Turns out it’s pretty cool!
The new Batgirl (whose secret identity was a very pleasant surprise to me!) gets a new costume in the third issue which comes out next month. Contrary to troubling earlier reports that this costume was going to be all “sexy” (ugh, we know what that means) the new design is shockingly kick-ass and, well, rather cool! (I actually do think this costume is very conventionally sexy, especially the spec design, but my values of sexy never map to that of DC fanboyz-in-charge so I’m still shocked at its not-sucking. I mean, Batwoman and the perma-nipples…)
There’s a couple versions of the new costume floating around at the moment: Lee Garbett’s original design (2nd above), and Phil Noto’s coloured version from the upcoming issue. If you don’t like one, you may like the other – I think it’s best to view them together because this is a very fresh design that will take some getting used to. But I think it’s a good change that gives the new character a distinct look of her own without screwing up the traditional design. Noto’s version has going for it a very sturdy, kind of rubberized look that’s a fit with the movie versions (which may not be everyone’s cup of tea). Garbett’s two-toned purple version is very sleek and attractive and definitely evokes Spoiler while solidly looking like ‘Batgirl’. I’m not sure which I prefer. (Edited to add: I’m not a fan of hip-slipping belts on super women. Ever. Like everyone else who complained about this on Garbett’s blog, I want to see it tightened up once it gets out on the street.) But the already announced action figure (yay! – but is it too soon?) is modelled very closely on the spec design and it’s gorgeous.
I collect Batgirl as well as Supergirl figures, and it can be hard to find figures that aren’t either skin-tight or just too off the design to feel right. I’m very partial to the black with yellow styling, although I’d love one based on the purple 60s series.* This is a very different look that’s going to get some questions from non-comics folk, but it’s a figure that you can display proudly and not be embarrassed by ;-)
* I also wish there were a TV series-version Catwoman figure/statue. I don’t like any of the ones out there, and I desperately wanted something nice for Julie Newmar to sign at Central Comic-Con next month ;-) Any suggestions as to what I could get her to autograph?
I'm a thirty something Supergirl fan from Canada who's been reading DC comics since 1996. If you don't like discussions of social justice issues in your fandom, this might not be the place for you!
Michelle you must be happy you may see Julie where I live I can’t see her!!!
Pingback: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment » Your Mileage May Vary: The New Batgirl Costume
I am madly in love with the costume (though the belt should indeed be tightened, and the thigh-garter is nonsense). I just love that it’s undeniably both Batgirl and Stephanie. Huzzah!
I also CANNOT WAIT for Steph and Kara to team up.
Oh wow, I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t know – there’s the whole clone problem. Kara’s already done the ‘team up with another skinny white blond girl who looks just like her’ (when drawn by Ian Churchill, EXACTLY like her!) with the other Cassie, and Stargirl, and she’s got a literal doppleganger in Power Girl, and, well…
There’s an awful lot of blond white girls in the DC universe these days! It gets really weird when they all team up O_O
Yeah, it troubles me. Like, Kara is my very favoritest character ever, and Steph is probably my second favorite teenage girl in the DCU and far and away my favorite Bat, and I like Cassie a lot, but it’s troubling that the Teen Girl Trinity is like a little Aryan nation. And yeah, with Courtney and Mia (and Cissie! oh, I wish they would bring her back) out there too… And Rose Wilson is pretty close to being blonde, and Misfit and Mary Marvel are both fair-ish. The only non-white teenage girls I can think of who are still semi-active are Cass Cain, Natasha Irons, and Traci 13, and none of them are terribly high-profile at the moment. (And I guess Miss Martian is green, so.) Hmph.
Of course, it would be less troubling on a “telling the girls apart” basis (although not on a racial one) if more artists acknowledged that teenage girls have different faces and body types. Shocking, I know!
I think they were trying to do an updated version of the old costume. The gray w/ yellow bat symbol is very similar to Batgirl of the 80′s, and the purple harkens all the way back to the Batgirl costume of the old Batman 60′s TV show. I like the classic Batgirl designs more than the Cassie costume (probably for nostalgia’s sake) so I actually dig this new look, even though I admit it’s much less practical. I’d love to see an action figure of it, though!
I like the callbacks to the TV show – loved Yvonne Craig’s Batgirl so much. Anytime Batgirl goes purple I’m happy. I’m digging the really long, thin bat “ears” too. Nicely ominous and freaky.