Batgirl #27 is written by Mairghread Scott with pencils by Paul Pelletier, inks by Norm Rapmund and colours by Jordie Bellaire. Cover art is by Matt Hollingsworth and Sean Murphy.
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Synopsis
You can’t go home again. But that’s just where Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, is forced to go when the chip granting her mobility keeps shorting out in the aftermath of her clash with Grotesque. Will Commissioner Gordon drive Babs totally bonkers with his bedside manner? Or will the malfunctioning tech impact more than just her legs? Plus, what’s the deal with killer art critic Grotesque and his murderous new M.O.? It’s all in part two of “Art of the Crime.”
Review
Last month Batgirl #26 ended on a somber note as Barbara suffered a fit whilst visiting her dad at GCPD. An easily explainable plot contrivance used to push the character out of her Burnside home and back to mainland Gotham just in time for a quasi-reboot.
Mairghread Scott does an admirable job of painting over the contrivances to make a coherent plot which Babs fans will find compelling. The chip in her spine has been both a gift and a curse for the character and that is never more obvious than with this issue.
On the one hand we find Barbara on the cusp of becoming Oracle again. The chip malfunctioning thanks to the tampering of current villain Grotesque. But on the other hand we’ve been granted the chance to spend more time with her in action as Batgirl. As a fan of both aspects of her character I found it difficult knowing how to root for the character in this story.
Following some medically encouraged tension in the hospital Babs returns home to Gotham with her dad. Back to her childhood bedroom and her classic wheelchair. It’s another sobering moment for a character who has come a long way from The Killing Joke. As contrived as this story is in building a soft reboot for Batgirl it still carrier a fair amount of emotional resonance.
There’s very little time to dwell as before we know it Babs has found her prototype classic costume and is once again prowling the streets. Seeing her back in the classic grey, blue and yellow is pretty exciting. As a fan introduced to the character through Batman: The Animated Series and its comics companions this is the Batgirl I remember from my childhood.
From here the story is all over with pretty quickly. A quick fight with Grotesque proves that even with a malfunctioning chip Barbara is able to handle herself. It does prove that Grotesque was a throwaway villain but it leads to a slightly WTF cliffhanger to take us in to next month.
It’s a run of them ill story which is elevated by some great pencil work by Paul Pelletier. The artwork is completed by Norm Rapmund’s inks and Joride Bellaires colours. I’ve always enjoyed Bellaires colouring and this is one of her finest. It’s murky yet colourful at the same time and all feeds off the enthusiasm of Matt Hollingsworth and Sean Murphy’s brilliant cover.
Verdict
Batgirl #27 is an interesting if unnecessary reset for the series. I enjoyed the separation which Burnside gave the character but its tough to deny just how great it is to see the character back in her classic grey, blue and yellow colours.
An interesting fresh start buried midway in the current arc of the series.
6/10
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