Batgirl #5: To be honest, with the Bat-books I'm still reading, I've gotten to the point that I've forgotten that we're in the DCnU. It's pretty clear when you're reading "Superboy" or "Teen Titans," because they suffered a pretty hard reboot. But, as promised, DC gave us a fairly soft reboot of the Bat-books, and the stories have been so well done that it's easy to forget we're dealing with a different Universe at this point. It wasn't until Barbara mentioned that Jim Gordon hadn't remarried after her mother left him that I remembered, "Oh, wait, it's a different world." At first, I worried for what it meant for James, Jr., because I was worried he -- and the excellent (amazing, really) work Scott Snyder did with him in "Detective Comics" in the DCU -- would be wiped from the books. Then, I remembered James, Jr. is James, Sr.'s son with his first wife, who presumably is the woman who appears to Barbara here (which, presumably, also means that James, Sr. is Barbara's father in the DCnU and not her uncle, as he sometimes was in the DCU).
With that bit of DCnU trivia handled, I'd like to resume raving about this series. This issue is great. It's Barbara at her best. She's witty as ever, and Simone gives us some funny moments. I LOLed when Barbara ordered two muffins and then asked her mother if she wanted anything, informing us later that she carboloads when she's stressed. (Don't we all, Babs? Don't we all?) Beyond that, Simone gives us an intriguing new character, a Batman-esque numerological mystery, and some great action sequences. What more do you want in a book?
Batman and Robin #5: OK, this issue had some problems. I liked the idea of it, Bruce coming to terms with the fact that he had failed Damian, but the execution was flawed, for me. First, I didn't remember last issue ending with the possibility of Damian going to the dark side, so it was weird (to me) to be informed that he had betrayed Bruce, because I didn't really realize that was in the offing. Second, I feel like Tomasi is really underselling the importance of Damian's relationship with Dick. We know that his time with Dick is preserved in the DCnU, so it's odd that he only mentions Alfred to Nobody when he's contrasting his relationship with Bruce to other people. In "Batman" #713, Damian made it pretty clear that he viewed Dick as a father figure (or, at least, an older brother figure). I mention it because Damian might have been angry enough with Bruce to want to betray him, but you'd think his relationship with Dick (and, though he wouldn't admit it, Alfred) would have given him pause. Tomasi has been avoiding Damian's time with Dick all series so far, so I'm not sure if it's possibly an editorial mandate. Third, it's weird to me that everyone keeps treating it as if Bruce has raised Damian for years. I mean, in the DCnU, they've probably only been around each other for a few weeks at most, particularly if Dick was only with Bruce as Robin for two years, three years max. All the hand-ringing over their lack of a relationship seems overblown to me, as a result. How much of a relationship are you going to have after a few weeks with the kid who, without your knowledge, your evil ex-girlfriend rapidly aged and trained to be an assassin? Finally, I thought that Bruce's narration was bizarre, particularly because it segued us into an overly convenient flashback about Nobody and his family. If Bruce had actually been telling Damian the story, it probably would've felt less expository, but the recording was just too much. Is he going to rescue Damian and, instead of hugging him and tearfully telling him he'll try harder, he'll just hand him a thumb drive with the recorded message? Wouldn't that really prove Damian's point about Bruce? I mean, doesn't the kid just need a freaking hug, not a voice recording? At this point, I just feel like this Nobody business has been dragged out too long. Nobody isn't the Court of Owls. I don't think he really merits at least six issues or that he's really served as the best vehicle for Tomasi highlighting Bruce and Damian's relationship. I'm going to hang with this series because, without it, I wouldn't see Damian at all, but I can't say I've enjoyed it all that much so far, unfortunately.
Batwoman #5: This issue is pretty solid. It wraps up some loose ends and brings the D.E.O. business to a head. To be honest, I found the D.E.O. conclusion to be somewhat anticlimatic. They've been this dark, nefarious force throughout the first four issues, so it was weird when it turns out Director Bones "just" wanted to offer Kate a job. Did his sidekick know that? She seemed pretty hell bent on taking down Batwoman, so it seems weird that she actually just wanted to find her to read her resumé. I mean, I'm assuming they're not exactly the good guys, or else Batman wouldn't be so opposed to Kate working for them. Also, I felt like Flamebird was in a much more precarious position last issue than she appears to be in this one. I mean, it seemed pretty clear that she was going to die, so it's weird that she's just in critical condition now. But, despite those drawbacks, I still enjoyed the issue. The revelation that the Weeping Woman had been dragooned into working for some Leviathan-esque organization called Medusa raises some interesting questions and propels us pretty nicely into the next arc. All in all, it wasn't the strongest issue of the series, but it did what it was supposed to do.
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