Batgirls #14 // Review
Cass is reading a letter that Steph wrote her. It was only to be read in the event of her death. Steph isn’t exactly dead, though. Cass is investigating her disappearance, and she knows to look at the letter to find her. It won’t be an easy run for Cass in Batgirls #14. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad tell a dialogue-free story that is brought to the page in image, form, motion, and emotion by artist/inker/colorist/letterer Jonathan Case. As she is the cool, quiet member of the team, Cass makes the perfect choice for a silent issue of the series.
Arthur Charles Brown seems to have risen from the dead and walked out of Three Bridges Funeral Home in Gotham City. The only reason that Cass knows about this is the fact that she’s been let into the files at the Gotham City Police Department. Arthur Charles Brown, A.K.A. The Cluemaster, only happens to be the father of Stephanie Brown...a Batgirl who Cass has become close with. Cass is getting herself into quite a bit of danger if she’s going to be dealing with a revenant father. Thanks to her initial investigation, she has some idea of what she’s up against.
Back in the 1980s, Larry Hama had to do an entire issue of G.I. Joe in three weeks...starting from nothing. The only way it could be done was without dialogue. It was one of the most iconic mainstream comics of the decade. Since then, a number of different titles have tried the dialogue-free format. Cass’s ninja-like silence and precision are the perfect pairing for a “silent comic” format in a story that fits almost perfectly in and within the overall run of the Batgirls series. The letter to Cass from Steph and the letter to GCPD from the funeral home add to the verbal end of the story, which allows some narrative depth to a thoroughly satisfying issue.
Case has a hell of a job to manage with this chapter. Given the complete run of everything that goes onto the page would be a daunting task for anyone. Case does an excellent job of moving the perspective around on the page and providing sophisticated shadows for well-executed action and suspense. Case makes broad use of simple color in moods that wash over the page to amplify tension. What it lacks in detail, it more than makes up for in style.
The fourteenth issue of the series feels like a perfect point for a silent issue. That being said, it’s difficult to imagine how it’s going to fit into the overall rhythm of the series. At first glance, it’s woven pretty cleverly into the ongoing composition of the story. When it shows up in the eventual trade paperback, it might feel like a bit of a sudden lurch in tone and style between the thirteenth and fifteenth issues. On its own, though, it’s a lot of fun. Conrad and Cloonan manage something that’s almost clever enough in rendering a coherent story that it could serve as a good place for new readers to jump on. The best silent issue kind of needs to be able to do this.
