Stephanie's looks
From Stephanie Brown Wiki
This page is to go through Stephanie's non-costumes looks under different artists, with commentary by yours truly!
In Detective Comics
Tom Lyle (Detective Comics 647-649)
Commentary: This is Steph's first appearance ever, in Detective Comics 647. This version of Steph looks a lot older than most versions. I dig her earrings, though.
In the Robin title (pre-Robin IV days):
Tom Grummett (Robin 3-5, 15, 16)
Commentary: Tom Grummett is a very competent artist. His version of Steph is not my favorite, but I appreciate how he gave her a believable body for an athletic teenage girl. But, a mini skirt and cowboy boots...I don't care if it was the 90's, you have better fashion sense than THAT, Steph!
Mike Wieringo (Robin 25, 26)
Commentary: As great an artist as Mike Wieringo...sigh...was...some of his Robin work looked a bit odd, like Steph in that second panel. Still, he drew her like a teenager and you have GOT to love that expression. And that first panel? Stephanie is wearing a preppy dress...and a LEATHER JACKET WITH HIKING BOOTS! And she's riding off in a motorcycle. That is so Steph.
Staz Johnson (Robin 41-73)
Commentary: I just love Steph's outfit in the second image. I truly do. It is so Steph. And her expression. And her hair. But that's cuz it looks like mine. Anyway, Staz did a hip Steph, but he does really weird expressions sometimes. That third image is only one example. Poor Tim got the brunt of it, though, Steph wasn't nearly as scathed.
Pete Woods (Robin 74-120)
Commentary: I love Pete Woods's Steph so much. You can tell by how he has the most pictures, right? She is just...very pretty, but at the same time has a normal sized chest and a normal body for an athletic teenage girl. And her clothes look comfortable and cute and like something a practical girl like Steph would enjoy wearing! And I adore Steph with short hair, it's very practical for her mask...and look at the expressions! He's such a good artist! Okay, I'll stop now. Needless to say, Pete Woods does my favorite Steph.
Rebecca Woods Robin #102
...though his sister comes pretty damn close. Steph looks extremely pretty in the first panel, and I absolutely love the cartoony take on WWYJ Steph. Talent must run in the family
David Hahn (Robin #104)
Commentary: This Steph's kind of cute, but her black lips scare me a little.
Francisco Rodriguez de la Fuente (Robin 122-124)
Commentary: There's really not much special about this Steph, except she has some seriously weird facial expressions.
Diego Barretto (Robin 80 Page Giant)
Commentary: See that picture? The one on the left is supposed to be Steph. The one on the right is supposed to be Dinah Lance. Hard to tell since they LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME, HUH? Also, Steph has a constant wedgie this whole issue too.
Batgirl (first series):
Damion Scott (Batgirl #20, #21, #28)
Commentary: I don't have as much against Damion Scott's work in Batgirl as most people. I liked his work near the beginning (before Spoiler appeared) and wonder why he decided to abandon that style. This one seemed to lean more towards making it seem like the superheroines had water balloons stuffed in their spandex than the last one. The way he draws hands, anatomy and movement can be messed up sometimes, but he's somewhat competent with that most of the time. And I adore his Stephanie's expressions here, and her stylin' ponytail. I don't like her look in the second panel much, that outfit isn't really very "Steph" at all, but maybe that's just me.
Jeff Parker (Batgirl #38)
Commentary: I really like this Steph. I don't know why. Her lips are too big sometimes and the art is very cartoony...but I like cartoony. And her EXPRESSIONS. And the outfit is appropriately Steph-ish.
Vince Giarrono (Batgirl #26)
Commentary: I also adore this Steph. Look at her expression in the first panel! Best confounded expression ever! And she's ready to kick some ASS in the second one. She's so cute and cool!
Phil Noto (Batgirl #27)
Commentary: This Steph is kind of squarish and older looking, but she's drawn very well otherwise.
Rick Leonardi (Batgirl #55, as well as Birds of Prey #39-40)
Commentary: Awww...she's so pretty! Sometimes the faces look a tad wide and rubbery, but in general I love Leonardi's work, and it suits Steph very well.
Pop M'han (Batgirl #72, #73)
Commentaty: M'han is a really good artist. Steph's costume is mysteriously pale pink here, but I'll assume that's because she's a ghost (besides, that wouldn't be M'han's fault anyway). You can tell from poor Ghost Steph's expressions that she's seen a lot and been though a lot. It breaks my heart, honestly.
Other:
Amanda Conner (Secret Files and Origins #1)
Commentary: Amanda Conner Steph is of course, adorable.
Stefano Gaudiano And Rick Hoberg (Batman Family #2, #8)
Commentary: This Steph is pretty obviously modeled after Pete Woods Steph, which is of course, fantastic. I love this Steph. She's pretty, expressive and real. And look, she's hanging out on a roof ledge in her street clothes! So cool.
Eduardo Baretto (Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma)
Commentary: Stephanie here has the super-generic comic book girl look and figure, as well as oddly purple lips. I kind of like her hair though.
Walter McDaniel (Joker: Last Laugh #3)
I don't have anything much to say about this art except it's very competent and there's nothing scare-making. And I like Steph in that first panel.
Phil Hester (Green Arrow #5-#6)
Commentary: Phil draws women expressively and non-sexualized, however, they all have the same square jawed thick lipped face. His Steph is incredibly similar in the face to his Mia. But it's nice, stylized work.
Todd Nauck (Young Justice #30, #50, #51, #54)
I love Todd Nauck, I do. I love the way he draws teenagers like teenagers, as is evidenced by the pictures of Steph here. I like his interpretation of her costume. BUT, there are two flaws in his artwork: One, he draws legs weird sometimes. Two, he draws all female faces the same. I didn't realize this until I saw his Steph and I was like..."That doesn't look like Steph...who does it look like? It looks like Arrowette!" Then I checked, and yep, all the YJ girls have the same faces. So Steph is just another blonde chick here. But other than the face, it's fine.
Stephanie as Robin:
Damion Scott (Robin 126-128)
Commentary: Though I didn't hate Scott's art in Batgirl, I don't like it at all here. Steph has full blown water balloons and a waist too small to support them, her arms and legs are sticklike and half the time the art is really unclear like in that first panel so you can't tell whats going on.
Dave Ross (Batgirl #53)
Commentary: Now this is more like it. Granted, Steph has a pretty big chest here, but at least her body looks somewhat capable of supporting it. And I love it when superheroines are actually muscular, but I don't know many women with a six-pack. Maybe that's body armor? Anyway, the elbow pads are sweet, and I love the strength in this Robin!Steph as well as her expressions and how she moves.
Pete Woods (Detective Comics #796)
Commentary: Hey, it's Pete Woods! Actually, I had no idea that was him until I looked at the credits a long time after reading this issue. I like his "Robin" work better, I'll admit, but his Robin!Steph is very good. I like her tough-going-against-Zssaz battle armor, it's all practical and tech! Her hair's kind of lifeless though. I don't want it to be like Damion Scott Robin!Steph, just a little less dead looking...maybe it's the coloring?
Tom Grummett (Teen Titans #13)
Commentary: Grummett on Steph again! And wow, has he improved! This Steph!Robin has to be my favorite version (besides the WWYJ one). She has a believable looking body (actually she looks a little too skinny at times, but it's pretty good by comic standards), she's well drawn, her costume looks just right (I miss those elbow pads though)and so does her hair. I like her big red headband and she looks like a kickass Robin just having a ball...well done, Tom Grummett, well done.
Dan Jurgens (History of the DCU #8)
Commentary: Aw, she looks so cheery and heroic! So of course to balance that out they had to have her bloody corpse behind her! Oh, comics, will you ever learn. Anyway, I'm pleased Steph gets a mention in the official History of the DCU even if it's "Hey, more tragedy for Bats!" I'll just think of it as more a "Hey, a chick was Robin! And look how cool she is!" And blank out the corpse. Because really, it is a cute Robin picture.
Robin title: Post Return
David Baldeon (Robin #172)
Commentary: Gee, Steph's big reveal would be a LOT more dramatic if David Baldeon didn't tend to draw all faces, male and female, the same! It's enough to make a girl question whether this is truly Stephanie or not. I certainly hope so, since banking on the number of blonde girls in the DCU and an artists lack of skill is just cheap. If Steph's back, though, she could be drawn with warts and a Jonah Hex mouth and I wouldn't care!
Chris Batista (Robin #174)
Commentary: See, I could immediately tell his was Steph. Mostly because this Steph channels some serious Tom Lyle. When you reveal a character as an artist, you need to look at how other people (or in comics case, one particular person, considering all the different artists that draw a character) draw her, and incorporate that into your own version. And Batista went back to the source to make Steph recognizable, so for that, I applaud him. His Steph is very pretty, and I love how normal her body looks! And her civvies are very Steph! But none of this really matters because....STEPH'S BACK!
Rafael Albuquerque (Robin/Spoiler Special)
Commentary: I love Raf. His art may be a little scribbly, but it's dynamic, and great with expressions. And he draws girls non exploitavely. His Steph is adorable.
Victor Ibanez (Robin/Spoiler Special)
Commentary: Oh, this is just beautiful. A very awesomely drawn Steph. Clear, and soft and pretty...and I love her clothes and smile that says "I will kick your ass." This guy is stellar.
Joe Bennet (Robin 175-176)
Commentary: As a reader of Birds of Prey, I could immediately see Steph's face was incredibly similar to how Joe drew Black Canary's...or all women's. However I do like some of the shots, and this is actually better than his BoP work, though I'm not overly fond of it.
Freddie Williams II (Robin 177-present)
Commentary: I hate to say it, since he's the artist for the forseeable future, but I don't dig this art. The huge, psuedo anime eyes don't work on this title, and Stephanie doesn't look good at all. Her figure is exaggerated to typical cartoonish comic proportions, and the clothes aren't that great either. Too bad. Hoping for improvement over here.
And Hey, Look, Improvement!
Commentary the Second: This is better. Still not brilliant, but decent. Steph's hair actually looks good, and her face isn't ugly! Also, some prettier civvies. I also like how her arms are kind of muscley.
Post Robin Cancellation:
ChrisCross (Gotham Gazette:
Commentary: I really dig Steph's groovy pigtails and cap convo, along with her sporty hoody, jeans and shitkickin' boots. ChrissCross's Steph manages to be young, tough and pretty all at the same time, and I really like it. The flash back of Steph in her Spoiler costume is oddly not as good, with her little nose, pouty lips and prominent boobs. But it's just one panel, and I like how Steph looks pissed off at Tim lecturing her rather than (ugh) teary.
Ramon Bachs (Red Robin #2):
Commentary: Apparently getting kicked in the stomach turned Steph's hair super curly. I kind of liked it, at least it sets her apart from other blonde heroines. Her face is pretty but generic. Her body is a regular comic book girls, complete with huge breasts (though in some panels they seem to shrink to almost normal size)
As Batgirl III
Lee Garbett (Batgirl (third series) 1-present)
Commentary: I really like Garbett's Steph. She's really fun and expressive, her hair is nicely bouncy and messy, her body has decent normal looking proportions and her clothes are cute yet tomboy-ish- perfectly Steph's style. She's just so alive and so Steph. Garbett was definitely a good choice to draw a fun Steph!Batgirl in her own series.
