Surprisingly good
At first, I was apprehensive about this title as I had really grown to like Stephanie Brown as Batgirl and that I had never liked Barbara Gordon all that much. My first introduction to the character of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl was with Batman: Sub Zero from 1998. Like many, I was first introduced to her as Oracle in Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum. I wasn't entirely all too familiar with writer Gail Simone before this book as I didn't read Birds of Prey ever and have very low expectations for the new book. However one thing I knew about her was that her work on Barbara Gordon is held in high esteem by fans and that is what made me curious about this book.
Anyways on to the story now. The story is the best possible jumping on point for anyone looking to get into Barbara Gordon. There are quite a few nods to her time in the wheelchair though whether or not she has ever been Oracle is not stated. The story is that Barbara Gordon is now looking for an apartment as she is trying to kind of have her own life away from her father whom she's had to live with for the past three years due to her being in the wheelchair. There is a new villain in town called Mirror who kills in creative, gruesome ways that mirror things within his victim's pasts.The subplot of the story is Barbara looking for an apartment, which she finds in a less then great neighborhood but it fits her needs and finds a roommate their as well who is going to presumably be too busy to really notice Barbara going out at all ours of the night.
Gail Simone is a talented writer and clearly knows how to introduce a character to many fans who had never gotten to see her as Batgirl. She is very careful in this issue in regards to Barbara's past and tries to stay clear of referencing to man older stories with the exception of Killing Joke which the events of are clearly shown in this issue. Mirror is the most puzzling character in this issue, I don't know whether it was Simone who created him or if it was somebody else working on the book. The good thing about him is he isn't an older Bat villain and is a brand new one which is something I enjoy because I like the Bat-Family's rogues gallery expand. There is also a Batwoman reference in this issue, meaning that Batwoman has been active for at least sometime now and that crooks have largely forgotten about the original Batgirl because there had been two other since.
Ardian Syaf is artist on this book and is a great artist. He had the trouble of designing a brand new suit for Batgirl that resembles the original but is different. It is notable that the suit isn't bullet proof because a crook nearly shoots Barbara and the line she says indicates that her suit isn't bullet proof like Bruce's or isn't all that resistant to bullets. The suit is definitely not a cybernetic suit because Barbara is able to walk just fine without it on. Batgirl #1 was a great issue and it definitely was better than I thought it would be and I can say it enjoy it. It still doesn't convince me that Barbara should be Batgirl instead of Stephanie but it still is pretty good. 4.5/5 Stars