Batgirl #19 Review and **SPOILERS**

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You Don't Need a Weatherman

Writer: Hope Larson 

Pencils: Chris Wildgoose 

Inks: Jose Marzan Jr. 

Colors: Mat Lopes 

Letters: Deron Bennett 

Main Cover: Dan Mora 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: January 24, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Hey, Batgirl and the Penguin hanging out together? We’ve seen it. Heck, they played pool together! I bet they’ll make a great team, and you can find out in my review of Batgirl #19, right here!

Explain It!

Earlier in this run on Batgirl, it was appropriate to wonder why this Barbara Gordon wasn’t like other, more expected depictions of the character. It was completely normal to question what happened to her genius, or why she cozied up with Gotham’s villains from time to time, or how she could justify putting civilians and even a child in danger while flitting from rooftop to rooftop in search of some ex-boyfriend or another. Nineteen issues in, however, one can no longer claim to be surprised by this variance in Barbara’s presentation. For the time being, she is who she is, and on those merits, you really have one of the goofiest, silliest books on the shelves today.

I have suggested before and still believe that this series has been an homage to Bill Dozier’s Batman television show since Rebirth began. And what better evidence of that can there be but for Batgirl to carouse around with a jolly Burgess Meredith waughh waughh waughhing on a sled along a snowy Gotham square. No, the Penguin is not the villain, the villain in this issue is unexpected snow. In the winter. This is the mystery. How could it have possibly snowed during the winter time? Just writing that sentence makes a tear roll down my cheek.

While the Penguin does his civic duty to clean up a decidedly not-deep snowfall, Batgirl shows up a computer hipster to find out that someone is masking the actual weather satellite reports with some kind of computer worm thingy, and because she sees a spur…heh…because she sees a spur, she suspects it’s the work of this incredible group of old dudes in ridiculous cowboy costumes named S.P.U.R.—Stockmen Pursuing an Unbound Republic. You’re having a laugh, aren’t you Hope Larson? I’m on to your game! After beating the crap out of three Ted Nugents, Barbara finds that they weren’t even at the core of this nefarious weather-hijacking scheme, so, after a text from Qadir, she takes off in her bubble car outfitted with skis? What??

I once derided this series as being altogether silly and confused, and complained that the titular hero was not very heroic or even bright. Now, I embrace it. This version of Batgirl is an absolute goof, and if you take your Batgirl seriously, then you’re never going to enjoy yourself. On the visuals, Chris Wildgoose has gotten very comfortable with Barbara and her environs, and I dare say he is a master at this point. I dunno. Maybe I’m just in the right mood for this kind of silliness.

Bits and Pieces:

That's our Batgirl! Tusslin' with hipsters and rubbing elbows with the Penguin and just gettin' herself into a whole mess of trouble. If you've gone this long in the series still looking for the genius Barbara Gordon of yesteryear, I feel sorry for you. Because that Babs, she doesn't live in this series.

7/10