Tag Archives: helena bertinelli

Review: Batgirl Annual #3

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batgirlannual003When reading the modern medium of comics, it is easy to forget that comic stories did not always have the same format.  As opposed to the modern day where one-shots are an absolute rarity, they used to exist more or less in this format across the entire medium.  Long story arcs were rare, and heroes usually met a villain and dealt with them in a short amount of time.  These stories which can be more easily located in the silver age, had a fairly common format of hero encounters villain, is beaten at first but then quickly recovers and wins.  This format is interesting because it is still occasionally used, but also because it is used in this most recent Batgirl Annual, and used quite cleverly.

Facing off against a mysterious villain and organization tied to the name Gladius, Barbara is forced to make some unlikely alliances which take her around the bat-family.  The cover alludes to the one that fans would be the most excited about, with an encounter with Dick Grayson, but there are also some clever other interactions as Barbara follows the trail of Gladius.  She encounters two other former Batgirls from previous years (Stephanie Brown and Helena Bertinelli) as well as Batwoman, a decent collection of Bat-ladies that is only missing Cassandra Cain.  The story diverges in an unexpected direction as well, crossing over what might be DC’s two best titles at the moment, as Batgirl and the residents of Gotham Academy get to meet for the first time.

What is most interesting about this story, is that while it is told in a series of separate vignettes, each with their own style, it also still manages to be a fluid story that makes sense, without the cameos seeming too forced.  Barbara is still the star but she cedes that status easily to those that she teams up with, making this issue more than the sum of its parts.  While the main series occasionally gets tied down in its own plots, this annual seems to represent a desire by the main creative team to cut loose a bit and have some fun with the character, and they succeeded.

Story: Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher Art: Bengal, David LaFuente, Ming Doyle, Mingjue Helen Chen, Gabe Eltaeb, Ivan Plascensia
Story: 9.4 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Grayson #9

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grayson009With Convergence acting as a convenient place to break from all which has come before, this most recent issue of Grayson represents the beginning of a new story arc.  However, the break for Grayson for Convergence might have come at a relatively bad time, as the concept of one of history’s oldest superheroes being repurposed as a superspy might have not been on the most solid ground from the beginning.  The series has nonetheless been fun enough to this point, as the transition of Grayson to superspy after his entire publication as a superhero has been handled pretty effectively, especially as he has been paired with another repurposed superhero, Helena Bertinelli.  The only risk is that being this is all forgotten with this two month break after only being eight issues into its run.

Grayson continues to work under the guidance of Spyral, and especially as they are under the control of a new leader.  A mysterious fate if befalling a number of agents as they are on missions.  They are being carefully assassinated by an unknown assailant, who happens to bear a resemblance to Grayson, and it doesn’t take long for the leaders of Spyral to figure out that when people end up dead that they tend to do so where Grayson has been.  Although this is the setup for the double cross (or triple cross) of the main character, the plot doesn’t really much focus around this as Grayson is sent to the Prado museum in Madrid to retrieve a Kryptonite gem from the necklace of a socialite.  The execution of this plot is pretty fun, as he relies on some unconventional assets in order to accomplish the mission.

In terms of an espionage story, this fits a fairly common formula, but it does so in such a fun way that it can be excused.  There is a bigger story happening in the background, but this issue becomes all about the mission at the art museum, and as that is executed in an engaging and fun way, it elevates the remainder of the story to the same level.  The underlying plot seems to be pretty intense as well, as Grayson is going to presumably become a renegade agent before proving his innocence.  In the meantime this issue acted as a perfect issue to get the momentum rolling once again for this series and incidentally provides an excellent jumping on point for new readers.

Story: Tim Seeley and Tom King  Art: Mike Janin 
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy