There's been a bunch of new creative announcements at DC this past week. Looks like they're not finished with them just yet. DC has announced, via MTV, that BATGIRL will get a new creative team as well as a slightly new look.

BATGIRL will now be written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher with art by newcomer Babs Tarr. This begins in October with BATGIRL #35

Stewart told MTV that Barbara "wants the opportunity to have some fun and live the life of a young, single girl in the city, so she packs up and moves to Burnside, the cool, trendy borough of Gotham, to focus on grad school."

Fletcher continued "Barbara allows herself to be immersed in youth culture for the first time, exploring the social side of life in Burnside. That’s not to say there isn’t mystery, of course! Try as she might to live a “normal” life, Barbara very quickly finds herself drawn back into the world of crime fighting."

Gail Simone will be taking on another project, soon to be announced.

FINALLY!!! SIMONE IS OFF THE BOOK!!!

not a fan of inserting selfies, social media and related stuff into everything nor the new style on the cover for this book as the current style is perfect - Barbara is not a teenager

Why is she taking a selfie...

@thitiki: Well she needs to stop crime... but first... let me take a selfie!

Not liking the sound of this. Maybe I should drop this when Gail leaves?

Also I don't know how I feel about her updated look.

@thitiki: Isn't every DC character taking selfies soon?

@thitiki: For her Batbook (it's like facebook, but only for the bat family).

P.S. It's a stupid cover.

Selfies, "(Probably Twilight fan)Vampires", exploring youth culture, "Young single girl in the city" , "Cool" , "Trendy"

Yup this all SCREAMS Batgirl....

Hell has frozen over. Tumblr must be losing their shit.

New costume looks really great. I'll be giving this a shot.

It's for the selfie variants DC are doing

@tattacus

@jonny_anonymous said:

@feargalr said:

@thitiki: Well she needs to stop crime... but first... let me take a selfie!

It's for the selfie variants DC are doing

@tattacus

Really haha got one of Superman and WW? I'd love to see that.

Fans: Batgirl is too dark! Not enough "fun"!

Changes to make series lighter and more "fun"

Fans: What is this crap?!!! Fail !!!!

This sounds horrible.

@thitiki: This is better:

What's with this hipsteration of comic characters, honestly after it happen with Clint, it's been happen more and more.

edit: Know what hipsterarion is a bit much, it's more pop-culture-esqe.

Why isn't batman in the selfie ? Cause we all know he loves selfies.

@jonny_anonymous said:

@feargalr said:

@thitiki: Well she needs to stop crime... but first... let me take a selfie!

It's for the selfie variants DC are doing

@tattacus

Eh. Maybe if the costume was one piece I'd like it. And I'm not a fan of the boots.

Also, wouldn't leather be more restrictive than spandex for her line of work?

I am totally in love with Babs Tarr's art

Finally Batgirl is gonna be readable plus a Functional and practical suit.

I'm on board with this! Can't wait until October!

@tattacus: maybe but lether would be more protective

I'm liking the recent announcements made by DC with respect to the Batman line, this is the perfect look and tone for the book,my only problem is that Stephanie should've been Batgirl not Babs. It's gonna be jarring to see Barbara go from being a woman to a teen girl.

DC is basically giving everything cool about Steph to Babs while removing everything that made Barbara special.

This--->

by Psycho_Soldier - July 10, 2014 at 7:45 AM

"FINALLY!!! SIMONE IS OFF THE BOOK!!!

not a fan of inserting selfies, social media and related stuff into everything nor the new style on the cover for this book as the current style is perfect - Barbara is not a teenager"

I'm down the middle on the costume change. I liked the previous design BUT I also kinda like this one. The thing that does bother me about this redesign is I don't know if it's the artist, costume, or what but she looks like 14-17 year old.

@thitiki: I read every comic cover are going to have the characters taking selfies,i think it might be for variants or just the original cover.

This sounds great. Nice to see DC's trying something different with their Bat-books with stuff like this and Gotham Academy.

I love the costume redesign.

@jonny_anonymous said:

@thitiki: This is better:

Wow that is amazing!

"Barbara allows herself to be immersed in youth culture for the first time"

Wait, how old is Babs in the New 52? I figured that since Killing Joke is still in continuity, and it apparently took her a few years after being shot to regain her mobility, that she was probably pushing 30. Seems like maybe the time for Babs to experience the "youth culture" has passed.

I'm down for it and whatever Gail moves on to. Hopefully Doom Patrol

Really though the jacket is the biggest problem...this doesnt look like a crimefighter. I just can't see her teaming up with Batman dressed in a leather jacket with those boots.....maybe if this was Zero year or something, but she looks a little too civilian

Though I like the new costume it seems better suited for someone younger. I still want her back as Oracle. I feel creatively the DC universe could use that character more than it needs a Batgirl.

@jonny_anonymous said:

I am totally in love with Babs Tarr's art

Now the question is.. will the book look like this? Probably not.

The new costume looks hand made, did Bruce stop funding her or something? I love it though, and I might just re-add it to my pull, Simone's run kinda bored me after a while.

Terrible.

Yeah true. Didn't think of that.

So the re-imagining of a character nowadays means that said character comes from being an adult vigilante to being a teenager taking photos for her Facebook page? Umm..........

I'm mixed about this (I know right. a comicbook fan with mixed reactions about a total change in the creative team and tone of a book. stop the press :P ). On the PLUS side having a lighter toned book, and a bat book nonetheless, is a great move as the NU 52 <instert joke about the new 52 not being new or 52 for a long time here> has been to gritty and grim for waaaaaay to long and I do like the new art style (im just not used to it yet). But on the NEGATIVE we're loosing Simone :( and it appears to me that what little side-cast we had for batgirl for the past 34 issues (her TG roommate who made some news and her boyfriend) will be dropped completely with the new team with Barbra moving to the hipster side of the city + hipsters....really? Gotham has a hipster district? Im all for making a fun book, but a hipster book? + how is Barbra moving to this part of the city as I was under the impression that she was, well, broke with no job and living in hipster-vil is not exactly affordable on her budget? me so confused? I guess im just going to have to pick up the book with the new team and find out if I like it or not. But I think we can all say that this creative transision will not be without it casualties (fan-wise).

@psycho_soldier:

Agreed I'm glad she's off the book.

I agree with what you're saying. Though honestly I rather have Stephanie as Spoiler, Barbara as Oracle and just retire the Batgirl concept as nothing more than something Babs did really early on for like a year.

Another book to drop.

I'm surprised Marguerite Bennett didn't get the job. She filled in a couple of issues.

Not digging the 'it's high school Buffy' vibe, so I'm out.

That's what I'm not getting. If she's going to be a teenager now then is this gonna be cannon?

The thing that I didn't like about Simone's (New 52) Barbara is that she lost the maturity and intelligence that she had gained over the years as Oracle. This new direction sounds like it will move Barbara EVEN FURTHER in that direction, unfortunately. I may skim through the first issue just to see what it's all about. But honestly, this is not the direction that I think befits Barbara. If this were a Stephanie Brown book, sure. But not Babs.

On the bright side, Simone is off Batgirl. I love Gail. She's a great writer. But Batgirl really did not seem to be her best work, in my opinion. Looking forward to hearing what book she'll be placed on next. Hopefully a team book. She does her best work with teams, it seems. Maybe we can finally have a Simone Birds of Prey again.

I like this new direction

I like this angle, but honestly, it feels more like a Stephanie Brown story than a Barbara Gordon one. Like, it would make more sense for Steph than Babs. I dunno, I'll give it a chance, but I REALLY hope this isn't a bad call.

Babs is only 22

I really like the new outfit, but she looks like a teenager now. It's weird.

Um...I don't think she's going to become a teenager. the moniker "youth culture" applies to more than teen life. The "youth" of today applies to those who are in their early to mid twenties, which is probably where Barbara is at.

Let's say she started out as Batgirl at 17. Okay, so she is Batgirl for two years until she's shot by the Joker at age 19. Then she spends three years in the wheelchair and then regains her ability to walk at the age of 22. And, since its been two years since the launch of the New 52 (assuming she's aged in real-time), lets say Barbara is now 24 going on 25. That is plenty young enough to be experiencing the "youth culture" to which Stewart and co. are referring.

You'd be shocked by how many people in their twenties do this as well.

So because everyone wanted Stephanie brown back DC decided to make Babs more like Stephanie??

I don't read Bat Girl anymore but I was pretty sure she was around the same age as Dick....This makes no sense. I don't like DC's current trend of becoming more like TV...This might go in their favour but I'm a bit worried that it's at the expense of a well known character...But hey It's DC they don't really care that much

Stewart confirmed that the series will take on a much more lighthearted tone than we've previously seen in the New 52. "She’s leaving it all behind her. We really wanted to make this a book with a light tone, of fun and adventure and mystery, and let the rest of the Bat-family deal with the darkness. She’s got problems, and conflict, and enemies to fight, but our priority was to make this a really fun, rollicking read." But this run won't be a clean break from the past, and Stewart confirmed that the Alysia Yeoh character will continue to play a big role in the series.

Batgirl promo art by Cameron Stewart

Stewart also talked about how Babs' new costume plays into that new approach, saying, "Barbara is forced to make a new costume for herself when her old one becomes unavailable. The new one is something she’s able to make herself, shopping at the various boutique and vintage stores in Burnside. It also reflects her youth and style. Unlike Batman or Batwoman, she no longer needs to stay in the shadows, and in fact learns to embrace the spotlight."

With a new, trendy approach and a more lighthearted tone, it seems Batgirl is taking a few pages from current Marvel books like Daredevil and Hawkeye. Hopefully the quality can rival those books as well.

the design is simple but i like it. hopefully story doesn't fall in the crapper.

@tattacus: seems to be working just fine for "Arrow"

it sounds as though they're trying to make her appear younger....in all honesty it sounds kind of like it's a slight retcon....I just don't see how this direction or costume fits Barbara's character....it sounds like it would be better for a Stephanie Brown book