I continue to be in awe of the art. Damion Scott captures perfectly the essence of Batgirl’s physicality, and the way in which she uses movement and body language to communicate. In the last volume Cassandra inadvertently had her brain reorganized by a well meaning metahuman. It gave her the gift of language, but it deprived her of her ability to fight. Speaking means that she no longer reads body language the same way, which means that she can no longer fight. Batman is trying to train her, but she is facing years of study after which she still won’t be able to fight as effortlessly and as perfectly as she used to. Instead she makes a deal with Lady Shiva. Shiva teaches her to fight the way she used to, and in a year they battle to the death. Even after she regains the ability to fight, and the right to wear the batcowl again, she has to come to terms with what it means to be a part of the Bat-family. And, in case anyone needed any reminding, Batman can be a SOB when he puts his mind to it, and he’s really not a well adjusted human being.
Batgirl, vol. 2: A Knight Alone
ISBN: 1563898527
By Kelley Puckett
Art by Damion Scott, Coy Turnbull
DC Comics, 2001