Never Bet Against Simone
Overview
the Stephanie Brown version of Batgirl is the Batgirl i know. At least when it comes to comics anyway. I started reading comics only around two years ago and Batigrl was one of the first comics i read and enjoyed. i enjoyed the light nature and decent action and was a good counterpoint to Batman in terms of tone for me. When i heard Barbara Gordon was going to be batgirl again my first question like many others was "why?". Barbara Gordon is orcale to me and i liked her role in Birds of prey. Maybe it was me just wanting the status quo. After reading the comic i'm a little bit more open to the idea.
The Good
Gail simones writting is great as always and she really understands gordons character. I enjoyed the idea that even though she is back as Batgirl she has a lot to re-learn. This is a Batgirl off her game and it shows. It allows something to develop and makes me want to grow with her. Im also happy to see for the most part the tone of the comic is still here. Maybe a bit darker then the last iteration of Batgirl but it still works very well. It was a breeze to read and for the most part the issue flowed well The art is also very good and detailed which i always enjoy
The Bad
This is a first issue in many senses of the word. It sets up a lot of whats going on and brings up almost more questions that it asks. That's not necessarily a terrible thing but those who are wondering how Barbara went from chair back to back girl may be a bit disappointed though i do understand not answering all questions in your first issue. This is minor though and is probably just me griping.
Overall
These are thew types of issues that make me think the new 52 is a good idea and it has me very interested in where Gail Simone is going to take the character. If you like Batgirl or are skeptical of the changes to Barbara Gordon pick this up and you should be pleasantly surprised .
Brad Brains
