Batgirls. #3 // Review
He’s a graffiti artist in Gotham City. So naturally, there’s going to be something profoundly messed-up about him. That’s cool. What isn’t cool is the fact that he’s messing OTHER people up. Gotham City’s bad enough without having to deal with underground mind control by some psycho, which prompts a three-person team to spring into action in Batgirls #3. The writing team of Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad continue to develop an emerging dynamic between three different Batgirls in a story that explores some surprisingly deep emotional territory. Artist Jorge Corona’s style bleeds a bit more into the mood and emotion of the writing team, aided as he is by the coloring of Sarah Stern and Ivan Plascencia.
Batgirl and Batgirl want to engage The Tutor. They know what he’s up to, something involving a mixture of fear gas and something like chloroform. Batgirl decides to rush him. Batgirl follows. Barbara Gordon? She’s still trying to pull up their location from her command headquarters. The villain in question is an artist, but he’s not just working with spray paint on brick and plaster. He’s working with human minds and emotions. He’s a mystery that the Batgirls will have to solve, but they’re going to have to learn to work together a bit better.
It’s really, really tricky to get nuance into a superhero team dynamic. They’re always dealing with larger-than-life threats involving surreal powers. Cloonan and Conrad manage something exceptional in the weird rapport between Batgirl, Batgirl, and Gordon. Typically when superheroes aren’t perfectly synchronized, it explodes into open arguments and squabbling. Cloonan and Conrad are rather deftly working with three heroes who all have the same goals but aren’t quite on the same page with everything just yet. It’s a fun place to start as the team finds its footing.
As the Batgirls find their footing, so too does the creative team. Cloonan and Conrad are writing partners who fit together quite well. Corona’s style had its own motion and movement about it that is finally beginning to find the finer points in Cloonan and Conrad’s scripts. The graceful moments and motions of the action find a grace on the page amidst color by Stern and Plascencia that feels perfectly suited. to a story about a graffiti artist villain. Broad swaths of color mix with the shadows of Corona’s form to make for a compelling visual world for this particular end of Gotham City.
The subtle overlay of tiny elements of interaction between the three leads is cleverly placed over a larger story with its own emotional resonance. As the series settles into its third issue, the series has really found an enjoyable rhythm between action, drama, and something more. As sad as it is to see Babs out of the mask again, the new team feels like a perfect fit for her that should work quite well for a hopefully long run in the future.
