PREVIEW: Batgirl #1

[CBR News]

"Beyond Burnside" Chapter One: The Batgirl you know and love is going global with Eisner Award-winning and New York Times best-selling writer Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time, Goldie Vance) and all-star artist Rafael Albuquerque (AMERICAN VAMPIRE). In order to up her game, Babs travels to Japan on a quest to train with the most elite modern combat masters of the East. But when a chance meeting with an old friend puts a target on her back, Batgirl may need to use her new skills to solve a deadly mystery.


Full preview here.

[Godlike13]

Im looking forward to this, i think Albuquerque is just great, and so i really want to like this and want this to be good. I can't lie though, this preview, well its not a very good preview. Babs goes around the world and just happens to run into yet another best friend we have never seen or heard of before. Come on now...

[Caivu]

Babs goes around the world and just happens to run into yet another best friend we have never seen or heard of before. Come on now...

It's a running gag with her now. Katarina Armstrong, then Obscura, then Frankie to an extent...

[MidTierHero]

Babs goes around the world and just happens to run into yet another best friend we have never seen or heard of before. Come on now...

It's the same exact thing that happened to Constantine over and over again in his critically acclaimed pre-Nu52 Hellblazer series. It worked there, and I think it works here as well.

[joybeans]

Im looking forward to this, i think Albuquerque is just great, and so i really want to like this and want this to be good. I can't lie though, this preview, well its not a very good preview. Babs goes around the world and just happens to run into yet another best friend we have never seen or heard of before. Come on now...

It's a bit of a contrivance, but as long as the whole run doesn't have her running into best friends all over the world, I can buy it

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

I liked it a lot.

It felt to the different to the Burnside run, which I enjoyed a lot, but it was still fun.

[Godlike13]

This wasn't bad, i was able to get over her meeting this new best friend, at the same time though it didn't really wow me. Still I like that Babs is gonna track down new exotic teachers, and im glad Babs new bff called her out on being Batgirl. Because it was too big of a coincidence for her not to be called out on.

[Rakzo]

Liked this. The writing itself was pretty good with natural dialogue and interactions (the thought balloons were a bit awkward though). Barbara's characterization was on-point with some references about her past, it seems like Larson is being inspired mostly by the last run (Stewart, Fletcher and Tarr) but she is giving it her own twist by making it more adventure-oriented. Solid worldbuilding as well.

Albuquerque's artwork was amazing. Nice combination of lighthearted and dark.

[Stormcrow]

Rafael Albuquerque is the main draw for me here (along with those fantastic Francis Manapul variant covers).

While I love the idea of Babs travelling throughout Asia, the story lacks substance so far. It's perfectly fine, just not really memorable. And seriously, her friend she runs into there just happens to be Asian?

The "Babs running into an old friend" trope is running thin and this occurrence reads way too convenient. I hope it turns out to be deliberate on Kai's part, otherwise it's just incredibly lazy writing.

[ZionAkeda]

I picked the new Rebirth Batgirl up today and I really enjoyed it! Rafael Albuquerque really beings Batgirl to life and I like how he and Hope Larson are keeping the kinetic ball of momentum rolling that Babs Tarr kickstarted. The tonality of the comic really cheerful and fun. For me as I read the comic felt like it's got that Batman Brave & the Bold and Adam West influence in some regards flowing through it. Once, again Batgirl will permanently be on my pull list. I love the idea of her being in Japan/Asia. I'm a sucker for all things Asian related. Right now I'm currently watching re-runs of David Carradine's Kung Fu.

[HsssH]

Asides of few weird transitions I liked it. As her running into her old friend, last page reveals that its not a coincidence so I don't understand why people who read the issue still complain about it?

[Doughy Man!]

I loved the thought balloons, they took me back.

I liked the issue a lot. I like the idea of Babs exploring the past, and how that comes around with the warning of not letting the past stand in the way of your future.

At first I thought Barbara happening to bump into a childhood friend in that way was strange... however by the end of the issue I wonder if it was a coincidence? It seems like there's something shady going on with the guy.

[16 Bit]

Thought this was just ok. Kai immediately calling her out was great though.

[Maxpower00044]

Really good first issue. I like that Larson decided to go thought bubble route here. Albuquerque kills it on art. I'm glad this seems to be keeping up with the quality of the Burnside run and not the Simone suck fest. Simone's Batgirl was probably one of the worst characters in the new 52.

[batalia]

Very substance-free fluff issue. Still keeping that burnside influence. I was hoping for a more clean break.
Glad I didn't waste my money on it.