9510649
O’Neil, Dennis, Gil Kane, and Terry Dodson. Batgirl: The Greatest Stories Ever Told. 2010.

A few weeks ago I went and snuck into a library I had an upcoming interview at. It’s a really big library so I was trying to get the lay of the land. I couldn’t resist checking out a couple items, and this was one of them. This is a collection of a couple different Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, stories. It includes:

  • The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl – Barbara Gordon’s first ever appearance in comic books. A young librarian, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, wishes to aid Batman and Robin in their fight against crime. She gets her chance when Killer Moth attacks Bruce Wayne on his way to a charity event.
  • The Orchid-Crusher arc – Someone in Gotham is stalking and killing redheads – and Barbara and Batgirl are on the case!
  • The Unmasking of Batgirl arc – An old flame of Batbara’s is back in town. He attempts to steal something from under Batgirl’s nose and, discouraged at the thought that she isn’t helping the people of Gotham like she wants, decides to run for Congress.
  • The Invader from Hell – Batgirl and Robin take on Benedict Arnold, back from the dead, on the streets of Washington D.C.
  • Startling Secret of the Devilish Daughters – Lately, Batgirl and Robin seem to be running into a lot of familiar yet different faces: the daughters of their greatest enemies!
  • Photo Finish – A reimagining of Batgirl and Robin’s first meeting as they try to gather evidence of a break-in against Catwoman.
  • Folie a Deux Parts 1 and 2 – Commissioner Gordon drops Barbara off at college – and it’s not a warm goodbye. Babs continues to train as Batgirl against Batman and Gordon’s wishes. When her father is in trouble and needs a hero most, will Batgirl be able to overcome Barbara’s anger and help him out?

I loved this collection, especially the older comics. Librarian! Babs gives me life. The stories of Batgirl and Robin together were adorable; neither knew who the other was so it was fun to see if they would figure it out. I really hated the art of Photo Finish, though. Folie a Deux was, for a long stretch, wordless, which was different and allows you to construct the story yourself. I need more librarian Babs in my life though, need to get my hands on some of that older stuff =P

– Kathleen