Hinted and teased about for months, Sunday?s New York Times (already being delivered in the New York area) confirms that DC is brining back a staple of its Silver Age: Batwoman.
The article, entitled "Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics: At DC and Marvel Comics, new heroes are gay, black, Asian and Hispanic. Get used to it," is a full- page feature on page 25 of the Sunday Arts & Leisure section on Marvel and DC?s emphasis on increasing the diversity of their respective character libraries over the past months to year-plus. NYT writer George Gene Gustines covers, among others, the attention being placed on the upcoming Black Panther/Storm wedding at Marvel and Luke Cage's key role in New Avengers, and the new Blue Beetle - a Hispanic teen - as well as Batwoman, Kathy Kane, who, according to the article: ??is a wealthy (socialite), buxom lipstick lesbian who has a history with Renee Montoya, an ex-police detective who has a starring role in 52."
According to the article, Batwoman will "appear in costume for the first
time in a July issue of 52"
Eagle-eyed DC fans caught a first look at Batwoman in Infinite Crisis #7?s splash page showing a swath of new characters ? wearing a costume apparently inspired by the original, Silver Age Batwoman, as well as a nod to the color scheme of Batman Beyond. According to the NYT, the costume was designed by Alex Ross. Of course, her name, an obvious homage to the Silver Age ?Kathy Kane?.
Also mentioned is ?the Great Ten?, a Chinese-government controlled/sponsored superhero team making their debut next month in 52.
According to the article, the team includes, "the Celestial Archer, with ties to Chinese mythology; Mother of Champions, who can give birth to a litter of 25 super-soldiers about every three days; and Seven Deadly Brothers, a martial arts expert who can divide into many."
The Times piece recaps the sometimes bumpy roads comic books have taken towards diversity - including DC's 1998 series The New Guardians, the mid-90's Milestone imprint, and 2000's "Planet DC" initiative - but according to Gustines, this new emphasis/push is intended to be a "sustained one,? taking place in an alternate world that nevertheless reflects American society in general and comics readers in particular, in much the same way that they multicultural casts of televisions shows like ABC's Lost and Grey's Anatomy mirror their audiences."
"I'm glad we're at the point when they're being rolled out without flourish - not 'Minority Heroes Attack!,' " DC writer Judd Winick tells Gustines. "It's important to see them as characters and not a story line about race."
The piece is also not without some examination of the online comic book community and their reaction to change. Citing the death of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle, which paved the way for the new Mexican-American Jaime Reyes version, Gustine writes, "Fans of the old Blue Beetle posted online messages decrying his death and griping about DC's new, generally more somber direction. But comics devotees are notorious for buying titles out of loyalty, whether from completist compulsion or from a need to be able to complain about what they don't like, and DC knows it".
"It's hard to introduce any new hero DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio tells Gustines, adding that using familiar names like (like Blue Beetle and Batwoman), "gives us a leg up so they're more readily accepted, I think that's the way to go."
Look for a link to the Times piece when it appears online, and an interview with DiDio on the new Batwoman and DC's drive to diversity Sunday, here at Newsarama.com.
So more info later....
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
That link may eventually require membership, so here is the article. They also had pictures of the Big 10, and some other stuff beyond the Batwoman image.
Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics
By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES
Published: May 28, 2006
X-RAY vision. Teleportation. Shape-shifting. Flight. The special abilities of superheroes are certainly diverse. But historically the faces behind the masks have been much less so. Out of costume the biggest difference was black hair or blond. Green skin was more common than any shade of brown. And on the rare occasion when nonwhite heroes were included, names like Black Panther and Black Lightning telegraphed the difference.
But this year will be a banner one for diversity in the $500 million comic book business. At DC Comics, an effort is under way to introduce heroes who are not cut from the usual straight white male supercloth. A mix of new concepts, dusted-off code names and existing characters, the new heroes include Blue Beetle, a Mexican teenager powered by a mystical scarab; Batwoman, a lesbian socialite by night and a crime fighter by later in the night; and the Great Ten, a government-sponsored Chinese team.
Over at Marvel Comics, Black Panther, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, will soon marry Storm, the weather-controlling mutant and X-Man. Luke Cage, a strong-as-steel black street fighter who married his white girlfriend in April, plays a key role in "New Avengers," the company's best-selling book.
Comic books have featured minorities before, but the latest push is intended to be a sustained one, taking place in an alternate world that nevertheless reflects American society in general and comics readers in particular, in much the same way that the multicultural casts of television shows like ABC's "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" mirror their audiences. "I'm glad we're at the point when they're being rolled out without flourish ? not 'Minority Heroes Attack!,' " said Judd Winick, who has written many comics for both Marvel and DC. "It's important just to see them as characters and not a story line about race."
Credit is due in part to diversity behind the scenes. Reginald Hudlin, Black Entertainment Television's president for entertainment, is writing the Black Panther series. Joe Quesada is editor in chief at Marvel, the first Hispanic to have that job.
"I do look at the universe with a different set of eyes," Mr. Quesada said, "but I don't let race enter or interfere with the story. There's nothing worse than thinking, 'We need three more black characters in the Marvel universe.' "
In the DC universe, many of the heroes are closely tied to "52," an ambitious, yearlong series, published weekly, that began this month. With the established heroes Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman mainly offstage trying to find themselves after a strained alliance in "Infinite Crisis," the events of "52" force the new heroes into bigger roles.
"We're trying a lot at the same time," said Dan DiDio, DC's vice president and executive editor, "but we don't know how it's going to be accepted."
The concern is understandable given DC's uneven history with introducing minority characters en masse. In 1988 it published "The New Guardians," about a super-powered team that included an aboriginal girl, an Eskimo man and Extrano, an H.I.V.-positive gay man who wanted to be called Auntie, who was dismissed online by a fan as a "limp-wristed caricature."
In 1993 DC printed and distributed the work of Milestone Media, an African-American-owned company specializing in comics with black, Asian, Hispanic and gay heroes. Some of the titles ran for nearly four years, but all ceased publication during a volatile time in the comic industry. One character, a black teenager with electrical powers, found greater success in the animated series "Static Shock."
In 2000 another batch of international heroes ? from Turkey, India, Japan, Argentina and elsewhere ? were introduced under the "Planet DC" banner. These champions of justice have had few adventures since.
This time around the writers and editors are taking pains to avoid that fate. Mindful that readers can be especially resistant to new faces, the creators are carefully orchestrating introductions and linking unfamiliar characters to "legacy" heroes.
The previous Blue Beetle, who was white, was murdered last year in a hot-selling story that paved the way for the new Blue Beetle, a k a Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager in El Paso. Fans of the old Blue Beetle posted online messages decrying his death and griping about DC's new, generally more somber direction. But comics devotees are notorious for buying titles out of loyalty, whether from completist compulsion or from a need to be able to complain about what they don't like, and DC knows it. "It's hard to introduce any new hero," Mr. DiDio admitted. But, he said, if using familiar names "gives us a leg up so they're more readily accepted, I think that's the way to go."
In March, Jaime was spun off into his own book, which is as much about him coming to terms with his powers and the mystical scarab as it is about his working-class family and high school life. The first issue sold an estimated 50,000 copies and was reprinted to meet demand. Online reviews were generally positive, but fan reaction was typically mixed. "The guy is Mexican?" a reader wrote online, adding, "Sure can't tell by the costume." Another responded, "Would you have preferred a big blue sombrero?"
Another effort to link old and new characters centers on Kathy Kane, the gay Batwoman who will appear in costume for the first time in a July issue of "52." Batwoman was introduced in 1956, but she was one of several, often silly additions to the Bat family, including Ace the Bat-Hound (1955), Bat-Mite (1959) and Bat-Girl (1961). In her latest incarnation, Batwoman is a wealthy, buxom lipstick lesbian who has a history with Renee Montoya, an ex-police detective who has a starring role in "52."
Even so, it's something of a surprise that there are any gay characters hanging out in Gotham City. Last year DC issued a cease-and-desist letter to a New York art gallery for displaying watercolors by Mark Chamberlain that depicted Batman and Robin in intimate positions. "That's not what this is about," Mr. DiDio said. "We're basically showing a different cross section of the world."
The Chinese government-controlled Great Ten, making their debut next month, should prove less contentious. The team includes the Celestial Archer, with ties to Chinese mythology; Mother of Champions, who can give birth to a litter of 25 super-soldiers about every three days; and Seven Deadly Brothers, a martial arts expert who can divide into many.
If anyone is sympathetic to DC's struggles with new characters, it is Marvel, its rival. Mr. Quesada recalls the 2004 debut of Ara?a, a Hispanic girl with Spider-Man-like powers. She made a big splash and quickly received her own series in 2005, but it lasted only a year.
The company has had more success with two black characters who have been around for a few decades: Black Panther, created in 1966, and Storm, from 1975. Their marriage, in July, is the work of Mr. Hudlin. He started a new Black Panther series last year; one story line sent the title character and Luke Cage to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans to help in the cleanup. (Fittingly, Mr. Hudlin, who is also a film director, described the teaming of an ex-cop and African king as a "a buddy action movie."
"The reality is that there's been so few black characters who have their own book, who have been consistently published," Mr. Hudlin said, "let alone a black character who has been written by a black writer and the perspective that comes from that."
He added: "I'm not saying you have to be black to understand the character, but very often the best writer may be the writer who best understands the culture of the character."
Fans have debated whether the new Black Panther title succeeds ? "We all like the character, why can't we disagree on the writing?" blkyoda wrote on hudlinentertainment.com ? but Mr. Hudlin proudly spoke of a man who reads the series to his son, two pages a day.
Mr. Winick, the comics writer who is perhaps still best known as a cast member of MTV's 1994 "Real World," also emphasizes diversity in his work. He introduced a Japanese lesbian superhero during his tenure (2001 to 2003 ) on "Exiles," a Marvel comic about mutants saving alternate realities from destruction. "Outsiders," which he currently writes for DC, has a multiethnic cast that includes Grace, a rowdy Chinese-American powerhouse, and Thunder, the daughter of Black Lightning. Mr. Winick even had Green Arrow, as the mayor of Star City, legalize gay marriage.
"It's nice when a young reader can gravitate toward a character and feel represented," he said. Mr. Winick, who is white, said that wasn't always the case, citing the experience of his wife (and "Real World" cast mate) Pam Ling, a Chinese-American who, with her sisters, used to watch "Wonder Woman" because of her dark hair. "That's as close as she was going to get" to a sense of kinship, he said.
"When I get gripes for my need to force my social agenda into comics, I always ask: which social agenda are you complaining about? Is it the gay people? Or the black people or the Asian people?
"After a while, it doesn't look like a social agenda. This is the world we live in."
Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
Posted on 28-05-2006 15:13
More on her by Dido:
[QUOTE]As the news was filteing out through various channels, we caught up with DC Executive Editor Dan Didio to talk about the new character, the role her sexuality will play, and what the future holds for the new Batwoman.
NRAMA: So ? after much rumor, speculation, and teasing, Batwoman is making her debut?
Dan Didio: Yes!
NRAMA: Tell us about her?
DIDIO: We?re always looking for ways to reinvigorate the Batman franchise, and look at other characters to inhabit his world. One of my problems with it was that I felt that a lot of the characters were coming form the same place, the same sense of origin, the same sense of tragedy in their backstory. We wanted to find a way to branch out a little bit more in the Bat-world. We looked at the Kathy Kane character, and we wanted to find a way to bring her back to the DC Universe. We figured that coming out of Infinite Crisis was a good time to re-introduce the character to the DCU ?we can blame Superboy Prime for that.
We wanted to find a way to make her feel different, and give her a different personality, a different ideology, and a different backstory, so that she wasn?t just another Batman or Bruce Wayne clone. She?s a member of high society and she is gay. But her sexuality is not the main thrust of the character; it?s just another aspect of her personality, one that helps her to determine her choices that she makes as she?s fighting crime in Gotham City.
NRAMA: What do you mean by that last part? How does the fact that she?s gay help to determine the choices she makes as she?s fighting crime in Gotham?
DIDIO: Basically, what it means is that we have another very strong female character, and how her private life plays against her heroic life is going to be where the stories play in; as well as different types of adventures and different types of dramas that she gets caught up in. One of the first stories is that she does have a history with Montoya ? because of that, it pulls her directly into a lot of the events in Montoya?s world, brings her into confrontation with The Question, and gets her hooked up with the things that are happening in 52.
NRAMA: Playing devil?s advocate, as you said, the fact that she is gay will play a role in her activities as a hero ? but, when you flip that, it doesn?t really apply to say, Batman. You can?t say, ?Because he?s heterosexual, Batman?s adventures are thus and so.? Heterosexuality as a character trait is has been largely ignored with Batman, yet it?s not the same when you?re talking about a gay character. Why is that?
DIDIO: If the character is gay, she might have had different levels of challenges in her life. The fact that she conceals her own sexuality to some of the people around her and to her own family is going to be a bit of a story, so there are going to be secrets within secrets. You?ll also find more and more about who she is as the story is told, and see how it plays against her lifestyle.
NRAMA: Where does she debut again?
DIDIO: 52 #11
NRAMA: And her name is Kathy Kane?
DIDIO: Or ?Kate? as we?re calling her now.
NRAMA: Her costume designed by Alex Ross ? it has interesting elements, both a nod to the original Silver Age Batwoman, as well as a nod to the Batman Beyond color scheme. What went into the look?
DIDIO: We really attribute the costume fully to Alex. When we went to him, we explained that we were bringing Batwoman back, but she is coming back for a new generation. He knew the backstory of the character as well, and wanted to do something that would both pay tribute to the past, but also move the character into her own identity. He?s so incredible when he does these things; he pulls from so many different places and still makes it feel unique while still giving a wink and a nod to everything around him.
NRAMA: Anytime someone shows up in Batman?s world, he takes a relatively grumpy reaction?well; he did prior to Infinite Crisis. What?s his response to this intrusion, post Infinite Crisis?
DIDIO: Well, remember that she?s operating in the city for nearly a year before Bruce comes home. She?s going to be able to establish herself in that fashion, and part of the assumption of the identity will be filling that void in Gotham City that has been left by Batman packing up and leaving after Crisis. This plays out on several levels, because you?ll also find out that there?s history between Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane from before she put on the costume as well. She?s someone who?s frequented the high society circles ? they?ve encountered each other in the past, and there is some sense of history between the two, although we?re not really explaining what just yet. So, more importantly, he?s going to have to deal with her on multiple levels, as she reasserts herself in a level of prominence in Gotham society.
NRAMA: Plans for her in the immediate future? Her own series, miniseries, appearances, or can it be said at this point?
DIDIO: One of the things that I would like to do with Batwoman in particular, because we feel that who she is and the development of the character is so unique to what we?re trying to accomplish in the DCU, but also to what 52 is about, one of the things I?d like to see, at least in the beginning, is to see her as a character who will be appearing primarily in 52. Them, we?ll be exploring things in different ways.
To use a Marvel reference, I always liked the way that Marvel introduced the Punisher. He started in Amazing Spider-Man, and had some really landmark appearances in Daredevil, and they allowed interest in him to grow. I think this is a character that can really benefit form appearing in different books first before we test the waters with her on her own.
NRAMA: And let the fan demand fuel a project?
DIDIO: Yeah. We?ve introduced a lot of characters in a very short period time, and we?ve got a lot more coming down the pipeline, but I?d like to believe that mostly everything we do now is coming out of other things so that we?re not just throwing books and ideas and concepts at people cold. I want it to be where it feels like everything has time to take root. Again, we?re throwing a lot of new ideas, and more importantly, things where people are already predisposed about how they think a character should act and behave. So I want to pull them in a little more slowly now, and get them acclimated to the new directions for the series and the characters themselves, and hopefully enjoy what we?re doing.
Therefore, when we do go bigger with series and stories, they?re ready for it, and, as the expression goes are coming out, ?Because you Demanded It!?
NRAMA: Bigger picture ? as you said, you?ve introduced a large number of characters in a relatively short time coming out of Crisis. A lot of these characters are non-white, or, like Batwoman, minorities in other respects. That was the plan all along?
DIDIO: Always. From the moment I walked in the door. If you go out and try to diversify the DC Universe in 15 minutes ? and you can ? but you?re going to get something that will instantly forgotten like, not to speak too ill of the dead, Planet DC. Noble effort, smart idea, but the execution short-circuited the concept, and it was stillborn.
So what we wanted to do is have a DC Universe that was more reflective, not only of our readership, but as society as a whole. Everything that we?re doing, every step that we?re taking, we?ll keep on pushing that, not only because I think it?s the right thing to do, but also because it allows us to create those points of difference. The fact that the Blue Beetle is Hispanic allows you to include a different kind of sensibility into the story that we might not have had in another series. It?s the same thing with the new Atom being Asian. It should affect the storytelling in some way, because it allows us to give a different point of view, a different perspective. The same thing with Renee Montoya or Kate Kane being gay ? that doesn?t matter who they are, but it does help give their stories a different point of view, a different perspective on the DCU that other characters might not have. It?s trying to attack these things on a personal level, so we can get much richer, more emotional stories from them.
NRAMA: Wrapping up ? Batwoman coming back?Batgirl?not around anymore?
DIDIO: ?I didn?t say that, did I? [laughs]
NRAMA: So the Bat-shaking?s not done?
DIDIO: Yeah. There?s a good chance that there are some more twists and turns coming up within the Bat Family. There was that sense that they were a single unit, operating with a single mindset, and all the characters were marching to Batman?s orders. One of the key things we need to do; especially coming out of Crisis is reinstate that sense of individuality for all the characters that inhabit Batman?s world. We?ve got a great set of characters with Robin and Nightwing and several others there, but what we need to do is make sure we understand and express what each one of their point of difference is.
I don?t want somebody to pick up a Batman book, a Nightwing book, and a Robin book and feel like they?re reading the same story. These are three different people with three different perspectives, with three different stories taking place. They all should have their own tonality and their own feel, and that?s what we want to do with Batwoman right now ? she should have her own tonality, her own feel so that her character and her story has something that?s unique to itself, and not just another Batman story with a woman.[/QUOTE]
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Looks like Newsarama is getting upset with people linking to their images. I had to edit the images posted to links because they had them replaced with some not very nice messages. Darknight
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
NEW YORK (May 31) - Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet. DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year.
The 5-foot-10 superhero comes with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit.
"We decided to give her a different point of view," explained Dan DiDio, vice president and executive editor at DC. "We wanted to make her a more unique personality than others in the Bat-family. That's one of the reasons we went in this direction."
The original Batwoman was started in 1956, and killed off in 1979. The new character will share the same name as her original alter ego, Kathy Kane. And the new Batwoman arrives with ties to others in the Gotham City world.
"She's a socialite from Gotham high society," DiDio said. "She has some past connection with Bruce Wayne. And she's also had a past love affair with one of our lead characters, Renee Montoya."
Montoya, in the "52" comic book series, is a former police detective. Wayne, of course, is Batman's true identity - but he has disappeared, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, leaving Gotham a more dangerous place.
The "52" series is a collaboration of four acclaimed writers, with one episode per week for one year. The comics will introduce other diverse characters as the story plays out.
"This is not just about having a gay character," DiDio said. "We're trying for overall diversity in the DC universe. We have strong African-American, Hispanic and Asian characters. We're trying to get a better cross-section of our readership and the world."
The outing of Batwoman created a furor of opinions on Web sites devoted to DC Comics. Opinions ranged from outrage to approval. Others took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the announcement.
"Wouldn't ugly people as heroes be more groundbreaking?" asked one poster. "You know, 200-pound woman, man with horseshoe hair loss pattern, people with cold sores, etc.?"
DiDio asked that people wait until the new Batwoman's appearance in the series before they pass judgment.
"You know what? Judge us by the story and character we create," he said. "We are confident that we are telling a great story with a strong, complex character."
DiDio spent most of the morning fielding phone calls from media intrigued by the Batwoman reinvention.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "We had a feeling it would attract some attention, but we're a little surprised it did this much."
On the AOL Msg board, they've not been saying kind words about her.
I wonder how well she will do. Also, is she around after 52? No characters in 52 will be used until the series is over, correct?
beyond wrote:On the AOL Msg board, they've not been saying kind words about her.
I wonder how well she will do. Also, is she around after 52? No characters in 52 will be used until the series is over, correct?
As far as I know of none of them should be appearing until after 52 is over. Mostly to maintain the suspense of people possibly dying. It creates a wierd environment where once the heroes return a year later, the replacement heroes are gone for a year because of their involvement in 52. Ok, just gave myself a headache there.
I think that they have potential to do some pretty cool things with Batwoman, but does her sexuality really influence her crimefighting? I don't completely understand why they have to make as big a deal out of this as they have. I'll still be around for the story though, so I guess it has worked.
My mom called.. she asked me if I had read in the paper about Batwoman.. and of course, I already knew... she got upset.. LOL. I told her it wasn't THAT big of a deal... but I think there are alot of people like that.
Gotham City?s sexiest socialite knows more than how to throw a party. Kathy Kane also knows a bit about throwing punches?and she introduces herself to comic book readers by striking her ex-girlfriend right across the jaw.
In various incarnations, Batwomen have had a long history in Batman comics, starting in 1956 when Kathy Kane first appeared. But this new version of Kane shares only a name with her predecessors. The campy heroine who once carried a utility purse while clad in a full-body yellow one-piece now sports a new, dark costume, and she?s got an attitude to match. Batwoman will be the highest profile gay superhero to ever grace the pages of DC Comics.
Batwoman reemerges from obscurity in the pages of 52, the real-time weekly limited series chronicling a year in which the big three?Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman?have all mysteriously vanished from Gotham City. In Batman?s absence, a major crime organization called Intergang moves into town only to find a new Bat already roosting.
After weeks of teasing and taunting appearances, Kane will have her first full appearance as the costumed Batwoman in the upcoming 52 issue #11. She won?t be fighting crime alone: Kane and her ex, Renee Montoya, a former policewoman, will regularly cross paths fighting Intergang. This doesn?t stop Kane from pushing Montoya?s buttons, even showing off her new doctor girlfriend in an upcoming issue.
?[Kathy Kane is] a very successful woman, very self-assured,? says Dan DiDio, the senior vice president and executive editor of DC Comics. ?What we wanted to do was build from that core and create a new character that was much more attuned with today?s society. The fact that Batwoman is gay is not a key factor?it?s [just] who she is.? DC introduces Batwoman amid an assortment of new characters aimed at diversifying the once homogenous DC universe, including several updated Hispanic, African-American, and Asian characters.
As to this Batwoman?s past, Kane keeps her secrets well, leaving us to imagine what would inspire a wealthy lesbian to become a spandex-wearing crimefighter. In the hopes of revealing the unknown, DC promises Batwoman will be punching out ex?s and enemies alike for a long time to come.
NEW YORK (May 31) - Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet. DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year.
The 5-foot-10 superhero comes with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit.
"We decided to give her a different point of view," explained Dan DiDio, vice president and executive editor at DC. "We wanted to make her a more unique personality than others in the Bat-family. That's one of the reasons we went in this direction."
The original Batwoman was started in 1956, and killed off in 1979. The new character will share the same name as her original alter ego, Kathy Kane. And the new Batwoman arrives with ties to others in the Gotham City world.
"She's a socialite from Gotham high society," DiDio said. "She has some past connection with Bruce Wayne. And she's also had a past love affair with one of our lead characters, Renee Montoya."
Montoya, in the "52" comic book series, is a former police detective. Wayne, of course, is Batman's true identity - but he has disappeared, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, leaving Gotham a more dangerous place.
The "52" series is a collaboration of four acclaimed writers, with one episode per week for one year. The comics will introduce other diverse characters as the story plays out.
"This is not just about having a gay character," DiDio said. "We're trying for overall diversity in the DC universe. We have strong African-American, Hispanic and Asian characters. We're trying to get a better cross-section of our readership and the world."
The outing of Batwoman created a furor of opinions on Web sites devoted to DC Comics. Opinions ranged from outrage to approval. Others took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the announcement.
"Wouldn't ugly people as heroes be more groundbreaking?" asked one poster. "You know, 200-pound woman, man with horseshoe hair loss pattern, people with cold sores, etc.?"
DiDio asked that people wait until the new Batwoman's appearance in the series before they pass judgment.
"You know what? Judge us by the story and character we create," he said. "We are confident that we are telling a great story with a strong, complex character."
DiDio spent most of the morning fielding phone calls from media intrigued by the Batwoman reinvention.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "We had a feeling it would attract some attention, but we're a little surprised it did this much."
On the AOL Msg board, they've not been saying kind words about her.
I wonder how well she will do. Also, is she around after 52? No characters in 52 will be used until the series is over, correct?
shes gonna be a les?omkg when does this comic come out u kno i love the batwomen
I can?t see the big deal about her being a lesbian unless it?s just a gimmick to get more press. After all would the New York Times do a story if they were bringing back the old Batwoman. No, not likely.
Bruce?s sexuality does not play a big role to his being Batman, so I don?t think Batwoman?s will either, but there could be some interesting moments. I want to see the first Batwoman / Catwoman confrontation real bad.
With the big three gone, I wonder what the supporting cast is doing. How does Oracle or Cassandra as Batgirl fit in? When Batman comes back how mad will he be about another ?Bat? in his city.
Posts: 392 Location: The Batcave... duh! Joined: 13.12.05
Posted on 02-06-2006 15:42
FlaBat wrote:
Bruce?s sexuality does not play a big role to his being Batman, so I don?t think Batwoman?s will either, but there could be some interesting moments. I want to see the first Batwoman / Catwoman confrontation real bad.
remember, new catwoman.*tbcatwoman*::catwomanwink1::
Posts: 2061 Location: Gotham City Joined: 30.07.05
Posted on 02-06-2006 23:04
the sexuality doesnt really affect the role as a crime fighter, but it affects their respect. i'm sure batman would lose MANY of his fans IF he was gay. yeah its a cruel world, majority hates gay people.
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