Babs Tarr

Barbara Gordon's network of friends and allies has been an ongoing theme in the recently concluded Batgirl run by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr. Whether it's Black Canary, Spoiler, Batwing or Bluebird, there's no way Batgirl would have been able to overcome the obstacles she overcame without a little help from her friends. One of Batgirl's fiercest allies throughout the run has been Frankie Charles, Barbara's roommate whom she met while they were both in physical therapy together. Although Frankie still often requires assistance to walk, that doesn't stop her being an integral part of Team Batgirl, and in the most recent issue she finally got a superhero identity.

Following their departure from Batgirl, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart, and Brenden Fletcher will be launching an all new comic for Image, as announced at today's Image Expo. Coming in December 2016, Motor Crush is the story of Domino Swift, who spends her days racing in a legitimate worldwide racing league, and her nights competing in illegal motorcycle brawls, in an attempt to get her hands on a machine narcotic known as crush. "Everything's going to be a little bit amped up," explained Tarr.

There are a lot of things manga does a lot better than the western comics scene. Whether it's stories about cooking, race cars or tennis, manga's genre diversity is through the roof. One area where manga really excels is in its portrayal of beefy dudes, but now the west is finally catching up thanks the recently launched Kickstarter for a zine dedicated to hot hairy men, Burl & Fur.

New images emerge almost daily from X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest installment in Fox and Bryan Singer's X-Men film franchise, set in the 1980s. Naturally, this has led to much discussion about how the '80s version of the X-Men look, and whether they could look better. After all, the body armor they seem to wear through much of the film has as little relation to 1980s fashion as it does to X-Men comics. This led famously fashion-oriented cover artist Kevin Wada to tweet a suggestion that everyone should draw the X-Men in film-friendly '80s style outfits.

Batgirl has been firing on all cylinders since the creative team of Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr came aboard just over a year ago, and has carved a niche as not only one of the most exciting books published by DC Comics, but as a book that's genuinely representative of the millennial experience. It might just be the amount of Lucha Underground that this particular millennial watches, but the most exciting moment in comics this week came from Batgirl #48, with the team joined by Rob Haynes, Serge LaPointe and Lee Loughridge.

In his 75-year career as a superhero, Dick Grayson has been a lot of things. He's been a circus acrobat, Robin, Nightwing, Batman, a Teen Titan, a member of the Justice League, Batman again, and he's been a world-traveling super-spy charged with bringing down some of the strangest threats that the DC Universe. But more than that, today's Dick Grayson is something else. Something more. Something that inspires us all in a way that few other super-heroes do. He is an exceptionally good-looking man. That, more than anything else, came to define him over the past year, and now, before we move inexorably into the future, we look back at how Dick Grayson had the handsomest year ever.

I don't have a whole lot of OTPs, but Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon are right there at the top of the list. They're two characters who have felt made for each other since the first time I saw them together, and even when they're not romantically entangled --- which is pretty frequently the case for characters that I always picture together --- and even when I don't actually want to see them romantically involved, which happens almost as often, their interactions always have a sense of history that makes them compelling and interesting. It's that interaction that takes center stage in this week's Batgirl #45, a character piece about two people whose lives have been pulled in drastically different directions and who don't know if they'll ever have the same connection that they once did. And it's one of the best takes on their relationship that I've ever read.

In 2005, DC Collectibles (née DC Direct) launched a statue series of artist interpretations of the Dark Knight inspired in part by the Batman: Black and White comic series. For the most part, the line has focused exclusively on Batman himself, though in the past few years DC has expanded the roster of Black and White to include villains like the Joker and Harley Quinn. Now for the first time, another member of the Bat-family will join the ranks in the form of the all-new Batgirl. Last year, Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr revamped Barbara Gordon to give her a new home, a new life and a whole new look. The fan response was immediate and loud, and the Batgirl of Burnside became a bright spot in the new DC Universe (and catalog) in a post-New 52 reboot world. However, as big of a success as this new Batgirl was, outside of the comics there was no merchandise to support the surprise hit. That changes this month. Thanks to the talented hands of sculptor Irene Matar, Babs Tarr's version of the character has been given life in collectible form for the first time, and the result is tremendous.

Not everyone can make it to San Diego Comic-Con to see what's happening in person, but ComicsAlliance has you covered! We know that it's not just about the news that comes out of the biggest con of the year --- it's also about seeing the booths, checking out new collectibles, and putting faces to names of your favorite creators. Thankfully talented photographer Pat Loika is on hand to document as much as he can for your enjoyment.

Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, Poison Ivy first graced the comic page back in the historic year of 1966, when The Sound of Music won Best Picture and England somehow won the World Cup. Her first appearance was in Detective Comics #181, and since then the character has remained a constant thorn in the Dark Knight's side.