Barbara as Batgirl is one of my favorite characters so I was excited about her return to the cowl. That being said, I've found this current series to be a little bit spotty, sometimes I like it sometimes I don't. I would say pick up Batgirl #10 because it started the most recent arc and you get a good feel of who this new Barbara is. She's not Oracle and she's not the Batgirl we were familiar with.

No, I found what I read to be very so-so.

@BlackArmor said:

@Gambler said:

I've only enjoyed the Court of Owls tie-in but then again I'm bias. There's only one Batgirl and her name is Cassandra Cain ;)

Super QFT x100000

Stephanie Brown!!

I enjoy it.

I've been enjoying it quite a bit.

@BlackArmor said:

@Twentyfive said:

@BlackArmor said:

@Gambler said:

I've only enjoyed the Court of Owls tie-in but then again I'm bias. There's only one Batgirl and her name is Cassandra Cain ;)

Super QFT x100000

Stephanie Brown was simply a stand in for the much more awesome Cass Cain is AWESOME!!

fixed

@BlackArmor said:

@Twentyfive said:

@BlackArmor said:

@Twentyfive said:

@BlackArmor said:

@Gambler said:

I've only enjoyed the Court of Owls tie-in but then again I'm bias. There's only one Batgirl and her name is Cassandra Cain ;)

Super QFT x100000

Stephanie Brown was simply a stand in for the much more awesome Cass Cain is more AWESOME than Cass Cain!!

fixed

You are a cool guy. Nice sense of humor.

I say it is worth reading. I like the series

It's good. I just wish she felt like oracle.

I had waited nearly twenty years for this to happen . Finally Barbara is back as Batgirl. no matter what some people say, for me and the public in general the one and only Batigirl will be the redhead, Commisioner Gordon's daughter : Barbara Gordon!

@SupBatz said:

I don't really reccomend the book. I don't mind Barbara being Batgirl again or that Cass and Steph are MIA but I still have found that Babs as Batgirl just isn't being done justice.

She just doesn't feel as smart as she used to be. And (not all the time, but often enough) she is written very girly - now, when I say that, I mean she is written in a cliche "teenage girl" kind of way - and it often comes off as a major turn off.

The stories so far in the book have ranged from very good to just ok. If you're looking for a book with interesting story but not a very interesting (or faithful) adaptation of the character then it's worth a read.

The reason she feels 'less smart' or more 'girly' is because she's still young and developing as a character. Barbara isn't that older, evolved character yet, she's still at an earlier point in her life. That's how her journey, so to speak, ends, and right now we're following her through the earlier stages of it. Gail Simone herself explains (via tumblr):

The thing is, I am enjoying writing a younger, less perfect Barbara because I think she and Oracle are the same character at different points in their lives. I love the stories of characters like Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan and Conan and the Star Trek crew BEFORE they became undefeatable because it sheds interesting light on their characters. I also love the stories with them in full command of their abilities. It’s like telling a legend at different points in the timeline, I do really enjoy that. If you’re at the beginning of the story and only want to see the end, that probably is frustrating, but I really, really enjoy the journey. I know Oracle is still inside Barbara, in the stories we’re telling, she just hasn’t come out yet.

...

“I want Oracle back,” is a perfectly understandable sentiment and a perfect reason not to read or to like the current Batgirl book. “I miss Clark and Lois being married,” is a perfect reason not to read or like the current Superman stuff. And so on, and so on. Every time there is a major continuity shift, some people don’t care for it and don’t jump aboard and I don’t blame them at all for that.

But it does seem a little weird to keep saying, “This isn’t Oracle,” when that is so clearly the point. This is a very young woman who has had an horrific trauma and is just getting her wings back. Not everyone wants to read that, but a lot of people do, more people than read Birds of Prey or the previous Batgirl.

I could have kept writing Oracle forever, kept writing BoP forever. I loved it. But I also love writing Barbara when she HADN’T yet become the conquering all-force of the internet. I like both. That moment with the freezing in front of the gun is important. Saying she hasn’t evolved when it’s literally her second night back in the cape does seem a little odd.

@Ravager4 said:

@SupBatz said:

I don't really reccomend the book. I don't mind Barbara being Batgirl again or that Cass and Steph are MIA but I still have found that Babs as Batgirl just isn't being done justice.

She just doesn't feel as smart as she used to be. And (not all the time, but often enough) she is written very girly - now, when I say that, I mean she is written in a cliche "teenage girl" kind of way - and it often comes off as a major turn off.

The stories so far in the book have ranged from very good to just ok. If you're looking for a book with interesting story but not a very interesting (or faithful) adaptation of the character then it's worth a read.

The reason she feels 'less smart' or more 'girly' is because she's still young and developing as a character. Barbara isn't that older, evolved character yet, she's still at an earlier point in her life. That's how her journey, so to speak, ends, and right now we're following her through the earlier stages of it. Gail Simone herself explains (via tumblr):

The thing is, I am enjoying writing a younger, less perfect Barbara because I think she and Oracle are the same character at different points in their lives. I love the stories of characters like Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan and Conan and the Star Trek crew BEFORE they became undefeatable because it sheds interesting light on their characters. I also love the stories with them in full command of their abilities. It’s like telling a legend at different points in the timeline, I do really enjoy that. If you’re at the beginning of the story and only want to see the end, that probably is frustrating, but I really, really enjoy the journey. I know Oracle is still inside Barbara, in the stories we’re telling, she just hasn’t come out yet.

...

“I want Oracle back,” is a perfectly understandable sentiment and a perfect reason not to read or to like the current Batgirl book. “I miss Clark and Lois being married,” is a perfect reason not to read or like the current Superman stuff. And so on, and so on. Every time there is a major continuity shift, some people don’t care for it and don’t jump aboard and I don’t blame them at all for that.

But it does seem a little weird to keep saying, “This isn’t Oracle,” when that is so clearly the point. This is a very young woman who has had an horrific trauma and is just getting her wings back. Not everyone wants to read that, but a lot of people do, more people than read Birds of Prey or the previous Batgirl.

I could have kept writing Oracle forever, kept writing BoP forever. I loved it. But I also love writing Barbara when she HADN’T yet become the conquering all-force of the internet. I like both. That moment with the freezing in front of the gun is important. Saying she hasn’t evolved when it’s literally her second night back in the cape does seem a little odd.

I for one absolutely love how the book has been going (it’s my favorite one I’m reading right now, and quite honestly the only one I anticipate with butterflies as each new issue approaches), and I’ve found even more love for a character who was already one of my favorites. While I’m way to young to have grown up with her as Batgirl in comics, I knew her from Batman TAS and such, and that’s always how I knew Batgirl. When I started getting into comics, I was confused as to why she wasn’t Batgirl, until I read the Killing Joke and learned about that whole backstory, but I grew to love her as Oracle, too.

With her back as Batgirl, I get to experience a completely new side of her in comics that I haven’t personally seen yet, and it’s been fantastic thus far. I love the way Gail Simone has been writing her. Yeah, she’s still a little rusty after having returned from three years in a wheelchair, but really that’s to be expected, and she’s still growing as both a character and a hero. She’s younger and still has a lot to learn, and I think that’s great.

I know many are upset that she isn’t Oracle, and yes it is a void that I think does need to be filled by someone someday (sooner rather than later, I hope), but it was DC that decided that Babs is going to be Batgirl again, not Gail Simone, who I think has been doing excellent job with what she's been given to work with. I for one adore Barbara in every possible way right now.

i hv read all the books till issue 10 but it never occured to me... does this mean she was not the oracle when she was in the wheelchair??

@cloudzackvincent: that actually hasn't been addressed yet, but Gail has stated that it would be covered some time in the future.

@Ravager4 said:

@cloudzackvincent: that actually hasn't been addressed yet, but Gail has stated that it would be covered some time in the future.

OK..i have decided not to worry about the DCnU continuity anyway..i just let it be and imagine whatever i think must have happened has happened

@Gambler said:

I've only enjoyed the Court of Owls tie-in but then again I'm bias. There's only one Batgirl and her name is Cassandra Cain ;)

Well, she's a bit more youthful than I would like her to be.

At first, I was kinda on the fence about the title, now I can honestly say it's pretty great. It's been constantly making me happy and I'm glad it's on my pull list.