D Strong Reviews-Batgirl #8

The action picks up where we left Babs off in the previous issue doing battle with the henchmen of  New Jack psycho criminal Grotesque. As Batgirl dispatches one goon, she leaves the other to flee to his boss Grotesque. It turns out , the goon she lets get away happens to be a subordinate to another Gotham City rogue, The Clown Prince of Crime himself- The Joker; it also happens that this particular fellow was present on that infamous night depicted in Batman: The Killing Joke when Barbara was shot and crippled. Following the fracas in the sewers on the B-side of the storyline, its back to Barbara Gordon’s civilian life as she deals with a visit from her long absent mother. This time Mother Gordon reveals the reason why she abandoned her family so many years ago…Barbara’s younger brother, James Gordon jr. is a certified PSYCHO. We learn this in a revealing flashback where young James has shown and admitted casually to his mother that the family pet has brutally died by his diabolical hands; and as he coldly tells her this he also says the same fate could befall his ‘beloved’ older sis and possibly dear ol’ dad all due to the fact that Mrs. Gordon is a ‘bad’ mother. This incident and the pure creepiness of James jr. is what pretty much led Mrs. Gordon to abandon her family as she felt emotionally crippled and shamed that she could’ve mothered such a child. At last, Barbara has a better understanding of the situation altogether. Back to the A-plot, its round 2 for Batgirl and Grotesque as she finally dispatches the criminal with practically no effort, but the battle isn’t without casualties as the accomplice to Barbara’s shooting is now fatally wounded by Grotesque. With his dying breath he reveals that it was indeed, he that generally had a crisis of conscience and alerted the paramedics to Barbara’s condition after being shot and is partially the reason why she can walk again. The issue ends with a new guest in Gotham city…the adult James Gordon jr. and it looks like things haven’t changed much for him! Next issue promises to be a “Night of Owls” crossover so stay tuned!