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Batwoman and Batgirl team up for an epic battle of epicness in “Batgirl #12”

It’s a big month for our favorite lesbian superhero. When Batwoman #12 hits comic shops on Wednesday, she will be joined for the first time ever by Wonder Woman. The most iconic female hero of all time meets the most famous lesbian hero of all time? Yes, please! But before being teaming up with the Amazon Princess, Batwoman made her own cross-over last week, dropping into issue #12 of Batgirl. A Barbara Gordon/Kate Kate team-up is something I’ve been wanting to see for practically my whole life, and the story did not disappoint.

Batgirl and Batwoman are two of my favorite mainstream comics titles going right now, and what made their match-up such a treat – besides the full-blown female-badassery – is that they’re just so different. Where Batwoman is sort of cynical and shadowy, full of regrets and inner turmoil, Batgirl is spirited and plucky, full of hope and hilarity. The reason we know this about Batgirl is because Gail Simone has structured her story with internal dialogue to match all of her external dialogue. It always makes for an insightful, satisfying read, especially this time around when we find out Batgirl’s got a little hero worship going for Batwoman.

Comics crossovers always run the risk of feeling contrived, like A-list guest stars appearing on TV sitcoms. But not under Simone’s watch. From the moment Batwoman busts through a window into the room where Batgirl is holding an interrogation, to the inevitable Bat-clash that happens whenever any two Bat-heroes besides Batman meet, to the dynamic duo team-up at the end of the issue, the Bat-lady meet-n-greet is as organic as it is powerful. And as different as they are – in both personality and fighting styles – they find common ground in the enemy of Knightfall, a psychopathic “criminal” killer who is the antithesis of everything the Bat-family stands for.

I don’t want to reveal too many plot details here, because we haven’t been talking about Batgirl issue-by-issue like we have with Batwoman, but I really cannot recommend a title more than this one. If you haven’t been reading it, now’s a good time to start. For one thing, next month is Zero Issues month at DC, which means we’re getting an origin story for most of our favorite heroes. And for another thing, you only have to backtrack to Batgirl #10 to pick this arc up from the beginning.

Plus, it looks like Batwoman might be around for a little bit longer than Batgirl #12, and you don’t want to miss a single appearance of such a remarkable gay lady.

What did you think of Batgirl #12? And how excited are you for this week’s Batwoman/Wonder Woman team-up?

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