I had the fortune of visiting a comic shop over the weekend, where I was able to pick up a whole stack of Showcase Presents collections. I really love these collections for a couple of reasons;
- They are relatively inexpensive (500 pages for only $17!)
- A great many of the stories tie in directly to current goings on in the DCU
- The Silver Age tales are all age appropriate, which means my son can read them all he wants and I won’t have to worry about content that may not be suitable for someone under the age of 7
But I was a little disappointed in the cover to Showcase Presents: Batgirl.
But my disappointment isn’t the same as the disappointment that has caused the pipes of the Interweb to be clogged by those crying foul.
Where does my disappointment come from? Not from the what some might call misogynistic cover, but the fact the cover was switched. Instead of using the cover from her first appearance, the company decided to use the cover from Detective Comics #371. I liked the solicited cover better. But that is just me grousing…
For those people who are complaining about the cover as being a put down to Batgirl, perhaps they should read the issie in question. In it, Batgirl is having all sorts of issues being a girl and being a crime fighter. Her “natural woman instincts” keep causing her problems, but by the end of the story her “flaws” actually help save the day.
You know what? It is cheesy, it is a bit sexist, but the story was written during a time when women were trying to combat inequality (1968). As I read through the tome, it is clear this is where Batgirl comes into her own and becomes a much stronger character.
Even if it may place high on the weird meter, I think it stands as a glimpse into the time period it was released.
As I’ve said before I’m not as bothered by these kinds of covers like other people, but I’m going to leave it up to you to cry Fair or Foul on this cover.
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I love the Showcases. My couple of gripes is that they’ve taken so long to appear (and are only released two per month). And my other gripe is that I’d like to have them just blast through a series leaving it untouched. In other words, don’t pick Metamorpho stories from a variety of comics to create the Showcase, just start with issue #1 of a series and print it all. I’d like to read some pre-issue #27 of Detective.
Salina fans are waiting with eager anticipation for Showcase Jonah Hex #2.
By such reasoning, a Showcase of Whiz Comics’ Captain Marvel stories would be justified in having a cover of Billy Batson smearing burnt cork on his face so he can go undercover as a dull-witted Negro named “Rastus;” likewise, All-Star Comics Showcase #1 could go with a nice splash of the Atom declaring, “Oh! You’re one of the GOOD Nips!” The cover has a little sharper focus than one page of content, and of all the moments to go with, DC chose this to represent the volume.
What pisses me off about this cover is not that Batgirl is applying lipstick–or that, as depicted in the included interior page, she’s acting as a distraction (because on the cover, she’s NOT)–it’s that she’s ignoring a fight. If the guy behind Robin had anything as lethal as a big rock, he’d be a goner. So it goes from the interior page’s “She’s a GIRL! With GAMS!” to “She’s totally ****ing USELESS!”
Man, even “Kim Possible” doesn’t do THAT to Ron.