Batgirl #42 Review

Fighting Against Yourself

Writer: Cecil Castellucci
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Jordie Bellaire, and Andworld Design
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 1, 2020

Well, it looks like I will be taking over the Batgirl review duties for a bit now which is fine with me since Babs is one of my favorite characters.  That being said, I am not a fan of the Oracle/Year of the Villain story at all and just want it to end.  It looks like I will be getting my wish, but only in this book since the Oracle robot will be shifting over to the big Hell Arisen story instead of just being shut down and put in the old robot junkyard where it belongs.  It's bad enough these robots tell what I want to watch and eat, now they are taking over the comic books as well?  To hell with that,  we need to step up and stop it before it's too late!  Here comes the review...


The issue opens with Batgirl and Oracle fighting it out and it comes down to Babs needing to do something she would never do and I thought my wish was coming true and she would just perform a robot lobotomy.  That's what I would have done and it's something she wouldn't so it's a win-win right there!  Spoiler, she runs away and does some other things.

The other things are okay even if they are a little goofy, but my problem is that they are just thrown out there and aren't anything you can play along with as a reader.  At least Oracle gets to play along, though, as Batgirl channels her inner Riddler and the game is on.  With Jason Bard, Shark and Fox in tow, they head to Burnside Park to confront our unpredictable hero.

Barbara does stay one step ahead of the baddies, but the art makes it a bit more comical than it should since I really couldn't tell what Batgirl was doing in the park tree or if she was part of the tree!

The cat and mouse continue until Batgirl finds out that Oracle is making it very personal, but still she has to keep things unpredictable and that leads to seeing more of Oracle's motivations.  It also leads to a little Batgirl/Bard team up and THAT was not expected...except it kinda was at this point.  It was still cool.

It all leads to Batgirl trying to make it right with Jason and also beating Oracle and that seems to be the way it all ends...at least for this book.  Oh yea, the doing opposite continues even after Oracle is gone and it leads to a crazy thing by the end.  

I didn't hate this issue especially since Cecil sends Oracle packing and she will get to tell her on story finally.  I also didn't love this issue because it was a bit boring to get through which is odd because there is a lot of action going on.  I blame the overuse of narration over dialogue throughout the issue.  It just didn't fit the faster pacing the story was trying to convey and that's a shame.  I also wasn't a fan of the art in the issue even though I am a fan of Carmine Di Giandomenico.  Something just seemed off with this one and I'm sure I'll be back loving her art the next issue she does.

Bits and Pieces:

Batgirl sends Oracle packing and even makes things right with Jason Bard in the process.  Cecil Castellucci ends the Year of the Villain story she was thrown into and sets up some stuff for her own stories coming up, but I wish it was a little more engaging.  I do look forward to seeing what she has in store for Babs and am so glad to leave Oracle behind.

7.0/10