Cassandra, her brother Jade Tiger, and Jaya Jayesh are now on a journey to the Himalayas to meet with Nyssa al Ghul. Cass is still trepidatious about teaming with her once-enemy, Nyssa, but she will do what has to be done to deliver justice to the Unburied for Lady Shiva’s death. But at what point does justice become vengeance? Here are my thoughts on Batgirl #12.
Once again, I loved this issue of Batgirl, and it’s one of the best issues of the series so far. Tate Brombal and the entire creative team have been producing a fun, anime-esque title that I cannot wait to read every month. This issue was no different, and the stage is being set for the ultimate showdown between Cass and her allies and the Unburied.
While this issue wasn’t as action-focused as previous issues have been, it still provided some well-crafted set up through the exposition. Some might say that the issue was too exposition heavy, but I just appreciated that Brombal clearly respects the lore of Cassandra Cain and is rewarding the readers who have been here since the beginning of the run. There were also references and callbacks to Cass’ original 2000s run that fans will appreciate.
Will Cass’ nightmares ever stop?I also think Brombal really did a good job of examining Cass’ mindset during this traumatic time. She is still feeling the effects of losing her mother and is having nightmares because of Shiva’s death. Cass is so focused on stopping the nightmares and avenging Shiva, that she’s pushing away some of the people who care about her the most like Stephanie Brown and Oracle. Their guest appearance in this issue was a highlight for me, and I’m curious to see what this creative team’s takes are on some of the other Bat Family members if they appear later down the road.
Spoiler and Oracle make a brief but impactful appearance.Juan Castro provided some of the inks on a few pages, and they just elevated Takeshi Miyazawa’s already beautiful illustrations. Along with Mike Spicer’s colors, the artwork continues to be outstanding and has been consistent throughout the run. The bright colors when Cass and her allies enter the sanctuary of Samsara was another highlight for me. The letters by Tom Napolitano also added more gravitas to certain panels, and his work has also been consistently great throughout since the beginning.
Mike Spicer is one of the best colorists in the game right now.Recommended if…
- You’ve been enjoying the series so far.
- You want to see how far Cass will go to avenge her mother.
- You want to see Batgirl wield an effin’ katana!?!
Overall
Batgirl #12 might have been more set up and less action-focused than previous issues, but it was as compelling as ever. Cass is going through it mentally, and this issue perfectly showcased why she’s laser-focused on her mission: avenging Shiva’s death. Will her view on providing justice morph into revenge and take her into dark places? I’m excited to find out and if this series isn’t on your pull list, I’m silently judging you…
Score: 9/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.
English (US) · 