There are spoilers ahead regarding Batgirl #42, released this past Wednesday (July 29th). You should stop now unless you want to be spoiled, and in our opinion, we think you want to be spoiled! Don’t read the rest of this post if you don’t want to be spoiled!
Fans of Gail Simone’s writing know how much she loves to create compelling new characters to play with. This is certainly true of her run on Batgirl and her character transgender character Alysia Yeoh, who became Barbara Gordon’s roommate and friend. LGBT characters often shuffle off the comics pages and into limbo when a new creative team comes onboard a series. This was the concern at Gay League when the new creative team of writers Cameron Stewart and Brendan Fletcher and artist Bab Tarr came to the book – and to be clear, this concern arose before the missteps with the Dagger Type story. Writers may think they can’t do justice to a previous writer’s character or they want to write a new one of their own. Alysia did appear, as we were promised, though her appearances were a few occasional panels at most. That’s why turning the last page in the latest issue of Batgirl to find Alysia sitting on the sofa in Barbara’s new apartment was a wonderful surprise! And the reason for her reappearance? Stewart, Fletcher, and Tarr are making good with their promise not to forget the character. Alysia was treated to a wonderful date the night before by her girlfriend Jo, first seen in issue #31, which provided the setting for Jo’s proposal! That’s right! And she wants Barbara to be her maid of honor! Even more exciting is this may be mainstream comics first marriage involving a trans character!
Weddings in comics have a history of mishaps and villainous party crashers so let’s hope Alysia and Jo have a beautiful wedding and a happy marriage!
