Scans: Batgirl, Gates of Gotham
Gates of Gotham #2/6: Written by SCOTT SNYDER and KYLE HIGGINS; Art and cover by TREVOR MCCARTHY
Batgirl #22: Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER; Art by PERE PEREZ
Lots of Bat-kid fun in these two titles! And Snyder and Higgins deliver on the hints of Cass + Damian tension in this issue in spades, which is fun:
But first, a little bit of Steph!Batgirl, this time in a team-up with Beryl (Squire of Knight and Squire). Steph arrives at Heathrow and is picked up by Beryl, who's a little more relaxed about secret identities than Steph is used to:
The two have some fun adventures, and save the world once more, then have a nice little talk that encapsulates everything that makes all the Batgirls work as characters for me:
Much as I complain about how Barbara, Cass, and Steph have all in turn never really been let fully into the "boy's clubhouse" of the Batcave, Miller reminds me that very tension is part of what's great about the characters--generally speaking, no one recruits them, no one mentors them, they have to kick and scratch and demand recognition on their own terms. And they rock at it.
Similarly, in Gates of Gotham Cass Cain is enjoying a good stretch of writing. Snyder and Higgins have her a little more verbose than I like at times (since Cass might not be as familiar a character to some I'll just mention quickly that she's a former assassin who was trained to read body language so perfectly that she never learned to speak, and only came to language once she quit her assassin life and joined the Bats), but when it matters she lets her actions speak for her.
Not surprisingly, Damian is prickly about Cass, who was supposed (like him) to have been the perfect scion of the League of Assassins. Of course he's going to prod her about it:
Eventually they reach a situation where a bomb has been set to blow up old Wayne Tower, and Damian is determined not to let his family landmark be destroyed. (This family pride is written well for Damian, but does seem a little out of character for me--it's Batman and Batman's legacy he's been trained to revere, not Bruce Wayne's, so it seems odd to me to see him this obsessed with all things Wayne. But for motivation in this arc, it works pretty well):
Notice the change in their positions between the second and fourth panel: Cassandra has flipped over and pinned him with no effort at all. I like that.
The voiceover is the diary of one of the architects of the bridges of Gotham from the distant past, driving home the message that a lot of this story is about family and what a family can do together. It's a good title so far, full of fun discussions of architecture and family ties, and Cass is a definite selling point!
Batgirl #22: Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER; Art by PERE PEREZ
Lots of Bat-kid fun in these two titles! And Snyder and Higgins deliver on the hints of Cass + Damian tension in this issue in spades, which is fun:
But first, a little bit of Steph!Batgirl, this time in a team-up with Beryl (Squire of Knight and Squire). Steph arrives at Heathrow and is picked up by Beryl, who's a little more relaxed about secret identities than Steph is used to:
The two have some fun adventures, and save the world once more, then have a nice little talk that encapsulates everything that makes all the Batgirls work as characters for me:
Much as I complain about how Barbara, Cass, and Steph have all in turn never really been let fully into the "boy's clubhouse" of the Batcave, Miller reminds me that very tension is part of what's great about the characters--generally speaking, no one recruits them, no one mentors them, they have to kick and scratch and demand recognition on their own terms. And they rock at it.
Similarly, in Gates of Gotham Cass Cain is enjoying a good stretch of writing. Snyder and Higgins have her a little more verbose than I like at times (since Cass might not be as familiar a character to some I'll just mention quickly that she's a former assassin who was trained to read body language so perfectly that she never learned to speak, and only came to language once she quit her assassin life and joined the Bats), but when it matters she lets her actions speak for her.
Not surprisingly, Damian is prickly about Cass, who was supposed (like him) to have been the perfect scion of the League of Assassins. Of course he's going to prod her about it:
Eventually they reach a situation where a bomb has been set to blow up old Wayne Tower, and Damian is determined not to let his family landmark be destroyed. (This family pride is written well for Damian, but does seem a little out of character for me--it's Batman and Batman's legacy he's been trained to revere, not Bruce Wayne's, so it seems odd to me to see him this obsessed with all things Wayne. But for motivation in this arc, it works pretty well):
Notice the change in their positions between the second and fourth panel: Cassandra has flipped over and pinned him with no effort at all. I like that.
The voiceover is the diary of one of the architects of the bridges of Gotham from the distant past, driving home the message that a lot of this story is about family and what a family can do together. It's a good title so far, full of fun discussions of architecture and family ties, and Cass is a definite selling point!