Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s (WCL) Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character. This post is about the various heroines who have taken up the mantle of Batgirl!
Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.
Who is Batgirl?
Batgirl is the first female ally to the Bat-Family, joining Batman, Robin, and Nightwing in the fight against crime in Gotham City. Three different women have been Batgirl in the history of DC Comics: Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown.
Barbara Gordon
The first Batgirl is librarian Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City police chief Commissioner Gordon. Barbara fought alongside the Caped Crusader for many years until an attack by the Joker left her paralysed. Using a wheelchair from then on, she set up a hi-tech headquarters in a clock tower and reinvented herself as Oracle, the ‘mission control’ for the Bat-Family and the Birds of Prey.
Post-Crisis
Batgirl, year one / Beatty, Scott
New 52
Batgirl. Volume 1, The darkest reflection / Simone, Gail (also on Libby)
Batgirl. Volume 2, Knightfall descends / Simone, Gail
Batgirl. Volume 3, Death of the family / Simone, Gail
Batgirl. Volume 4, Wanted / Simone, Gail
Batgirl. Volume 5, Deadline / Simone, Gail
Batgirl. Volume 2, Family business / Stewart, Cameron
DC Rebirth
Batgirl. Vol. 1, Beyond Burnside / Larson, Hope
Batgirl. Vol. 2, Son of Penguin / Larson, Hope
Batgirl. Vol. 3, Summer of lies / Larson, Hope
Batgirl. Vol. 4, Strange loop / Larson, Hope
Batgirl. Vol. 5, Art of the crime / Scott, Mairghread
Batgirl. Vol. 6, Old enemies / Scott, Mairghread
Batgirl. Vol. 7, Oracle rising / Castellucci, Cecil
Batgirl. Vol. 8, The Joker war / Castellucci, Cecil
Other Barbara Gordon books
Batman adventures : Batgirl : a league of her own
The Oracle code : a graphic novel / Nijkamp, Marieke
Cassandra Cain
After Gotham City was struck by an earthquake, a new Batgirl appeared on the scene: Cassandra Cain, the daughter of a pair of assassins who trained her to become the world’s deadliest fighter. Rebelling against her parents, Cassandra became a trusted member of the Bat-Family as Batgirl, and later Black Bat as a part of Batman’s global super-team Batman Incorporated. In the New 52, Cassandra goes by the moniker Orphan.
Batman: No Man’s Land, Volume 1 (only on Libby)
Batgirl : destruction’s daughter / Gabrych, Andersen
Batgirl. Volume 1, Silent Knight / Peterson, Scott
Batgirl. Volume 2, To the death / Puckett, Kelley
Batgirl. Volume 3, Point blank / Puckett, Kelley
Other Cassandra Cain books
Shadow of the Batgirl / Kuhn, Sarah
Stephanie Brown
Finally, the role of Batgirl passed to teenager Stephanie Brown, the daughter of the lesser-known Batman villain ‘The Cluemaster’. First appearing as the vigilante Spoiler, in order to ‘spoil’ the clues to her father’s crimes, she impressed Batman and Barbara Gordon enough to become the next Batgirl.
Batgirl : the lesson / Miller, Bryan Q
Batgirl : Stephanie Brown. Volume 2 / Miller, Bryan Q
Teams
Birds of Prey
As Oracle, Barbara Gordon was the mission control for the Birds of Prey, a small team of heroines including Black Canary and the Huntress.
Post-Crisis
Birds of Prey : murder & mystery / Simone, Gail
Birds of Prey : perfect pitch / Simone, Gail
Birds of Prey : blood and circuits / Simone, Gail
Birds of Prey : end run / Simone, Gail
Birds of Prey : the death of Oracle / Simone, Gail
DC Rebirth
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Vol. 1, Who is Oracle / Benson, Julie
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Vol. 2, Source code / Benson, Julie
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Vol. 3, Full circle / Benson, Julie
Infinite Frontier
Barbara, Cassandra and Stephanie have now teamed up together in their own title, Batgirls.
Batgirls. Vol. 1, One way or another / Cloonan, Becky
Batgirls. Vol. 2, Bat Girl summer / Cloonan, Becky
Batgirls. Vol. 3, Girls to the front / Cloonan, Becky
Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain were members
of the Bat-Family team in James Tynion IV’s run on Detective Comics.
Batman : Detective Comics. Vol. 1, Rise of the Batmen / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Volume 2, The victim syndicate / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Vol. 3, League of shadows / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Vol. 4, Deus ex machina / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Volume 5, A lonely place of living / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Vol. 6, Fall of the Batmen / Tynion, James
Batman : Detective Comics. Vol. 7, Batmen eternal / Tynion, James
All the Batgirls were members of Batman Incorporated, a global effort by Bruce Wayne to put ‘a Batman in every city’.
Batman, Incorporated / Morrison, Grant
Batman, Incorporated. Volume 1, Demon Star / Morrison, Grant
Batman, Incorporated. Volume 2, Gotham’s most wanted / Morrison, Grant
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