Blood In The Water — Reviewing ‘Batgirl’ #18

Family takes every sort of form, those born in blood and those born in the fires that make up life. Cassandra Cain finds herself stuck between the two as she travels to the Spirit World to end or control the curse of the Blood.

An otherworldly and deadly adventure continues with Batgirl #18 from Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Juan Castro, Mike Spicer, and Tom Napolitano.

There are many things to love about this series. For myself, one of the standout beats is how well this book balances overall canon, its own continuity, and an ability to feel fresh and reader friendly with each arc. There are beats within this issue that build upon what came before but they are handled in a very informative but not overwhelming manner.

Brombal gives enough context without having to spell it all out and recap everything with buckets of lore droppings. He never wavers from the grand character development and depth which is another highlight of the series. That’s not to mention the energetic action fight sequences that blend so well with the rest of the story elements.

These focuses easily come to vivid life time and time again under Miyazawa’s careful hand. Their style is one that is both soft and hard at the exact same time. Full of scale and depth that gives the whole endeavor a bolder life screams to be unleashed from the pages. All of the aforementioned action is tangibly kinetic upon the page as well. Really it highlights the different ways that each character moves and exists.

Heavier inks at times develop these qualities even deeper thanks to Castro’s work. Their combination gives this series the visual identity that it deserves and craves tonally.

It’s matched in intensity by the color palette chosen by Spicer. He hews towards the more neutral standard style of colors with a bent toward the darker. Spaces have a more toned-down appearance to create a world caught in the middle. It presents a foundation through which the bolder, more vibrant and sharp colors can emerge and rest comfortably. Their presence is creating a compelling contradictory aesthetic.

Each of these comments are also applicable to the lettering brought to page by Napolitano, a letterer who always goes the extra mile to allow the words and sounds to revel in their unique energies. Each voice is different from the next, not just in structure and word usage but also in how they sound within our brains. Little switches to fonts, bubbles, modifiers, and more allow the voices to form and congeal in our mind a certain way.

Batgirl #18 is now available from DC Comics.