Kicking Assassins

I really like the new Batgirl. Cassandra Cain stands on her own as a completely different kind of hero than Barbara Gordon, so there is no sense in trying to compare the two. That being said, the new Batgirl KICKS ASS!! This story is a prime example of why I love Batman comics: lots of action, lots of story, and lots of deep character development. This stand alone story isn't without its flaws though, since parts of the plot seem slightly disconnected and don't add to the whole story much. Still, its a worthwhile read if you love Batman comics as much as I do.

Title: Batgirl: A Knight Alone Publisher: DC Writer: Kelley Pucket Artists: Damion Scott, Coy Turnbull Collects: Batgirl #7-11,13,14 Price: $12.95 This is the second volume collecting the adventures of the new Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. This volume picks up where the first one left off - with Cassandra learning to speak, now, but with greatly reduced fighting prowess. Batman refuses to let Cassandra go out in costume because he does not believe she can handle it anymore. Cassandra, of course, believes differently, and goes out in black attire with face paint on to continue fighting crime. Eventually, she meets up with super assassin Lady Shiva Woo San, and the two tangle. After Lady Shiva effortlessly beats her to a pulp, Cassie wakes up in an ambulance. Cassie flees the medics, and, after a brief recovery, goes out looking for Lady Shiva again. She hopes that Shiva can retrain her more quickly than Batman can. After a meeting of the two, Shiva agrees to train Cassie if she will agree to a fight to the death in one year. Cassie agrees, and Shiva brings her skills back up to their former level. After this, Batman gives Cassie her costume and title back, and she's back on the streets. A second part of this volume focuses on Cassie's attempts to rescue a government agent from a governmental conspiracy. This storyline seemed to be a bit disjointed from the previous one - kind of like filler material between larger stories. Maybe I'm too used to reading a single storyline in a single volume, because this second story made the entire volume a bit too broken up for me and made the overall volume less enjoyable. I enjoyed seeing Batman pay back Cain for his abuse of young Cassie, and it was also enjoyable to watch Cain struggling to recover the broken shards of his life after Batman takes him down. I wish I could have seen more of this part of the story, as it was some of the best stuff, but I guess this book IS called Batgirl and not Batman. I would definitely recommend that any new readers of Batgirl read the first volume before reading the second. That may seem like common sense, but some books are pretty accessible no matter where you pick them up at in the span of their continuity. This is not one of those books. A new reader could deduce most of what came before this volume, but would still be left wondering at the character's origins, motivations, and relationship to Batman. Art on the book was quite adequate. It was not stellar, but above average. The inks and colors were very well done, which does make a big difference in the overall look of a book. Again, the two different artists working on one title inside one volume doesn't really agree with me, but art chores on comic titles change so rapidly that I know this is unavoidable at times. All in all, not a bad read. The writer on this title makes Batgirl a very likeable character that you can empathize with, and that's an achievement some writers have a hard time with.

This was an enjoyable comic book that was the first I'd read about Cassandra Cain -the second Batgirl. I thought the art in this book was very well done and the story was certainly interesting. The story isn't groundbreaking or anything, but it's worth the read for anyone interested in the character. The ending with Deathstroke and Ravanger was my favorite part about it - I was previously intregued by the relationship between them in the comic book "Nightwing: Renegade", which was an even better read, but not by far. As batgirl, I think Cassandra Cain is great. Not better than the original, but cool in her own right. I think her character is written very well considering her special circumstance - that she was taught how to kill before she was taught to read.