Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon who first made her appearance in 1967 and got a reboot in 2014 has been at the centre of a controversy since the past few days when a new cover was revealed. The cover, drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, was meant to draw reference to a notable standalone issue centred on the Joker from 1988 called The Killing Joke, written by comic writing legend Alan Moore.
The Alan Moore comic had Clown Prince ambushing and presumably sexually assaulting Barbara Gordon, leaving her to live out the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
She recently had a reboot last year reprising the Batgirl role again with fans enjoying the optimistic and lively character of Barbara Gordon under the creative team of co-writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr.
Fans and members of the comic community have started the hashtag #ChangeTheCover on Twitter to voice their outrage to DC Comics.
Batgirl is not a hero on that cover. She’s a victim. She’s terrified. She’s being physically restrained. It looks like a snuff film. — G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) March 17, 2015
Oh COME ON guys. The Batgirl cover was a misfire for the people who read that book. Wrong tone. Pulling it was a very reasonable decision. — Joe Hill (@joe_hill) March 17, 2015
Rafael issued a statement requesting his cover art be pulled. “For me, it was just a creepy cover that brought up something from the character’s past… for others, it touched a very important nerve. I respect these opinions… My intention was never to hurt or upset anyone through my art,” Rafael wrote in a blog post.
Ill talk more about it tomorrow but I was never threatened. just to make it clear.
— Rafael Abuquerque (@rafaalbuquerque) March 17, 2015
DC Comics has officially pulled off the cover in favor of the original artwork. The comic book publisher addressed the backlash in a statement. ‘Regardless if fans like Rafael Albuquerque’s homage to Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke graphic novel from 25 years ago, or find it inconsistent with the current tonality of the Batgirl books – threats of violence and harassment are wrong and have no place in comics or society. We stand by our creative talent, and per Rafael’s request, DC Comics will not publish the Batgirl variant.’
