If there’s something I adore about comics are the multiverse and parallel realities stories. Seeing what would have happened if they had zigged instead of zagged is always intriguing. Obviously that means that Marvel’s What If is one of my favorites, but that doesn’t mean that DC is left behind.
Gail Simone’s Homage Week (DC Comics)
At the risk of sounding a bit too fangirly, I absolutely adore everything that Gail Simone writes. From her Bongo stories to now Domino’s Hotshots, her stories are funny, sad, poignant and more often than not, end up hitting every single one of my buttons as a comic reader. She has made me love characters I used to despise, and hate and fear villains that I thought were harmless.
Art Summary 2017
So… we’re in the final post of the year. First year I told myself I was going to be constant with my posting on social media, and I re-started my own site and brand as Calico Chimera. It’s been a bumpy ride, to be honest, but I am happy with the results, especially as well, it’s the first time I am able to fill one of these Art Summaries with one image per month (and choosing some months was HARD), and I’m really happy with the results.
(BTW, the blank template is from DustBunnyThumper at Deviantart. Credit where Credit is due)
I did notice that I forgot to post some of the images here. Sure, I decided that Deviant Art would be mostly for fanart, and everywhere else for everything, but I never posted the Horsemen and Squires in Art Noveau borders here! That was a big overlook! (So I guess I will post them in 2018, just for competition sake). Also, I have to balance more my finished color original pieces and the fanart since this year it looks as I did more fanart (But of course, that doesn’t count comic pages, or sketches)
Most of this comes, of course, thanks to the amazing support I’ve had this year. And since this is the last post of the year, I can’t let it go without thanking Mandi Gordon, Writer’s Block writer and Dream Keeper Robin’s editor. Half of the illustrations here wouldn’t exist if she hadn’t supported me, pushed me to my limits, and kept pushing me from under my drawing table.
In any case, thank you for reading this, thank you for being with me and supporting me through 2017. Here’s to 2018 where I hope we all have a much better year!
Batgirl through the Ages
I love Batgirl. She and Wonder Woman were the very first superheroes I ever saw in my life, and both taught me that girls can be heroes too and don’t need to be damsels in disgrace.
First it was Barbara Fierro (Mexican Dubs back then changed all the names, so the Gordons became the Fierros), and her ballet dancing style. Her secret hideout behind her vanity, the fact that she could fight with a long wig… I loved her so much that I was devastated when I started reading comics and found out that I was a bit too late to read Batgirl’s adventures as she had been crippled by the Joker (Later on, I found the glorious pre-crisis stories where she fought, among other things, snake women and teamed up with Supergirl).
But as I read more and more comics, and time passed on, she became Oracle, and kicked ass. She was better than any superhero in my book, because she used her own smarts and not powers granted by biology or luck.
A new Batgirl arrived. And I have to say, I liked Cassandra Cain (not portrayed here) but she wasn’t completely my Batgirl. As much as I love Oracle, I missed Barbara.
Then came Nu52. And while I am not very happy about the way Barbara was magically cured (We do also need heroes in wheelchairs), I can’t deny I was thrilled at seeing her take the cape again, and written by the amazing Gail Simone.
But it wasn’t until Batgirl of Burnside when I got to have FUN with Barbara’s adventures again. I know it’s controversial to say this, but I adored the original run. It was everything I’d have loved in a comic when I was a teen and more.
Which is why, when San Diego Comic Con announced that they were having an anniversary special for Batgirl in their Souvenir Book, I had to participate. And I couldn’t just pick one version of Batgirl, as they all are important to me. So this piece was born.