“Cloak and Dagger are definitely underrated. I love the relationship between the two and wish I could see more of them in mainstream comics. I don’t like to put somewhat older comics in my recs, but unfortunately most of Cloak and Dagger’s major events happen in older comics. That is why I have left out the ‘Major Events’ and ‘Who are they?’ sections and added a ‘Get to know them!’ section instead. Don’t worry, though! This guide will still give you a general understanding of the characters. It’s just enough.“ -Raisa
Barbara Gordon, is a DC Comics heroine commonly associated with Batman. Her first appearance was in Detective Comics #359 as Batgirl. She is the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon. Her most notable love interest is Dick Grayson (the first Robin and current Nightwing). In her debut, The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl(1967), she was attending a masquerade dressed as a female version of Batman when she stopped an assault on Bruce Wayne by Killer Moth, attracting the attention of Batman. Batman had initially advised her to give up fighting crime due to her gender, but Barbara soldiered on.
After being shot and paralyzed by the Joker in The Killing Joke, she took up a new alter ego as the information broker known as Oracle. Barbara had a PhD in library science at one point in her publication history, so the role of Oracle was fitting. Continue reading for a chronological list of recommended comics!
Where to Start
Comics from before The Killing Joke are a bit too dated for new readers and, frankly, inconsequential in regards to continuity. The only worthy comic from the time is probablyThe Batgirl Special by Barbara Kesel which was written as a set-up for The Killing Joke. (Unpopular opinion: This is partly why I personally think New 52′s Batgirl series is the best representation of Barbara as Batgirl. There wasn’t much else before that.) The Killing Joke itself does not feature Barbara very much. In fact, Alan Moore himself stated that he regretted the way he and DC treated the character as she was tortured and traumatized purely as a plot device for the male characters in the book. Still, reading it may be interesting for most fans and crucial in understanding Barbara’s history. Another older issue of note may be Secret Origins Vol. 2 #20, in which Barbara recounts how she became Batgirl (this was also the first retcon of the original origin story).
Becoming Oracle
After the release of The Killing Joke, writers Kim Yale and John Ostrander expressed their dislike for the treatment of Batgirl in it and decided to give the character a new, dignified life as Oracle.
Suicide Squad Vol. 1 #23–24, #38, #48-66 (1989) -(Kind of old, but tells Oracle’s origins with the Suicide Squad.)
The Batman Chronicles #5 “Oracle: Year One” (1996) -(Aftermath of The Killing Joke.)
Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey(1996) -(Optional, but a great story about the beginnings of Barbara and Dinah’s friendship and precursor to Birds of Prey.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 1 (1999-2009) -(Highly recommended. Pretty much her whole story as Oracle.)
Nightwing Vol. 2 #41-46 and Birds of Prey #20-21 “The Hunt for Oracle” (2000) -(Dick finds out Barbara is Oracle.)
Batgirl: Year One (2003) -(Revised origin story written by Chuck Dixon.)
Batman: War Games(2004) -(Optional, but the events in it impacted Barbara greatly as she loses her home and HQ.)
Booster Gold Vol. 2 #5(2008) -(Optional, but a cool story and kind of an allusion by Geoff Johns to DC’s poor treatment of Batgirl in The Killing Joke.)
Oracle: The Cure(2009) -(Optional, but it’s a solo Oracle story.)
Batgirl Vol. 3 #1(2009) -(Do not need to read. Basically Oracle begins mentoring Stephanie Brown and Wendy Harris and also takes a job as an assistant professor.)
Blackest Night (2009) -(This is on every DC character’s Recommended Reading list because something big happens to everyone. Might as well read it as a general DC “must-read” but feel free to skip it here.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 2 (2010-2011) -(More Birds of Prey main events in which Barbara fakes her death.)
Batgirl Returns
Post-Flashpoint, Barbara reclaims the Batgirl mantle in Gail Simone’s New 52 story, “The Darkest Reflection”. She had gotten an experimental surgery to regain use of her legs. This was controversial as many readers thought this was un-diversifying the DC Universe by removing important representation of disabled people. However, Gail Simone, who had been writing Barbara as Oracle for several years, expressed excitement about being able to write Barbara as Batgirl even though she was an avid supporter of Oracle as a disabled character.
Batgirl Vol 4 #1-34 (2011)
Batgirl Vol 4 #35-52 (2014) -(The New 52 series gets a soft reboot with a much lighter tone, little dialogue, and a suit redesign. Also during this time was the infamous Rafael Abuquerque cover controversy as well as the #37 controversy.)
“Cloak and Dagger are definitely underrated. I love the relationship between the two and wish I could see more of them in mainstream comics. I don’t like to put somewhat older comics in my recs, but unfortunately most of Cloak and Dagger’s major events happen in older comics. That is why I have left out the ‘Major Events’ and ‘Who are they?’ sections and added a ‘Get to know them!’ section instead. Don’t worry, though! This guide will still give you a general understanding of the characters. It’s just enough.“ -Raisa
With Marvel’s new Black Panther movie coming out, I thought it would be a good idea to make a reading guide for those of you that would like to learn more about him. I personally think it’s amazing to see one of my favorite POC characters come to life on the big screen!
Jungle Action #6-24
Black Panther Vol. 3
Black Panther Vol. 4
New Avengers: Illuminati one-shot from New Avengers Vol. 1
Edit: Reposting because the original got deleted :)
One of the very first reasons makes it clear enough. If Aquaman sucked, he wouldn’t have survived for over 70 years.
^^^THANK YOU SEE? He gets it people! *cries tears of joy*
Oldie but goodie. If anyone still has the second part of this, please tag me in it. Unfortunately i no longer have the original slide show. Fun fact: Aquaman was once leader of the justice league because the other members went awol
