BATGIRL #11 – On the Road to Healing

Creative Team – Tate Brombal(writer). Takeshi Miyazawa(artist). Mike Spicer(colors). Tom Napolitano(letters). David Talaski(cover artist).

Published by DC Comics

Catch up with Batgirl #10 here!

The Story and Writing

The conclusion of the The Three Swords arc is here and it gives Cassandra a very dangerous choice to make, join The Blood or be terminated.

In an unexpecting twist, The Blood wants Cassandra, AKA Batgirl, to join their ranks, train their armies, and be apart of their family as they all share a bloodline.

Wu Bing, who was sent by The Bloodmaster to convince Cassandra to join, is taken by surprise as she finds out that that Batgirl isn’t the only person at the ranch in Lady Shiva’s bloodline, but her brother Tenji as well.

After extending the invitation to Tenji, AKA Jade Tiger, as well, Wu Bing gets turned down by both siblings. According to Wu Bing, the only other option is to terminate both of them.

While there was a great amount of action throughout Batgirl #11, that was matched by an excellent amount of heart. It’s not Tenji’s fight, but he inserts himself into the fight on behalf of his sister, as that’s what family does. Bronze Tiger, father of Tenji, has his own feelings about seeing his son join this battle alongside Batgirl, but with that, we get to see a moment of growth from him as a father.

Really, there’s growth throughout the small family. Jade Tiger is able to prove himself as being tough enough to stand with Batgirl, and Cassandra has her own moment of growth as she admits she never learned to heal. Moving forward, I am very excited to see how Tenji and Cassandra learn from each other, and learn to work and support each other as a family, as that’s not something Batgirl is truly used to.

The Art

Out of this entire run, I’d have to say that Batgirl #11 has some of the best artwork of all of Batgirl. There’s so many great action panels that are handled with great care. Takeshi Miyazawa puts so much detail in each panel, that you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action.

Alongside Miyazawa, Mike Spicer’s work on the colors is second to none as he does a beautiful job contrasting vibrant backgrounds to the dark fights. Tom Napolitano, who handles the lettering for Batgirl, makes each sentence flow perfectly and really captures the heart of the words being said, especially when they’re coming from Bronze Tiger.

Final Thoughts

Batgirl #11 is a wonderful addition to the series, and really brought the heart to the story. The creative team did a phenomenal balancing act of action and emotion within the pages of Batgirl #11.

Overall Grade – 8.8/10

This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast! If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Batgirl #11, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!