Do you need to read Batgirl no. 42 first? No!  Feel free to skip the regular Batgirl series or save it for after: this story is definitely a stand-apart. This is the first Annual since the creative team of Tarr, Fletcher, and Stewart took over Batgirl, and it really amounts to a four-part adventure called…

Batgirl confronts Livewire and, in turn, is confronted by the “new” Batman in this issue titled “Interference”, which picks up in the muddle that is post Endgame, post Convergence. Does Batgirl know that Batman is allegedly dead? If she does, she doesn’t mention it--kind of like how she never mentioned her father during the entire…

This Batman: Endgame tie-in gives us the “Battle for the Burnside Bridge” starring Batgirl attempting to rescue a busload of characters trying to escape a hoard of “gigglers”. It all takes place at a barricade set up at the Burnside bridge. If you’re also reading Batgirl and wondering which of the two books you should…

It’s finally time for Barbara Gordon to confront the “Ghost in the Cowl” in this issue, which is the culmination of a story arc that’s been building since the new creative team took over Batgirl starting with issue no. 35. Six issues in this new direction it’s clear that the writing team isn’t going to…

It’s “Batgirl vs. Burnside” and we get to see our red-haired Girl Wonder chased by an angry mob that includes a baker and a man with a bat full of nails; she mopes around about her PPs while Frankie and company sit around hacking at their Hooq hack; officer--er, I mean professor--Krupke dresses her down…

The title of this issue is “Likeable” and that’s the crossroads we’re at with this series: is this new Barbara Gordon the least bit likeable? When I read the preview and hit Babs’ self-pitying diatribe to Liam on page 3, it was looking to be a rough read and I was ready to unleash the…

This issue wastes no time throwing the reader into high-stakes circumstances as we see the glamorous BGirl team rampaging through Burnside after a successful robbery, flaunting their stolen goods, and harassing the locals. It’s probably a surprise to no one that the sparkly Batgirl who has joined these bad BGirls is just a Barbara lookalike--the…

Last month I promised I would review this book from the perspective of its new intended audience. Just one problem: I’m not sure I quite have a solid grasp of who exactly that audience might be. Judging from certain plot points in issue no. 35, it seemed to be geared toward a 14+ female hipster…

The title of this book is “Burned” and I guess the $20,000 question is: will you get burned if you buy it? Let’s face it, we’re all bringing a lot of expectations or judgments to this book before even cracking the pages. I’ve decided for the purpose of this review to read it through the…

One last outing with Gail Simone at the helm, this time 5 years into the future in this Futures End tie-end that is sure to raise more questions than provide answers. Batgirl has become Bete Noire (the Black Beast, of “Beast” as she’s referred to throughout), and is the silent, shadowy leader of a team…

After providing the voice and adventures for Batgirl since the advent of the New 52, Gail Simone officially ends her tenure with Batgirl with an issue titled (interestingly) “Crash and Burn”. It’s been a bumpy ride to be sure, but it looks like she’s found a new home with Sensation Comics writing Wonder Woman, and…

Well okay now! This is more like it! “Enemies and Allies” is part two of a new arc focusing on Batgirl’s attempt to wrangle Knightfall down like an obstreperous calf in the rodeo that is Gotham. She’s got help in the form of ally Black Canary and newcomer Huntress, though it’s not all fist-bumps and…

“Deadline Part One: The Razors Under the Floorboards” Batgirl has been a bit all over the place lately. And I’m not referring to Barbara’s ongoing conflict over her relationship with the crime-fighting Bat Family, her love-life, or the trauma of her incarcerated father.  I’m talking about the book itself, which appears to be suffering from…

Alysia, Barbara's roommate, is raiding a corporate building with a small group of activists when they are accosted by the villain known as Ragdoll. Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon is summoned to the hospital by her kind-of/sort-of boyfriend Ricky, who may be looking to break-up with Barbara. This issue sees the return of Gail Simone to writing…

Batgirl's 2nd over-sized annual issue is a worthwhile read that does much to develop a classic villain. Writer Gail Simone divides the comic by seasons and through the seasons explores the changing emotional state of Poison Ivy, who plays a major role throughout the comic, which actually begins its narrative near the launch of the…

Batgirl #30 goes back and forth on whether or not it wants to be an emotional requiem issue for Nightwing or a fun throw-away issue about a monster called The Midnight Man that teenagers summon during a night of underage drinking. It's well-drawn, overwritten, and it could have been fun if only it had overcome…

Last month, we saw the introduction of a new villain named "Silver" who believed that the Bat-family were vampires and the city was just under some sort of hypnotic delusion that he, his attractive servant, and the Batman's rogues gallery were impervious to. In fact, Silver thought the super-villains were actually freedom fighters trying to…

Batgirl doesn't bother making a gentle segue from last month's Gothtopia tie-in to its latest storyline and that will make for an awkward transition when these comics finally go to trade paperback, but if we set that complaint aside then I think this is a good jumping-on point for an all-new arc that features an…

NOTE: I recommend that you read Detective Comics #27 before reading this comic or any review. I'm going to avoid any major spoilers from this issue, but in order to discuss it at all I'll need to mention what happened in Layman & Fabok's story that kicked-off "Gothtopia," particularly the villain who is seemingly responsible…