Super Mega Batgirl Review the nineteenth

[nevermore999]

Okay, so um the twentieth issue of Batgirl came out today, so I imagine I should post a review of the nineteenth.

College. It takes up time also I was busy writing about Sailor Moon and getting TWO PAGES OF COMMENTS HOW DID THAT HAPPEN but don't worry Steph, I haven't left you for the Sailor Senshi I love you both

Also I am in a RELATIONSHIP NOW how

Comments

Better late than never :)

[k9feline]

Great review as always. There were times in the past month when I thought about pestering you for this, but then I'd remind myself that you're not getting paid for this, that what keeps you going on these mega reviews is your own fun in doing them, and that you should never be made to feel obligated to do them. I personally hope you'll write the next one much sooner (like this weekend maybe) but that's your decision to make, not mine.

It is thrilling to realize Steph has lasted in her own series this long, disproving the naysayers. Yes, being named "Batgirl" helped a great deal, but it could only have got her so far, without a solid devoted readership. One milestone I'd like to remind you of, was at the end of 2010, a mainstream media critic listed a Top 10 for "Most Essential Graphic Novels of 2010", and that not only was the Batgirl Rising tpb listed, IT WAS THE ONLY DC GRAPHIC NOVEL TO MAKE THE LIST! :D

[the_narration]

Sorry it took me a week to respond to this. Busy, busy. And your reviews always have so much I want to respond to.

Man, I get the feeling Steph is going to come in conflict with her Mom about the Batgirl thing soon. Ms. Brown can't keep being oblivious forever, she should know at this point how her daughter operates.
Agreed. She knows that her daughter used to be a vigilante, and she's got to realize that her interest in the bank robberies stems from that and not a desire to open a savings account. If the look on her face was more stern instead of disinterested, I'd almost think that "Why do you care so much, sweetheart?" was her way of reminding Steph that "it's not your problem anymore, don't get involved." It doesn't help that Steph is apparently a terrible liar: her explanations come off like obvious excuses and she hints too much at the truth.

Wow, Steph is being blatant (and flippant, as usual) with her crush.I'm not entirely comfortable with how thick they were laying it on about the crush in this one and the one that

[the_narration]

That coupled with the fact she appears to be shutting herself off from people- again...
Seriously. Tell me if you spot a pattern here:

-Babs takes Cassandra Cain under her wing and into her home, and mentors her in the role of Batgirl. Cass even says that Babs is the closest thing she's ever had to a mother. Then, after War Games, Babs decides to skip town and cut Cass out of her life.

-Babs takes Charlotte "Misfit" Gage-Ratliff under her wing and all but adopts her, since Misfit is just a kid. Misfit is glad to finally have a home. Then, at the end of Birds of Prey, volume 1, Babs decides to skip town and dump Misfit with Helena.

-Babs takes Stephanie Brown under her wing and mentors her in the role of Batgirl. Babs also takes Wendy Harris under her wing--hell, all but forces her under her wing without asking first--and mentors her to be Proxy. Then she fakes her death and quits mentoring Steph while basically making Wendy take over her old job with only a couple months' training. And doesn't even let Cass know that she's alive

[the_narration]

Clancy knows about Proxy?
Steph talks to her right in front of him twice in this issue (and it sure seems like she's talking outloud, not mouthing the words over a subvocal mike or anything), so it'd be kind of hard for him not to realize that she's got a radio and "Proxy" is the name of the person on the other end.

But that said, it seemed like they were implying that when he was holding the phone behind his back earlier, he was intercepting their radio traffic. And then he knows which bank to go to, and I'm not sure how he could know that unless he heard what Proxy said. But... how? There's no way that all the BatFamily's communications wouldn't be encrypted, right?

I think this is a little of what was missing from the gang in the last issues. They're still not that exciting, but the mysterious game plan HAS gotten me intrigued.
Looks like we've got the makings of an overarching plot, at least for a little while. I'd been hoping that there would be one.

Steph lifted a spraycan! Good job, Steph, you little stickyfingers!Not the