Weekend Warriors: Batgirl #19

Welcome to our Weekend Warriors, where we do reviews in a similar way to how we do our Collective Consensus reviews. The staff do a review of one book, that we didn't get the chance to cover during the week. The book would be a one-shot, start of a new series or the start of a new arc, just so that anyone can jump into the book. The multiple reviews allows readers to get a wide range of opinions and the sense of how the book is.

DC Solicitation: " When a massive blizzard hits Gotham City without warning, Batgirl must brave the bitter cold to discover the truth behind the storm. Is it an act of nature? Or is the Penguin up to no good? Find out in what promises to be a chilling metropolitan mystery for the ages! "

Writer: Hope Larson
Artist: Chris Wildgoose
Colorist: Mat Lopes
Publisher: DC Comics

Nathan
I do not normally read comic books published by DC or Marvel, so these characters and style are a little new to me. With that being said, I don’t think that I found something in this issue that makes me want to become a common reader of the series. 

I understand that this issue is the first in the new arch, but I still didn’t feel like there was a climax at all and was surprised that it was finished when I reached the last page. On top of that, the ending didn’t seem like a strong enough cliffhanger to make me look forward to the next issue. I’m also not sure if this is just common in superhero comics like this one for the hero to be sarcastic the whole time with the thoughts to herself, but I didn’t really like it. I also felt like the times that seemed they were supposed to be humorous didn’t hit the mark.

In this issue, there is a quick scene where Batgirl meets Supergirl while they corner the same normal human villain. But then they have some witty dialogue and sit there while the guy jumps off the building. Then, they don’t even go catch him, even though I’m positive Supergirl knows how to fly. This critique may be ridiculous, but it was just annoying for me to read. All in all, I didn’t enjoy it, but I can understand why these series are so popular because I can definitely tell there is a bit of fun if you like the characters.

Charles
Burnside's threatened by a blizzard that snuck up on it due to government forecasting resources falling into the hands of a climate change denier, plus some sabotage. Batgirl's first shot at finding the saboteurs leads her to confront a team of anti-government cowboy terrorists who unwind by playing gerrymandering-themed board games.

Writer Hope Larson might have a leeetle political bias, is what I'm saying. My political bias runs the same direction as hers and yet even I landed in "yeesh, dial it back a bit" territory by the end of the issue. (I frigging loved the low-key presence of women-owned businesses in Burnside, though. I like my progressive content sneaky and insidious like that.)

Leaning to the left doesn't really unbalance the story. There's superb action, solid detective work, and an intriguing mystery shaping up. The art team does a great job of giving Burnside an old yet contemporary feel, the characters are splendidly expressive, and the inventive fight scenes show a real collaborative effort in both their scripting and artistic execution. 

The team-up with the Penguin promised on the cover must come somewhere further down the storyline; he pops up in this issue strictly for a "the cover is not a *total* lie" scene. But Batgirl's own story is more than fun enough to follow on its own; the next issue will be worth picking up regardless of its Penguin content.

Stephen
Right off the bat, pun intended, I must confess I have a big weakness for covers and artwork featuring snowstorms. I’m not sure maybe it’s a Canadian thing! When it’s done properly and you feel like you’re in the middle of the storm while reading the book I find it enhances the whole reading experience.

The artwork for this issue is cartoony and definitely compliments the fun tone of the storytelling. I did find the writing to be slightly jarring at some points but I think that may be due to my lack of knowledge of the Burnside world. There were a few panels where it jumped from the an action sequence right into a slice of life type scene where I thought maybe more of a transition should’ve taken place. Not knowing some of the secondary cast also affected my reading experience. Besides the big players I did not know any of the other characters. That being said though, I did enjoy the issue enough that I will be going back to read past arcs to get more familiar with this piece of the Bat World.

This was a light enjoyable romp with plenty of beautiful artwork. As the issue progressed, I found myself enjoying it more and more. I hope to be able to find some time to catch up on the series and eventually add it my regular monthly reading.
 

Summary
Those are all our reviews of Batgirl #19! In general our staff seemed to enjoy the story for the most part, however felt that the writing and dialogue weighed down the book. The art is spoken highly of. What do you think? Tell us below, on Facebook, or on Twitter!!!