Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, Vol. 2

Batgirl: Stephanie Brown

by Bryan Q. Miller (Writer), Lee Garbett (Artist), Pere Pérez (Artist)

It's second semester at Gotham University for Stephanie Brown, which means hitting the books by day and getting schooled by Robin and Oracle by night. Stephanie works hard to prove she deserves the Batgirl mantle she's inherited, but when a mysterious group calling itself "the Order of the Scythe" frames her for murder, "The Lesson" truly begins!

Suddenly facing speedster thugs, fending off her vigilante stalker Grey Ghost and going undercover for Batman Incorporated, Batgirl realizes she might not be able to rely on anyone but herself! Stephanie Brown will step out of the shadows of her predecessors to become the hero she was always meant to be.

Batgirl: Stephanie Brown Vol. 2 features classic stories from Bryan Q. Miller (Smallville) with art by Pere Perez (Action Comics), Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Li'l Gotham), Derek Fridolfs (Batman: Streets of Gotham) and others. Collects Batgirl #13-24, Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl #1 and Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

328 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2018

About the author

Bryan Q. Miller is an American television and comic writer most notable for his work on the CW’s “Smallville” and DC’s “Batgirl.” (with Stephanie Brown as Batgirl)

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good omg I loved it!

So we have so many amazing Steph adventures here like fighting Clayface, teaming with Supergirl to find Screen draculas and that wa ssuhc a fun story or dealing with a new lover called Grey ghost and yeah I love how silly he is and then dealing with this group called "Order of the scythe" and then getting framed for murder and escaping and well clearing her name, a fun adventure with Damian and that was like such a cute story and the writer gets Damian perfectly and another team up story with Klarion which was so good, I freaking loved it and yeah its very comedic and it works and shows Steph being in her own element!

And finally the big story with Batman's return and a tie in to leviathan like her going undercover in St Hadrian's was alrightish but the big story vs the Order and their agents like Harmony, Slipstream was so fun and then just shows how far she has come as a character and team up with Titans was cool too and I like her being smart and calling for help and it just shows a new approach with her and I also like Babs and Wendy's presence in the run here!

All in all it was a great run and really solidified Steph as one of my faves and the ending pages showing her battle with her father, Cluemaster and surviving Black mercy seemed rush but it was gonna be the start of New 52 and its understandable they were wrapping things up but also in those 4-5 pages shows story ideas he had but couldn't execute but still it was one hell of an ending and really it will make you love Steph forever!

One of my fav comic runs easily and I just love it and the art towards the end was just fabulous!! A must read comic!!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't bad, but neither is it anything special. Stephanie Brown's modus operandi as Batgirl is to figure things out as she goes. She is very much a fly by the seat of her pants type hero. The stories are mostly one or two issues with lots of team-ups and very little direction. They felt very much geared towards younger readers with shorter attention spans.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Stephanie continues to be one of the happiest gems in the doomy, gloomy Batfamily. She and Dick somehow beat the odds and came out more shiney happy than the rest of the bats. This series is so much fun! I love Stephanie's personality, her perseverance and her clever ideas.

Every Batgirl has their own style:
- Babs had a bit more martial arts skill than Stephanie and she was an academic so I found some of her musings and narrative boxes to be a bit more full of literary classics and criminology based.
- Cass is the best fighter in the DC universe. Her stories were mostly visually because she didn't speak for YEARS and while she was a very internal character, a lot of her personality was on the page.

Stephanie is the most regular of all the batfamily. I don't mean that at all as an insult. Unlike Dick and Tim, she never really felt like she had Batsy's approval and over time, she stopped trying to get it. She fights to prove a point to herself: she is just as worthy to wear the Bat symbol as the others are. She may not have the physical prowess or quite the same level of detective skills but she is a great Batgirl. Stephanie's strength is that she's great with people. Dick can be as well but I always felt Stephanie understood them in a way he didn't.

There are some great moments between Steph and Babs, her mom, Proxy and the detective she bonds with. There's guest appearances from Squire, Bats, Supergirl and my favorite little demon. Stephanie's relationship with Damian is such an interesting one because she was the only girl Damian really got to know for a long time. While I still don't quite agree with Miller writing Damian as a chauvinist at times, I liked that Stephanie came to understand that Damian really didn't have a childhood and some of his dick-ishness is just him having no clue how to be around people.

So, it's definitely a recommend. I love this series and it's a shame they never got around to that team of supergirls.

I will say, once again: wouldn't it have been nice if a woman wrote this because there were still some moments where I read and wondered if Miller was just writing based on his assumption of what young women talked about all day long.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always say that it's impossible to be retroactively bitter about things that happen in comics, but I have to admit that I am now just a little bitter about what the reboots did to Steph (and Cass). I mean, if they really wanted Barbara to be Batgirl again, couldn't they have just had Steph hand the title back to her?

ANYWAY.

This series remains probably my favourite out of all the comics I've read so far, and it has a super powerful ending that leaves you wistful and wishing there was more. I don't think my gushing, rambling review of volume one made much of a secret of how much I love Steph. She's far and away my favourite super-heroine. This book also had Barbara in it, although she's less present due to Proxy taking on a bigger role and Steph growing into a solo superhero rather than one who works with a team. At the end though, we come back to Steph and Barbara. I'm not going to say anything else about the final issue because it was basically perfect and I refuse to spoil it. Damian appeared again too, and he's much better written this time around. I think my heart breaks a little every time he tries to convince someone that his father has any time for him at all. Kara Danvers (Supergirl) is in here too and, oh my God, I always think Steph is perky, but Kara... Kara is something else. There's also a Batgirl and Squire issue in the Batman Inc. stuff - that's a team-up they had to do at least once!

There were three things that I especially loved about this book (even as I type that, I'm thinking of more). The final issue, obviously, and Steph's explanation of the history of the bat-family, which is hilarious. The other one is the outcome of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home issue. For anyone who doesn't know, Bruce wasn't around when the bats played musical titles and Steph became Batgirl (in fact him not being around was the reason why they played musical titles at all). Now that he's back, he's giving everyone stealth tests because he's just that sort of trusting guy! He starts out acknowledging that his issue with Steph was essentially the fact that he couldn't control Spoiler and he also notes that she reminds him of Dick in some ways, then immediately backtracks before he can make the mistake of thinking of her as competent (for the record, Steph and Dick are a lot alike in terms of fighting-style: they talk a lot, they don't stand still, and they favour improvisation over planning). BUT. BUT. BUT. Then we get a panel that is totally cathartic (I can't spoil it, it's too good) and communication. That's right. Communication. Between members of the batfamily. Do I think all of his little comments at the end are fair? No, but there is mutual respect and growth here. And it isn't gone by the next time they interact!

So yeah, I could go on and on about how much I loved this series but I will save all of you from dying of old age whilst reading this review by ending it here. Just, read this series, okay?

[Amanja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review for volumes 1 and 2, visit here to see the reviews with pictures: https://amanjareads.com/2020/10/16/ba...

First, there was Cassandra Cain. She was an undeniable talent as Batgirl. Fighting was her life, combat was her language, she lived to be Batgirl. It was everything to her, she literally knew nothing else.

Then came Stephanie Brown. She is certainly no Cassandra Cain, and no one, NO ONE lets her forget it.

Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, is all about lesser Batgirl and she is never given a chance to become anything more. She's placed in, well, third place if we also count Barbara Gordon's run of Batgirl, and it's doubtful she'll ever rise above it.

Barbara Gordon is still present, as oracle, and is resentful of Stephanie getting to take the role she wishes she could still have. She reluctantly agrees to help in her roll of oracle before a functional friendship is formed between the two.

Stephanie Brown may have some backstory in another book, but it's not really discussed in this one why she is Batgirl. She has rudimentary skills as a fighter, she lives at home with her mother, and attends college full time. None of these things add up to being a successful vigilante crime fighter.

The only thing she really has going for her is access to Bruce Wayne's money and a supply of Bat gear. Without that she would just be every other college girl who took a self defense course.

I never understood her motivation for wanting to be a crime fighter. She has so much to loose! Heroes typically have no loved ones and are super damaged, she's too well adjusted and on a straight path to traditional success. It doesn't really make sense.

It also makes her pretty boring. Her big drama is some issue with one of the Robins that she briefly dated. Yawn. He undermines her constantly and so does that little jerk Robin Damien, you just wanna punt him!

In addition to being boring and underwritten, Batgirl: Stephanie Brown lacks a central plot. There are many completely unrelated mini stories including a very silly one involving Dracula and Supergirl. Just really childish and silly in the wrong ways.

The art is good, so there is that saving grace. I really enjoy all the purples in her color themes. But that's not nearly enough to carry this throwaway of a book. It's a shame the writer appears to have no faith in Stephanie Brown himself. He had the opportunity to give her purpose and drive and make her stand on par with her predecessors but he chose to forever leave her in third place.

I'm disappointed with Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, I hope there are other books out there where she is allowed to have her own real story and not just crouch in the shadows of others.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining if brief run. I can’t recall what happens to Stephanie Brown in the whole Rebirth / New52 reboots, but I enjoyed her version of Batgirl immensely. Her rambling narrative reminds me a bit of Harley Quinn... Too bad there wasn’t that much of Oracle thrown in there, but seeing Batgirl and Supergirl was worth it.

[Chris W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny and entertaining. Stephanie Brown is immensely enjoyable as batgirl. Her attitude, humor, and even relationship with characters like Oracle, Bruce Wayne and of course the extremely arrogant Damien make it a blast to read. Although this is a slight step down from vol 1 it is overall still good and fun to read. The weakest part of this Volume has to be the forced tie in with Grant Morrison's ridiculous Batman Inc. Despite that, it is a thrill to read and easily among the best Batgirl stories.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only downside to this book is Proxy, but other than that, long live Stephanie Brown's pure beautiful soul.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn this one ended kind of meh.

It starts off strong. Batgirl and Supergirl team up. Batgirl trying to be more independent and do her own thing. The chemistry with the cast is still very strong. The Damien issue is actually cute and sad at the same time. However, the last few issues, the major "bad guys" felt kind of weak, the crossovers with Batman INC were meh, and it didn't have the same feeling.

I wish it continued, I feel it was rushed thanks to New 52. A 3 out of 5.

[Laura Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so campy and fun! i love an underdog and Steph is so far under she's practically underground. my only gripe is the classic DV gripe of the company often cutting shit short, I think there was a much bigger story that could be told here but alas! in any case, we'll always have Batgirl and Supergirl fighting Dracula

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my very, very biased opinion, Stephanie Brown is the best character in the batfam(Alfred is a very close second). Her Batgirl run was sweet, funny, hopefully, well written and beautifully illustrated. Just look at that cover. I'll never forgive DC for ending her run.

[Eli Seibert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have such a soft spot for fallible heroes with sunny dispositions

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one of those sequels that's both better and yet more flawed than its predecessor. This one has less focus on drama and character than the first volume, but it's not that that's lacking—it's just that now we're balancing it with stupid, fun comic book plots. And I really like that! There are some fun team-ups, ridiculous sci-fi nonsense, and now I ship Stephanie with Klarion the Witch-Boy.


I've figured out how to put images in my reviews, and I'm going to make that everyone's problem.

While I enjoyed the first half or so of this collection even more than the first, I can't quite give it five stars. It just becomes too disjointed near the end. I know that it wasn't the writers' fault; it got sidetracked in a Batman Incorporated crossover (which meant that Stephanie had to abandon her ongoing storyline, a fact which even gets lampshaded in the next issue), and then the New 52 reboot forced a rushed ending, where Cluemaster shows up and somehow has access to Black Mercy, then escapes. They did the best they could, given the circumstances, but it still hurt the overall story.

So overall: really fun, but doesn't quite stick the landing. And it's too bad that we didn't get more, because if I understand right, those Black Mercy visions were supposed to represent what the creative team wanted to do in the long-term, and it would have been great to see.

[lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

stephanie brown is just THAT girl. i love the way she interacts with the people around her, she's the perfect mix of whimsical and funny omg i love her!! this comic was honestly so much better than i expected because it not only developed steph as a main character but also the other side characters that she interacted with. she's one of the few batman-related characters that has so much empathy and passion for what she does and what she thinks is the right thing to do, despite her upbring and limitations.

-i loved the little supergirl and batgirl section! and i loved how she went on this journey searching for validation just to realise there's so much more to life than wanting to be in everyone's good graces.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie Brown, how you were cut short by DC and the reboot in to N52....

We've watched Stephanie grow over the years, through many different books, and now finally accepted in to the Super Hero world. We've had to watch her stubbornly struggle against a society that didn't want her around, while feeling there was no real normal life for her, and she was going to stubbornly stick around.

We see her grow from high school to College, and her grow and have friends. For others to acknowledge how far she's come, and to respect her for her.

A wonderful ending to her saga, which, unfortunately cut short, as per usual by DC.

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was as good as the first volume, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. Stephanie Brown went from superfluous to exceptionally charming in my eyes, and a quality Batgirl. This one felt a bit more disjointed than Vol. 1, but it didn’t bother me much. The “main” plot line kinda wrapped up (I think?) unceremoniously, but nonetheless I had a lot of fun reading this, and was sad to feel it ending while reading the last issue (which felt like a rushed epilogue, but what can ya do *shrugs in editorial*). Definitely left wanting more, I highly recommend this run.

[Brielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Steph as a protagonist and I'm really into someone who's figuring out how to do this ntire thing when she's just a normal girl, but a lot of the villains were very silly even for a comic. Not sure about her relationship with Babs? I didn't hate it but I would've liked tighter writing.

The issues where Damian shows up are outstanding. Steph has a clarity to get to the heart of the matter with him and their interactions are so good! I would read an entire series about their adventures. Also the witch-boy was great.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good sendoff for a forgotten batgirl right before the new 52. Bryan Q. Miller made a pretty good job alongside the eotating artists to give stephanie an unique, yet familiar coner in gotham, making her a blueprint for the burnside and rebirth phase of rejuvenated Barb. A must-eead for batgirl '' historians'' and fans.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its sad that this Stephanie wasn't around longer. Bryan Q. Miller did a great job reinventing her. The series deserved more time. Here, editorial got in the way of a straight forward story but it was still a good read. Stephanie's relationships with Babs, Proxy, her mom, and Damien were great to read. Overall, a good read in part of a better series.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This continued the upward track of this book. With this volume and the previous volume, Batgirl solidified itself as my favorite comic of ever. Bryan Q Miller understands the characters and specifically Stephanie Brown. I want more from her. I really wish BQM could've continued telling amazing stories with this character.

Highly recommended to all!!!

[Dash Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, you almost had me. I love Steph- but this really isn’t it for me. Buffy the vampire slayer really isnt my jam- and having it crammed into a superhero format is awkward. Also- whoever formatted the dialogue balloons should have been fired- it is needlessly confusing trying to track conversations in this story.

[Deidra (ShadeTreeReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 3.5 star graphic novel about Batgirl and frens! I have not read Vol. 1 but I purposefully skipped to Vol. 2 so as to fit a Bingo square for a group I'm in. Supergirl and more also showed up to help fight the baddies here! Not much to be said. It was fun and the art was nice.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just fun, mostly. There are some weak and dodgy moments, but Stephanie is a very appealing character, putting this among my favorite Bat runs overall. One of those books where in finishing it I feel a loss, knowing I’m going to miss this person.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Steph so much. That interlude in the middle with Steph and Damien was maybe one of my favorite things I have ever read. Sad there's not more!

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stephanie Brown has a fun personality for Batgirl, but it felt recycled as the pages turned. The growth was minimal but still enjoyable.

[Marina Vidal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este tomo me ha parecido más flojo que el anterior, aún así sigo pensando que Stephanie es una maravillosa Batgirl y toda la trama ha sido muy interesante en general.

[Charlie Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephanie Brown is a great hero. I'm sad that it seems like this was the end of her run as Batgirl.

[Arthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was less teamwork among Babs, Steph and Wendy but I loved the scenes with Steph and Damian.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really loved this Batgirl series! Read this along reading the Tim Drake series, Red Robin. I wish that pair of series had lasted much much longer. Another great thing destroyed by the New 52.

[Sol St. John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst run of Batgirl ever. Yeeeeuck.