In recent comic investment climate, it is common for a female character to have a variant that commands a very heavy price tag. I wrote more about it in my last article. For today’s post, I am focusing more on Batgirl and the opportunities of investing in her key variants. As explained in my previous post, almost every popular female character has “the one” variant that is the most desirable among collectors and investors i.e. X-23 #1 Dell Otto. However, that is not the case for Batgirl. I think this will change when her solo movie nears as collectors will start to pay more attention to this iconic character.

So, below are the candidates that can potentially become “the one” variant.

Batman #28 Steampunk variant

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This variant currently seems to be the most limited in supply, judging by the listings on ebay. Unfortunately, we have no way of telling its print run. Most people will use incentive ratios to estimate print run but that is totally wrong. You never know what determines a particular issue’s print run since there are so many reason a publisher can print not according to order. An extra box here and there isn’t too much cost but it can severely distort the numbers of so called ‘small print run’ variants.

Anyway, this variant is also the most expensive so it seems to be the front runner of “the one” Batgirl cover to get. However, something about the art is not not par with other more famous variant covers. It is a difficult thing to call but I am not putting money into this one. If this indeed end up being the most valuable, I don’t mind not having in my collection since I really dislike the art.

Batman and Robin Adventures #21

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This cover is not a variant unfortunately so supply might not be as limited. This is the downside of this cover. Otherwise, it ticks all the check boxes. A great looking Batgirl cover that fans are already paying over cover price for.

Batgirl #12 by Artgerm

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This cover should easily be “the one” that is desired by most collectors. Problem: again it is not a variant so issues are not as hard as to find. Another problem is that this character is not Barbara but Stephanie. Since it is the former that is getting the movie treatment, I am not sure if it will affect this issue’s collectability.

Despite its short comings, this book is already hovering around $50 in NM condition. Remember what I said above books that are simmering. I believe this is the case here. With demand being constant and prices increasing steadily, it has the potential to explode in value once we see more Batgirl on the big screen.

Batgirl #35 variant

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The relaunch of the Batgirl series starts with this issue and the cover presented here is a 1:25 variant. Again, the incentive ratio tell us nothing about print run but I put it there purely as reference. Art wise, I prefer this compared to the steampunk variant so I hope this cover will be ‘the one’ lol. In terms of prices, it is selling in the above $15 region so there is some interest.

Batgirl #1 3rd Print

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A Adam Hughes cover usually is a good bet on being a breakout hit. Unfortunately, the regular #1 has not variant and it has a pretty big print run. It did however have a third print with a silver background. Will collector see this as the equivalent of a variant? Hard to tell but it is the most limited in supply among all the printing. In this age where rarity seems to be everything, it is a reasonable bet.

So, which do you think can be ‘the one’ for Batgirl? If you have better suggestions, I would love to hear them in the comments section.