Monday, May 19, 2014

Batgirl Annual #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I liked this issue, though I'll admit that I'm not entirely sure that it made sense.

A guy named Mr. Rain pays desperately ill people to incubate organs in their own bodies, without telling them that they'll be killed when the organ is ready so that it can be sold to a weathy recipient.  I believe that they think that they get to keep the organ.)  Weird, but OK.  But, I'm not really sure why this process results in them becoming mindless slaves or why he uses them for terrorist acts.  Also, the revelation that he's a neo-hippie worried about his carbon footprint just felt bizarre.  It felt like Simone wanted us to be surprised when our assumption that it was a Carmine Falcone-esque figure was proven false, but I was too busy just trying to figure out his plan to think too much about the type of man that he was.

The main focus of the issue, though, is Batgirl and Poison Ivy's relationship.  Barbara reasonably doesn't trust Ivy after she apparently tried to kill the Birds of Prey, and she keeps talking about arresting her (depsite the fact that I'm pretty sure Jim Gordon hasn't issued Babs a badge).  However, she seems weirdly tone-deaf throughout this issue, constantly berating Ivy for not caring about people as Ivy is trying to explain herself (particularly how her moods fluctuate with the seasons).  For someone lecturing about empathy, Barbara doesn't really seem to have much of it.

But, for all those negatives, the story flowed well over the course of the issue.  It's probably more for "Bird of Prey" fans than "Batgirl" fans, but it's a decent read nonetheless.

*** (three of five stars)

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