Batgirl #35: Wolves Among the Sheep

Batgirl #35 is an extremely straightforward affair, to the point of boredom. And I hate to say that, because I love Mairghread Scott’s take on the character, but if it weren’t for the B-plot involving the hostile takeover of Gordon Clean Energy – a plot point heretofore almost completely forgotten – this issue would have been a total wash. As it is, the takeover subplot still isn’t enough to save this issue.

Batgirl is stuck in a stereotypical villain deathtrap! Batgirl is fighting an overmuscled bad guy! There’s a trio of bad guys with unimaginative names! They have a plan for bad things! You get the idea.

It really is the looming threat of GCE’s hostile takeover that’s the more interesting plot point this issue, especially the way Alysia is blackmailed into firing Babs from her own company in order to keep it from being corporate-raided and tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage, along with every employee’s job. Frankly, I’d much rather read this story than the wacky adventures of Vulture, Shark, and Fox, a trio of villains destined for failure the moment they took their less-than-original appellations. Worse, this issue reads like Scott herself is as bored writing these three uninspired villains as I was reading about them.

At least artists Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, Jose Marzan Jr., and Jordie Bellaire (is there any comic she isn’t coloring?!) appear to be having a blast. (Not sure quite what happened with the cover by normally-reliable Francis Manapul, but the coloring is so garish it stands apart on the rack for the exact opposite reason an artist would want it to.) I wish I could say the same for readers, who will most likely forget about this issue as soon as they read it.