Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batgirl: Endgame #1
DC Comics
Stewart, Fletcher & Bengal
The Batman storyline, Endgame, spawns a few tie-in comics, of which this is one of them. Batgirl gets a one-shot dealing with Endgame from her side of town. The book takes the unique approach of offering a near-silent issue that is basically art and a few captions. The book is okay but the loyal Batgirl reader may not be thrilled with this issue based on how Batgirl's main title has been constructed, even though Stewart is writing both. This is an okay read but could have been a real home-run with some tweaks.
Batgirl is trying to rescue some civilians from the Joker plague. This comic, of course, assumes you already know the Endgame storyline. In case you are a reader of Batgirl and not Batman basically the Joker has infected the entire city with a virus that turns them into Joker zombies. Not everyone is infected though, which makes things a little tricky.
Batgirl helps a bunch of people over a barricade just before a bomb detonates. Of course, being a silent issue, things are left completely unexplained. Among them, why are they detonating a bomb so close to the barricade? Or why are they blowing people up at all? Also, why can't the bomb be stopped? Answers are up to the reader.
The comic has some nice moments. The draw of Stewart's Batgirl is her personality. Sadly, absent dialogue, this comic doesn't give the reader the full treat of how she's handled in her own title. However, some of the nuisances are in here when she uses her signals to communicate with a character that appears to be trapped. Also, she interacts with a friend via her phone, which allows her to react in a way that captures Stewart's version of the character.
The artwork has one huge drawback. Everyone looks crazy in this comic book. The identifying factor of those with the Joker plague is that they have huge eyes. Every character in this book seems to have that quality. Without a description of what the Joker plague is or how it affects people, the only thing you have as a reader is the visuals. The visuals do not make a clear enough distinction. The art isn't completely off though. I liked the action scenes when Batgirl is trying to rescue everyone. They made the comic feel alive and vibrant.
Batgirl Endgame is for the Endgame completists. I do not recommend this comic book for those that follow the Batgirl title. You may be left wanting more. If you are not following Endgame at all then this issue is completely avoidable. It's confusing and adds nothing to the character unfortunately. This comic book is a decent read but is loosely relevant to Endgame or Batgirl.
2 out of 5 Geek Goggles
