Welcome to The Real World According To Sam for another DC YA graphic novel review!
The Oracle Code
Creative Team: Marieke Nijkamp, Manuel Preitano, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles
Year: 2020
Genre: YA Graphic Novel
Synopsis:
After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed below the waist, Barbara Gordon undergoes physical and mental rehabilitation at the Arkham Center for Independence. She must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Strange sounds escape at night while patients start to go missing.
Is this suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Or does Barbara actually hear voices coming from the center's labyrinthine hallways? It's up to her to put the pieces together to solve the mysteries behind the walls.
In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they consume her future.
Review:
Barbara Gordon has been known to be both Batgirl and Oracle. In this book, she is neither just yet. She is simply Barbara. Her origin here is rather different from her usual one. It gives her the chance to focus on herself as a teen with this experience, before being a hero. Usually, she is Batgirl in her teens and she eventually has to make a change after an encounter with the Joker. Here, the Joker is nowhere to be found. He is not the cause for her injury and the incident that paralyzes her itself is not the main focus.
This graphic novel focuses on Barbara's time at the Arkham Center for Independence, or the A.C.I. She has to learn how to maneuver in a wheelchair, deal with the various facets of her trauma, and discover what her life is like now that she's had such a big change happen within it. However, that doesn't mean that this story doesn't show her being a hero. It absolutely does and it does so by focusing on the most Batman/Batgirl element possible: sleuthing. Barbara loves to solve puzzles and she is really good at hacking. This story brings those two skills together, allowing her to begin investigating a very strange mystery involving disappearing children at the facility.
Something this graphic novel does really well is show a new element of Barbara's life. It changes the time and reason for her injury, so she becomes a hero in a different route than usual. She has no training from Batman here and Batman isn't involved. It is purely Barbara. She is never Batgirl here, but it doesn't feel like that's necessarily a bad thing. If anything, this story emphasizes how smart she is, how adaptable she is, and how much of a hero she really is. This book is great when it comes to representation and taking on some ableist views. It also shines a light on how traumas can impact self-perception and interactions, as well as external perceptions from people who have become used to interacting in a person one way and not another.
I liked the art in this one and I thought the story was very strong. I love the mystery elements. I also love the incorporation of the additional stories from one of Barbara's friends. This aspect really brought in some of dark, creepy elements that tend to pervade Gotham and Batman stories, but in a way that was distinctly different and specific to THIS story. This may not be typical Batgirl as some fans know her, but it's a really great alternative portrayal of Barbara that is likely to speak to young readers, particularly those who can relate to the experience of needing to see life and movement a bit differently than others. It's also great for showing kids a new view of peers that they may not readily understand or think they relate to. Graphic novels like this are so important for representation and I think it's one of the better graphic novels in DC's YA lineup. I give The Oracle Code a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯ stars. I definitely recommend it and would put it as one of my top three DC YA GN's thus far.
Thanks for joining me for today's review here at The Real World According to Sam, where I bring the books to your screen and put in my two cents about them! See you at the next review!
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