Skip to content

Comic Review: BATGIRL VOL 4 – WANTED

Written By:

Ed Fortune
batgirl-volume-4-wanted-review

Batgirl Volume 4 - Wanted Review

REVIEW: BATGIRL VOL. 4 – WANTED / AUTHOR: GAIL SIMONE / ARTIST: DANIEL SAMPERE, DERLIS SANTACRUZ, FERNANDO PASARIN / PUBLISHER: DC / RELEASE DATE: MAY 21ST

Gail Simone’s Batgirl has been one the few bright lights in DC’s New 52 range. With refreshingly diverse and engaging characters and an uplifting yet pragmatic world view, the book has swung and punched its way through three excellent volumes so far. Unfortunately, Wanted does not carry on this fine tradition.

The book begins with Barbara Gordon, the titular Batgirl, recovering from the death of her psychotic younger brother; a death that she was in part responsible for. To make matters worse Commissioner Gordon is on the hunt for Batgirl. Not realising that he’s persecuting his own daughter, the grieving father is pulling out all the stops, making Barbara’s own angst all the more dramatic.

Thrown into this mix is a new take on a traditional Batman villain, namely The Ventriloquist. This version is a psychotic young lady with a variety of slightly confusing powers and a hideous little puppet which seems intent on hunting down and mutilating its victims. Simone blends the creepiness of dolls with a painfully thin and damaged serial killer to great effect. The problem is that the level of violence and gore is all too visceral and feels more suited to a blood-soaked horror movie than the character-driven action adventure crime dramas we’ve come to expect, making the whole thing jarring and inconsistent. Combined with the main protagonist’s growing feelings of isolation, this means that the book goes to a dark place and stays there.

The tale is also served poorly with messy art of variable quality. Much like the narrative, the entire thing is too dark and it becomes difficult to actually care about any of the characters as we can’t see the full range of their emotions. The character design of the new ventriloquist is very good with the smart suited puppet-contrasting strongly against the sickly and tattered puppeteer; it’s a pity that both monsters are drawn so poorly.

The book continues to shine in some respects; the Gordon family are interesting people and their struggle to come to terms with personal tragedy is very well handled, it’s just that against this we have a background noise of jumbled plotlines and clumsy metaphors. It feels like either there is one storyline too many in this book, or that the story needs to be longer and more complex. Wanted seems to suffer from creative compromise, and this is profoundly disappointing.

Ed Fortune

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More