Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 is published by DC Comics and written by Mariko Tamaki, art by Amancay Nahuelpan, colors by Tamra Bonvillain, and letters by Ariana Maher.
After a vicious attack, the lines between friends and foes are blurred for Barbara.
This gap between the previous chapter and this one contains an important event. The end of the first chapter finished with a mysterious voice in Gordon’s cell. Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 opens with a battered Barbara in the medical wing of the prison. It creates a mysterious, unsettling atmosphere—the comic changes from the first chapter, evolving beyond a prison drama.
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The drugs have side effects, causing Batgirl to hallucinate and be generally groggy. There is a reason and a culprit for that, too, and the reveal is a surprising twist. Especially considering Jim Gordon seems to be involved. The book does step outside the prison for a short scene involving Barbara’s father and boyfriend, Dick Grayson. However, it’s important to stress that it’s not a safety net or backup. Barbara is still in incredible danger and extreme isolation. The series becomes a psychological thriller, featuring a serial killer and the twisting of Barbara’s reality.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 tests the protagonist’s strength, preventing Barbara from fully dominating her surroundings as she did in the opening chapter. She has the ability and the intellect to fight back against her attackers among the other inmates, establishing authority. But now, Gordon is struggling. Not only is she severely injured, but she’s dosed up to her eyeballs with hallucinogens. This causes other voices to seep in, like The Joker. They aren’t really there, but the chemicals swirling through Barbara’s system are taking effect.
Barbara being so unresponsive and weak allows for the other characters to build their own noise within the confines of the prison. The attack left the vigilante’s vocal cords bruised, so she can’t talk much even if she wanted to. There is still narration, but it’s very distressing seeing the hero become so helpless and tormented.
The art is spectacular once again. What Nahuelpan accomplishes by utilizing warped realities and hallucinations is to keep the visuals from becoming dull. The majority of this series takes place inside the prison, which means that the long cell blocks, dark cells, and the recreation courts could get repetitive after a while. But Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 erupts in terrifying visions on every couple of pages. Twisted faces, ghouls, and grim reapers all hover around Barbara and her bed.
There’s also a noticeable difference in how the main character looks. At first, she was strong, tenacious, and tough. She still is in the second issue, but she has been battered. Barbara is covered in bandages and scrapes and looks much smaller. She’s confined to a bed for a long time, both due to the injuries and the drugging. The inclusion of another character is interesting. And within the confines of the prison, all of the women are in orange jumpsuits, so they look like regular women instead of comic book characters.
In the heart of Gotham, the action in the comic is given to the elder Gordon as Jim chases down a criminal. The fight scene is visceral, violent, and fast, with a terrific sense of velocity and movement.
The colors remain insidious and uncomfortable. The rooms within the prison are coated in a sickly green that makes Barbara’s surroundings hostile and unpleasant. The hallucinations often show a purple bleed into the frame, appearing as trippy patterns as Barbara’s perspective shifts completely. The lettering is crucial to the book, as the word balloons highlight the protagonist’s issues with trying to speak.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 increases the already immense pressure. Barbara’s odds of survival were low already, outnumbered, stuck in an incredibly hostile territory, without backup or gadgets. All she has is her mind and her body. And now those are failing her too, broken and contorting. The danger can come from everywhere and everyone. There is less action within the prison because she can’t move, and the comic is sinking even further into its dark tone. People are dying behind bars, and Barbara could easily be next.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 is available where comics are sold.
Barbara Gordon Breakout Issue 2
TL;DR
Barbara Gordon: Breakout Issue 2 increases the already immense pressure. Barbara’s odds of survival were low already, outnumbered, stuck in an incredibly hostile territory, without backup or gadgets. All she has is her mind and her body. And now those are failing her too, broken and contorting.
