I'm not really a comics guy. I've
tried my hardest, to be sure. I've always loved Spider-Man, and my
first time buying comics regularly was right at the beginning of one
of the most frustrating and offensive Spider-Man story lines: Brand
New Day. So I quit reading them. Every successive time I would try to
pick up a comic book again, it was always right in the middle of some
nonsense story that read like it was completely idiotic. I gave up on
comic books, content to only read about what was going on through a
third party every now and again, so I could laugh at how ridiculous
it all sounded.
When I heard about what I was going on
with the new Batgirl series, I let myself get excited one more time.
Comics have had a major problem with
women for decades. Big-boobed bimbos have somehow become the dominant
species in the universes of Marvel and DC, extending even to female
superheroes, somehow managing to cram a 46-22-46 body into a
skintight suit. Women have been actively discouraged from reading
comics (whether it has been an intentional design decision on the
part of the publishers or not). There have been a few fixes, but very
few have caught on in any permanent sense.
Perhaps, with Batgirl #35, we'll start
to see a reversal.
With this new run, DC has brought on
Babs Tarr as the artist. Though she is apparently new to the comics
industry, Tarr has already hit it out of the park with her fantastic
redesign of Batgirl. Her characters look actually realistic, like
real human beings, with actual proportions, while still maintaining a
cute cartoonish charm to it all. In a certain way, her art is oddly
reminiscent of Bryan Lee O'Malley's method, at least in facial
expressions and character poses. Her characters are fun and exciting,
especially for someone who's been desperately aching for some
appealing redesigns in comics. I also find her new costume (which is
explained in a slightly handwavy manner, but I think it'll be
developed further) to just be a lot of fun. It's basically a custom
members-only jacket and utility belt! How great is that?
Cameron Stewart's cover (Babs Tarr did
the limited edition variant cover) is especially excellent and made
me interested in the comic to begin with. Batgirl taking a selfie in
a bathroom mirror with her new costume is just awesome and actually
sets the tone for the story. However, Kevin Nowland's variant
“monster” cover is just weird and kind of offensive. It's done in
a more traditional style and doesn't fit the story at all. In fact,
when I went to pick up the comic, my friend saw the variant cover and
was incredibly annoyed at first and didn't warm up to the redesign at
first. She did read the comic and loved it afterward, but I do think
that the variant cover could discourage female readers, that I think
this issue is supposed to draw in.
If it was just a fantastic art
redesign, I think Batgirl #35 would be a slam dunk, but there's more
to it than that. Writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher have
written a story that just fits perfectly to the character of Batgirl,
appeals to the college-age demographic (especially to the female
part!), and is just excellent. Not to spoil too much, but Batgirl
quite literally beats up the forces of male entitlement and misogyny
in a story that is incredibly relevant to recent events of Snapchat
hacks and celebrity nude leaks. It also uses technology and current
media platforms excellently, with Instagram and Tinder playing key
story roles. These also serve to make Batgirl/Barbara Gordon feel
even more human, along with her college struggles (not going to quite
the same absurd levels that harrowed Peter Parker) and love of
partying it up.
All of this comes together to make one
of the first comic series that I've been excited about in years.
Batgirl #35 is just fantastic, probably one of the best superhero
comics I've read in ages. At the end of the day, it is still a
superhero comic and can be predisposed to lots of silliness, of which
there is some here. But it feels good, it works. Stewart and Fletcher
aren't trying to be serious and edgy with this, something that's
plagued DC's other New 52 comics since the beginning of the relaunch.
Babs Tarr's art is so enjoyable, I often found myself just looking
and taking in the art. I would absolutely recommend that you pick up
Batgirl #35 and keep an eye on it in the future.
