Batgirl #4 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Takeshi Miyazawa, Artist; Wayne Faucher, Inker; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This book has done more in a few issues to expand Cassandra Cain’s world than has been done in the last twenty years of appearances, so it’s no surprise that it’s not slowing down at all with this new installment. Cass has found herself in her mother’s secret society, which includes new friends, old enemies like Angel Breaker, a mysterious mostly-silent swordsman known as the Bloodmaster, and an unexpected face – Nyssa Al Ghul, Ra’s second daughter who actually killed Cass years previously (she got better). This is one of the few people who can actually rattle Cass, and the tension in the room can be cut with a knife. It’s clear Nyssa is enthusiastic about a rematch, but Shiva has to keep the mutual hatred from exploding – because they’re being tracked. Sure enough, it’s not long before the Unburied infiltrate the train, and yet another epic martial arts fight kicks off.
The two new elite Unburied here are a mix of a bruiser and potentially a supernatural villain, and they push the martial artists to their limit. This book consistently has the best fight scenes of any title on the stands, with double-page spreads that astonish every issue. But that doesn’t mean it’s all action, all the time, as there’s a scene where Cass and a wounded Shiva have a brief moment to delve into their relationship that packs a serious emotional punch. Cass and Shiva have basically been joined at the hip since the first issue, so what happens this issue will definitely shake things up going forward. It’s been a while since we got inside Cass’ head like this – as much as I loved Batgirls, it was definitely an ensemble book with a much lighter tone, so this is something very different. Fans who have been following Cass since the very beginning will see beats paid off they never thought they’d see mentioned again.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
