Batgirl #8

I want Grotesque to meet up with Hawkman so that Hawkman can go, "That's not a mace. This is a mace!" Except I don't want that to happen if Tony Daniel is writing it!

Last issue, Batgirl was still in the sewers after having chased away Grotesque. She's now found that one of his henchmen is Danny "The Weasel" Weaver, one of The Joker's henchmen who was there the night Barbara Gordon was shot and paralyzed. She calls him by name and tells him his boss, Grotesque, just killed a man at the party they crashed. He's confused that a famous superhero knows his name. The other henchman staggers to his feet and attacks Batgirl but she easily knocks him unconscious again. They hear police sirens and Batgirl lets Danny go. Why? I don't know! Maybe she's feeling charitable. Or maybe she's going to use him to help her find Grotesque.

I hope Detective McKenna doesn't hear that Batgirl was at the party where a billionaire was killed! Because she'll have to arrest her for not saving him! Don't worry about catching Grotesque! He only committed the crime! But Batgirl just stood around and did nothing! And you know what they say about good people who do nothing! They're the cause of all the evil in the world! The big fucking jerks!

After this adventure, Batgirl decides to go see her mom, Batwoman. No, no. Barbara Gordon decides to go see her mom, Barbara Gordon. And Barbara's brother was named Commissioner Jim Gordon Jr! What a confusing family!

Barbara's mom tells her that she left because James Jr threatened to kill Babs if Mother Barbara didn't leave. And Mother Gordon believed him. She says she left to save Barbara. But Babs believes she's leaving something out. And she has to wonder if James Jr might not have grown up to be a serial killer if Mother Gordon had not abandoned them and rather stayed to help.

So James Jr is a serial killer. Since everyone seems to know this, I'm guessing he's in Arkham Asylum. Or maybe he WAS in Arkham Asylum and now he's the Grotesque! Probably not. But I bet he shows up sometime now that he's been mentioned in the plot!

The next page, after a confusing narration box that makes me think something was left out somewhere, Batgirl mentions that James Jr is in Arkham Asylum. As far as she knows! But right now, she's tracked down Danny Weaver's address. She kicks in his door only to find him there with Grotesque! You see, Grotesque is interested in Batgirl. And she seemed to be interested in Danny. So he used Danny as bait to meet up with Batgirl. I know, I know. It was all assumptions and long shots but it worked out! Here we are!

It's like my dentist's office!

Grotesque and Batgirl do the fighting thing. At one point, Danny shoots at Grotesque and distracts him. He tells Grotesque that he quits. Grotesque fires a bolt of lightning at him and fatally wounds him. But Danny distracts him long enough for Batgirl to break his mask and knock him unconscious. Then Batgirl has her huggy feely touchy moment with Danny.

Batgirl had suspected this earlier when she thought the same thing. That 'something went wrong.'

Batgirl has defeated Grotesque and realized something about the night she was shot. I'm not sure what it was though. Maybe that all the thugs in Gotham City aren't the same? They're not all out to kill and maim? Perhaps many of them have just gotten caught up in a life they never meant to live? I have no clue. Maybe it's just about coming to terms with the trauma he was a part of. He tried to make amends. Even if the city and his own limitations wouldn't let him completely change, at least he tried.

Something like that.

Uh oh!

And then my favorite character in the comic is suddenly in big trouble! She's found herself, late at night after leaving work, going on a coffee date with Serial Killer Escaped Lunatic James Gordon Jr! Great!

Batgirl Issue #8 Rating: No change in the Ranking. The comic continues to be decent but always with a few issues. This issue had far to much recounting of things that had happened in the previous issue. I think about five pages were wasted on the scene in the sewer where last issue ended. Also, the art has gone downhill. The pages drawn by Alitha Martinez just aren't up to the quality of previous issues and the pages down by Syaf or Cifuentes. Next issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover. I don't know what to expect with that whole thing going on. Hopefully it doesn't screw up Snyder's storyline by involving all of these other comics.