The World At Noonan - Batgirl, In And Out Of The Chair

[Krysmopompas]

This is a good and fair article.

Well, the article starts out with the statement "I and many other people hate the new 52". With that kind of a colourful opener, reading good and fair into it is kinda strange.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but this seems like a gnashing of teeth, looking for the stuff that she doesn't like, as the basis of the article. Gets a bit more objective but you'll lose a big chunk of the audience by then.

I preferred Barbara as Oracle, and disagree with the obvious move by Didio to get her back as Batgirl. But sales of Batgirl seem pretty good to me, and if the author of this article is claiming that 'many other people' hate the new 52, well...there's certainly more people buying DC Comics today than there were even 2 years ago.

[Joe Kalicki]

One thing I absolutely hated from the relaunch was the removal of Oracle
I thought it was a step backwards on Barbara Gordon and the comic has not only proven as such it has gotten worse and worse as it move forward

this is no longer in any style, way or form a compelling Barbara Gordon

and any ties that she has to her disability have not only been negative but extremely offensive

Barbara in essence is still a cripple, but her condition is no longer physical, its mental
Oracle was an example of human inspiration cause since the first moment that Oracle appeared she was a triumph, its her trying to go on with her own life, to not let the chair define her or limit her, now imagine a book in which Oracle only faces a difficulty or challenge because she is in a wheelchair
thats what this comic is about

Her new Condition of PTSD is her new disability, is her new lost legs, and the costume is not her triumph, it is not her attempt to have a normal life, is her new wheelchair.
this is a Batgirl that got BROKEN by The Killing Joke, and IS still Broken
Barbara is now defined by her injury and not her recovery

and she will never get over this condition just like Oracle never recover her leg mobility, and that is because her PTSD is the only reason she puts on the costume, it is not to help others, is to help herself.
thats why we never see barbara gordon in the book, in 14 issues we only see batgirl 90% of the book, she has no social life, she has no friends, she has no job, and her family is barely an afterthought and thats only cause the retarded of her mother is back in the picture

before you could had say that Barbara Gordon was injured in The Killing Joke
Now, in this new version and thanks to Gail Simone
Barbara Gordon died in the Killing Joke
Batgirl is the only thing that there is left

If she ever gets over this PTSD(and it is possible in real life), thats the moment she will quit being batgirl
cause all what Barbara is doing as Batgirl is trying to prove to herself that she is not broken, that her injury didnt left a mark when she clearly did
the moment she realizes she has a problem, that's the moment Batgirl will die



She is not an inspirational figure as Batgirl or as the poster child of PTSD that she is now

Batgirl is now a person to feel Sorry for

thats why every single villain in the book is just like her
a victim
is trying to make you care by showing you how pathetic she is now



I dont think doubt and insecurity are any appealing qualities in a character
specially when such insecurities come from just her having been shot at

This is something I never understand
I have seen ppl who HATE the Killing Joke, and they love this, but The Killing Joke has never ever been more relevant than it is now
It is constantly reviewed in the book, in flashbacks in comments, it is a constant none stop, TKJ, TKJ, TKJ

It is made worse by the fact that Gail retconned TKJ, so that Gordon was not in the room with barb, so he wasnt kidnapped and tortured, so the only relevant thing that happen was that she was shot, and then she retconned it more so that one of the goons saved the life of Barb for, absolutely no reason

Batgirl is an offensive book, It reeks of ableism, the whole core of the book is build on an ablelist concept
is poorly written, its characters are annoying or one dimensional, the villains are unimaginative and just forgettable and tries to preach about a message that comes completely hypocritical coming from Batgirl

its a black stain in the career of Gail Simone and i cannot wait for the day that she leaves the book and formally apologizes for having done this

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

[DrNate]

Ive seen mixed reviews of batgirl.

I personally have mixed feelings about Batgirl, which vary from issue to issue. I may drop it one of these days, but I don't know for sure. Well, I never know what I will be dropping until the money squeeze comes in and I have to start ditching titles.

[SAMURAI36]

Oh wow, imagine that: yet another "shit on DC" thread. I'm so excited. :-\

[Peter J Poole]

Batgirl is an offensive book, It reeks of ableism, the whole core of the book is build on an ablelist concept...

Oh FFS....

Come back Greybeard, all is forgiven...

Cheers

[TGC]

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

Good to see you tackled that rather lengthy post with facts and wit.

[Joe Kalicki]

Good to see you tackled that rather lengthy post with facts and wit.

I was just parsing it down for people who wouldn't read it.

[_OM_]

What did they do? hold your family at gunpoint? dangle you over a piranha infested pit? booby trap your fridge with nitro-glycerin?

...Nah. They just put a note in her pull list that if she didn't start buying certain titles, all of DC's female characters will get stuffed in refrigerators.

[_OM_]

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

...You forgot "Bump-bump on the head, bad kid!"

[DarthEwok]

Oh wow, imagine that: yet another "shit on DC" thread. I'm so excited. :-\

Shitting on shit is a weird exercise