The crew: by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Neil Googe (Artist), Robbi Rodriguez (Artist), Scott Godlewski (Inker), Wayne Faucher (Inker), Rico Renzi (Colorist), Becca Carey (Letterer)
I have a habit of finding book or volume two in a series. This time I found Batgirls Volume 2: Bat Girl Summer. In my defense, I did not see volume two on it anyplace, just Bat Girl. And Batgirl on the cover. I was looking for something different from my usual graphic novels and while it is not high on the list of things I want to learn, I do want to explore the superhero genre and the different versions/dimensions/creations of them. So why not start with Bat Girl?
Only I missed that it was plural, Bat GirlS. There are three (and I am going to assume at some point, more to come) different people (radically different personality, skills, and age) who don cape and cowl. One is old school Babs, or Barbara Gordon. She is Batgirl from Batman days but now is Oracle but occasionally she will suit up for a trip down memory lane and to trip up the bad guys. But afterwards she wants ice cream, donuts, and more than a cuddle with Dick Grayson (Nightwing). And there is Steph who is blond, pretty, loves her besties and wears a hood and scarf covering. Then Cass, who is a great reader of expressions (and of books), has a killer past and actually is pretty good with precocious kids. She dons the full body suit and face covering.
And I would have known more about her past if I had read volume one. I would have also realized that there was a killer loose in their neighborhood, might have known that there was a hispanic, female commissioner of the GCPD and was not a fan of the old Commissioner Gordon. If you know the characters you will be okay, but I was lost in a few areas. Yes, I knew the classics, Batman, Nightwing, Penguin, Riddler, but there were a few others I was not familiar with, but figured they were probably pretty important to the overall universe.
The story, however, is easy enough to pick up. The Bat Girls are hunting a killer, the GCPD is hunting the Girls. Villains are every place and some are just kids. There is a running commentary from the creators of the book, that breaks the fourth wall, and allows for some humor. At first the episodes (it includes several single editions into one collection) are pretty tame for what I know DC can be and superhero stories can be. I was going to use it for my violence category (for lack of) until all of sudden BOOM body in the bag. Okay, the guns and threats of killing people? I’ve seen worse in a roadrunner cartoon, but that was a shock. And then it keeps building up. And while I was not looking for it, I was okay, there it is … .here is why it is adult and not kids (you get some blood, and you get some blood, and you get some blood….!)
There is blood. And lots of it. There are images of violence, guns, people falling off buildings and elevators, a skeleton-mummy, and more. The pages are so crowded I don’t think anyone could toot without smelling it five blocks away. It is typical superhero comic art. Dark, colorful, and busy busy busy! Within the book there are alternative gallery images and the end includes a large collection and other extras. The interesting thing with the in the middle images it gives spoilers/clues to some of the action coming. And I found them interestingly enough to be cartoons (a lot of the time) and most images with rainbows and queer friendly images, but there did not seem to be anything pointing that way. In fact, it felt very hetronormal. Sometimes you can see the switch in styles but for the most part things flow well.
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, but probably not enough to find volume one or go onto a volume three and/or the individual editions. Even if I am wondering if The Mad Hatter is the father of …. Well, no spoilers.
