After a series of hints and teases, DC is finally launching a Batgirls series starring Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown by writing partners Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad (Wonder Woman) and artist Jorge Corona (We Are Robin).
Launching December 14, the series follows Cass and Steph who manage to survive the "dark, gritty, and oftentimes scary Gotham City" by relying on one another's friendship.
However, things shouldn't get too dark or gritty as the series is intended for an all-ages audience, and according to the publisher, "sings with the energy of the Linda Lindas rocking out to 'Claudia Kishi.'"
(The Linda Lindas are, of course, an all-girl preteen punk band who went viral with a live performance video earlier this year and have a song about Claudia "Claud' Lynn Kishi, the popular Asian-American character in The Baby-Sitters Club series of books by Ann M. Martin).
As recently established in the various Batman family titles this year, the duo will be mentored by the original Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who in its announcement DC refers to as Oracle. Eclectic friends and crimefighting partners, the quiet Cass and rash Steph recently moved to another part of Gotham City to lay low and so that Babs can keep a close eye on them, especially since their privacy has been invaded by the hacker Seer.
Check out this preview of Batgirls #1:
Batgirls #1 will feature a cover by Corona, masked and unmasked connecting variant covers by InHyuk Lee, along with variant covers by Rian Gonzales, Dan Hipp, Yoshitaka Amano, Babs Tarr (a Things From Another World exclusive), Will Jack (two versions), Alex Garner (two versions), Dan Mora, Joshua Middleton (two versions), and Kendrick Lim (two versions). Check out those Batgirls #1 covers here:
Batgirls #1 goes on sale on December 14.
Cass and Steph don't quite have the resume to make our list of the best female superheroes of all time or our list of the Bat-family's best supporting characters, but maybe someday.
