Review: Batgirl Vol. 4- Wanted

Quick Summary

Pros: Batgirl’s character progression is inspiring and extremely well written. The main storyline is interesting and plays well with the story from the last volume. The new villain is terrifying and adds a heavy dose of horror to the collection.

Cons: Characters’ faces look odd at times.

Overall: This volume continues the intense storytelling and well-executed character development that the previous volume started. Barbara Gordon is at one of her lowest points and is forced to contend with a psychotic villain and threats from her father. Seeing her overcome these obstacles is both inspiring and entertaining. This is a book for anyone interested in seeing character development for Batgirl or anyone who wants to read a Batgirl story with a twist of horror.

Story

The previous volume in the Batgirl series thoroughly and enthusiastically ran Barbara Gordon through the ringer. Now, Batgirl Vol. 4: Wanted picks up the pieces and sees her deal with the fallout. Some of this fallout leads to interesting storylines, including the conflict between Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon, and all of it leads to interesting character development. Plus, writer Gail Simone sets all of this progression against a fight with a new villain, whose motives are nearly as horrifying as those seen in the previous volume. Together, these positives create a volume that is every bit as intense and entertaining as fans have come to expect.

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This volume starts out with Barbara Gordon at an all-time low in terms of self-esteem and emotional stability. She has just gone head to head with the man who crippled her, dealt with the return of her mother, and now blames herself for her brother’s death. She also is now under constant threat from her own father, who blames Batgirl for the death of his only son. All of this makes her character progression here very meaningful and gives weight to actions that would otherwise be rather boring, such as shopping or going on a date.

All of this darkness also gives Barbara an intense, yet oddly relatable, level of character development. Gail Simone writes her internal turmoil in a way that feels familiar to anyone who has gone through a dark period in their life. In this way, her triumph over darkness and acceptance of her current situation is inspirational. This triumph is at its peak when she faces and attempts to reveal her identity to her father, which is already a huge moment all on its own. Highlighting moments like this and making them accessible to the reader drives this volume forward and are absolutely the highlights of this collection.

All of this is then set against the background of a conflict with the Ventriloquist and her seemingly unpredictable series of mass murders. This character is nearly as sadistic and twisted as the Joker was in the previous volume, killing rooms full of people without a second thought. Her inclusion in the story imbues the entire collection with a dash of horror, which then amplifies the general feeling of suspense present throughout the read.

One specific scene that I found particularly intense saw a group of innocent people invited into a theater by the Ventriloquist. The entire time they are there is filled with high levels of suspense, as readers are sure that she will kill them all in some brutal and gruesome manner. However, just when it seems that they are all going to be ok, the Ventriloquist reveals that she poisoned the food that they ate, meaning they were dead the moment they walked in the door. The Ventriloquist is terrifying this entire collection and gives it all the horror it needs.

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Art

The vast majority of the artwork throughout Wanted comes from penciler Fernando Pasarin and inker Jonathan Glapion. The work these two do looks good, for most of the volume. Specifically, it looks nice when depicting the dark and horror filled elements of the story. The artwork enhances the creepy vibe that the Ventriloquist puts off in general and makes all of her actions seem a bit more sinister and evil. However, something about the characters’ faces doesn’t look quite right when depicting them in a brighter setting. These flaws are minimal though and the collection looks good overall.

Continuity

Batgirl Vol. 4: Wanted continues the story from Batgirl Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review).

The story here continues in Batgirl Vol. 5: Deadline.

This volume also references stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• Dick Grayson mentions that there has been distrust in the Bat-family since the Joker’s attack. This is explained by the events of Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review).
• He also mentions the death of Damian Wayne, which occurred in Batman Incorporated Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
• The lack of power in Gotham is due to the events of Forever Evil (Review).
• Knightfall asks a certain character if Amanda Waller let them out for the evening. This character joined Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad back in Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Discipline and Punish.