“Batgirl Summer” – Conclusion
Writers: Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad
Artist: Neil Googe
Color Artist: Rico Renzi
Letterer: Becca Carey
Review by Fay Clark
Welcome to Batgirls #12 and the exciting conclusion to the “Batgirl Summer” arc. We’ve been waiting for this one, and after the buildup of the last issue I knew we would get a great payoff.
The Riddler or The Joker?
Well, that was a strong start by our writers. Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad made me laugh so hard within the first 2 pages of this issue, that I had to take one of the lines and put it in a group chat at work. In this thread we share jokes, and this little snippet was a rousing success. I knew from then onwards that this conclusion was going to give me everything I wanted, and even things I didn’t know I needed. There are certain parts of the dialogue that made me look at them a little differently.
The plotline finally got a resolution, and it was handled very well. There had to be a few new threads to tie in a new arc, so we have more unanswered questions now, though all of my old questions were answered, which is all I could ask for! Cloonan and Conrad thought out their plot and executed it well. I’m so happy we will get to see more from this team as the reveals and character growth in this issue alone were outstanding.
Flying to New Heights
Neil Googe and Rico Renzi have come together to create an aesthetically beautiful comic. The color hue shift in Batgirls #12 were stunning. I loved that from one page to the next The color flowed so well, but the changes really set the scene. With a darker sky, things seemed a little bleaker, while with a pink sunset sky, they felt a lot more hopeful. All this really added a layer of depth to the comic that I wasn’t really expecting. Googe Renzi have done a brilliant job keeping everything flowing well while giving each panel an individual look, melding images and colors so that the scenes really come together.
Conclusion
This would have been a great ending to the series, but I’m glad we don’t have to stop here. I can tell there’s so much more we can do with these characters in this series. The arc came to a satisfying conclusion and already set up something intriguing for the forthcoming annual, which I cannot wait for!
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment