Review: Batgirl #6

I’m going to preface this by saying that I’ve always been a fan of any young woman who’s worn the bat emblem across her chest – or belt, in the case of the original Bat-Girl, Betty Kane. There’s always been something about the frak you attitude about the Batgirl name because, more often than not, it’s been a girl who’s slipped on the costume to fight crime while giving the Gotham boy’s club a huge middle finger.

So far, Stephanie Brown’s been much of the same, finding mentorship in the classic Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. It’s a match made in heaven, and a partnership that, in many ways, feels so much more right than the former one between Cassandra Cain and Babs.

This was another well written issue, and I have to say, I’m completely loving Bryan Q. Miller and Lee Garbett’s take on the Batgirl mythos here. Stephanie has a long way to go and a lot to learn, but so far, every issue, she’s showing growth in that area. She’s just had her second near-death experience, but she still manages to keep her wits about her, slip into costume, and get some nice detective work in.

If there’s one thing I wanted to complain about, it was the inclusion of Robin, but I understand why he’s important to the story, and frankly, under Miller’s able hand, he’s a good bit less annoying and a nice throwback to the Babs-Dick rivalry from way back when. I just hope that this continues on as a surrogate brother-sister relationship, nothing more. Having said that though…while I’ve always championed the Steph-Tim romance, I’d like to see her branch out a little and find someone new in her life. A lot of the times, Tim’s acted as a total douchetard towards Steph, and she doesn’t deserve it at all.

The bits between Barbara and Dick are nice and it makes one want to see them patch things up and eventually get on together. There really isn’t a more perfect couple in Gotham City, I don’t think.

As for the villains…I love Roxy Rocket, and it was a real pleasure seeing her appear in this issue. While I didn’t expect the twist at the end with the surprise villain…well, it was a welcome twist, and it’ll be interesting to see how Babs, Steph, and Damien deal with the odds stacked against them.

Not a great issue, but a really good, solid one.

A definite ***1/2 out of five.