with a massive mouth. The action and grand feel for the book is terrific. This a tense story and the art delivers that well.
The comic book entertains and drives home the key points well. Batman is in pain and he is using anger to express his feelings. Batgirl is losing her grip on her costume life and is looking for some sort of reconciliation with anyone willing to listen. The book is a good read and I think it brings the two worlds together nicely.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
