- Written by Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher
- Art by Eleonora Carlini & Moritat
- Cover by Babs Tarr
Batgirl’s about to lose the greatest weapon in her arsenal…her mind is failing her! Is her ragtag group of allies enough to pick up the slack?
Pickup your copy of ‘Batgirl’ #47 at Comixology now!
I’ve been away from reviewing Batgirl for a couple of months because I felt like I was heaping too much praise on to it for having the guts to do something a little different with its artwork and with its overall aesthetic but now with the news that under the new ‘Rebirth’ moniker (more on that here) Batgirl will be headlining not one but two books, ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Batgirl & the Birds of Prey’, I thought it was time to jump back in.
Over my last few reviews I’ve commented on how the ‘Batgirl’ writers have spent a great deal of time working on her supporting cast. Where we find her in #47 she’s mingling with newly re-introduced Spoiler and there’s even room for a guest spot by Bluebird, not forgetting regular players Luke and Frankie. As yet there has been no word on which characters will makeup the roster in ‘Batgirl & the Birds of Prey’ but given the team up this issue features it’s hard not to wonder if this is what Stewart and Fletcher are building up to.
‘Batgirl’ #47 is another great ensemble issue which highlights the strengths of not only the writing but also the development of the world of Burnside. There’s no denying that there is a lot of soapy teen drama to ‘Batgirl’ but given how it’s intermixed with the action sequences and the vigilantism it works in the way that you could almost expect a modern day ‘Robin’ title – obviously not with Damien Wayne – to work.
In much the same way that modern DC TV shows like ‘Arrow’ and ‘The Flash’ function ‘Batgirl’ #47 shows off her ability to fight crime even when out of her costume which I think is testament to the modernisation of the vigilante hero. In a world of Facebook and Twitter it’s hard to believe that identities can be kept secret and books like ‘Batgirl’ are showing how these types of heroes make it work.
The story that Stewart and Fletcher are crafting for this arc is finally giving the Batgirl character a problem to overcome. Many of the recent villains have been easy to dispatch and posed very little trouble but Barbara losing her own memory is really rattling her cage and it’s interesting to read. Hopefully the story won’t be concluded so easily like the A.I. Barbara in issues past.
The artwork, of course, is awesome throughout. ‘Batgirl’ is just an incredibly fresh series and it makes for such a great change to the usual dark, gritty palette of other comics. The artwork in #47 is shared by Eleonora Carlini and Moritat but both mix well and it doesn’t jar the read from the overall visual quality of the issue.
Although there’s an overall arc introducing the characters around Barbara this would make a great issue to jump in to reading ‘Batgirl’ and I highly recommend it.
4 stars
