daggerpen:

batgirlv3:

innervenom:

Opposite opinions. 

I really hate this sales argument. Now admittedly, I’m a social worker and numbers really aren’t my game but as a huge Stephanie Brown fan, I’ve followed this since the very beginning. I love Gail Simone more than any other writer in comics and she kind of is Barbara Gordon in my eyes - so I’m not going to dispute the sales of the New52 Batgirl title. Of course it’s selling more copies than Steph’s run did. You have the more ‘iconic’ Batgirl (I use that term intentionally) written by a writer that openly adores the character. It’s exciting for anyone who is a fan of Simone OR Gordon (of which I am both).

Everything I have read though clearly states that although Steph’s Batgirl sales might not have been stellar, it sold more issues than some of the New52 titles that continue to be commissioned.

Which by itself may not be that convincing, BUT when you consider how much hype there has been around the New52 titles I become a little more convinced. We’ll never know what Miller’s Batgirl series might have sold if it had received even one tenth of the marketing and promotion the New52 has. I can’t take two steps in my comic store without the words New52 in my face - even when Steph’s run was current, I had to dig for my issues.

More so, I think what this person’s reply shows, is that fans just aren’t buying what DC is selling when it comes to Steph & Cass. Their ‘reasons’ for refusing to allow multiple writers who have expressed interest to introduce either Cass or Steph back into the DCnU just don’t quite compute. And we’re not talking about some newbie writers here without a track record of success. We’re talking about some of DC (and comics) very best. Moves like making Nguyen change the hair color only add to the ‘lore’ that Steph & Cass’s so-called toxicity is becoming.

What I hate most about all of this is that so many fans are using this as an excuse to hate on Babs and her current run of Batgirl. Simone is a fantastic writer and no one writes Barbara as well. She IS the original and Cass & Steph might not have ever existed without her. Refusing to support this series does not bring us closer to having Cass and/or Steph back - in fact, if anything, it probably just serves to prove DC’s (or DiDio’s?) point.

I realize I’m ‘just a fan’ but I’m not just jumping on a soapbox. I could write a thesis on why Steph stands out in the Batfamily for me (perhaps not as eloquently  as some others already have) and I think I speak for many fans when I say I miss her (and Cass) terribly. That said, I care about the overall well-being of the comic industry more than I do one (or two) characters. The problem is - DC hasn’t really proven that to me yet. Frankly, they almost seem to play into the hype (ie. pulling the YJ episode, Smallville etc etc) and that feels disrespectful to to us fans.

We will probably never know the whole truth but I think DC has done an atrocious job of handling this and yes, it’s left me feeling a little bitter.

Reblogged for commentary.

In regards to ‘using this as an excuse to hate on Babs and her current run of Batgirl’-

That’s not a fair judgement. If you like the current Batgirl series, great. More power to you. But I don’t like it, and I’m not obliged to like it. Cass and Steph are part of that, but I have other issues beyond that. Even if I didn’t, I’m not required to justify why I don’t like the run or the current incarnation of the character. I don’t like it, and that is sufficient.

I do not owe Simone, Babs, or Batgirl my money or my approval. If the erasure of Cass and Steph sour fans on Babs enough they don’t want to read her run, that’s completely within their rights. It’s not an ‘excuse’, it’s an honest statement of their thoughts and feelings. You are not required to come up with an excuse for feeling annoyed and angry over the erasure of beloved characters, or for feeling annoyance and anger at the character they were erased in favor of.