My pal Jack Phoenix has a great new podcast, The Comics Librarian Podcast, where he interviews people about the issues surrounding comic books in libraries. Jack is a librarian who loves comics and has written extensively on the subject, including his excellent book Maximizing the Impact of Comics in Your Library: Graphic Novels, Manga, and More. Thus far the podcast has tackled topics like community and identity, digital ownership, adult content in comics, and the pressing question of whether or not Garfield is still cool.
And now he has an episode all about Batgirl, with me! Batgirl is a perfect fit for The Comics Librarian Podcast because Barbara Gordon was originally a librarian, though sadly that aspect of the character has fallen by the wayside. In her first appearance in 1968 she was a “Plain Jane” librarian who got her kicks dressing up as Batgirl to fight crime and using her research skills to track down criminals. She remained a fixture at the library until 1972, when she became a member of Congress. On the live action Batman TV show, Yvonne Craig’s Barbara was a librarian as well, solving clues with her librarian wits and often beating Batman to the scene of the crime.
When Barbara became Oracle in the 1990s, she used her research skills to become the information hub of the DC Comics universe, continuing the spirit of her original profession even though she wasn’t working as a librarian anymore. Subsequent attempts to bring her back to the library have failed, unfortunately, even though it feels like such a logical move for DC. They make books! Libraries are full of books! Having an awesome librarian character would be so much fun. But alas, DC seems to have a vendetta against librarians.
Check out the video version of my episode below, and go back through the other episodes as well! It’s a great new podcast for anyone who loves libraries and comics, like I do. You can follow Jack and his great work online as well. Bluesky is probably your best bet, but he’s on all the platforms. Enjoy!
