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This is Pop Culture! celebrates Batgirl

Today, DC Comics releases Showcase Presents Batgirl--a 500-page collection of vintage Batgirl backup stories from Detective Comics and elsewhere.

So, what better time to highlight that character and celebrate her exploits in popular culture? I know I'm not the only comics fan excited to see these adventures back in print.

The Batgirl featured in the Showcase volume--and highlighted here--is the Barbara Gordon incarnation that debuted in 1967, not the earlier Betty Kane Bat-Girl of the early 1960s. And also not Cassandra Cain, the hideously costumed current Batgirl.

To me, Barbara Gordon is the only Batgirl that matters. So, it's a pity she's essentially been written out being.

Comics writer Alan Moore, in the one-shot (in more ways than one) Batman story "Killing Joke" put an end to Barbara's costumed exploits by having the Joker shoot her in the spine, paralyzing her. Regrettably, DC elected to keep Barbara disabled, reinventing her as the character Oracle in the Birds of Prey series.

While it's refreshing to see a disabled heroine in comics, I'm sorry that it meant phasing out a character many fans loved and enjoyed. Plus, Barbara's fate was too dark, too grim, considering the spirit of the character and the original age of her fanbase. It's another case of comics scripters and editors messing with existing characters when they ought to just create new ones.*

Barbara Gordon as Oracle just ain't the same as Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. And neither is Cassandra Cain as Batgirl.

The real Batgirl had so much going for her: She was Commissioner Gordon's daughter--a great setup for all sorts plots. She was a librarian. She had red hair. She had a motorcycle. She was fun. She was tough and independent (for her day). And she looked great in that costume.

Sigh...like I said, it's a pity she's gone. But at the same time, it'll be wonderful having a big batch of her adventures available in one big book with scripts by the great John Broome and fantastic art by the likes of Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino.

But before you head out to the comics shop, or click that Amazon link up above, take a moment to enjoy some of the other Batgirl-related posts here today.

* Word is there will be an All-Star Batgirl coming out from DC at some point, featuring Barbara behind the mask. However, fans of the original version will need to wait and see if it's an agreeable approach. Also, the Barbara Batgirl has been featured in DC's various "animated"-style comics spun off of the recent Batman cartoon series. So maybe she's not as gone as she seems.

Best Batgirl sites on the Web

1966 Batman
A celebration of the 1960s Batman TV series, featuring Batgirl info and pics.

Batgirl at Wikipedia
The entry charts the history of all the Batgirls.

Yvonne Craig
Official site for the actress who played Batgirl on TV back in the 1960s.

The Batgirl Archives
A fan site dedicated to the various incarnations of Batgirl.