I asked our resident Batgirl expert and ½ of the comiXologist podcast to field this one: 

Let me show you the light, lathea. Batgirl has been one of my favorite characters of all time since before I could read, so I’m super excited that you asked about her. If you wanna get old school, I’d recommend starting with Barbara Gordon’s very first appearance as Batgirl waaaay back in Detective Comics #359 to get the genuine bona fide origin story. Issue #35 of the current ongoing Batgirl was a soft reboot, a continuation of her story with a fresh start for new readers. I think you can start here and be on board with who she is and what she stands for. 

For some more non-continuity heavy Barbara Gordon, you should definitely read Batgirl: Year One. It’s an exciting and expanded revisit to her origin story I suggested from Detective Comics! 

 As to Silk, girlfriend literally just appeared in the Marvel Universe. I started reading her series thinking she’d been around for awhile, but she just showed up in the Spider-Verse event a few months before! I think you’re good and caught up for the moment by reading her title. 

 I could seriously go on about Batgirl for days (and all the fierce ladies who have borne that name) so write back to us if you need more Bat-guidance! 
 xoxo Kara