Nobody Brings The Mess Like Family — Reviewing ‘Batgirl’ #9

Cassandra Cain is on a quest. A quest to discover the last secrets of her recently departed mother Lady Shiva. Those secrets take her right to the home of the Bronze Tiger. And to one of the biggest jaw-dropping reveals since the Lady Shiva mother revelation.

Everything kicks into a higher gear with Batgirl #9 from Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer, and Tom Napolitano.

-SPOILERS FOLLOW-

Holy crap. I gotta say, I definitely didn’t see that one coming.

Cassandra Cain has a brother. Not just a brother though. A brother, Tenj Turner the Jade Tiger, who is the son of Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger. A pairing that we didn’t see coming out of anywhere. Love to see another interracial coupling and biracial child though, that’s for sure.

It’s been so interesting how Brombal has been able to really delve into Cassandra Cain’s family dynamic. Without repeating well-traveled ground or it being overly dramatic. There is just enough actual feeling drama to the situation. The past two issues streamlined the Lady Shiva and family (her sister, Bronze Tiger, Richard Dragon) history. Now we get to see there was still more to the story. I mean, I’m not surprised Shiva wasn’t going to write about hooking up with and birthing a child with the man her sister was seeing in a journal.

That’s some messy soap opera stuff right there.

Speaking of those previous two issues, Miyazawa is back on the art after a short break. He’s hitting the same right spot where sharp and sharp elegantly meets lighter and smoother. There is something that just really resonates. This is a story that is inherently dark in many respects but has a lightness surrounding some of the more fun elements.

Fight scenes are swift and engaging. Even the scenes where people are standing around talking have this tight dense dynamic feeling. Emotional expressions on point, per usual. Overall, it just really makes the story feel denser and in-your-face in intimate and expressive ways.

Paired with that is how Spicer matches the energy with the colors. Making sure that heavier darker tones are always present, even if just slightly existing. Creating a palette that is full of very middle lower more natural tones as a foundation. Letting the lighter more vibrant colors have something to push against. Presenting a contrasting dynamic that makes the whole affair pop even more with a familiar tangible feeling.

Captions play a large role in this series. It’s here that we get the quick succinct thoughts and analysis from Cassandra. Napolitano layers them so well with the dialogue, letting us be part of Cassie’s detection and call outs in real time. There is an energy present that really gives us her particular voice and how she feels at all times. Similarly, there are the few captions for Bronze Tiger, colorful and fitting for him. Napolitano is always so good at not just building character voices but finding ways to make it all visually dynamic, shifting the sizes and styles of fonts as necessary.

Batgirl #9 is now available from DC Comics.