Batgirl Crosses the River into Gotham’s Brooklyn

Both DC and Marvel Comics have been criticized for not appreciating their female fan base, and putting out covers that over-sexualize female characters — like this image of Spider-Woman in a compromising position that spawned quite a backlash.

But DC is getting props for theirrelaunchof Batgirl, and it deserves them.

Batgirl’s new look for 2014

(DC Comics)

In issue #35, which launched in October, they aged Batgirl (a.k.a Barbara Gordon) back to her early 20s and hired a new creative team — Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr. The concept is that all of Gordon’s stuff was burned in a fire, so she has to move across the river and live with a bunch of roommates in the hipster neighborhood of Burnside, which is a thinly veiled version of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But what really excited fans was Batgirl’s newDIY outfit. It looked like Barbara had put it together with clothes from a flea market she tweaked to her specifications.

DC announced the changeover last summer, and fan artwas being posted within the day. What’s really great about this iteration of the character is that they’re bringing the character back to her roots: she’s supposed to be youthful and appeal to female readers, where male artists have often turned her into a voluptuous pin-up. Barbara Gordon is also a tech–savvynerd, which in 2014 translates directly into crime-fighting cred.

Batgirl’s 2014 redesign inspired new fan art

(Margaux Saltel)

This is the second reboot of Batgirl in four years. In 2011, DC Comics regenerated their entire universe and brought Batgirl out of the wheelchair she had used for more than 20 years, after a story line in which she was shot and paralyzed by the Joker. (Pop culture writer Jill Pantozzi criticized the move in aninterview with Kurt Andersen; Gordon had become an inspirational figure for fans with disabilities, like Pantozzi herself.) Writer Gail Simone’s take on the character during that first reboot was dark and edgy, along the lines of other Batman comics, with Batgirl facing off against her serial killer brother. This new hipster Batgirl is a lot lighter; it pops with color. But that’s what I always liked about Barbara Gordon: she’s a beacon of light in Gotham’s perpetual darkness.