Batgirl #45

No issue of Batgirl to date has felt as cohesive and as strikingly on point as #45, a true testament to the team DC Comics has assembled and supported on this title. A year into their run, and we've seen not just Barbara, but her entire cast grow and change, and all for the better. And if the final page of this issue foreshadows, it looks like we may be up for yet another set of changes to come. And because I've so enjoyed where we've been, and am amazed at how far we've come, I really do want this adventure to go on forever. Read Full Review

All in all, Batgirl #45 has romance, some light humor, beautiful art and fashion design, well-selected colors, and is a big turning point for Batgirl/Barbara Gordon's character in Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr's run. Plus there's smooching. Read Full Review

This issue may just be one of the best issues of the comic so far. Babs is normally so bogged down with the villains that it's nice to see an issue almost fully devoted to happiness for a change, even her burgeoning relationship with Luke Fox which seemed rushed last issue seems to make a lot more sense in this issue as they seem to click much better this time round, and the return of Dinah in this issue really doesn't hurt any either! Any fan of this iteration of the book will be eagerly looking forward to the next issue after how great this one is, Plus Babs and Spoiler are set to team up in the next issue, which is a huge draw on its own! Read Full Review

Fun! Full of love, laughter, and just the right amount of butt-kicking! Read Full Review

It's interesting to see a creative team on a major DC comic devote an entire issue to something that wouldn't feel out of place in a romance comic but this is an issue built on years of comic book plotting. It's one that doesn't feel out of place and I'm sure will be remembered by fans of all stripes, whether for its first portrayal of a transsexual marriage in comics or for it being another pivotal chapter in the relationship between these two star-crossed characters. Read Full Review

BATGIRL # 45 tells a logical, well-told emotional story that's only aided by the absolutely sensational artwork. Read Full Review

If there's anything that might detract a bit from this issue, it's that the wedding itself - which includes a trans female, which is absolutely historic for a Big Two comic book - feels a little drawn-out, even though Tarr draws it beautifully. But a few slower pages isn't enough to stop a superstar issue of Batgirl, one that brings together two of DC's best and brightest characters, and absolutely does them justice. This creative team has done a lot of great things with Barbara Gordon, but this wedding issue definitely takes the cake. Read Full Review

Also, is this the song that Black Canary is playing at the wedding? There are no perfect matches for those lyrics and knowing the creative team's tastes and Dinah's promise of 80s music it could well be Siouxie and the Banshees. Read Full Review

Everything about this issue was in perfect working order. The creative team, especially Babs Tarr, threw a pretty spectacular comic book wedding full of great character moments, some real heartbreak, and a heck of a lot of charm. Read Full Review

If you weren't a fan of Fletcher and Stewart writing Batgirl when the run first started, then you probably shouldn't bother with this issue. It wasn't quite enough to convince me that I should bereading the book on a monthly basis. For everyone else, I see no reason not to enjoy this issue. It's not amazing or anything, but it's fun without compromising solid writing. Plus, the art's excellent, so there's always that. Read Full Review

All told, "Batgirl" #45 is an adorable diversion. There's so much to love in this series, but there's also a little too much going on. I'd like to see "Batgirl" take a little more time on its many subplots going forward, but -- much like its protagonist -- sometimes it has too much going on to stop running. Read Full Review

Overall this is a nigh-perfect story hampered by DC Comics bizarre mandate of keeping Dick and Babs apart. If it has to be done, this is the best way to do it, with terrific art to go along. Read Full Review

What should be the big selling point of this issue is actually the weakest element. As nice as it is to see Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon reunited, this issue doesn't do much with the team-up or even justify Dick's presence in the first place. It falls on the stylish art and the emotional wedding scene to make up for that disappointing team-up, which they mostly do. Read Full Review

As such, it's not going to generate a lot of excitement or a lot of outrage from One Million Moms. It tries to do something different. It succeeds in part, but lacks the impact to make it feel complete. It's still another step forward in this new life for Barbara Gordon. The fact that she could make it through her friend's wedding without someone being abducted puts her way ahead of Peter Parker. Read Full Review

Still, it's an important issue in the series, cements a few things about the comic and where it's headed and has a pretty strong and unexpected cliffhanger ending. Read Full Review

A wondrous, colorful, and socially important issue that is marred by the creators indulging in the rehashed "Will they? Won't they?" of Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson. Read Full Review

After waiting for this wedding to happen, I was so disappointed.  It all falls flat as Stewart and Fletcher would rather give a Grayson recap than a wedding.  When we do get the big event, the writing lacked any spark and the art didn't do it justice.  The issue ends with the promise of a scary villain (something this book sorely needs), but as a whole, I could care less about this issue. Read Full Review

This gooey treacle of trotted out wedding day tropes makes for storytelling with a freshness factor of -10. While the book gets points merely for featuring characters like Dick Grayson and Black Canary, there's really no excuse for how sappy and uneventful this issue is. I don't mind the occasional issue focused on character development, but it's got to be done well. This issue brings nothing new to the table and reads like fodder for a daytime soap opera. Babs Tarr's work isn't even up to par with strangely flat environments and overblown character reactions/expressions. All-in-all a disappointing mess. Read Full Review

This title needs a new team or the old team or just cancellation. It's not working for me. That could be because it's no longer aimed at me. It's aimed at younger readers that want a happy, cartoony Disney princess Batgirl. Sadly that's not what I want. Read Full Review

WhistleBlower

Nov 03, 2015

Feels like it should be a significant moment, but it gets derailed by a trite love triangle. Characters are written one-dimensionally, and the main event (the transgender wedding) is treated as a footnote.

FuzzyCracker

Oct 28, 2015

A rather pointless issue with love triangle drama, and very little plot.

Yahya

Oct 28, 2015

What the hell was that? I'm sorry but despite the transgender significance, this book falls flat on its face as most of these characters are shifted for clear attention grabbing headlines like the interracial relationship with Fox and the transgender lure. There isn't any plot or character growth in these pages as it shifts in a weird chase between Barbra and Dick until the wedding ceremony starts.

RedNightBatWingMan

Oct 28, 2015

Why did they write Dick as such a DICK? I mean this was really just the worst possible timing in the history of bad timing. Even reading the solicit 3 months ago, while as excited as I was about the possibility of him getting back into the book somehow, I really didn't like the whole "and he's got a lot to say about their future together." While he really didn't have much else to say that wasn't already said exactly as in Grayson 12. They did completely nail how Babs should react in this situation. But I really don't understand how he would even approach her at all if she was doing something as important to as planning a wedding. Like hey Babs is really dressed up nice and planning a wedding MAYBE I should come back some other time. It's no t like B&R Eternal isn't in Gotham. He just comes off as such a selfish asshole- which isn't him. On top of that it just seems like Luke Fox was just used as a plot device just to make it that much easier to totally shut down this relationship for a while. I don't discount Luke as a good match or anything but damn when did Batgirl and him ever interact before 2 issues ago? But despite portraying Dick at his absolute worst, I would like to give the book the benefit of the doubt if we actually could see some kind of change in Dick's persona if he ever appears in this book anytime soon or you know a Spyral trick that will really hit him where it hurts. In Grayson you see a version of Dick that is pretty cocky and confident and this issue was that version amplified. I wasn't at all disappointed with the story itself just Dick being in it. Didn't Dick learn his lesson (or the writers) in Nightwing annual 1?????? Hello???? "Doesn't work if you force it" oh yeah totally forgot. All of this terrible Dick Grayson appearance totally overshadows what is most important and that was this wedding. Everything that didn't have the triangle romance plot line was fine. It was just a total trainwreck from what just happened in Grayson 12. more

Rasputin

Nov 02, 2015

Stewart and Tarr have destroyed everything that Batgirl represents. She went from a survivor and role model, to a tween knockoff of Sailor Moon. The book uses LGBT issues the way chromium covers were used in the early 1990s, as a gimmick. The creators seem not to care for either what Batgirl represents or her long term fans. #savebatgirl. Critics who gave this book a good score are like the critics for the Oscars, out of touch.

Vancha

Dec 09, 2015

I wish I could give this a lower score. I wish this site's user reviews had formatting so I could fully outline just how terrible this issue is without it looking like a mess. The story is dire. The art is dire. I'm almost convinced the reviewers giving this anything above a 5 must have been paid off. I can't even figure out who this comic is for...Putting aside the flaws of refocusing a primary member of the Bat-Family toward the tween market, even they would vomit reading this. It insults its audience, it insults its characters, it even insults its own creators, because they're infinitely better than this. Even Cameron Stewart, whose work I find almost universally sub-par, is way above needing to put out such utter trash.