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I'm glad that people are taking violence against women seriously, that folks from all sides of the industry (e.g., creators/fans, men/women, etc.) are weighing in, and that folks are giving serious thought about how women are traditionally portrayed in comicdom. It's an important conversation to have and always will be. I do still think the cover is fine as is and should not have been pulled.
I realize folks have strong opinions on this, but I'll still give my reasoning for being okay with the cover.
I think context is extremely key here.
The themed variant covers are celebrating The Joker, a character that has a range of interpretation from a simple prankster to a sadistic killer, and, oftentimes, a combination of those two extremes. That means the variant cover should be open to any canonical interpretation of The Joker.
In this particular instance, it was for the cover of Batgirl, a hero he's had an iconic, albeit violent, interaction with (The Killing Joke). In that context, it makes sense to reference that. Not that it had to be referenced, nor should it be the exclusive reference point for these two characters, but it is fair game. And it's clear that the variant cover is indeed SPECIFICALLY referencing that interaction (e.g., Joker's clothing in the piece, the use of the gun). The variant cover isn't a random pairing of Joker and Batgirl with threatening connotations just for the sake of it, it's a callback to a specific interaction between those two characters.
I also think it's important to note that in the variant, unlike in "The Killing Joke" story, Barbara is fully in costume as Batgirl and, while certainly depicted as afraid/terrified, she isn't physically bound nor is the gun pointed at her directly. The implication is that she is terrified/traumatized, which again speaks to a past interaction that would trigger such emotions, not a random reaction to The Joker.
Let me also say, I don't think that "The Killing Joke" or Barbara-as-a-victim should be the ONLY artistic depiction whenever these two characters interact (e.g., on a cover, interior story), but I don't think it should be excluded. It WOULD be a problem if this were the "umpteenth" time Barbara was artistically framed as the terrified victim. It would certainly disservice her as a heroine and as a human being unwilling to conquer her fears. But she's faced The Joker after "The Killing Joke" and defeated him, and would most certainly do so again.
I wouldn't expect the same piece using Wonder Woman or Starfire, and not just because those characters could superhumanly defeat The Joker, but because they haven't had this particular interaction with him. Conversely, I wouldn't be surprised if a Joker-themed cover with Jason Todd/Red Hood referenced "A Death in the Family" – which has happened. Or if a themed variant cover featuring Bane referenced him breaking Batman's back. Or one featuring Doomsday referenced him killing Superman.
As for being tonally different than the current run of the book, most variant covers are. The purpose of a variant has been to feature the book's character within the context of the variant's theme or setting typically without regard for the book's tone. Variants serve the variant's theme with the title character positioned in context to that. And that's what's being done here, with the added historical reference to the title character and variant subject.
And to be clear, I'm generally against variant covers as a consumer (though I've loved the art it generates), I haven't been reading this run of Batgirl, and I wasn't planning to cop this variant cover at all. I'm just against pulling the variant on principle.
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