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Clayface is a go-too villain a lot these days. I wonder if it's because he was so unavailable for so long with Tynion's run, and they just put him back in rotation for general use?
I love the cape. I think Steph is just stubborn, and says to herself, "Well, Batman does it, and I have to be better than Batman "
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?
I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
At least Spoiler’s Young Justice redesign was smart in the it simply tweaked the design in an aesthetically pleasing way. A brown Nightwing suit with a red belt does not make a good costume for Tim. I’m still a cowled Red Robin fan, especially the Marcus To redesign.
Red Hood’s new look just screams “YOU CAN TELL I’M A 90’S THROWBACK NOW, RIGHT?!?!”
Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?
I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
Appreciation Thread Indexes
Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman
Welcome to the Batgirl: Stephanie Brown reread, Week 15! (Schedule starts here: https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post4916669) Today, we're on Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl #1 One-Shot, written by Bryan Q. Miller, pencilled by Pere Perez, inked by Pere Perez, colored by Guy Major, cover by Shane Davis.
Notes: This is a “big” issue. As part of a crossover event with a bunch of other Bat-titles, and starring Bruce himself in a huge event of him coming back, it was bound to get a lot of scrutiny. And Miller showcases Steph’s history and current relationship with a large chunk of the Batfamily throughout. Batman first and foremost, with flashbacks to her very first story in Detective Comics #647-649, her firing as Robin in Robin #128, and verbal references to War Games and her entire history. Miller engages in a LOT of revision - and I am not one to necessarily read everything characters say as the author’s view. Steph and Bruce’s judgment of her former career as insecurity rather than heroism is not something I think totally fair, and the idea that as Spoiler, she was really incompetent is not one I accept either. I think just as Steph knows that Bruce never gave her a fair shot, she doesn’t really give herself a fair shot, either - her trauma and guilt from War Games is still very strong. And all these roiling emotions bubble up into anger when she realizes that Bruce has AGAIN tricked her for a test, leading to the famous slap. The second meeting of Bruce and Steph goes much better, though Steph still struggles with self worth next to the man who’s inspired her but also rejected her for 4-5 years of her life in universe, for nearly two decades since her creation. All in all, a deeply moving, complicated, lovely issue.
Pere Perez produces his second full issue of the run, and has a darker, more “DC House Style” approach than he generally uses for the main Batgirl issues. I wonder if there were pressures from editorial to make this fit with the other artists in the miniseries. Regardless, there are a lot of iconic shots throughout, as well as lovely recreations of memorable confrontations between Batman and Steph in the past.
Remember the line about Bat Orientation with Wendy - it’s setup for the next issue!
Cover: Shane Davis in a mural-style connected cover program for all 9 issues in Bruce Wayne: The Road Home. Steph looks very shiny and strong, though sadly not very smiley.
Discussion Questions: How do you feel about the slap? Do you think it is controversial? BQM wrote a very nice essay on the subject, which we’ve archived here: https://stephaniebrown.fandom.com/wi...n_DCComics.com
Do you think Steph and Bruce are right that Steph has only now become a hero as Batgirl?
Bonus Comic: The Oracle Road Home issue features some nice Steph cameos, but it’s not a great issue itself (it overwrites Oracle: Year One in a greatly inferior way). As a whole, the mini-event/crossover is interesting, but the Batgirl issue feels like a huge standout to me.
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord