THIS WEEK: Batgirl goes behind bars in Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1. Plus, quick-hit reviews of Supergirl #13, The Fury of Firestorm #2, and Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.
Note: The reviews below may contain spoilers.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1
Writer: Mariko Tamaki
Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Cover: Karl Kerschl
If you’ve been following Batman or read anything about Barbara Gordon: Breakout prior to picking up this issue, you’ll know exactly what to expect from this debut. And for me, that’s a bit of a conundrum.
Over the course of 22 pages, writer Mariko Tamaki, artist Amancay Nahuelpan, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Ariana Maher lay out everything you need to know about DC’s latest Next Level series. Gotham City Police Commissioner Vandal Savage (yes, that Vandal Savage) is putting his political enemies and actual criminals alike in a supermax prison off the shore of Gotham. Barbara Gordon is going in to get the innocent out before they get murdered. To do so, she’s going to have to face down criminals and corrupt guards, with seemingly no one on her side.
It’s a good concept for a Bat-title, but it’s also quite rote and straightforward. As such, I expected something more unique and unusual – something I couldn’t have intuited from DC’s press release about this title – to pop up before the end of this issue. Something that would put a Bat-twist on the tried-and-true concept this title is built around.
Instead, Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 delivers almost entirely the plot beats you’d expect. And what may be worse, the issue never left me feeling like Barbara Gordon was in any danger. We’re told Savage’s Supermax is an awful, dangerous hellscape, and that Barbara’s life will be on the line as soon as she steps inside. But within this issue, Barbara never struggles. She easily wins every fight she’s in. The corrupt guards who hate her father do not actually give her any trouble. I’ve read superhero comics long enough to know Barbara probably won’t die in Supermax. That she will likely escape Savage’s prison unscathed. But for this story to have any stakes, I have to see her struggle to make that escape.
If you pick up this issue hoping for exactly what DC said it would be, you may not be disappointed. Tamaki has a great handle on Barbara Gordon, and the art team does a good job telling the story Tamaki has set up. But given the energy and invention on display in DC’s other Next Level titles, I was hoping for a bit more from Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1. The last page cliffhanger promises a twist, and maybe that reveal will be what turns this title around in my eyes. But I still wish this opening chapter had done more to differentiate itself from the countless other versions of this story that have already been told.
The Round-Up
- Big emotions, big action, big adventure – Supergirl #13 has everything that has made this title a standout since writer/artist Sophie Campbell, colorist Tamra Bonvillain, and letterer Becca Carey launched the Girl of Steel’s latest series. This issue is the third chapter of “Hero of Kandor,” a weighty multi-part story that has already seen Supergirl lose to antagonist Black Flame, take the Kandorian Science Council to task, and be rebuilt as a cyborg. The story does not let up in this issue, as Black Flame continues plowing through Kandor’s protectors while Kara reconnects with Lesla-Lar. Campbell, Bonvillain, and Carey’s pages are well-paced, dynamic, and pack a punch – this team has only gotten better as this series has progressed. But it’s the chance to see Campbell cutting loose on a larger story that has made the last few issues of Supergirl feel like a level-up moment for what was already a great series.
- After starting with a bang, The Fury of Firestorm #2 slows things down a little. In this issue, writer Jeff Lemire, artist Rafael de Latorre, colorist Marcelo Maiolo, and letterer Lucas Cattoni focus on Ronnie Raymond, showing how and why he became half of Firestorm – while also teasing that that fact may not remain true. This series is both a horror series and a mystery series, two things I absolutely expect from Lemire, but that I typically don’t expect from Firestorm. The art team does a great job of leaning into that contrast and using it to play with readers’ expectations, by illustrating some pages in a retro style and others in quite dark and ominous tones. The result is an intriguing mystery I’m keen to see more of, even if I’m still uncertain of what exactly this book will look like or be about five or six issues from now.
- If Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 is any indication, the series’ creative team is set to leave it all on the floor in next month’s finale. Artist Javier Rodríguez again delivers multiple mind-melting pages, and writer Deniz Camp’s story left me both dizzy and on the edge of my seat. But before the series concludes, and especially in light of his efforts in this issue, I want to call out letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s contributions. When you read this issue, pay attention to the wild amount of care and tricks on display in its lettering. Throughout Absolute Martian Manhunter’s run, Otsmane-Elahou’s lettering has matched his collaborators’ skill, ambition, and intention, which is no small feat given how singular Absolute Martian Manhunter has been.
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