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BATGIRL #1

Yes, it’s really happening!

Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl – and she’s going to have to face the city’s most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past. You won’t want to miss this stunning debut issue from fan-favorite BIRDS OF PREY writer Gail Simone!

Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by ADAM HUGHES

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 0.4%
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Avg Rating: 3.6
 
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Comments

  1. Avatar photo heylook says:
    September 6, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    I don’t expect Batgirl to be my favorite comic in the relaunch or anything, but I think it’s going to be really solid.

  2. Avatar photo Wrkn4life says:
    September 6, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    This is not what I want. I like Babs(Oracle) not this. They are really going to have to blow me away on the 1st issue to keep me on.

    • Avatar photo keith7198 says:
      September 6, 2011 at 1:58 pm

      I like her as Oracle too.

    • Avatar photo AmirCat says:
      September 6, 2011 at 2:07 pm

      If a loved one lost the use of her legs, then had a chance to get them back. Would you like her less cause she could walk again?

      You should still like the way she has been written, if the story is good. Just cause she can walk doesn’t mean she isn’t a smart chick who can’t get on the computer. Simone is writing it, it’s going to be very respectful and good.

    • Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
      September 6, 2011 at 6:31 pm

      Man, why does it mean that he hates handicapped people if he prefers one incarnation of the character to another? She’s not real. It’s not like Gail Simone has performed a miracle, here. She’s made a character change, and he enjoyed the previous version. Why try to make him feel bad about it?

      I’m a fan of Babs as Oracle, too. I feel that the adversity that she’s overcome has helpped to develop her into a great, well-rounded character, one who positively represented a group of readers with few positive representations in our medium (our genre, more specifically), and I, too, will miss her. All that said, I’m very much looking forward to this book. Love Simone, love the potential for the new character direction, can’t wait to read. End rant.

  3. Avatar photo keith7198 says:
    September 6, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    I’m getting this. 50% because I love Barbara Gordon/ 50% sheer curiousity.

  4. Avatar photo misterckent says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    I’m more curious about this than any other book this week. Can’t wait to see where this goes!

  5. Avatar photo martinNL says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Will try this out for an issue. The ‘old’ Batgirl wasn’t really my thing, but maybe this will be. The preview was cool, but not spectacular imo.

  6. Avatar photo Reform says:
    September 6, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    This was on my list of to get books but dropped it last min. I hope it’s good, I’ll pick up the trade but I am not on board for this one.

  7. Avatar photo chadwhitley says:
    September 6, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    I wasn’t gonna buy it, and I don’t know that I’ll be able to subscribe to it, but Gail Simone is fantastic, and her passion for Babs is contagious. I’m gonna pick up the first issue to see how it goes, and who knows? Maybe I’ll be on for the long haul. At this point, though, I’m nearing the peak of my comics budget, so Gail gotta earn my bank.

  8. Avatar photo Minion says:
    September 6, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    I’m getting this to check a theory I have. And Give Gail Simone a shot.

  9. Avatar photo mrfrost says:
    September 6, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    This book has everything going for me. Simone’s work on Birds of Prey was what made me a comic reader, and Ardian Syaf is a great artist. While I’m unsure about Simone writing Babs out of the wheelchair, I don’t think it should be that big of a problem. And Adam Hughes doing covers is very cool as well.

  10. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    September 6, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    This’ll be my daughter’s 1st monthly pull that isn’t a “kids” book. She has been on Tiny Titans and Life with Archie both from the start, but she now graduates to something a little more grown up. I’m proud of her pick. Of course, since I am paying, I’m along for this too.

  11. kcekada says:
    September 6, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    I lked her as Oracle, but I loved her as Batgirl. I make no apologies — this is my most anticipated title of the 52.

  12. Avatar photo Bryce31 says:
    September 6, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    Does anyone else find the logo just off a bit?

  13. kcekada says:
    September 6, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    Yes. The type is a bit too big for the emblem. Overall, it looks kinda sloppy.

  14. Avatar photo malloc says:
    September 6, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    how are there already 2 reviews for this when it’s only tuesday night?

  15. Avatar photo Skyfire124 says:
    September 7, 2011 at 4:49 am

    I dont like losing Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, and I dont like losing Oracle being in the wheelchair….BUT….I love Gail Simone’s writing and I trust she’s built something that I’ll enjoy. Definitely psyched for tomorrow…..errrrrr….later on this morning!

  16. Avatar photo Firemass13 says:
    September 7, 2011 at 9:54 am

    This will be interesting for me, because I only KNOW the Stephanie Brown Batgirl…and naturally only know Babs as Oracle. This will be the biggest change for me in the New DCU and, consequently, is my most anticipated reboot book!

  17. Avatar photo glunders says:
    September 7, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    Hrm. I don’t really know what to say about this. Originally I’d criticized Gail Simone for using The Killing Joke, and while it was put to a more interesting use than I expected, I feel it made the first issue a bit mired. Kind of an odd tone for a #1. A lot — possibly too much — happens. It’s dark. This will be a “read the first arc and decide” book for me.

  18. Avatar photo GunnerAsh says:
    September 7, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    I picked this up today, not having initially planned to. My LCS didn’t have any Swamp Things left (they had all been reserved) so my random pick this week switched to Batgirl. And I really enjoyed it! It was easy to get into, I thought the art was terrific. For a normal comic book Simone sure packed a lot in. The only thing I didn’t really like was the ending, but I’ll have to see what happens in #2 before I pass judgement on the series. So far so good, especially considering this was one book I never intended to buy.

  19. Avatar photo Scruffy says:
    September 7, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    Really impressive. No one writes Barbara Gordon better than Gail Simone. A great first issue, feels like it could be the start of something pretty special.

  20. Avatar photo KeMo says:
    September 7, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    I really enjoyed this book! She explains Barbara’s return well. Short and simple! This will be staying in my pull list!

  21. Avatar photo j206 says:
    September 7, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    I liked this. Not sure if it’s mostly just from my love for Barbara or if the book was that great. Simone definitely gets Babs. Even if the story was a little mixed, the characterization was spot on and works perfectly.

    I’m not exactly sure what I think of the explanation for her walking again. It was very underplayed. I can’t quite tell just yet if it wasn’t enough for me, or if it was just right to make it not that big of a deal. In the immediate, I kind of feel a bit underwhelmed by it. But I get the feeling that in the long run for the character, that it’s probably the right move.

  22. Avatar photo SteenAR says:
    September 7, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    I wasn’t really a fan of this. It felt a little over-written to me. Of course, I’ve never really been a huge fan of Gail Simone’s writing. I’ll probably drop this unless issue 2 really impresses me.

  23. Avatar photo jmhillyer says:
    September 7, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    Not so bad after all the fuss. Credit where it’s due, they didn’t shirk around the Killing Joke/paralysis angle and ignore it like I thought they would.

    In whatever capacity, both Barbara Gordon and Gail Simone are enough to keep me on this for a while, until either my faith is rewarded or it becomes more effort than it’s worth.

  24. Avatar photo zattaric says:
    September 7, 2011 at 8:08 pm

    I LOVED this issue. This was a close second place for my POTW. Great going, Gail. You were able to bring in some of the twistedness ala “Secret Six” .

  25. Avatar photo lullercoaster says:
    September 7, 2011 at 8:24 pm

    Wow, I’m surprised to hear so much love for the book. I thought it was pretty bland until I got to the ending which was so STUPID! I think I going to drop this book for a while until Gail finds her footing with Batgirl. I just know she can do so much better then this.

  26. Avatar photo Grayghost says:
    September 7, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    This just my curiosity. I can find the strange woman from the last issue of Flashpoint in all the other DC books I bought except this one. Anyone see her?

    Overall, I liked the issue though. Haven’t been a fan of Simone before, but I’ll stick on this for at least the first arc. Really liked the art.

    • Avatar photo DarthDuck says:
      September 7, 2011 at 10:34 pm

      19th page, last panel. In the reflection of the window on the right-hand side.

      I took me a while to find her!

    • Avatar photo iiiplace says:
      September 7, 2011 at 11:42 pm

      THANK YOU! I was starting to think her new roommate might be the girl because she had that red hue around her slightly in a few panels that surrounds the mystery girl in the other books. I flipped through the book about a dozen times and could spot her.

    • Avatar photo Grayghost says:
      September 8, 2011 at 10:34 am

      Thanks. I looked through it 3 times and didn’t see it. I think I was just on comics overload by that point.

  27. Avatar photo thompsonlive says:
    September 7, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    I hate that I enjoyed this makes the decision if I drop it or not so much harder! Too many good books and not enough room in my budget!

  28. Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
    September 7, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    Not for me, this one. Very little character, dire and dark artwork and a pretty ridiculous ending put this at the bottom of my quality pile this week.

    Also, maybe I’m still just a bit weirded out by the whole un-handicapping, but did the comment about how the Joker never beat her seem a bit… Insensitive is too strong a word, but it’s in the ballpark. So when she was paralyzed, she was beaten? Doesn’t sound like the Babs I know…

    Ah, I’m prolly just being over-sensitive. Glad so many folks liked the book, but it’s off my list.

  29. Avatar photo xebix says:
    September 7, 2011 at 11:04 pm

    I really enjoyed this. One of the best of the week for me.

  30. Avatar photo Skyfire124 says:
    September 8, 2011 at 2:17 am

    I’m thinking Im going to have to re-read this, cause it appears I missed a lot… like how Babs’ recovered. Not much here that captured my interest, but I usually enjoy Gail’s work so I’ll give a couple more issues before I drop this.

    • Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
      September 8, 2011 at 9:50 am

      She just got better, I guess. From being shot in the spine. Y’know, like ya do.

      All I could think about was that article where Conor and Ron read the issues in advance, commenting that this book provides a good reason for her recovery. Maybe I’m just not a strong reader, but I sure missed that part.

    • Avatar photo ResurrectionFlan says:
      September 8, 2011 at 10:12 pm

      She said it was “a miracle.” I guess that’s good enough. Considering characters like the new Venom it was pretty slimsy I thought. Maybe the woman in the hood did it.

  31. Avatar photo party says:
    September 8, 2011 at 2:26 am

    Babs’ return from the chair felt lazy and tacky to me… Some truly lame moments of dialogue, along with an art style I really didn’t care for and a plot that failed to capture my interest. I didn’t like this book one bit, but then again I’ve never really seen what all the fuss was about surrounding Simone. It’s just as well, that’s one less temptation for me to spend my money.

  32. Avatar photo Firemass13 says:
    September 8, 2011 at 9:19 am

    Having only known and read the Steph Brown Batgirl, I had thought I might NOT like this version…but wow…I’m hooked. Gail Simone is good…

  33. Avatar photo cosmo says:
    September 8, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    I was hoping that this book would work, but have to admit that I was flat-out disappointed by this issue. I thought that the lack of any explanation for Barbara’s healing was lazy writing, as well her sudden moving in with random stranger from “Greg’s” List. Plus, while Simone did acknowledge the trauma that Barbara experienced from the Joker, her tone seemed off to me. The more I think about it, the more the whole thing felt like someone at DC dictated “write Barbara Gordon as Batgirl like a teenager again.” If budget allows, I’ll give Simone the benefit of the doubt for a couple issues, but I’m not promising anything . . .

    I’m missing Stephanie Brown even more now . . .

  34. Avatar photo PsychoJudgeDredd says:
    September 9, 2011 at 3:03 am

    Gotta say, I really enjoyed this Batgirl #1 right here, good stuff! Straightforward, getting some groundwork going, but it clicked.

    And its funny, all it takes is referencing a classic like The Killing Joke and it really classes up the joint. Kinda like how Detective Comics with the Frank Miller feel and some vibes make me feel like Year One is in mind there. Long story short, 80s are back baby!

    Straightforward as it was, I really connected with Barbara’s vulnerabilities, plus this Mirror guy is one stylish foe. Only problem is I gotta wait a month!

  35. Avatar photo Franktiger says:
    September 9, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    I think this ruins the legacy left by the Killing Joke, kinda prefer Babs as The Oracle I guess, didn’t really feel like a triumphant return from paralysis, skipping over that part is like dismissing what happened in the past to me.

  36. TheIconLives says:
    September 9, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    A little disappointed by this one. I was hoping for great things with this title as I thought the previous Batgirl title (starring Stephanie) was fabulous. I normally love Gail’s work but this one fell a little flat for me. I’ll still pick up issue 2 though.

  37. Avatar photo ComicGeek1975 says:
    September 10, 2011 at 10:11 am

    I didn’t expect to like this one but I was very pleasantly surprised! Good story and cool art. I’m in for #2

  38. Avatar photo chrismiranda24 says:
    September 10, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    I’m disappointed, because I didn’t dig this issue. I loved Simone’s Agent X and Secret Six, but this just didn’t do it for me. I’m all about some self-talk, but Barbara’s was annoying at best. I honestly feel that Simone writes Bads way better than she writes Goods and that’s what’s so annoying about this issue: The Big Bad seemed interesting and the Brisby Killers were fantastic! I don’t know, maybe with a few more pages to flesh out significant moments, but I think i’m out.

  39. Avatar photo player1 says:
    September 11, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Really Good. Not Great. Not Bad. Better than just Pretty Good. Score: 3.75 – 3.87 out of 5 Bloody Batarangs of Babs/Gail Batgal Goodness.

  40. Avatar photo flakbait says:
    September 11, 2011 at 7:19 pm

    Over a thousand pulls? Where were you guys with the last Batgirl title?

  41. Avatar photo Flash923 says:
    September 13, 2011 at 7:45 am

    4 out of 5 I must say this seemed to be one of the better put together titles this week. I enjoyed the conflict in Babs own mind while in the middle of fighting crime yet she still pushes on. Good artowrk and good story good to go for next issue for sure.

    Just sayin’,

    K

  42. Avatar photo Dokhou says:
    September 18, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    I enjoyed it. I remember the outrage many fans had when The Killing Joke first came out. People were torn because it was a compelling and shocking story but it was the end of Bab’s crime fighting career. Fans cried for her return back then. It’s interesting to see a similar outcry now for getting her out of the chair. I understand this is due to the outstanding characterization of Oracle. I’m staying with this title to see how things play out. I’m sure Gail will give us more of an explanation then just “It was a miracle!”

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