What are the Great Batgirl Stories/Runs Pre Killing Joke?

[Timothy Hunter]

What are the exceptional storylines/issues spotlighting Barbara Gordon as Batgirl pre 1988?

[atomicbattery]

Well, there was really no such thing as a ‘run’ in the period where Barbara was most prolific as Batgirl. Stories were generally episodic one-offs. I love the stories with period charm and hilarious gender politics from the late sixties, like Batgirl and WonderWoman fighting over Batman in Brave and the Bold, Batgirl ‘stealing’ Robin from Batman (in a convoluted attempt to protect an ailing Bats) in Detective, fighting a jealous Catwoman.
I actually think that if you can find the alternate Batgirl debut in the daily/Sunday Batman newspaper strip from ‘67, Batgirl has a much cooler introduction than she does in the books. There is a dated manservant character that is written with eye-rolling Asian stereotypes that you need to get past (kinda like watching ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ with the Mickey Rooney landlord character), but other than that, some great art and a lot more mystery about this new ‘Batgirl’. More in tone with the comics’ cover of ‘is she heroine or villainess?’. Barbara/Batgirl dominates the story for a long enough period that I think you could even call it a ‘run’.
Other than that, I think that Barbara Kesel did as well as anyone could with a Barbara/Batgirl origin in Secret Origins after the mess left by Frank Miller in Batman:Year One, and could have written a great Batgirl if Babsgirl was able to survive into the era of the explosion of Bat titles. But then Alan Moore wrote that thing, so.

[Tzigone]

I love the stories with period charm and hilarious gender politics from the late sixties, like Batgirl and WonderWoman fighting over Batman in Brave and the Bold, Batgirl ‘stealing’ Robin from Batman (in a convoluted attempt to protect an ailing Bats) in Detective, fighting a jealous Catwoman.

Different strokes for different folks. I cannot stand the fighting over Batman bit (and will not read a lot of silver age Superman/Superboy because of how Lana and Lois were - the few I've read just irritate me, and I don't read to be put in a bad mood).

I really did enjoy some of the 70s bronze age stuff, though. I can't quite remember when her stories shifted over to something I liked, but it was before she was elected to congress. I wasn't quite as keen after she came back, and then, of course, she just got used so much less later.

[jb681131]

What are the exceptional storylines/issues spotlighting Barbara Gordon as Batgirl pre 1988?

Well there is the Golden/Silver/Bronze Age Batgirl and the Modern Age Batgirl.

For the modern age Batgirl, I would say:

Batgirl: Year One
Legends of the DC Universe #10-11 - Folie a Deux
Batgirl Special #1 - The Last Batgirl Story

For Golden/Silver/Bronze age Batgirl, there is an omnibus:

Showcase Presents: Batgirl vol.1 - with:

• Detective Comics #359, 363, 369, 371, 384–385, 388–389, 392–393, 396–397, 400–401, 404–424
• Batman #197, 214
• Adventure Comics #381
• World's Finest Comics #169, 176
• The Brave and the Bold #78
• Justice League of America #60
• Superman #268, 279
• The Superman Family #171

[cgh]

She was a backup in Detective Comics for a while. Most of these stories were pretty ho-hum, but 518-519 stand out because of the fantastic Trevor von Eeden artwork:

[signalman112]

Detective Comics #492 has always been a favorite of mine, Batman hunts for the killer of Batgirl.
With art by the Great Don Newton.

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Detective_Comics_Vol_1_492

[cgh]

Detective Comics #492 has always been a favorite of mine, Batman hunts for the killer of Batgirl.
With art by the Great Don Newton.

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Detective_Comics_Vol_1_492

Don Newton was the greatest. That's another story where Batman gets captured and nearly killed by a pretty ordinary bunch of guys. Of course, even when captured, the bad guy just antagonizes him without unmasking him (if memory serves).

Just casually hanging out with your dad while wearing your Batgirl uniform, with your arm in a sling: