Because there's really no excuse not to. We're crawling all over the internet, you know. If you're confused about a comics-related headline that you've seen in your local mainstream media, tons of people familiar with what goes on behind the scenes, or even folks who've just kept up with current continuity, can fill you in. And we don't bite! Well, not all of us, at any rate. So go on, ask!
Okay Comics Geek, what's all this about a "Buxom! Lipstick! Lesbian!" Batgirl?
Don't worry about it. It's not Batgirl. The current Batgirl - well, that's a bit complicated, but if you care, the best place to read about original Batgirl Barbara Gordon and her legacy is the DC monthly title Birds of Prey, and I'm not just saying that because my husband is a regular artist on the book. I'm also saying it because it's written by Gail Simone, a long-time online buddy and a writer with great respect for female characters ever since her Women in Refrigerators days.
Women in Refrigerators, Comics Geek? I don't think I like the sound of that.
I don't blame you. Long story, best told by Ragnell. [Update: Thanks for name-checking me in your swell SBC interview, Ragnell!] The point is, the buxom lipstick lesbian - the phrase isn't DC's but comes from a NY Times article about diversity in comics - isn't Batgirl, it's Batwoman, a resurrected character from a few decades back (the major companies need to re-establish their trademarks periodically or they lose them) called Kathy Kane (rechristened "Kate" for some unfathomable reason). She will be reintroduced, word has it, in the weekly title 52, where it will be revealed that she has a "past" with policewoman Renee Montoya, then go on to star in her own eponymous title--
Hang on, so this Montoya character's suddenly gay as well? I think I remember her from a Batman cartoon...
Yeah, same character, different continuity (i.e., what happens in the cartoons doesn't necessarily happen in the comics and veesee versey). And Renee isn't suddenly gay, her sexuality was a fairly major subplot in the now-cancelled police procedural DC title Gotham Central. Where it was, you know, no big deal outside of the story pages.
But it would be a big deal if Superman were gay, Comics Geek, wouldn't it? I keep hearing rumors that he is.
Um, no. Being a gay icon is not the same thing as being a gay character. Lots of characters can be considered gay icons without actually being portrayed as gay, particularly if they're drawn by artists who happen to draw attractive men (as well asbuxom lipstick lesbians attractive women), because mainstream superhero comics never, ever assume a female gaze, so if any attractive male character must also default to the male gaze, he is seen as a gay icon.
Whatever. So what's all this I hear about Wonder Woman retiring? Can they do that?
I don't think so, as I believe the Marston estate still has a perpetual agreement stating that the title has to remain in continuous print or the trademark reverts to them. What's being done in the book now, according to this article that interviewed new WW writer Allan Heinberg (via Jessica at Feministing), is that the WW mantle will be taken up by someone else, probably temporarily, the same way the Superman and Batman identities were for awhile. I don't think I'm being overly cynical in opining that sooner or later Diana of Themiscyra will once again be WW.
Okay, last question - that Birds of Prey comic you mentioned above, is that like the TV show? Where can I get it?
Thankfully no, the comic is way better than the short-lived TV show of the same name, which I believe broke one of the cardinal rules in transferring comic book stories to other media - you don't mess with the essential premise, which is what makes the comic popular in the first place. As to where you can find BoP and other titles, you can buy them at comic book shops either in person (use this handy comic shop locator service to find one near you) or online (here's the shop I use for both in-person and mail order stuff).
Okay Comics Geek, what's all this about a "Buxom! Lipstick! Lesbian!" Batgirl?
Don't worry about it. It's not Batgirl. The current Batgirl - well, that's a bit complicated, but if you care, the best place to read about original Batgirl Barbara Gordon and her legacy is the DC monthly title Birds of Prey, and I'm not just saying that because my husband is a regular artist on the book. I'm also saying it because it's written by Gail Simone, a long-time online buddy and a writer with great respect for female characters ever since her Women in Refrigerators days.
Women in Refrigerators, Comics Geek? I don't think I like the sound of that.
I don't blame you. Long story, best told by Ragnell. [Update: Thanks for name-checking me in your swell SBC interview, Ragnell!] The point is, the buxom lipstick lesbian - the phrase isn't DC's but comes from a NY Times article about diversity in comics - isn't Batgirl, it's Batwoman, a resurrected character from a few decades back (the major companies need to re-establish their trademarks periodically or they lose them) called Kathy Kane (rechristened "Kate" for some unfathomable reason). She will be reintroduced, word has it, in the weekly title 52, where it will be revealed that she has a "past" with policewoman Renee Montoya, then go on to star in her own eponymous title--
Hang on, so this Montoya character's suddenly gay as well? I think I remember her from a Batman cartoon...
Yeah, same character, different continuity (i.e., what happens in the cartoons doesn't necessarily happen in the comics and veesee versey). And Renee isn't suddenly gay, her sexuality was a fairly major subplot in the now-cancelled police procedural DC title Gotham Central. Where it was, you know, no big deal outside of the story pages.
But it would be a big deal if Superman were gay, Comics Geek, wouldn't it? I keep hearing rumors that he is.
Um, no. Being a gay icon is not the same thing as being a gay character. Lots of characters can be considered gay icons without actually being portrayed as gay, particularly if they're drawn by artists who happen to draw attractive men (as well as
Whatever. So what's all this I hear about Wonder Woman retiring? Can they do that?
I don't think so, as I believe the Marston estate still has a perpetual agreement stating that the title has to remain in continuous print or the trademark reverts to them. What's being done in the book now, according to this article that interviewed new WW writer Allan Heinberg (via Jessica at Feministing), is that the WW mantle will be taken up by someone else, probably temporarily, the same way the Superman and Batman identities were for awhile. I don't think I'm being overly cynical in opining that sooner or later Diana of Themiscyra will once again be WW.
Okay, last question - that Birds of Prey comic you mentioned above, is that like the TV show? Where can I get it?
Thankfully no, the comic is way better than the short-lived TV show of the same name, which I believe broke one of the cardinal rules in transferring comic book stories to other media - you don't mess with the essential premise, which is what makes the comic popular in the first place. As to where you can find BoP and other titles, you can buy them at comic book shops either in person (use this handy comic shop locator service to find one near you) or online (here's the shop I use for both in-person and mail order stuff).
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