Rate this book

Batgirl #1: Renacida (2010)

by Bryan Q. Miller(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

Planeta DeAgostini Comics (DC Comics)

series

Batgirl III

review 1: This volume takes place during the Batman Reborn continuity where Batman is presumed dead at the hands of Darkseid's Omega Sanction and Dick and Damian have assumed the mantle of Batman and Robin. But this graphic is about Batgirl.Or Batgirls...more to the point.Cassandra Cain became Batgirl during "No Man's Land", but gives the mantle up here as she believes Bruce is dead. She was fighting his war and with him gone, she sees no need to stay Batgirl so she hands the cowl over to Stephanie Brown.Stephanie Brown has been her own superhero (Spoiler), a Robin, and now a Batgirl. It was a little disorienting at first because I walked into this volume thinking I was going to read about Carrie Kelly, but that was not the case. Once I warmed up to Stephanie Brown though, I kind of... more loved her. And I don't usually go for blondes.Barbara Gordan, the original Batgirl, is also very present as she is dealing with her current role as Oracle and training Stephanie Brown, as well as coming to terms with her lingering feelings for Dick. Many of the characters are presented as complicated in a rather engaging storyline. The artwork is much better than the previous Batgirl volume I read.In short, I loved this volume more than I expected to and Stephanie Brown actually had me laughing out loud for a minute at one point. I am definitely interested in reading more of Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl run!
review 2: A superheroine with boobs that aren't the size of the moon?! Excellent!Batgirl Rising is the first trade with Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, after her previous existences as The Spoiler and Robin, and it's initially an origin story for her.In the first half or so of the graphic novel, we follow Stephanie as she takes up the mantle of Batgirl, and how Barbara Gordon (The original, and now returning, Batgirl) reluctantly comes through to support her. The second half deals more with the initial distrust of Batman and Robin (Dick and Damian) and how they also come around to support her. Villains range from the well-known Scarecrow and Superman villainess Livewire through to Diesel, Roulette, Roxy Rocket and Riot. There is also a plot line for Oracle/Babs where she comes across another crippled superhero and it's implied she will help her in future stories.As someone vastly unfamiliar with mainstream DC comics bar the iconic characters, I found this volume fairly easy to get into. There's not a lot of background needed as a lot of it is explained, bar Dick Grayson taking the mantle of Batman, and I felt that the events of the book were largely stand-alone.At times it feels a little dialogue heavy and a bit odd because of that, such as Stephanie's speech as she beats seven hells out of the Scarecrow, which I found myself barely reading as I wanted to see her just kick arse. That said, it's littered with humorous banter between characters (Steph: "Stop looking at my chest!", Damian: "What 'chest'?") that ranges from witty remarks, '60s Batman campness or even just standard dialogue. I felt the humour really worked, and it helped show that even though the stories could be a little dark, humour can really help bring a story to life.As for the art, I felt it was absolutely superb. The colouring was well done, the characters were mostly well-proportioned (Livewire seemed a bit top-heavy, but she wasn't in it for long anyway). Batgirl is very reasonably proportioned (Cow), and even Oracle has had a bit of reduction surgery from her Birds of Prey appearances. Dick, as Batman, wasn't a walking mound of Gears of War-esque beef, so that was also refreshing. Whilst we did get a few crotch shots, none of them were sexualised or gratuitous unlike the Batman & Robin film, from which I feel this graphic may take some inspiration. The fights were also clear and easy to follow, which I felt was good.Aside from a few moments of too much dialogue, I feel Batgirl Rising is a very good read. It's well written and well drawn, and it was a pleasant read with a lot of good humour. It just shows that comics can be done without having large breasts everywhere and without everything being shaded black. I'm now very excited about the next volume, although I'm now slightly apprehensive about the new Batgirl (Well, the old Batgirl) as I'm doubting it'll have the same level of humour. less

Download links for: Batgirl #1: Renacida

Advertising