Manuel Preitano

Marieke Nijkamp’s The Oracle Code: A Graphic Novel features illustrations by Manuel Preitano, colors by Jordie Bellaire and Preitano, and letters by Clayton Cowles. Like the other YA original graphic novels DC has published, Nijkamp takes a familiar character – in this case Barbara Gordon – and reimagines her origins and adventures in a new setting with new takes on familiar characters and locations. Barbara and her friend Ben regularly engage in computer hacking contests. After a successful night, she stumbles upon a mugging and intervenes. The mugger shoots Babs, paralyzing her. Her father, Commissioner Gordon, sends her to the Arkham Center for Independence, a rehabilitation facility that combines physical exercise and therapy with lessons in navigating the world with one’s disability. It specializes in physical disabilities, with most resident patients being wheelchair users or using other mobility assistance devices. Barbara struggles to adapt to her new life, in particular as she feels the need to find a new puzzle to solve but worries that it will cause further turmoil as she associates her last hacking contest with the circumstances surrounding her paralysis. Despite her resistance to her surroundings, she slowly makes friends and discovers that there’s more going on at Arkham than she suspected. She must use what she’s learned and rely on her new support system to discover the secret of Arkham.

Nijkamp’s story honors the Oracle stories that preceded it while showing the possibility for reinvention in Barbara Gordon’s backstory. The new characters and focus on perceptions of disability add nuance to this adventure. Preitano’s art adds a touch of the gothic to Arkham that compliments or contrasts with the high-tech world of Oracle’s computers as the story demands. Further, the recurring puzzle piece motif visualizes Barbara’s love for mysteries. Preitano and Bellaire’s colors pop when needed, but add to the somber, subdued setting of a gothic facility. This story will appeal to all fans of Barbara Gordon’s identity as Oracle while also serving as a nice introduction to the character for newcomers wary of decades of comics continuity.… (más)

Zielgruppe: 9-14, Tier- und Naturfreunde, junge Ökoaktivisten

Contentwarnungen: Verletzte Tiere, Krebserkrankung, Referenzen auf Alkohol- und Drogenkonsum, Referenzen auf Spielsucht

Plotzusammenfassung:
Die junge Ökoaktivistin Willow bemüht sich bei Straßenprotesten und auch im lokalen Tierheim Gotham City zu verbessern. Die ambitionierte Schülerin kümmert sich außerdem um ihre krebskranke Mutter und füttert heimlich einen Straßenhund. Ihr neuer Mitschüler, Garfield, scheint auch ganz interessant zu sein und langsam lernen sie sich kennen. Doch Gotham City wird von “Begrünungsanschlägen” bedroht – Orte an denen die Menschen zusammenkommen können, werden von Pflanzen überwuchert und unbegehbar gemacht. Aber warum? Als der alte Freund ihrer Mutter, E. Nigma, Willow einen neuen Job anbietet, kommt Willow an einen Scheideweg: Bleibt sie ihren Prinzipien treu oder verdient sie mehr Geld für sich und ihre Mutter? Besonders E.‘s Bekannte und Biologiestudentin Pammie Isley macht mächtig Eindruck auf Willow – am liebsten wäre sie genauso wie Pammie… oder?

Bekannte Orte/ Figuren: #GothamCity #TheRiddler #PoisonIvy #KillerCroc
… (más)

Oracle is the superhero alter ego of the hacker Barbara “Babs” Gordon, daughter of Gotham City’s Commissioner Gordon. She and her friend Benjamin attempted to intervene in a robbery, but Babs was shot and left paralyzed in her legs. She was sent to The Arkham Center for Independence, a rehab facility, but once she got over her own bitterness, she discovered strange happenings at the ACI. While I thought Nijkamp sensitively portrayed Ms. Gordon’s trauma and the physical challenges she was facing, there was also a rather heavy-handed message that people who have disabilities don’t necessarily need to be “fixed.” This graphic novel was an interesting reimagining of a superhero origin story.… (más)