It’s annual season which means fun, longer form, one-shot stories! Batgirl and Supergirl team up to fight crime and take names, but is it good?
Batgirl Annual #1 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The official summary reads:
Batgirl and Supergirl must team up to break into Arkham Asylum! In this all-new Rebirth annual Batgirl must seek Supergirl’s help to solve a mystery that leads them to the heart of the most insane insane asylum there is! But what they discover—and who they discover—in Arkham will lead to a much, much bigger story!
Why does this book matter?
Hope Larson has been writing one of my favorite Batgirl runs in some time with dialogue that’s genuine and character development that makes the characters feel real. Combining forces with Inaki Miranda on pencils (who did a great job on Catwoman) and inks makes for thinner line work that’s more realistic and suits Larson’s style.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
A fun way to open the book.
The opening story teams up Batgirl and Supergirl as they take on a global warming type of villain; this leads to their joining forces on a caper, which ends up going about as well as one would imagine when breaking into a Wayne Tech security system. Overall this story has a lot of spunk and it’s fun to see how the dynamic of these characters works. Larson does a bang up job breathing a bit of life and character into the protagonists via dialogue. It ends well too, with a mystery that will be the focus in Supergirl #9. I’ll be there to read that one! Inaki Miranda pencils and inks this one with colors by Eva De La Cruz and they do a bang up job; Supergirl and Batgirl’s personalities shine through well and there are some interesting digital effects used too. The coloring has a warmer tint to it that helps make the city feel alive.
The second story takes place before Batgirl #1 and is written by Vita Ayala and drawn by Eleonora Carlini. Carlini’s art struck me first as it’s quite detailed, very expressive, and very efficient in its use of page space — at times it almost has a manga feel to it. Generally this story is about Batgirl and her friends–or the inability to hang due to fighting crime–that weaves Batgirl’s social life into the crime fighting well. Ayala forces Babs to do a bit of crime fighting while in street clothes which is always fun. Hiding the fact you’re a hero is tough people!
They’re cute together!
It can’t be perfect can it?
I was a little saddened to find out this issue wasn’t one long story, but pound for pound each was good. One furthers a plot for future stories and the other reminds us why Babs’ social circle is so important to the character.
Is It Good?
A good annual that’s well worth your dime if you love Batgirl’s infectious personality, social life, and ability to make friends with everyone. She’s a character who should put a smile on your face and this issue does just that.
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