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More Reality With My Tights

This is the part where I get in trouble and people start calling me out on my stance on "real world" issues in my comics. However, I feel there is a very distinct line between a comic book universe that reflects the real world violence and one that simply reflects the diversity of the people who exist within. (I will also try to write this little rant while avoiding the word "diverse" as much as possible. It just strikes me as pompous...unless I am talking about a balanced D&D group). Looks like I am getting ahead of myself already... Let me back this fanboy truck up a bit. In the wake of Infinite Crisis, DC is in the middle of a pretty big make-over. Much of that make-over is coming in the form of new heroes; some drafting their own persona, others taking the mantle of fallen and/or forgotten heroes. So, what has the got fanboy’s (and girl’s) underoos in a bunch? Well, it would seem that... brace yourselves... Some of these heroes won't be white and even worse; a couple of them will be one of the gays! (One is even a Lesbian and a Hispanic). we're doomed...DOOMED).

Holy Homophobia Batman!

Um, first. Let me apologize for writing that above line. Even I, your friendly neighborhood Geek am not immune to cheesy, hackish journalistic prose.

Anyway, let me try to continue without resorting to such puns... All the major news agencies are posting the attention grabbing headlines, none of them above the sensationalism:

Batwoman - crime fighter by night, lipstick lesbian by day - NY Times (As if sexual orientation was a job).

Immigration sneaks into DC Comics - Drudge Report (Talking about the new "Mexican" Blue Beetle... The character who was born and raised in New Mexico, hence making him American, but when has Drudge ever cared about the facts)?

Agent of God now a Muslim - BBC (Talking about slain Sgt. Crispis Allen of Gotham PD becoming the new Spectre. Strange, because his religion was never actually touched upon in the comics).

These are the types of headlines that make this Geek’s blood boil. Someone once said that any press was good press. This isn't necessarily true in the world of comics. While the target demographic has aged considerably, it is still a fact that all the publishers want and need to attract new readers. Most parents are not going to let their kids pick up these books, based on those above headlines alone. However, I can't fully blame the above press agencies (well, except for Drudge who goes out of his way to sensationalize anything he gets his grubby hands on). No, I blame the marketing department at DC Comics, especially Dan Didio. Ah, Dan Didio, you are like the Bill Gates of Comics... Rare has one man been able to unite while simultaneously infuriate the fans. Mr. Didio is doing what all editors-in-chiefs try to do. He is issuing all kinds of changes within the DC Universe in order to shake up creative teams and increase sales. There is really nothing wrong with that. Keeping creative teams fresh does indeed help increase sales. Assuming, of course, that you don't resort to cheap marketing gimmicks to do so. While we will (hopefully) never see a return to the multiple variant covers and foil books, Didio does seem to be taking a page from Marvel’s old captain: Phil Jemas. How? Well, by adding various types of societal minorities into the DC Universe.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Look at that, two lame pop culture references in one rant... Anyway, let me stress now that I am in full support of all peoples being represented in comics. I will be the first to admit that the Justice League is a tad WASP heavy. The fact is that most of these iconic characters were created in the 1930s - 1950s. You just didn't find anyone who wasn't Caucasian in those pages, at least, not as the hero. The same could be said for non-hetero orientations. In fact, most of these characters were written to be "hyper-hetero". This wasn't necessarily a case of homophobia, at least not on the creator’s part. (It may have been, I am only guessing). However, it is a fact that there was a very real threat from various political groups. Groups who, at the time, saw these characters as a threat to the moral fiber of American youth. Indeed, so vicious was the political attack on Batman and Robin books by the Comics Code Authority that DC will still sue any artist who blatantly portrays either character as a homosexual character, particularly with each other. While I wish people weren't still so uptight about such things, I am completely fine with it. Characters like Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and Captain America have, in a way, transcended such images. They are more akin to the modern Greek Pantheon. However, over the years, many a comic book writer and artist have strived to change that.

With little exception, most of these attempts have failed.

Now, I am not going to delve into why these updated and new characters failed. I doubt it is due to the most common argument, being that comic book fans are immature freaks. While some of us are, I think the reason is far more economical. Fans just don't have the money to support every new book. Also, people forgot how many thousands of characters have been introduced since the days of Action Comics #1 and how few still survive. The well thought out characters stick around, the remainders do not. I think one of the reasons that various minority characters fall to the wayside is that their social minority status stays the core point of their character. To be blunt, that simply gets old. Batman will forever be driven by the death of his parents. I doubt he would have survived had his primary drive been his sexual orientation or ethnicity. That is the problem I have with the current attempt by DC Comics to create in a more colorful character roster. Just introduce interesting and compelling characters that can act as vehicles for compelling stories and the readers will stay. However, running to the press and stating that DC is going to try and bring diversity to their readers will only succeed in annoying them. Sadly, it also has the potential of making the whacko element out there to rear their ugly, bigoted, and very loud heads.

Just write interesting characters.

That is what it will always boil down to. When Marvel released a press statement that the Rawhide Kid would suddenly be gay and draw him with an extremely phallic revolver dangling form his crotch, you are asking for a highly polarized reaction. A reaction that always backfires. Always. However, when you publish a book like The Authority. A book that doesn't make a big deal out of two of its members being gay. A book that simply lets the characters and stories speak for itself, you get a modern classic series. I don't know how these new characters will play out for DC and its readers. From what I have read, they are all fairly interesting and are in the hands of skilled writers. Sadly, I don't think they will all last. Why? Simple. The public relations wing of DC Comics are making these characters into "events" and that rarely pays off. In fact, I can't think of one single character that was introduced to "change everything" that is still around.

How to fix it?

I don't know. However, I do think a very good start is to stop making an issue out of minority characters. You want a Black, Hispanic, Asian, gay, lesbian, or whatever character? Fine. Do so. In fact, do it more. Give everyone a character they can look up to. However, don't make it the core reason behind their heroic quest. Don't go screaming to the media that you are a sensitive company. Don't completely re-write a decades old character to fit your new politically correct manifest. And, for the love of all that is holy... Stop using Judd Wincik as your talking head for all things minority. That just pisses the fanboys and fangirls off!

We don't care how they look on the outside, where they were raised or who they sleep with...

Just write good stories. We will read them. Just create interesting characters. We will buy them.