“One Way or Another” – Part One
Artist: Jorge Corona
Color Artist: Sarah Stern
Letterer: Becca Carey
Review by Fay Clark
I’m so excited and I don’t even want to hide it. If you aren’t super hyped for this mini-series then you’ve come to the wrong place to read a review about it. Batgirls #1 has finally arrived… let the awesomeness begin.
A Mom and her Two Chaos Children
This could be the other title of this issue, as the characters are written to a Tee by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad. Barbara Gordon has activated mom mode and she’s fully into her Oracle persona, with just a touch of Batgirl. You can still see the seasoned adventurer who leads the team, however, Babs is just a little bit more safety conscious now that she has kids to look after.
I don’t think Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown like to be called children, though I feel they would admit to being Babs’ kids. Becky and Michael write these three so well that they could have been writing these characters forever.
I love what they’ve done with Cass so far; she is a giant fluffy chaos machine… but we wouldn’t want her any other way. Steph’s just as goofy as we’ve always loved to see her, and neither one of them want to hurt or disappoint Batmom.
Cloonan and Conrad have the characters and relationships down. You can see how close-knit the ladies are without having to know any of their backstories (although it does help and, trust me, you will love Babs, Cass, and Steph even more if you know them!
Batgirls #1 opens up a lot of options as to where this story could go. This is purely just a setup for the rest of the series to make sure you have been paying attention to everything else that’s been going on in the Batgirls’ world. There was a creepy vibe with some people towards the end of the issue that I have a feeling is setting something up for us to figure out later. I can’t wait to find out what it is!
My new favorite Bathrobe
I’m so with you there, Cass! This is a one-of-a-kind, special item that plays a part in the storyline and it has to be said… I agree with what Cass did. Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern are such an amazing artistic team that I, the one who dies inside when presented with unicorn fluffy items, would wear the absolute frak out of that bathrobe. It looks so cozy and soft and comfy and warm and I WANT 12, PLEASE!
I love the attention to detail with all of the main objects in every frame, and the vibrant color palette Sarah Stern gives us in Batgirls #1. There are some panels that I had to look at for a very long time before the full scope of what I was seeing sunk in. You could see that in certain panels Steph and Cass agreed with me! It was all too much!
Conclusion
Do not sleep on this series. It’s not too late, it’s only just come out. You can pick this up and be one of the cool kids. Do it. DO IT NOW… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I will never not be excited when I see that I have the Batgirls series to read and review. I love Cass, Steph, and Babs, and I cannot wait to spend more time with them and figure out what is happening with the creepy people and the evil Seer.
I’m so excited.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment