BATGIRL #37 (2019) review

You can pickup your copy of Batgirl #37 now where all good comics are sold.

Synopsis

Eager to prove himself as a guardian for the criminals of Gotham City, Killer Moth has set his sights on taking out one of Gotham’s finest heroes…Batgirl! Does this insect menace really stand a chance against Batman’s smartest ally? Meanwhile, after their daring escape, the Terrible Trio is on the hunt for new ways to cause trouble for Batgirl. Little do they know, Lex Luthor has already beat them to it and is about to bring Batgirl’s worst possible nightmare to life! Oracle is back online. And she’s angry.

Review

I feel like I’ve been very critical of Batgirl for the last few months. Whilst the previous arc tested the character and certainly repositioned her ready for this issue I feel like she has lost purpose somehow.

However we have a new writer – Cecil Castellucci (Female Furies) taking over writing duties this month and the fresh start is looking very positive for Barbara Gordon.

In her first issue Castellucci has demonstrated a great reverence for the history of Barbara Gordon. Opening the issue with Batgirl facing off against Killer Moth was excellent. The two have so much history together than it felt like giving Barbara a rebirth of her own.

Even Moth’s opening line “Don’t underestimate me, Batgirl. I’m no the man I was.” demonstrates an awareness of their history and how far they have come since in the intervening years.

There’s also an interesting reflection between the two and their current circumstances. Moth is presented at his new peak, he’s feeling confident and has new tricks with which to tackle Batgirl.

She has lost her company, her home and is struggling to get by at this stage and as such thinks her way through their fight as to how much its costing her.

It’s completely opposing to their first meeting when she had the world in front of her and all of the excitement of being a hero and he was a two-bit crook.

I was surprised to the triad of villains from the previous arc – Fox, Shark and Vulture. Although I understand they have history with the Bat-family having first appeared in 1958 but I haven’t enjoyed this version of their characters at all.

Castellucci uses the Terrible Trio to bring about the much more important side of this issue, introducing the Oracle AI. We don’t have a lot to go on as to how Oracle will play in to the story going forwards but what we get is perfectly intriguing.

Carmine Digiandomenico’s artwork bring a new edge to the series also as does Jordie Bellaire’s colour palette. The book is looking sharp and Batgirl is definitely ready to take a step towards becoming a compelling read once again.

Verdict

Batgirl is finding her groove with Cecil Castellucci taking over writing duties. This first issue in the “Oracle Rising” arc shows a reverence to the characters origin as well as her history. An intriguing start…

7/10

Batigrl #37 is written by Cecil Castellucci with art by Carmine Digiandomenico and colours by Jordie Bellaire. Cover art is by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith and Jean-Francis Beauliue.

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