Don’t Throw Momma From The Train — Reviewing ‘Batgirl’ #3

Like onions (or ogres), people have layers. Even a seemingly detached world’s deadliest assassin type like Lady Shiva.

If Cassandra Cain is to survive what is coming, she’ll have to begin (begrudgingly) peeling back those layers of her mother in Batgirl #3. A deeply emotional human focused bad-ass action packed issue comes from Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer, and Tom Napolitano.

It never ceases to be a joy every month to open this series. The series contains such greatness of character, fluid artwork, and just an overall solid concept handle.

Miyazawa’s artwork really lives in that middle space for comics that can be so delightful. A touch of rough textures is mixed with an overabundance of whimsical energy, with plenty of depth and detail and emotional resonance. It feels very fun and light, while also being quite serious and heavy. Fluidity and kinetic energies are rife in every single panel and page, whether it’s two characters talking or full-on action.

Speaking of action, that four page double-page spread of the train fight … hot damn. I still wake up dreaming about that page since first laying eyes upon it.

Television shows and films (rightfully) get a lot of acclaim for these types of sequences. Famously, there is  one in Netflix’s Daredevil series with the hallway that became sort of a staple for the show and a lot of superhero focused pieces. Comic books can and often do the same thing, with just as much grandiose ambitions and execution. Here we watch Batgirl & Shiva just basically dance across the page, fighting and engaging, as Shiva actually tries to quell her daughter’s fight instincts.

All of this pairs so well with the color palette that Spicer is playing with. This sequence, and the rest, are very natural with colors that are toned-down in a lot of sense, to create a very tangible and relatable sort of feeling. This is not the big flashy shiny colors that come with many big superhero books. That is not what Batgirl and most of the Bat-family need. Sure there are some more vibrant colors (there are still costumed or flashy clothing wearing figures here) but they are subdued as well.

Lots of grays and blacks and lighting elements fit this darker tale, which happens to be taking place at night on a lower light train. It all adds up and works so well.

Like the rest of the artwork, and the characters depicted, Napolitano’s lettering work just glides and dances as well. This captures voices with precision and drops in enough personality and energy to make it all stand apart. Slipping in the powerful, and very necessary, bits of dialogue and captions to every page including the double-page spread creates epic moments. Batgirl is often someone of not many words, and the dialogue and captions mirror this, sticking to quick matter of fact statements.

Everyone here “understands the assignment,” and understands who and what Cassandra Cain is as a character.

Brombal pulls from this in the writing, and really delivers here. While Cassandra causes “trouble” here, we fully understand the ‘why’ of it. Shiva is not a good person, and both Cassandra and we, the audience, know this from years of experience. Yet we’re given information that, as noted in the intro, shows there are layers to Shiva just like there are to others.

The Order of Shiva Gotham chapter being about healing and caring, when we know of Shiva as a destroyer, is fascinating. As the high-priest Jayesh points out, the other side of Shiva is that of the Restorer or Healer. We see that Shiva has had a positive impact upon the world, even as she also inflicts a negative one and is cold as an individual or mother in many respects.

This allows us to see conflict with Cassandra, and we understand why she unleashes upon the League of Shadows without question upon their appearance. Had her mother told her about the alliance ahead of time, it might have been avoided, but even with her positivity Shiva is a woman of mystery, secrets, and lies through and through. Essentially, Brombal balances the various aspects of the characters, the good and the bad, so magnificently.

Oh, I can’t forget. The family photo that Cassandra has is awesome, as is the fact that during the train fight scene she calls out what traits from her Bat-family she has embodied to become better because of them. I love the dynamic of the Bat-family and how utterly different, yet still devoted to the same cause, they all truly are. Seeing Cass call them all out by name and what she feels connects her to them was heartwarming.

Gosh, I just love this series. Which is great, since Cassandra Cain (as I’ve stated time and time again) is one of my favorite characters through and through.

Batgirl #3 is now available from DC Comics.