Batgirl #23 was in the top ten most popular (recent) Modern Age comics last month. Now it has plummeted to #57th most popular in just a couple of weeks. Let's pretend we have Batman's detective skills to suss out her problem and the potential for this comic book. This is the finale to the "Strange Loop" storyline. Apparently, this "Loop" has Batgirl trapped within her own mind. To escape, she needs to go against her character, to get back to reality. I don't know if this mind-trippy stuff really is appreciated by readers. Basically, it says, we (the writers) don't want to put any effort into timeline and continuity; so we will just simply have it happen in the hero's mind. This is as zany as those Star Trek Original Series episodes where Kirk goes back in time to put the sixties back on track; as if any hero could! It seems many of the recent moderns have this same trend, up, then down, then sideways. Can we track down some Silver Age alternative Batgirls to invest in?
Batgirl must have missed her bat-rope for the popularity of this comic to fall so fast. Batgirl #23 was created by Minkyu Jung (artist), Joshua Middleton (cover art) and Hope Larson (writer). A big tagline for this story is "Batgirl, doomed to wander the mazes of her mind for all of eternity?" Batgirl #23 came out in May 2018 and took about one month to gain a top spot. It even bumped Amazing Spider-Man #798 for a brief time. The last sale for a grade (9.8) on eBay was $160 on 8/14/18. The returns are the usual suspects in our investigation. They quantify this entire speculation: with (9.8) returning negative -16.2% and (9.6) returning negative -12.8%. Batgirl #23 doesn't leave you much choice with negatives across the board (GoCollect). At this stage of development as an investment; you really have only one choice, sell it now.
It makes infinitely more sense to invest in the first appearance of this character in low grade. Batgirl first appeared in Batman #139 with Bill Finger, Henry Boltinoff, and Jack Schiff on scripts. The art was done by Sheldon Moldoff, Henry Boltinoff, and Bernard Baily. This book is old, either early Silver or Golden Age. Therefore, it is going to cost. But look at these returns: grade (2.0) positive +13% grade (4.5) up positive +170% and even the higher grades at (5.5) have a positive +53% return on investment (GoCollect). These are the kind of numbers that Batgirl would love to hang her Bat-O-Rang on.
If the first appearance is too expensive, perhaps a joke will lighten the mood. In fact, Batgirl appears in The Killing Joke as a plot device. Not the most dramatic role for such a pivotal character, but it is a serious book written by the "awesome" Alan Moore. Alan has Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) paralyzed by The Joker in The Killing Joke. But this is definitely a key turning point for the character.
Now, I have mixed feelings about this book. First off, they made a lot of copies. Today at a local thrift store they had an eleventh edition of The Killing Joke for sale. I was not laughing. Second, there exist at least 9 copies that are first print and perfect 10's. Then you have 16 that are 9.9's and finally, 770 copies that are (9.8)'s, The grading houses must have lost their collective minds. Currently, for $100 you can buy a (9.6) graded copy and receive a positive return of +12% (GoCollect). Whether it is recent Batgirl, OG-Batgirl, or Barbara Gordon Bat-victim, everyone loves Batgirl. But remember you are a speculative detective; don't allow a crime of loss to happen to your profit margins. Bet on the original, and you will be singing Batgirl's praises into the sunset.
