Letters to Gotham Girls #21

[Lissilambe]

Please tell us what you think of this issue!

Take care
Don

[ryokowerx]

OK. I think I read this last night as it had just gone live but didn't feel like half-asleep was the best time to comment.

This is a great conclusion to the Killer Moth story. I did like that the two of you gave KM a bit of a more dangerous rep than he normally gets in the comics where the guy is portrayed as a bit of a nobody. He's still incompetent but he's a dangerous incompetent here. I loved the fight in Renee's apartment and commentary on the frying pan.

It was nice to see the councilman own up to his past actions rather than to take the cliched flight only to have the hero take them down to wrap up the story. It only reinforced the weariness that the guy had been going through for years covering up what he did.

I also liked the commiseration scene over Batgirl's injured leg at the end. It was a nice ending.

I'm definitely looking forward to what is coming next on UGG. You guys have taken already strong main characters and are only making them stronger and more interesting.

[mockingbird]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm SO happy to see that the "dangerous incompetant" got through, that was exactly what I was trying to get across. I don't think I would have been able to make him ACTUALLY scary, with so many in-comic shortcomings in peoples' minds. But I was hoping it would work out well for him to be so out of it that it came back around to being threatening

[eric the pilot]

Once again another powerhouse issue here Sam. There's really a lot of meat here, and frankly even someone who hates the decompression trend might be tempted to have made two, if not three more issues out of what you gave here. Not that I object, it's a hell of a lot to enjoy.

In this issue, Renee shows some serious grit and we get to see both the aftermath of the loss of innocence that one imagines every idealistic Gotham cop goes through early on in their career, as well as the ultimate victory of the rule of law when it comes to Drury Walker. It's easy to see in the way you depict her how both of these only spurs her on to greater things.

I liked the sort of darkly comedic moment when she admits she knows Moth is Walker, and it deflates him a little, like she took the wind out of his sails and he realized the big speech he'd been planning since he first escaped was now moot. That was a nice touch

Another great aspect of the initial fight is that we get another real look at Renee and can see she's resourceful and every bit a capable hero without the gimmicks and tools of the trade as she is while dressed up in full Bat regalia. She hasn't been tried as much on a purely physical level since maybe the battle with the O.M.A.C., and her triumph here is by not engaging him right away and completely changing the venue and flow of the battle on her own terms. There's a reason why the most valuable of the 36 Stratagems is "Run Away" and this doesn't diminish Renee one bit.

The value of this is underscored during the two conversations with ex-Councilman van Cleer (Walker's and then Batgirl's), depicting just how off the rails and dangerous Walker has become, despite being so incompetent as James pointed out above. The battle here is vicious and awkward, but satisfying, nice to see him get what he deserves.

The issue also gives us a rather nice sense of relief after so much darkness, this is probably the happiest ending we've gotten out of Renee's arc - van Cleer is on his way to some redemption, justice wins out, no one was seriously hurt, and Renee even seems to be on the way to coming to terms with he past, both in the conversation with Babs and then calling home.

They don't come often in this series, but when they do, you've got to embrace the happiest of happy endings.

It's going to be hard to top this one for the close of year two, but if there's anyone out there that could, it's going to be you. Hell of a job, Sam.

[>>Riz!]

Great two-part story. I like the fact that Killer Moth isn't a strategic genius like so many other villains in comics nowadays. He just wanted revenge, and I like how Babs and Rene talked about that in the last scene. It was great to read something new about the girls. And if Greg Rucka should ever leave the Question, I hope DC hires you to write her.

[mockingbird]

What a compliment, Riz I'm glad you liked the story. I tend to gravitate to the smarter villains, partly cuase I like them better and partly cause they don't have as much fighting time for me to try to write. So Killer Moth as a really dumb criminal was a fun change of pace, and a good challenge. Not everyone gets to be a super-genius all the time.