Batgirl Mindfields. Volume 3

DC constantly gives me whiplash in how they treat their characters. According to the company, this is a "soft" reboot of Batgirl. Realistically, it's a hard reboot and represents a massive shift in how the character is dealt with. I critiqued the new-52 Barbara for being too dark, well, this new Batgirl verges on perhaps too cartoony and/or hipster. Trying to get away from the trials of her past, Barbara moves to Burnside, a neighborhood I just can't believe actually exists in Gotham. It's your typical, gentrifying student area, and Barbara is trying to be a normal college student, super fashionable hipster clothing included. Her old gear is destroyed, so she pulls together a new suit from the mall (which admittedly looks miles better than her old uniform). Then she's off fighting off cartoon villains, someone impersonating her, and a runaway computer system. This new Batgirl is supposed to be modern. In fact, most of the story relies on selfies, smart phones, and online dating. As much as I appreciate that DC is attempting to recognise the modern age and ensure that readers of all types will be interested in their books, I'm not sure I like this new Batgirl. She feels too divorced from the Batgirl she was last volume, and even moreso from the Batgirl of the past. I also cannot get a handle on her age and history. She's a college student, but she was already one before, thinking of doing a PhD? It seems like most of her original backstory is included, but then she'd have to be almost 30 years old. This Barbara, however, is quite young. I think this style of reboot would have worked much better with Supergirl. Barbara would be an early adopter of technology, but I have a hard time seeing her as a party-hardy co-ed. The way she dresses and the way she reacts to problems in her life feel too immature for the always level-headed Barbara who has been through so much. While I like this version of her better than her last, I still don't think DC has captured the magic of the pre-52 Batgirl.