Batgirl #24 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

My first problem here is that I still don't really buy the Barbara/Ricky "relationship," which sort of makes it difficult to feel the emotion that Simone wants me to feel here.  I mean, I just really have problems believing that Barbara would go on a date with a guy whose life she saved, regardless whether he's a bad guy or a good guy.  But, OK, let's concede that.  I'll even concede, as I've previously mentioned, that Ricky would have a photo of Barbara and him so quickly, since it's comics and relationships move fast.  Fine.

But, my second problem is that Simone seems to be skipping some steps.  For example, beyond seeing the photo of Barbara and Ricky together, how does Commissioner Gordon know that Barbara knew Ricky?  Either Simone is having Gordon make a mistake in giving Barbara that piece of information, since she'll also ask how he knew, or she wants us to believe that, I don't know, Gordon met Ricky's mother in the hospital and she was all, "Oh, hi, our children went on a date, so it's awkward that you shot my son."  Moreover, I feel like the addition of all of Barbara's previous foes -- Mirror, Gretel, and Grotesque -- to Knightfall's ranks happened off-page.  Have they always been working for her?  Or, did she recruit them recently because they've tangled with Batgirl?  I feel like the latter is the answer, but it feels excessive to have all of them go after Gordon.  Does Knightfall know Batgirl's identity and makes a point by sending people she failed to kill to kill her father?  Again, I feel like I should know that but I'm not sure if we've ever seen Knightfall say that.  Plus, it's pretty clear here that Knightfall's going after Gordon for tangling with her gang, so my guess is that she doesn't know Barbara's identity and it's just convenient that she happens to send all three of Barbara's previous sparring partners to kill her father.  So, I'm left with a lot of questions here that I feel I shouldn't have.  Part of it could be my fault, but, even if Simone has actually given us all that information, it hasn't stuck in part because of the way that we're just jumping from problem to problem.  To have it all come together here feels overly convenient, not climactic, as it's clearly intended.

Ugh.  I'm hoping that we wrap up this Ricky business soon, because I'm really over it.  I mean, don't kill the kid, but maybe we could spend some time focusing on Barbara getting her life in order without her dating would-be car thieves.

** (two of five stars)