Monday, June 12, 2006

Controversy!

I've thought of the most controversial image in comics today.

The background is alternating images of Max Lord shooting Blue Beetle, and Wonder Woman snapping Max Lord's neck. In the foreground, Joe Quesada tears up pictures of Mary Jane and Peter's wedding, Hawkeye comes back from the dead, Nightwing dies, and Starfox hits on the new Batwoman, who retorts "Are you retarded or something? I'm a goddamn lesbian!"

But my Photoshop skills suck, and I can't draw, so this image will never know the light of day.

Speaking of Batwoman, as most of the Internet is, here are my thoughts:
*The costume is nice, and I like the homage trifecta--Batgirl, Terry McGinnis, and the old-school Bat-Woman.
*I don't know how I feel about Devin Grayson writing. Her run on "Nightwing" was almost universally reviled, so I don't know how great a fit she might be to another Bat-family book. Yes, yes, she's a bisexual woman and the character is a lesbian, but I'm not of the opinion that a minority character has to be written by an author of that minority. Particularly if, as the various editors have suggested, the minority aspect of the character is not meant to be the focus.
*I do not wish for Ms. Kane's death, rape, conversion to heterosexuality, or romantic tryst with Power Girl. Furthermore, I find her existence neither disgusting nor titillating (I do, however, find the word "titillating" hilarious). I do not blame DC for "pandering" to the "gay agenda," nor do I harbor delusions that this is somehow harmful to children (I thought kids weren't reading comics) or that it will cause more people to become homosexual (she's not that hot, ladies).
*I welcome the addition of more realistic homosexual comic characters. That being said, I am glad that the comic industry is sticking to their usual trend of portraying every superhero as an impossible, idealized image of physical perfection. It's high time that the gay community had a four-color representative who could make them feel that society has an unrealistic of their bodies. Now, complaining about big boobs and bulging biceps isn't limited to breeders!
*I care much more about the current state of the current Batgirl. I hope Kalinara's right.

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