Batgirl : The Greatest Stories Ever Told

Part of my ongoing attempt to understand why people get so nostalgic for DC's Silver Age.

My only non-Oracle exposure to Babs prior to this was Yvonne Craig in the Batman TV show, so I don't have much frame of reference as to whether or not these represent the ‘best' Batgirl stories. They do seem pretty bland, on the whole, though, so I hope they're not?

Batgirl's origin, as told here, is almost childishly simple - she was going to a party, and made a Batgirl costume for herself. Then she sees Bruce Wayne being attacked by a villain, and decides to try to save him. Finding it fun, she keeps being a vigilante. That's it. That's the entire motivation for the character.

The character shows a little more depth later on, but the stories are pure American cheese. Barbara becomes a Congresswoman, fighting for the ERA (apparently no one notices that Batgirl moves from Gotham to DC at the same time as Barbara Gordon does) and fighting the likes of Benedict Arnold and Two-Face's daughter.

Reading new (Stephanie Brown) Batgirl issues, I can tell that they're going for a similar feel with the character now, but it's much better told that anything in this volume.