Geoff Johns and JG Jones will team next year to start off All Star Batgirl, starring Barbara Gordon.

GJ: It is. It’s kind of liberating, and at the same time, I want to use all the toys in the Batman universe, and so does JG – she’s going to be Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, she’s going to have the long red hair and a sense of humor, she’s going to have all sorts of tricks that Batman doesn’t have. And we’re going to have a lot of fun playing with the relationship between Dick and Barbara – that relationship is going to be very different than what people are used to. Her origins, however, will be different.

NRAMA: Given that this is the iconic interpretation of Barbara as Batgirl, she’s doing this because she can, and it will be fun, right?

GJ: That’s a lot of it, but there’s more to her motivation than that. Why does she need this outlet of fun? What is happening in Gotham and in Batman’s world that requires a need for Batgirl? There's a mystery that involves her that she has to solve.

NRAMA: But what’s at the root of her doing it? What’s the motivation to do this, frankly, rather risky thing?

GJ: It has a lot to do with her having a father who’s obsessed with Batman, who turns on a big signal and talks to him on the roof. A dad who now comes home in the morning, because he’s been fighting costumed maniacs with Batman all night. Her trophies from Junior High and High School have been moved off the mantle and a mock up of Batman’s utility belt is there as an ongoing problem and challenge for Gordon to try
and figure out how it works.

Our story is going to about a girl who is in the shadow of Batman in a lot of different ways, and trying to come out of it.

NRAMA: And becoming Batgirl is, in a way, her means of connecting with and talking to her father…

GJ: In a way. She’s able to finally connect with him on a level he hasn’t been able to since her mom died. And all of this will be tempered against how Batman reacts and how Robin reacts to her, not to mention how the Scarecrow and Joker and the other villains react. We’ve also got some unique takes on supporting cast as well.

We’re shooting for something like Allan and Terry’s Wonder Woman in tone. Exciting, fun but focused on character. That’s one of my favorite books out there right now.

NRAMA: Will she have any key villains tied to her or her origin? Back in the day, it seemed like Killer Moth always gravitated toward her for better or – usually – worse.

GJ: We’re probably going to steer clear of Killer Moth, because they did Batgirl: Year One, which focused on him a lot. Plus I’d rather see JG draw Poison Ivy and Clayface.

GJ: We’ve talked for years about finding something that would be really fun to do. We’re aiming to tell the best action mystery adventure story we can about how and why Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl.

By completely missing the hows and whys.

This is going to be fun for me because I can say "fan" with quotes around it over and over every time it's discussed at IMWAN.

But I thought you were a Batgirl fan. Now you're just a "fan"?

What ever happened to Linda's optimism?

For comic books? My optimism stopped in 1969. Don't be silly!

This might be pretty good, taken on its own merits. Batgirl Year One was pretty good even though it also changed fundamental motivations of the character (oddly, also while the writer professed his great love for the original Batgirl stories then proceeded to get an awful lot wrong ... sense a pattern here with these people?).

What does it seem like they are or will be changing? Or in others, what is Batgirl's secret origin?

... she’s going to be Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, she’s going to have the long red hair and a sense of humor, she’s going to have all sorts of tricks that Batman doesn’t have.

And we’re going to have a lot of fun playing with the relationship between Dick and Barbara – that relationship is going to be very different than what people are used to. Her origins, however, will be different.

NRAMA: Given that this is the iconic interpretation of Barbara as Batgirl, she’s doing this because she can, and it will be fun, right?

GJ: That’s a lot of it, but there’s more to her motivation than that. Why does she need this outlet of fun? What is happening in Gotham and in Batman’s world that requires a need for Batgirl? There's a mystery that involves her that she has to solve.

It has a lot to do with her having a father who’s obsessed with Batman, who turns on a big signal and talks to him on the roof. A dad who now comes home in the morning, because he’s been fighting costumed maniacs with Batman all night. Her trophies from Junior High and High School have been moved off the mantle and a mock up of Batman’s utility belt is there as an ongoing problem and challenge for Gordon to try and figure out how it works.

Our story is going to about a girl who is in the shadow of Batman in a lot of different ways, and trying to come out of it.

NRAMA: And becoming Batgirl is, in a way, her means of connecting with and talking to her father…

GJ: In a way. She’s able to finally connect with him on a level he hasn’t been able to since her mom died.

But to say that this revisionist garbage will make me happy ... that's just cruel. I'm banning Eddie's foot.

All-Star Batgirl is going to be aimed square at the people who want Babs back and will never get it in regular continuity.