Comments on: Barbara Gordon, Junior Detective

By: Kat Kan

Kat Kan — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 01:47:51 +0000

YA covers a wide range of ages and experiences, so it only makes sense that YA includes some mature themes and situations. I’ve served on the BBYA committee, 20 years ago, and we included a number of adult books on our list. Ever since BBYA was created, books selected for the list have included titles with mature themes and situations – it’s nothing new to the library world.
As for this proposal, I’d have purchased it – for myself, for my library, and I’d have booktalked it to the teens.

By: Dwight Williams

Dwight Williams — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:45:15 +0000

All of which sounds about right, although they seem to have returned James Jr. to full adulthood in the current version of the “here and now” of the DCU…and they’re still also holding to him having been born the year Bruce started wearing the cowl.

By: ShadZ

ShadZ — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 23:34:21 +0000

The change from daughter to niece also happened in the comics, after Frank Miller “forgot” to include Barbara in Batman: Year One. I think it’s still the status quo today, but James Gordon has adopted Barbara and she calls him Dad, so it isn’t mentioned a lot.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 23:04:59 +0000

It sounds like it might have been good, but I’m puzzled by the change from daughter to niece.

By: dcwomenkickingass

dcwomenkickingass — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:00:34 +0000

@nandadevi I had the same thought about the DC Nation block on CN. One would hope that DC could find room for one female centric piece of programming.

By: Barbara Gordon, Junior Detective | Mah Two Cents

Barbara Gordon, Junior Detective | Mah Two Cents — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:50:54 +0000

[...] Lois Lane, Girl Reporter? It made the rounds of the comics blogs if you missed it here. Anyway, Johanna Draper Carlson has a book series proposal from Robert Greenberger: Barbara Gordon, Junior Reporter. [...]

By: Hal Shipman

Hal Shipman — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:37:44 +0000

@Erica – you’d be surprised what’s appropriate for YA lit these days. My mom just finished a 3-yr tenure on the ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults committee and I was pretty surprised by the general level of mature themes in the content.

By: nandadevi

nandadevi — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:29:48 +0000

Shit I”d buy it. Maybe it has a place on DC’s new animated block on CN?

By: Erica

Erica — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:06:30 +0000

This sounds stellar, but slightly adult for YA work. It’s moot in any case as DC has let us know what they think of their female heroines (http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/04/batman-and-catwoman.v4.jpg) and they just *can’t* figure out what women want from comics.

By: James

James — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:36:32 +0000

It’s CRIMINAL that this didn’t get turned into an actual book or comic. I’d buy the hell outta that.

By: Maddy

Maddy — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:28:11 +0000

I’m a huge Barbara Gordon fan, and as this pitch demonstrates, there’s so much potential for telling more stories about her.

I’m very heartbroken that this book won’t exist.