BATGIRL #37 Preview/Discussion

[jaygarrick'shelmet]

Uhhgggg! This book. I want to like this book so much. Self contained one shot stories, not crossing over into everything, cartoony clean expressive art, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Even if I cover my ears and try and sing away the discrepancies in the character the book has just enough in it to tip the scale in my not liking it.

First my problem remains that the art paints Babs as so meek and shy and easily flustered. It's all pouty faces and blushes, and meek looks. She got rebooted to 21 not to 15. Give babs back her confidence! It took me a while but this is what rubs me the wrong way about the art. If the artist would tone down babs blushing cause "OMG someone made an art exhibit about me!" or "omg that cop is cute!". She's too old and she's been a hero for too damn long to be so easily flustered.

The second is once again the youth pandering. Girls in car taking a selfie holding peace signs and yelling "KAWAII!" is cringeworthy, you've got the batgirl cell phone, and then the story ends with batgirl... sigh... making an instagram.

When you cut all that out though you've got a fun story and I liked the conflict, the twist behind the villain, the way it was resolved, the wheelchair scene, and the pacing of this book. My favourite of the 3 new issues so far. I'm still so powerfully disappointed by this book but I still hold onto the hope that it can go from what it is to genuinely great. All the pieces for greatness are there. It just needs to actually use them. Also Dinah seemed less bitchy this issue which might have been a plus.

[Kurisu]

It was established in Batgirl #35 that Frankie met Barbara while doing physical therapy. She has problems with her legs or something that flare up from time to time. I'm assuming this time was one of those times.

Yep! You can also see crutches in her bedroom during the eidetic memory spread, down in the bottom corner I believe.

[Nite-Wing]

Did someone say Kawaii this issue?
Babs' power level is already pretty high because of that flashback of her wringing her hands over suspense in an anime with her dad
still just because Babs is drawn cutesy isn't a reason to decry the book like its a shoujo manga masquerading as a cape book

[gwangung]

The second is once again the youth pandering. Girls in car taking a selfie holding peace signs and yelling "KAWAII!" is cringeworthy, you've got the batgirl cell phone, and then the story ends with batgirl... sigh... making an instagram.

Huh. That rings true to my experience. I have to chase my actors off of instagram, and they're taking selfies all the time.

[jaygarrick'shelmet]

The thing is she isn't an actor she's a crime fighter. It's really nonsensical for someone with a secret identity to be intentionally uploading a ton of images of herself, the things she's doing and so on onto the internet from her Bat-phone. I know young people take selfies and go on instagram, I'm 25 and still in college. It's just weird for her to do it in costume. It kinda just reeks of "hey look you use instagram, so does this hero! RELATEABLE!"

The use of technology in this book just doesn't feel organic or well ingrained. It's not background content it's central it's in your face.

Also she just appeared in a new costume in Batman Eternal which just brings up more questions, why is she having some grad student make her gadgets?

[InformationGeek]

Also she just appeared in a new costume in Batman Eternal which just brings up more questions, why is she having some grad student make her gadgets?

Well if its set during Batman Eternal or taking place during some portion of it, then the answer is obvious. Wayne Tech is pretty much out of the business of making technology for the Batman Family, Batman has destroyed most of the caches, and Bruce Wayne is just kind of out of money at this point.... so of course Babs has to find some other way to get gadgets. Where would you expect her to get some considering the circumstances?

[Kid A]

If DC is trying to get me to pick up this series they failed.

Yes I'm sure it's Mark Doyle's life goal to get "Tula's boyfriend" to pick this book up.

[Scott Taylor]

My main problem with this book is that they seem to be trying to change Babs into Stephanie Brown.

[InformationGeek]

My main problem with this book is that they seem to be trying to change Babs into Stephanie Brown.

....why does everyone think that a happy, perky, and upbeat Batgirl is simply just Brown's stint or something? Does everyone remember what Babs was like as Batgirl or has seen her portrayals in the Batman cartoons? This comic reminds me of those portrayals, just a bit more modern.

[Godlike13]

Ya, I don't see it. That just seems like a lazy criticism that some people like to parrot around here.

[Kid A]

Anyway, good issue. What I like about this book is that it isn't vapid like most of the other "hipster" books it gets compared to. The story and character development is what keeps me coming back every month.

This issue in particular seems to be poking fun at style over substance, what with how ridiculously flashy the fake Batgirl and her henchmen were.

[Fuzzy Cactus]

I can see people saying that because they want an older Babs as Oracle, while Steph can take the role of the perky, upbeat Batgirl. But Babs as Oracle is a sailed ship.

[Sardorim]

....why does everyone think that a happy, perky, and upbeat Batgirl is simply just Brown's stint or something? Does everyone remember what Babs was like as Batgirl or has seen her portrayals in the Batman cartoons? This comic reminds me of those portrayals, just a bit more modern.

Because that's Stephanie's thing and many of us still aren't happy that New 52 took away Steph for so long.

[Nite-Wing]

stephanie was never a hipster anyway
babs is making her trendy, new, modern day young woman aestetic to heart whereas as stephanie was just immature and jokey sometimes.

[K. Jones]

....why does everyone think that a happy, perky, and upbeat Batgirl is simply just Brown's stint or something? Does everyone remember what Babs was like as Batgirl or has seen her portrayals in the Batman cartoons? This comic reminds me of those portrayals, just a bit more modern.

I always thought those types of criticisms were ironic considering that what we liked about BQM's Stephanie Brown run was exactly that it brought it back to the pre-Killing Joke, pre-Oracle levels of spirited and unabashedly girly fun. We liked StephBats because she reminded us of O.G. BabsBats, not the other way around.

And apart from that ... it's not like Babs wasn't in BQM's Batgirl book. She was the secondary protagonist! He gave her a day job that was totally akin to her past librarian gig! She dated a nice new cop!

Light, fun, college-ish Babs was happening at the same time, in the same book as StephBats.