[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Hope Larson
Artists: Chris Wildgoose, Jon Lam & Mat Lopes
Summary
Ethan makes his move on Penguin while Batgirl continues to investigate.
Positives
I love the cover by Chris Wildgoose. It’s fun, stylistic and cool. Seeing Barbara and Commissioner Gordon kicking butt together is awesome. There’s an energy to the cover that immediately made me excited to read the issue.
The interior art features pencils by Wildgoose, inks by Jon Lam and colors by Mat Lopes. As usual, this team delivers great work. The art is stylized in a fun and unique way. As with the cover, the art gives the book a youthful energy that is engaging but can be moody and atmospheric as well.
Batgirl and Penguin play ping pong together and that is adorable.
I like the idea that Ethan is using the media to corrupt facts and spin the truth to his own benefit. Batgirl and Penguin were in a room together for five minutes so there must something going on between. Sadly, that’s how media seems to work. It’s a nice bit of quick social commentary that I enjoyed.
Commissioner Gordon gets a really solid scene in which the GCPD is investigating the Iceberg Lounge. Because of how many times the place has involved crime, there is a casual nature to how the cops investigate. One of the cops even started a bartender because of how frequently they were there. That’s hilarious and paints a nice picture of Gotham.
Negatives
While I love the cover, it is misleading. Batgirl and Gordon never fight together in this. They have a nice scene in which they talk but there is no butt kicking. That isn’t really a problem except the cover somewhat promises me that and I was disappointed when that did not occur.
Verdict
This is a solid issue. The art is fun to look at and there are a lot of nice character moments. This issue is a little quieter than most but that’s nice.
