Batwoman, Gay Marriage, When Editors Go Bad
(Cross-posted from Facebook, under "Mack Knopf")
DC Comics recently refused to allow the heroine of its “Batwoman” comic book, Kate Kane, to marry her fiancee, police officer Maggie Sawyer. Apparently, having a lesbian superhero is great public relations, but letting the writers have her marry her girlfriend would be some sort of disaster. Or possibly just gross – upper management is spewing double talk, the way an octopus squirts ink, in order to make the waters murky. But actions speak loudly here, and co-authors J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman recently announced they were quitting due to editorial interference. They will try to wrap up major storylines, if they are actually allowed to do another few issues. Kate had been a very out and outspoken lesbian from her first introduction as a character. Moreover, Kate was expelled from West Point after being confronted with and refusing to deny her sexuality.
This event led her to finding a new purpose in life: seeking justice for those who could not defend themselves. Becoming Batwoman is tied inextricably to that part of her. Pages from her origin story proving this can be found here: http://comicattack.net/2009/12/17/dcrdc
But let's assume that DC Comics upper management is not actively anti-gay. Let's assume that the
y're merely clueless, afraid of alienating non-gay readers (who are buying a book about an open lesbian main character, but draw the line at her marrying her girlfriend. So where does that leave us? With a “chilling effect” on the speech of writers when it comes to gay and lesbian characters at DC. Fear of gayness and disturbance at gay rights may be the ultimate motive behind the firing. Motives, though, are often a sealed black box – unknowable. Actions may tell us what we need to know instead.
The decision to prevent a lesbian marriage prevents a great story from being told. I suspect the motive was "only" 75% homophobia and 25% cynical marketing that marriages are bad for selling comics. I certainly won't buy any more issues of Batwoman's title, which I've read with much enjoyment, when other authors come on board. Management eviscerated Kate's character concept when they fired Williams and Blackman. Will I keep buying some books from DC? Yes, however. Good work goes on there, but now it's despite the odds and the editors.
Anyway, I have to find out where Brian Azzarello takes his Wonder Woman storyline... I hope he gets to finish the story he began. Romance is not a major theme of “Wonder Woman,” though perhaps gender roles are, along with the relationship of parents to children. But I strongly suspect that Diana is bisexual, if anything (“Hades, I love everyone”), though that line was about platonic love, not necessarily erotic. So maybe Azzarello had better watch his step as an author, lest he too be told what not to write.
At the Baltimore Comics Con recently, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio tried claiming that the real reason for forbidding a gay marriage was the overall vision for Bat-related characters. To paraphrase, they must be dark, angsty people with no happiness in their personal life. “They shouldn’t have happy personal lives... They put on a cape and a cowl for a reason,” he said. “They’re committed to being that person, they’re committed to defending others—at the sacrifice of all their own personal instincts.” ( http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p
If that vision for characters in the extended Batman vigilante “family” were anything more than a smokescreen, it would show that DC's publishers need to stay as far away from the actual creative process as possible. Stories where people are miserable all the time are not only depressing to read, but psychologically unrealistic, and thus unbelievable. That's not how people (who are not one step away from the abyss and suicide) are actually motivated to help others.
Batman, for instance, began his war on criminals because his parents were murdered by one, and he wanted to stop tragedies from happening to others. This is very true. It is also very true, in my opinion, that Bruce Wayne finds deep satisfaction in his crusade. He is not sacrificing his personal instincts; he is fulfilling them by seeking justice.
So statements like that by DiDio show why he is not a writer; unfortunately, people like him decide who gets to write comic books. Now, can Bruce Wayne ever have a girlfriend whose relationship lasts more than a few issues, while still being a driven vigilante? That's a good question for another time and discussion. “You wonder what editors do,” DiDio asked rhetorically at the Baltimore convention. “That’s their job. I stand behind that 100%. I stand behind our choices 100%. And I stand behind Batwoman and Kathy Kane—100%.”He then challenged the audience to “name one other publisher that committed to a character...There isn’t.”
Readers of these quotes can draw their own conclusions about those words and the policies of DC Comics. I certainly have.
DC Comics recently refused to allow the heroine of its “Batwoman” comic book, Kate Kane, to marry her fiancee, police officer Maggie Sawyer. Apparently, having a lesbian superhero is great public relations, but letting the writers have her marry her girlfriend would be some sort of disaster. Or possibly just gross – upper management is spewing double talk, the way an octopus squirts ink, in order to make the waters murky. But actions speak loudly here, and co-authors J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman recently announced they were quitting due to editorial interference. They will try to wrap up major storylines, if they are actually allowed to do another few issues. Kate had been a very out and outspoken lesbian from her first introduction as a character. Moreover, Kate was expelled from West Point after being confronted with and refusing to deny her sexuality.
This event led her to finding a new purpose in life: seeking justice for those who could not defend themselves. Becoming Batwoman is tied inextricably to that part of her. Pages from her origin story proving this can be found here: http://comicattack.net/2009/12/17/dcrdc
But let's assume that DC Comics upper management is not actively anti-gay. Let's assume that the
y're merely clueless, afraid of alienating non-gay readers (who are buying a book about an open lesbian main character, but draw the line at her marrying her girlfriend. So where does that leave us? With a “chilling effect” on the speech of writers when it comes to gay and lesbian characters at DC. Fear of gayness and disturbance at gay rights may be the ultimate motive behind the firing. Motives, though, are often a sealed black box – unknowable. Actions may tell us what we need to know instead.The decision to prevent a lesbian marriage prevents a great story from being told. I suspect the motive was "only" 75% homophobia and 25% cynical marketing that marriages are bad for selling comics. I certainly won't buy any more issues of Batwoman's title, which I've read with much enjoyment, when other authors come on board. Management eviscerated Kate's character concept when they fired Williams and Blackman. Will I keep buying some books from DC? Yes, however. Good work goes on there, but now it's despite the odds and the editors.
Anyway, I have to find out where Brian Azzarello takes his Wonder Woman storyline... I hope he gets to finish the story he began. Romance is not a major theme of “Wonder Woman,” though perhaps gender roles are, along with the relationship of parents to children. But I strongly suspect that Diana is bisexual, if anything (“Hades, I love everyone”), though that line was about platonic love, not necessarily erotic. So maybe Azzarello had better watch his step as an author, lest he too be told what not to write.
At the Baltimore Comics Con recently, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio tried claiming that the real reason for forbidding a gay marriage was the overall vision for Bat-related characters. To paraphrase, they must be dark, angsty people with no happiness in their personal life. “They shouldn’t have happy personal lives... They put on a cape and a cowl for a reason,” he said. “They’re committed to being that person, they’re committed to defending others—at the sacrifice of all their own personal instincts.” ( http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p
If that vision for characters in the extended Batman vigilante “family” were anything more than a smokescreen, it would show that DC's publishers need to stay as far away from the actual creative process as possible. Stories where people are miserable all the time are not only depressing to read, but psychologically unrealistic, and thus unbelievable. That's not how people (who are not one step away from the abyss and suicide) are actually motivated to help others.
Batman, for instance, began his war on criminals because his parents were murdered by one, and he wanted to stop tragedies from happening to others. This is very true. It is also very true, in my opinion, that Bruce Wayne finds deep satisfaction in his crusade. He is not sacrificing his personal instincts; he is fulfilling them by seeking justice.
So statements like that by DiDio show why he is not a writer; unfortunately, people like him decide who gets to write comic books. Now, can Bruce Wayne ever have a girlfriend whose relationship lasts more than a few issues, while still being a driven vigilante? That's a good question for another time and discussion. “You wonder what editors do,” DiDio asked rhetorically at the Baltimore convention. “That’s their job. I stand behind that 100%. I stand behind our choices 100%. And I stand behind Batwoman and Kathy Kane—100%.”He then challenged the audience to “name one other publisher that committed to a character...There isn’t.”
Readers of these quotes can draw their own conclusions about those words and the policies of DC Comics. I certainly have.
