Fear the Reaper!
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo, Laura Braga
Colors: Jeremy Lawson
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
The Batgirls are back! A mysteriously cloaked shadow calling himself “The Reaper” is upset at the events that occurred last time with Harvey Dent, and is determined to nip the problem at its roots-Dr. Strange, Killer Frost, and the Penguin. Now the Batgirls must use their collective detective skills to warn those villains before the Reaper gets to them!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
DC Comics Bombshells put to bed a big arc the last installment and now shifts into something a bit lighter for a bit as we kick off the three-part arc of “The Batgirls Fly By Night.” I’ve enjoyed some of the Batgirls story material we had before but it’s not exactly among my favorite of stories since some of the characters are ones I’m least familiar within the mainline continuity, resulting in a lighter connection for me. This installment also changes things up a bit on the art side of things as both Mirka Andolfo and Laura Braga are working on it together whereas they’ve worked largely independently in past installments. I love what each of them brings to the table and have over the course of the run so this is just all manner of win for readers here.
With artwork that feels very old school in a 1940’s sense that past issues haven’t, while still adhering to the design and color palette that the book has had from the start, it’s back to Gotham in 1941 where the Batgirls are doing their work to keep the city safe. We’ve gotten some decent growth from them in their last arc where they had to deal with Hugo Strange, Killer Frost and the Penguin and that now has them keeping an eye on Harvey Dent after how Strange controlled him. Amusingly, some of the girls are also watching Nell and Alysia on their date since there’s a real bond between all of them, though some more than others. There’s a good bit of fun in seeing the camaraderie and playfulness of the girls and putting Harvey in the mix a bit while trying to ease his guilt, which is a bit misplaced, works nicely to show how they roll.
Where the book sets things in motion for this arc is the arrival of the Reaper on the scene as he’s come to go after Harvey Dent. Or at least that’s the ruse to get things underway as he’s really after Strange, Frost, and Penguin. And with them in hiding what better way to draw them out than to get the Batgirls to try and protect them from him. It’s not an unfamiliar ploy, at least to those that read, but for the Batgirls they just see themselves as doing their best through creative means with Lois Lane to help keep them alive. It’s a fun little romp that gets underway with this issue and I really like the way that Andolfo and Braga bring this to life, especially the Reaper as he has a near-cartoonish design about him that just clicks well for me. A lot of the appeal is in the Batgirls themselves to be sure, but I like that there are a few additional young men involved in their arc and I really like seeing a kind of classic and really angular Penguin design that’s very mobster.
In Summary:
Though the Batgirls aren’t my favorite group to follow within the series they provide for some very fun and useful stories on the homefront. While we get some cute dating material at the start and some time spent with starting the revitalization of Harvey Dent’s name within the public sphere, most of it is focused on what the Reaper’s plans are and drawing the recent villains back into the fray. While part of me would want to see some new villains in the mix here or just time spent enjoying the girls and their lives in Gotham, I do like the use of the Reaper here to bring both these sides together and explore it all a bit more. Bennett keeps things moving at a good pace here with a sense of fun and ease while Andolfo and Braga continue to deliver some great looking material, though this one has just enough to set it apart from the norm – mostly with the design of the Reaper – that it has a feel of something more from the actual time period of comics than I expected. Good fun stuff that has me looking forward to the rest of this short arc before getting back into the bigger aspects of the war.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 5th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
