According to the publishers of DC Comics, they are about to reveal that one of their “most recognizable” and “iconic” superheroes is gay, and will be coming out of the closet in June. Everyone seems pretty sure it will be Superman, which makes sense. DC claims they are doing this because their views have evolved like Barack Obama’s (I guess Biden gets around), but this reeks of desperation to me.Comic book sales have been falling steadily for decades and have suffered considerably since 2007. In 2011, DC Comics managed to turn that around and make a 1% increase in sales by re-launching all 52 of their properties, but odds are this isn’t enough to stem the time. So they need something else. Enter the oldest and dumbest trick in the book: revealing a shocking secret.
Making Superman (or Batman or some else) gay is nothing more than an attempt to upset conservatives and fans, and to get them to give the series a publicity boost. In effect, it’s the same lousy cynical strategy reboots try when they do something offensive to the characters people love just to get the audience angry and buzzing about the series. The hope is this will cause people to return to the series. But this stinks as a marketing strategy. Sure, you may get a couple of lost readers to return for an issue or two, but what happens after that? The slump continues plus you lose the people who don’t like the idea. If you really want to win fans, you need to offer them stories which they can’t resist, not try to trick them into buying an issue to see how big of a jerk you were.
And make no mistake, this is disrespectful to the legion of fans who grew up worshiping these heroes. Changing the fundamental natures of these characters is akin to desecrating a national symbol or historical figure by claiming that person or symbol for your own political beliefs. Hitler did that with Roman symbols like the swastika and racists have done it with the flags of the Confederacy and Great Britain.
In the end, I suspect this will make big news and might sell a few more copies of the edition where he comes out. After that, I expect the downward trend to accelerate.
Would this make any of you more likely to buy a comic book?
I might buy a comic where Wonder Woman tries to resolve her sexual confusion. So long as it was artistic and stuff.
ReplyDeleteMike -
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of something some comedian said (I don't recall who): no guy would have a problem with gay marriage if it were limited to hot lesbians. :-)
Hope this winds up killing DC. What a bunch of PC morons!
ReplyDeleteBTW, "hot" and "lesbians" are pretty much mutually exclusive terms. :)
It does make sense they would do this to Superman. For one thing, his sales are falling. For another, you really couldn't do this to Barman, could you?
ReplyDeleteMike, So long as it was artistic and stuff, sure! ;)
ReplyDeleteScott, That's probably true. LOL!
ReplyDeleteKenn, It would serve them right if this killed them off. In the end though, I'm not sure if this will make a difference either way. It will probably boost their sales for a month or two and then will accelerate the downward trend.
ReplyDeleteDUQ, If they did this to Batman, the would lose the whole flirting with Catwoman angle.
ReplyDeleteSuperman, however, really doesn't have a girlfriend unless you count Lois Lane, who has never struck me as all the heterosexual either.
Racists sullied the good name of the Confederate flag?
ReplyDeleteIt was conceived as the symbol of people who fought to defend black slavery and it was later used by groups like the KKK (founded by Confederate veterans).
Anyway, I agree that Superman coming out would just be a cheap political stunt which would merely accelerate the decline of the comic book.
Still, I think the decline of the comic book is inevitable though I think the characters themselves are safe because of their popularity in movies, tv shows (most rightly focus on the work of Bruce Timm, but shows like Teen Titans and Young Justice were/are also good stuff) and videogames (nods towards Arkham Asylum and Arkham City).
Anon, Groups like the KKK have long adopted symbols of the Confederacy (and Christianity) and thereby changed the way the Confederacy is viewed from a civil war about a variety of issues into a matter of racism.
ReplyDeletePutting that aside, I agree with you about comic books. Their decline has been incredibly stark since the 1960s and it continues today and I suspect it will continue into the future. This won't help.
But as you say, the characters themselves will remain popular, because they've become part of the culture.
With the exception of some issues of Pinky and the Brain I am not a comic book reader, so no, this will not get me into comics.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a replay of the "Death of Superman" gimmick the marketing whizzes came up with in the early 90s. That turned out to be a success, but somehow the "Outing of Superman" doesn't have as much impact.
Also, wasn't there some hullabaloo about Superman renouncing his American citizenship recently? I think that turned out to be untrue.
In any case, I don't think they'll make Superman gay, at least not permanently. The DC Universe is so screwed up nowadays that I'd almost bet they have him become possessed by a gay demon or some such nonsense. But in the end, Superman will emerge with a more "evolved" view of homosexuality--y'know, because he was such a bigot before.
tryanmax, That's possible too that this will just be a gimmick for a couple issues.
ReplyDeleteYes, this absolutely reminds me to the citizenship thing and the death of Superman. It sounds like a cynical marketing plan to get some attention in the hopes that people come back to them. But I don't think it will work beyond the issue itself. They are losing their audience for whatever reason the occasional shock isn't going to bring them back. They need to win them back, not trick them.
If they REALLY wanted to do something daring, they'd have their superheroes go after Islamic terrorists. Guess that's too radical for these idiots.
ReplyDeleteKenn, Don't ask for anything THAT daring. LOL!
ReplyDeleteActually, what they really need to do is figure out why their sales keep dropping and then figure out how to reverse that. That's what other industries do. I would imagine they are losing out to videogames.
Isn't there a new Superman reboot coming out sometime soon? I hope that DC told the screenplaywriter about this new direction or it could make that whole continuity thing kinda difficult... OH, wait - neither comic books nor rebooters worry about continuity - never mind.
ReplyDeleteAs to the actual question, no.
Have the Marvel-based movies helped Marvel's sales?
ReplyDeleteI'd've thought that crossing into videogame territory would have been a no-brainer for comic books. Why aren't they already a force there? (or are they - I don't read comics or play videogames)
Perhaps DC doesn't remember, but the first big collapse of comics started with the "Death of Superman" issue in the 90s.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I had to guess, I'd say this will be in one of the separate comic-book threads they sometimes establish, like in the "Earth-2" or "Infinite Earths" or whatever the heck they're called. I can't imagine this would be case across the board, because so much of Superman's arc is wrapped up with Lois Lane and so on. Either way, it's pandering and stupid.
ReplyDeleteI did try briefly to get into Marvel Comics several years ago because of the Spider-Man movies, but the storylines are so bizarre and complicated I couldn't do it.
rla, I don't know about Marvel, but DC actually has crossed over into videogames in a big way the past few years, mainly with the "Arkham Asylum" and "Arkham City" series. I don't game myself, but I have friends who do, and they were at these not long ago. They're kinda interesting, I'll give them that.
ReplyDeleterlaWTX, No, no continuity here. In fact, reboots are all about breaking the continuity.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that the films have helped the companies, but not the sales of the comic books themselves.
Also, fyi, Marvel apparently already introduced gay superheroes, so this isn't even that shocking a thing -- it's just that DC has decided to do this to a character who is already established.
K, I'm not big on comic book history, but it wouldn't surprise me. If you're going to do something to get people to notice you, you better have something great to offer once they start looking. It doesn't sound like the death of Superman was that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a comic book since I was about ten, but didn't Superman get AIDS (from a dirty Kryptonite needle, wink, wink)? I always saw Superman as stalwart until Brandon Routh played him in a movie. He's gay (Superman, I mean--I don't know about Routh). So does this mean Superman will move from Metropolis to San Francisco?
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, I could definitely see them creating a parallel universe out of this, and as someone said above, then our Superman becoming more enlightened -- especially if sales don't come through because of this.
ReplyDeleteI have at various times in my life thought about reading comic books ago (haven't done it since I was around 10), but I just never did.
T-Rav and rlaWTX, They have indeed crossed over into videogames and films. They've also started selling digital comic books, which apparently helped sale slightly. It sounds to me like eventually most of their characters will end up like Mickey Mouse -- famous for their past, but rarely used in modern productions.
ReplyDeleteLawhawk, Same here. Ten is about the time I stopped.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a myth you could get AIDS from dirty Kryptonite? LOL!
Routh does seem to be the first time anyone called Superman gay.
I believe that is the plan. He will leave Metropolis and move to San Fran where he will fight those dirty taxpaying citizens who don't want to cough up. :(
ah, geez - I grew up on the Man of Steel in the 50's. I guess Lois and Lana were just beards?
ReplyDeleteJed, Are you seriously telling us nothing struck you as strange about Lois and Supe's relationship? ;)
ReplyDeleteJust wait until they need the next boost and it turns out that Superman was always a secret pedophile Muslim-communist who's goal is to socialize medicine all over the planet.
I'm not touching this one with a ten foot ... DAMN, I just DID
ReplyDeleteLibertarian Advocate, LOL! It's hard to talk about these things without making some for of innuendo, isn't it? I guess that tells us something about what humans consider most important!
ReplyDeleteAndrew: If he's going to run against Pelosi, he'll need to get some Super Botox. Super Maybelline and Super Cover Girl won't be enough.
ReplyDeleteLawhawk, I can imagine that botox would become the new Kryptonite?
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I see that San Fran has decided to name a street after Pelosi. Hopefully it's in the brothel district... or it leads to the dump.
Andrew: Naw--it's a side road in Golden Gate Park that starts nowhere and ends up nowhere, like Pelosi herself. The street sign says "turn here if you want to gather fruits and nuts."
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Libertarian Advocate has a dirty, dirty mind.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, yes, Marvel did do this first, by introducing a gay minor character to the X-Men, called Northstar. (I don't know what his mutant power is, I guess maybe he can always find north or something.) Now word is Mr. Star will be having a gay wedding in the very near future. So it sounds like someone was trying to steal the other's thunder, but I have no idea which is which.
I'm rooting for Batman. I mean, really, two men who live together AND wear skintight unitards and capes! Doesn't that make your Gay-dar go ring-a-ding??...
ReplyDeleteLawhawk, That is so TRULY appropriate! LOL!
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, My understanding is that Marvel struck first.
ReplyDelete"He can always find north" -- LOL! I thought maybe he had a button you could push and you could get direction for your car? Oh wait, that's OnStar... who is not gay, but does have a thing for Irish dwarves. Talk about complex storylines! ;)
Bev, I had thought about that. Billionaire playboy with no girlfriend, but who keeps a young adopted boy and they dress up in tights and play cops and robbers? Hmmm. That does rate a 9 on the Gay-dar. Plus, frankly, how could a heterosexual crime fighter turn down Catwoman? Just saying.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it could be Aquaman coming out of the water closet. ;)
Dear AndrewPrice:
ReplyDeleteThis is to inform you that you will be facing legal action for having created a mental health crisis, due to your comment today at 5:05 p.m.: "As an aside, I see that San Fran has decided to name a street after Pelosi. Hopefully it's in the brothel district...or it leads to the dump."
Our patient took one look at this comment, connected the words "Pelosi" and "brothel" in his head, and immediately suffered a psychotic break. We ourselves, after learning of the incident, were nearly overcome and had to revisit some unpleasant parts of our pasts.
Such a reaction will only spread unless you remove the aforementioned comment and promise never to do it again. If not, you will be hearing from our attorneys.
I don't know what circles DC marketing is roaming in. But I have a memory of when a property was in trouble. They play the T&A card, perhaps they are beyond this. Since most superheroines are just that. The heck with traditions lets cater to less than 1% of the audience, and make it controversial. To attract an even larger audience, who are all going to say...
ReplyDelete"Yawn, can't you do anything better? After all my 'collector edition Death of Superman comic', still ain't worth beans."
DC has to face the end of print media, playing the homo card.
Yea, that's looks desperate. At least they can put decorating tips in their comics, from now on.
This is just stupid. If it's Batman, well, I'll just continue avoiding DC comics like I have since the whole "52" nonsense and the weird death of Batman storyline. I'll stick with classic Batman as well as the phenomenal "Batman: Year One," "The Killing Joke," "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory."
ReplyDeleteBut... what if the new rainbow brite is a villain instead of a hero? Harley Quinn, Mercy Graves, Riddler, Metallo (now **that** would be a interesting) or even Ra's al Guhl.
--- Big Mo
Big Mo, you may be on to something. I bet it's The Riddler, but then, who wouldn't see that coming. On the other hand, he could change his wardrobe from green to pink and replace all the question marks with exclamation points! Whee!
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Rav's Psychiatrists,
ReplyDeleteMy attorney says that I have blogger immunity, which means I can't be sued and I can't get sick. So pppbbbt!
Still, I am sorry to hear your client went crazy. Might I recommend telling Mr. Rav to stalk a celebrity? That always works for whatever ails you.
The Blogger
Max, That the way I see it. This is a stupid risk because they are risking losing a much bigger chunk of their audience than they are likely to attract. Plus, I just can't see this working to bring in people who don't already read. I think they would be better served looking for smarter ways to attract people.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think trying to use this to shock people is a day late, dollar short. Gayness is no longer shocking to people. And the most this is likely to do is to annoy people who liked the character before.
Big Mo, I suspect gays can't be villains in the world of modern political correctness, but it would be interesting. And it could certainly lead to some strange storylines.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Leave the Riddler alone! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat if we just compromise and make it Robin? Then Batman could look at him funny every time they go into the bat-locker-room!
T-Rav: I'll take the Alford Doctrine.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, any particular reason you're steering clear of the word "cave"?
ReplyDeleteLibertarian Advocate, Very legal of you! LOL!
ReplyDeleteFor those who don't know, an Alford Plea is guilty plea where the defendant still claims innocence. Essentially they are saying, "I am pleading guilty because I think you can convict me, but I don't admit I did anything." There are legal reasons to do that.
One thing is very obvious.
ReplyDeleteThe guys at DC comics aren't watching network television either.
tryanmax, You mean the secret back door entrance to Bruce Wayne's manor? The one that only he and his youthful ward use?
ReplyDeleteMax, Isn't that the truth. Not only has this lost its shock value, but attempts to inject gay characters into things like soap operas have proven disastrous. People don't like this thrown into their entertainment. But I'm sure it will be ok, because young men (who are the audience for comic books) are totally cool with all things gay, right?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of gay stuff and all, Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory (which I only occasionally watch; it's all right) announced today that he is a homosexual. This news comes as a complete shock to all those who have never watched a single episode of the show.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Isn't that French for "bad touch"? ;)
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, I am indeed, unshocked and unamazed and I don't even watch the show. I kind of assume that all males on sitcoms are gay unless otherwise stated. That's saves me time when they grudgingly come out of the closet they were never really in.
ReplyDeleteI could say what I'm thinking, but that might get your site taken down.
ReplyDeleteI'll say what said on the RPF.
I'm very glad I don't read comics anymore.
I think that it's more likely Bruce (classic homosexual first name - say it with a lisp) Wayne and Robin who have been AC/DC the whole time. Having Superman slam Jimmy Olsen in the back door might hurt too much and actually result in Jimmy's demise.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, didn't Jimmy Carter discuss lusting for different guys? Maybe Obama in a Superman suit discussing his lust for Larry Sinclair (author and purported Obama sex puppet)? That would definitely be a more interesting homosexual porno from a comic book perspective... Just saying.
ReplyDeleteLL, Ironically, I've worked with two different "Bruces" and both were gay. And now that you mention it, isn't Robin's real name "Dick"? That couldn't have a double meaning, could it? ;)
ReplyDeleteA comic book based on the gay sex life of Jimmy Carter and Obama? Yikes. I guess it works as a horror comic though?
Max, Your restraint is admirable.
ReplyDeletey'all are SOOOOOOO naughty!!!!
ReplyDeleteAndrew - like the gay conversation wasn't bad enough, now you've mentioned RESTRAINTS!!!
ReplyDeleteI need to wash my monitor and keyboard!
rla said NAUGHTY!!! Pervert!
ReplyDeleteI guess Batman does make more sense, or at least the '60s version. In case it does turn out to be Superman, though, we'll have to have this as his new theme song. (I think you know what's coming...)
ReplyDeleteAndrew, don't make me resort to fists.
ReplyDeleteOh, damn it!
T-Rav, nice!
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, Bravo! That will work as a his new theme song. That or "It's Raining Men."
ReplyDeleterlaWTX, Apparently, your mind is in the gutter.
ReplyDeleteBut while we're speaking of restraints, didn't Alfred in the 1960s television show refer to Robin as "young Master Dick"? That's kind of creepy, now that I think about it.
tryanmax, Uh... yeah. Exit only.
ReplyDeleteIn everyone's defense, this article went off the rails at the headline.
ReplyDeleteBig Mo, I suspect gays can't be villains in the world of modern political correctness, but it would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAh, the old Basic Instinct controversy, wherein Paul Verhoeven was picketed by gay activists for having the nerve to make the villain a bisexual. And that was 20 years ago!
And in reply to LL's comment about the name Bruce, it brings to mind one of Homer Simpson's best lines:
"They're embarrassing America. They turned the Navy into a floating joke. They ruined all our best names like Bruce, and Lance, and Julian. Those were the toughest names we had!"
Scott, that reminds me of a line from an episode of Rosanne wherein she is arranging the entertainment for a bachelorette party. Her options were Rod, Lance, or Shaft.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Yeah, we kind of went off the rails fast. LOL!
ReplyDeleteScott, Gays were very upset around that point because they claimed the only time gay characters were shown was as psychotic villains. That is, of course, the same complaint blacks made -- that blacks only appeared on screen as criminals. The end result was that Hollywood stopped using both groups for villains.
ReplyDeleteIt's only proof of why the gay community will never find total acceptance in mainstream America: No matter how much progress they make, a thread like this will inevitably devolve into childish humor and bad jokes and be darn proud of it. :-)
ReplyDeleteT-Rav, That's true. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAndrew, my take on film has usually been this, they either have a character of a certain type that fills the type like a quota, or a character who is great and dynamic, yet just happens to fill the a type, as the film goes on, but thinking about the person's politically correct identities becomes secondary because of how good the character simply fills a niche in the plot. Again, the former, where you need a token (insert type) character, makes for a boring story, and generally there's only so much interest from that character, but when you have a character like Miyagi in Karate Kid, Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian in Star Wars, or Samuel L. Jackson as Carver or Nick Fury in the new Marvel films, you get an entertaining character who just makes the plot flow, identity becomes pretty much secondary.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with comics, as I have experienced them, is that they often throw in a gay character as a token character, secondary, and often with less plot development than plenty of the others present, this makes the plot often less thrilling and interesting as compared to someone who just fills the niche of roles like the antihero, or the reformed, or the epic hero, and so forth.
I quit collecting/reading comics in the early 90's when the prices started to soar. Gone were the days of buying 3 comics for $1.20. Now a single comic was $1.25 to $1.99. And comics are no longer carried at the local 7-11 or Stop and Go. Nearest comic book store to me currently is 45 miles away. And the least expensive comic I can find is $2.50. Most run $2.99 and up. The paper is better and the art is generally better, but comics have typically been cheap entertainment for kids, not high priced collectables. Faced against abundant video games and DVDs, the comic industry needs to figure out how to lower it's costs.
ReplyDeleteShawn, You know, I got a sense something had gone wrong in the late 1980s when several friends of mine began buying copies to put into plastic folders. It struck me at that point that the industry was giving up on the kids market and was instead looking for collectors or fanatics. And when I heard they were paying up to $5 at the time for certain comics, I couldn't believe it. When I was a kid in the 1970s you could buy them for fifty cents. That all told me these really were not for kids anymore.
ReplyDeleteI suspect they are now paying the price for that since they abandoned a generation or two of readers. The NFL ran into that and specifically started marketing toward kids (the NFL Play 60 campaign) because they realized how dangerous it was to lose a generation. It seems comics, however, are intent on staying with adults rather than kids.
And you're right, you can't just grab one at 7-11 anymore. Instead, you need to venture into the comic book store. That pretty much kills the impulse buy.
obiwan, I agree. I think characters need to be unique and interesting but within the story. In other words, they need to add something to the story that no other character does and give the audience something to latch onto. Being gay doesn't really help a character reach out to the audience, unless you start writing specifically gay-related plot lines, and I can't see those being useful in the comic book world.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing a recent superfriends (newer not older), it's definitely Aquaman. Superman gay...next you'll be telling me spiderman got married. My favorite superhero right noe is Ironman and Robert Downy plays him so well. Oh, and definitely NOT gay! Not that there's anything wrong with being gay.
ReplyDeleteAndrew
ReplyDeleteI am not as distrubed by the revelation that Superman is Gay (after all he does go out in public in blue tights) as I am by the fact that Lois Lane must be a Man. <<>>
obiwan, good point. I never ventured into convenience stores when I was a kid, but I remember seeing comics in amongst the magazines at the checkout almost everywhere. Come to think of it, what happened to those huge magazine racks that grocery stores used to have? I used to have quite a collection of MAD magazines and I never once had a subscription.
ReplyDeleteI can't really put dates on it, but there was a stretch of time not far back when "value added" was the big thing. It's a noble concept, take a good product and make it a little better for no extra charge. But soon it turned into gloss it up and pass through the costs. Then the focus shifted solely to the value added with no mind to the base value. So with comic books, you get a lot of glossy pretty pictures, but no story.
I can't judge whether comic stories were better then than they are now, but I can say that a bad story is more forgivable when you only paid a little bit for it. Plus, the art in early comics was pretty amateur. Nowadays it's high art. When I see work like that, I expect the script to match it. I guess what I mean to say is that the industry is focused on all the wrong things and it shows.
Indi, Now that is a creepy thought. But it would fit with the way they played her in the last movie.
ReplyDeleteKoshcat, Yeah, no way Ironman is gay. LOL!
ReplyDeletetryanmax, I noticed that as well some time ago, that a lot of the things which used to be in convenience stores, like comic books and trading cards, just aren't there anymore. Maybe they weren't selling so the convenience stores stopped carrying them?
ReplyDeleteGetting back to one of the original comments, How about Wonder Woman going back to the Isle of Lesbos and having to go through some sort of Amazon purification ritual, like a communal bath in the sacred spring with thirteen virgin girls....................no..............no...............must stop here..............
ReplyDeletePikeBishop, I would pay for that issue. ;)
ReplyDeletePikeBishop, Some thoughts are probably best left unfinished. LOL!
ReplyDeleteLooks like it's going to be Alan Scott.
ReplyDeleteWHO. THE. HELL. IS. ALAN. SCOTT?
The Magical Green Lantern from the 1940's revamped for today in their new re-boot.
HOW. THE. (Ok, stopping the caps) hell can someone who has not been popular for over 50 years be considered 'one of their “most recognizable” and “iconic” superheroes'? Hitler was alive when this guy was popular.
Popular may be too strong. Active? He is a Green Lantern, but not THE Green Lantern that everyone thinks of (Hal Jordan). It would be like Marvel saying Iron Man is gay and you think "Tony Stark?" No, no, no, it's Jim Rhodes. He was Iron Man for a few issues in the 80's.
DC stopped using him in 1951, then started up again in 1963. They apparently used him 28 times until 1974. After no appearances in 1975 he started being used again in 1976. So, neither popular nor active. The only reason he could possibly be considered iconic is the Green Lantern symbol. Except he is still A, not THE, Green Lantern.
Marvel had Northstar (from Alpha Flight) out himself in 1992. Apparently he was always intended to be gay. Of course, he isn't 'one of their “most recognizable” and “iconic” superheroes' but it's not like Marvel didn't try to make Alpha Flight popular. They had ties to the X-Men especially Wolverine. They tried everything to make Alpha Flight popular, including the gay Northstar.
I used to collect Alpha Flight and never noticed his gayness. Obvious now in the re-reading.
Recap: cheap cop-out by DC in hopes of boosting sales. Didn't work for Alpha Flight (cancelled in 1992) when it was definitely more controversial. DC should have just done their own version of "Ultimate Universe".
'Nuff said.
Oops! Alpha Flight was cancelled 24 issues after Northstar came out, in 1994.
ReplyDeleteReidur, That's hilarious. So the whole thing was a publicity stunt in the end? LOL! And it's not even THE Green Lantern. That's rich.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Northstar, but it's interesting that they ended up canceling "Alpha Flight." I guess that means gays aren't looking for a gay superhero to support. I'm not surprised.
Was this publicity stunt worth the damage to the DC brand? Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear "Green Lantern," I think of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rainer, Kilowog, etc. but not ... um ... who is it again?
-- Big Mo
Big Mo, Not in my book. I would think this would upset gays and fans, and the rest of us are just going to shrug our shoulders and say "who the heck is that?"
ReplyDeleteGays in particular should be upset because DC really jerked them around by suggesting they were going to take this seriously and then picking an unknown.
Commentaramarians are so much fun! And they have knowledge besides! Thanks, Reidur, for the clarification.
ReplyDelete(no double entendres - whew)
rlaWTX, This is a double-entendres free zone. :)
ReplyDeleteI doubt it will be Superman.
ReplyDeleteBatman writer Scott Snyder: "A character not seen since the relaunch will come out as gay,"
LINK
Given Superman has appeared in 2+ series of HIS OWN (Action Comics and Superman) I doubt it will be Superman.
DC also never said it would be a "hero".
So who will it be?
I hate to use the word "lame". I find it way over-used but there is no other word to describe my prediction: Ask what is the lamest and most disappointing decision DC will make and that is the decision DC will make.
My bet is The Riddler. Iconic enough for DC to claim its edgy but so anti-climactis and stereotypical that it is safe. It will cause the fans they wanted to excite to become angry or just start laughing at DC for choosing such an obvious character.
It is the lamest decision for DC to make there for DC will make it.
Kit, Reidur above says that it will be Alan Scott, a Green Hornet at one point. That's going to upset a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAh, well. That's predicting for you. :)
ReplyDeleteBut here is another one: Brief upswing in Green Lantern comics before people go back to not caring (3-4 issues) and sales are as low as before.
Kit, That would be my guess too -- brief uptick, followed by sales going back to where they were.
ReplyDelete