BATGIRL #37 Preview/Discussion

[vitamin]

Well said.

I guess I should be outraged every time a Straight white male in his 30s is portrayed as a villain....

Yes, you definitely should, considering how media is lacking representation of white straight males in 30s.

Should have quit while you were ahead Mr. Stewart.

You can reply to him on twitter.

[docgymll]

I gave the new Batgirl take three issues, but this was it for me. Unlike many complaining about the new direction, I wasn't too upset about the character being de-aged, or about trying to fit things into a seamless continuity. I wasn't upset about the more cartoony art - I actually wish there was more of that in the DC books. It's just that the writing was doing absolutely nothing for me - the trendiness was just over-the-top forced, it was painful for me to read. Everything is "hashtag-this" and "selfie-that." It's like listening to your grandmother trying to impersonate "those kids today."

I'm a bit at a loss to understand why it's so well received elsewhere, but maybe I'm just too old at 45 years old. I'm glad to see DC having some critical success with a book that tries to do something different. But it's clearly not for me. Too bad - Batgirl has always been one of my favorites.

[nepenthes]

I adored faux-Batgirl for the first half of the book and was hoping she would be an on-going adversary, but as she just turned out to just be a hurtful gay-bashing, trans-bashing joke I hope it's the last we'll ever see of her/him.

Oh well, maybe I'll like next issue better. Or hopefully Dagger will make a triumphant return and become Babs' fantabulous sparkly cross-dressing arch-nemesis.

Is it just me or is your second comment somewhat at odds with your first? Genuinely curious....how would you like to see him developed along the lines of a sparkly cross dressing nemesis (which does indeed sound awesome) however without further playing into the cliche you mention? I mean, he's a villain, he'll always come up on the the wrong side of a beating and he's not even a criminal mastermind at that - he's a joke on desperate fame-hungry "artists" of questionable talent and integrity. Even if they further explore and celebrate the gender/queer elements, does he also need some sort of threat-level or mission-statement upgrade to pass as a rogue of any respectability?

I gave the new Batgirl take three issues, but this was it for me. Unlike many complaining about the new direction, I wasn't too upset about the character being de-aged, or about trying to fit things into a seamless continuity. I wasn't upset about the more cartoony art - I actually wish there was more of that in the DC books. It's just that the writing was doing absolutely nothing for me - the trendiness was just over-the-top forced, it was painful for me to read. Everything is "hashtag-this" and "selfie-that." It's like listening to your grandmother trying to impersonate "those kids today."

I'm a bit at a loss to understand why it's so well received elsewhere, but maybe I'm just too old at 45 years old. I'm glad to see DC having some critical success with a book that tries to do something different. But it's clearly not for me. Too bad - Batgirl has always been one of my favorites.

This was becoming a problem for me around the second issue. However with #3 it's becoming clear that they're actually making a joke of it all. Having realised this it's not only more bearable but suddenly alot more fun.

[gwangung]

I'm a bit at a loss to understand why it's so well received elsewhere, but maybe I'm just too old at 45 years old.

Huh. I'm WAY older and I don't have a problem with it....

[Sans Simian]

Ha, glad we'll be seeing this guy again. Great potential for an ongoing villain and hopefully the creative team can address any misinterpretation and continue to develop as originally planned.

Fantastic news. And agree with your analysis.

[Babs]

You can reply to him on twitter.

How about no. Seriously, people. Sending hate tweets to a writer because you don't like his or her writing is childish and disrespectful. All that shows it that you do not have the maturity and the respect for other people's integrity beyond your own desires. The entire team has already written a very serious apology for having offended anyone with #37.

Look, i won't lie, i didn't like Gail Simone's run at all. At many times i considered dropping the book because of how she made Barbara fall from one serious grim dark over-emotional drama to the next, and how the book in no way resembled what i expected when DC announced the return of Barbara as Batgirl. (Not to mention the horrible artwork) But you know what, even though i didn't like what she was doing with the book or how she wrote Barbara, i never once even thought about tweeting Gail about this, because regardless of how i personally feel, i still have enough respect for her personal integrity, and i certainly would never tweet anything like the rude stuff some of these frustrated angry people have been tweeting Cameron Stewart since #35 that comes off more like some sick nitpicking witch hunt than anything coming even close to being honest and justifiable criticism to his work.

Ha, glad we'll be seeing this guy again. Great potential for an ongoing villain and hopefully the creative team can address any misinterpretation and continue to develop as originally planned.

I don't think that's Dagger Type returning. Barbara said in #36 that she had made a scan of her brain, and... It probably became self-aware...

his-silicon-soul.jpg

[Rocket13]

Was wondering how the new take on the current Batgirl series was going over on this forum. Can see I am definitely in the minority in my dislike of the cartoony art and change in the story line. I am more of a fan of the more realistic art that was previously being shown and with a plot line that seemed to fit in with the rest of the Batman universe.

As a result of the changes I have dropped the book.

[robert]

I have dropped the book too, basically because of the same reasons. The 'minority' part of your comment, I'm not so sure about. From my observation, the book seems to be targeting for the very same 20k readers, who read the Bryan Q. Miller run.

[ZedsDead]

Honestly, I really feel the art is carrying this series and the writing is clearly behind it in terms of quality. The art is a perfect fit for the style they are going for. It's bright, colorful, dynamic and feels so energetic. Plus in a medium where facial expressions tend to be wooden most of the time I love the variety we see in just one issue here. It is great.

"Hot Chicks" in other words!

[MagnusRex]

I'm late to this. I get the anger, but then again I don't. The Bat family goes up against how many psychopaths and sociopaths? This is what they do. So while I can see outrage because Dagger Type is over the top, and that's the stereotype for LGBT's, but he's still a crazy bat villain. If anything, his crazy is probably on par with how the Riddler has been portrayed at times.