This week sees some younger titles thrive into their second story arcs while Dark Horse introduces a promising new property and Valiant proves why it’s here to stay. Happy Wednesday, everybody.
Batgirl #39
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr
Publisher: DC
So, the relaunched Batgirl and I got off on the wrong foot. Having lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for half of my 20s, I can’t digest too much hipster pretension in any amount. So when I read a comic about a million mobile screens and drunken hookups and fictional social media platforms and guest list desperation, a huge neon “nope” ignited in my head. I’m the old man throwing shade at the 20-somethings texting in the movie; Batgirl simply wasn’t for me on first blush.
And then I discovered that writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher might not exactly be at odds with my viewpoint. Batgirl got meta in issue #37, in which a crossdressing artist posed as the crimefighter and then ran a gallery of the pictures. At this event, one character commented that “to have this kind of platform, this many eyes on you and not say anything of value is ridiculous. There’s no message here.” How is that not a self-aware slam on condescending critics like me, ignoring this comic book for all the wrong reasons? Sick burn, bros.
Upon further reads, this title isn’t so much a masturbatory attempt to reach Gen-Y with outdated slang and a million paper images of mobile phones (a huge irony within itself), but an examination of how those technological elements inform identity and can antagonize as much as they connect. Think of it as the difference between Black Mirror and, I don’t know, Poochie. Issue #39 brings these topics to a head, as the entity that’s been trying to systematically Catfish Barbara Gordon finally comes to light. The flowing, kinetic art of Babs Tarr and Cameron Stewart — with gorgeous colors from Maris Wicks —also elevates Batgirl as a new monthly must-read.
Deadly Class #11
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Wes Craig
Publisher: Image
If Deadly Class is the loose autobiography of Rick Remender’s wayward youth, than that man has been through a lot. While it would be a stretch to call this series meditative, its early issues touched on the cannibalistic capitalism of the ‘80s, showing the bad things that can happen to the disenfranchised when the government pulls the social net back a little too far.
But Remender and artist Wes Craig also incorporate another staple of that decade: drive-thru exploitation. What did we expect? Lead character Marcus Lopez joins a school devoted to fostering assassins, splintered through Breakfast Club niches including the Cartel, Yakuza and KKK. It’s an audacious, unsubtle comic and issue #11 marks a huge climax for the series, as Marcus confronts a family of redneck psychopaths and his poor romantic skills between Saya and Maria. The language and characterization can be overblown (the lead nemesis often touts homophobic slurs), but this book revels in glorious, huge violence, like some twisted Technicolor cartoon salvaged from a grindhouse garage sale. Expect an emotional and visceral blood bath.
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