Comics/Graphic Novels

7 Reasons You Need to Pick Up BATGIRL Vol. 2

Swapna Krishna

Staff Writer

Swapna is the Comics Editor at Book Riot. She's a Space Columnist for Paste Magazine and writes for Syfy Wire—Fangrrls, Tor.com, Bustle, and other sites. She co-hosts a podcast called Desi Geek Girls. You can find her incessant ramblings on Twitter at @skrishna. She lives outside Philadelphia.

I love Batgirl, and I wish more people I knew were reading it. It’s fun and incredibly well written, it’s progressive, with great representation, the art is incredible, and Babs is just so perfect (and not perfect at the same time, which makes her even more perfect.) If you’re not reading this excellent series, written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher, art by Babs Tarr, and colors by Anna LaPoint, you’re missing out. And with the second volume out in trade now, it’s the perfect time to catch up!

So without further ado, I present 7 panels from Batgirl, Vol. 2 that show you just why you need to pick up this excellent series.

(1) Babs makes this face at her dad. I make that face at my dad all the time.

babs and jim

(2) Frankie, a woman of color, puts on the Batgirl cowl.

frankie as batgirl

(3) Alysia gets married to Jo, which is so incredibly sweet because Alysia is great (and it’s also a representational win—Alysia is transgender, and it’s a wedding between two ladies!)

alysia wedding

(4) But someone decides to interrupt the ceremony…(if you don’t know about Grayson’s and Babs’s history, it doesn’t even matter. Their chemistry in this issue will knock your socks off.)

babs and grayson

(5) And Babs gets to rip him a new one and keeps the focus on her friend’s wedding, instead of Dick’s unexpected arrival. (Seriously. The arc of this issue is insanely good.)

babs yells at dick

(6) Babs and Maps IN THE SAME COMIC. (If you haven’t read Gotham Academy and don’t know what the big deal is, add that to your list as well). Mingjue Helen Chen’s art here is EXCELLENT.

babs and maps

(7) What can I say? Babs kicks ass.

babs and livewire