The Sharpest Thorns Are Human Made — Reviewing ‘Batgirl’ #23

Power can corrupt anyone but it especially is a sharp weapon in the hands of those who are already corrupted. Mayor Pamela Isley’s corruption is at an all-time high as she unleashes a prehistoric plant infestation upon Gotham City.

Nothing is safe as the ten-week Batman-family centric Bad Seeds event continues with Batgirl #23.

Cassandra Cain must fight against darkness, fear, hatred, and more to save the life of a young girl as the city she calls home becomes even deadlier and unforgiving. Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer, and Tom Napolitano turn up the heat in beginning of this two-part event arc.

Weaving through this issue is a very frantic energy. This is perfect for the ensuing chaos that the Gotham transformation brings to the table.

We see a normal night of people in the noodle shop that Batgirl and company have come to frequent. Families dealing with stresses, losses, and impending issues. Television is aglow with one of Vandal Savage’s anti-Bat commercials asking people to capture and rat out any Bat hero for money.

As things unfold, Brombal allows the natural fear, anger, and more show itself in the many occupants of this shop. They want to turn on Batgirl, leave others outside to die, show their entitlement, and engage in violence. Human nature often leads us to allow our worst impulses to take root when life unexpectedly takes a dangerous or horrifying turn.

A lot happens in this short span, as the pace picks up steam rather quickly. I like how narrow-focused the whole affair happens to be. It’s clearly connected to the overall event plot — we see Batman’s message from the opening one-shot — but able to stand firmly on its own. Each of the books that are under the Bad Seed banner are a chapter of the overall story. Brombal makes sure that is felt and clear as we’re traveling through this particular chunk of the overall world which is Gotham.

There is just such a perfect air to this book when Miyazawa is firmly in the artist seat, hitting the correct vibes with his style which is rough, whimsical, and slightly exaggerated all at the same time. It gives the characters and their world some firmness and depth while keeping things also light. Each of the panels, no matter their focus or scope, feels so big and life-like between the white negative space borders.

Speaking of paneling, there’s nothing better than dynamic intentional creative panel shifting. No two pages look exactly alike because they are not just utilizing standard panel formats we know well from comics. Some are bigger shots with another panel hovering over them or below them while others are the aforementioned more standard type with negative space utilized. Not only is it creatively visually fulfilling, it gives the overall story more motion and feeling.

Night has overtaken the city as much as the plants, because the power is one of the first things to go. Heavier and darker colors are on display as Spicer smoothly creates a situation that feels authentic. More blacks and grays are visible alongside blues which mimic what things look like in spaces only lit by the night sky.

Much of the background people are wearing similar colors, speaking to their darker impulses, or similar natural styles. That leaves Jade Tiger, Jaya, and the plant threats to be the real splashy color beats on any given page.

Panicked voices, high and low, and the sounds of terror are prominent. With little flourishes and shifts, Napolitano makes sure all of this is felt as much as it’s heard. Big bold colorful SFX dominate the moment, while smaller subtler ones help with immersion along the way. All of the dialogue is smoothly delivered and lets the different ways that the characters are communicating stand out. None of it spills over each other, even when there happens to be quite a bit of exposition to get through in some moments.

Batgirl #23 is now available from DC Comics.