Grant Morrison & Gay Batman

(Batman Art by Alex Ross.  All rights reserved by Alex Ross)

There has been recent buzz around a Playboy article with Grant Morrison, comic writer, about Batman & his sexuality.  Here's the quote that started the buzz:

"Gayness is built into Batman. I'm not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There's just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he's intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay. I think that's why people like it. All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him. He doesn't care -- he's more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid."

As a reader of Batman for more than 30 years, I understand what Grant is saying, but don't entirely agree. Batman is very complicated.

Many people are calling for Batman to be outed or for DC Comics to just admit it already.

Here are my thoughts.

It isn't like they [DC COMICS] are purposefully ignoring that Batman is gay as much as the character himself is ignoring it. Part of the reason Batman has so many issues is because he witnessed his parents death AND he's gay & in denial. Part of his anger is from that denial.

IF you were ever to out Batman or have Bruce Wayne come to terns with his denial, then you would lose much of the character. Batman is so popular because so many in society today hide from what is really causing their anger & woes & try to pin it instead on other people, politicians, etc. Politicians that are so deep in the closet are the homosexuals worst enemy. They do things to hurt their own because they hate themselves.

Batman chooses NOT to look at himself, just like most Americans do. He has overtaken Superman in popularity because Batman teaches us that if we are violent or cruel, yet we can blame it on some past trauma, rather than our inability to to do the hard work to free ourselves from our own personal demons, then it's okay. It's socially acceptable to beat the holy hell out of someone because WE have been so abused.

Batman had his parent's taken from him, so he gets to do this. We're okay with it. He suffered, so he gets to deal out punishment. Of course the writer's of Batman are always constantly addressing whether or not this is right. Whether or not this doesn't just make him a glorified rich thug.

They always leave it up to us to decide.

I love Batman because of the complexity of the character.The grays. The inner struggle within Bruce Wayne.

Is he gay? Probably. His gayness does indeed have a huge affect on who he is, but it is something that MUST stay closeted or you destroy the complexity of the character forever. He must struggle with it or you have to end the comic. He cannot ever be an out character & survive.

That doesn't mean that he can't teach us the harms of staying closeted. That gay issues can't be addressed within Batman. They just can't be main text. They must remain eloquently subtextual as they have for years now. That way kids like me can identify with this character & see what the denial does. Batman is always hiding. Hiding from himself & hiding from others. If Batman taught me anything, it was that hiding who you are has terrible consequences.

In the future, when homosexuality is no longer an issue, Batman can survive.  He can subtextually struggle with anything.  Anything that we, ourselves, as a society are struggling with.  That's really what we, the readers, love about Batman.  He is us.  Individually but also as a whole.  Good and bad, right and wrong, but ultimately in the end, simply human.

Batwoman Comic

I've read quite a few comics in my life. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but probably somewhere above an amateur comics reader. Not quite a Professional comic reader, but close. I don't know a bunch about certain artists & writers, but I do have a few favorites. Probably the first comics writer I ever paid attention to was Ed Brubaker. I mean REALLY paid attention to. I had read Daredevil for years, but Brubaker made him more than a comic. He made Daredevil a real person. Deep, emotional, with real world problems. Mr. Brubaker was at the last Wizard World Texas Con I went to. I skipped his workshop, something I really regret, to get or see something else. Luckily, T went to the workshop, so I got a pretty good account of his workshop from her. I think it was Mr. Brubaker that really put the writing bug in T's ear.

There are few comics that really grab me. I like great writing & complex characters combined with good to freaking fantastic art. Brubaker's Daredevil had both. They were top notch. I really miss them. Mike Mignola & Eric Powell are the other two who light my comics fire. I have yet to ever pick up a B.P.R.D., Hellboy, or Goon that I haven't loved. I have almost everything Mr. Mignola & his team have ever made. I'm catching up on Mr. Powell's Goon.

So where does Batwoman fit into all of this? I'll tell you what, for me...she is right up there with these guys. DC's new 52 relaunch didn't really change anything for Batwoman, other than her issue number. She was just re-launched Spring of 2006. There was tons of media hype about how DC had made the character a lesbian & blah, blah, blah. I actually avoided picking it up at first because I didn't want anyone thinking I was buying it just because she was a lesbian.

Once I did pick it up, I was awed by the art. It was gorgeous. Stunning. I had to see more. The writing was pretty good to boot. With the new 52 Batwoman, not only is the absolute beauty of this title still intact, but the writing is better. It is co-written by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman, with the art also being composed by Mr. Williams III. I say composed because that's what it feels like as you move across the pages. Mr. Williams had been the artist on the Batwoman graphic novel "Elegy". Personally, I hope he never leaves. This guy is a master.

I realized, after reading Batwoman, that it was really refreshing to see that even though there was tons of media hype about Batwoman's sexuality, it didn't really translate into the comic. It's written much like Brubaker's Daredevil. Real world problems & real world situations. How refreshing. A strong female lesbian character that isn't being forced. I know women just like Kate (Batwoman). Her sexuality doesn't define her, it just happens to be part of who she is. No big deal. Batwoman has a thing for cops & Batman has a thing for cat burglars. It isn't the main thread of the story.

If you haven't picked Batwoman up yet & you enjoy great writing combined with fantastic art, I suggest you go grab the first three issues. I can't wait to see where these guys go with this. I think it's going to be one of the best comics of 2012.

Wonder Woman & the New 52 from DC

DC Comics recently decided to revamp their entire comic line. All your beloved favorites get re-hauled, re-tooled, etc. The one I was most looking forward to was Wonder Woman. For years, DC has shied away from who the Amazon Princess really is & where she came from. They've been uncomfortable with what it is to be an Amazon. They have hesitated to play with the mythologies laid out in front of them. Unlike Marvel's Thor, who has always been in touch with his Gods, DC always tries to stick Wonder Woman in our time & strip her of any link to her past & her culture. I was happy to find that Writer Brian Azzarello, so far has NOT decided to follow in those past footsteps.

There is a costume change. Honestly, I like the change. Not too dramatic, pays homage to the old, and doesn't try to apologize by adding pants. Thank you for that.



Now, there are a few problems I have with the New 52 Wonder Woman, but not many. Of course, we are only 2 issues in. Okay, you MUST get your mythology right. Sure, you can play around with it, but make sure you have a damn good reason for changing it & don't just change it to change it. For example, in the picture above, you can bear witness to a female Centaur. *sigh* Alright, alright, there were very scarce references to female centaurs, but generally speaking Centaurs are thought of as an all male species. I'll let that one slide, since, technically there are both males & females. They did get the female one right on, though. She was considered to be a white Centaur. So that one is just nit-picky of me really. Let's not screw too many myths up though, okay?

The next thing though really chaps my ass. Hippolyta has, was & should ever be dark haired, raven tressed, possessing of locks as dark as the night. NOT BLOND. OMG, WTF. Wonder Woman's mom is now blond. Seriously? I'm blond myself, but the Queen of the Amazons is not. First of all, how many blonde Greeks do you know? I don't like it. It cheapens Hippolyta. CHANGE IT BACK.



I also dislike it when characters take control of humans to do their bidding & then without any reason kill them, when it's obvious that they might need them again for the same purpose. I call it Gratuitous Death. We already have this in issue 1. Really? Look, have the god take them prisoner in his giant mansion of a penthouse, or keep a godly spell on them, but to just have him lure them up, use them & kill them without any sort of care in the world, well, honestly that OMG impact you wanted in the story you were writing...yeah, didn't happen. I didn't get to know them enough to give a crap. So really, the whole scene ends up completely pointless emotionally. Yeah, I got the info, but man, was that a completely overdramatic way to deliver it or what?



The writing is not bad. It could be a little tighter. There are a few pages where I had to read twice because the dialogue seemed really choppy. The panels didn't seem to pull off exactly what was being told either. The art is average. Nothing to be awed by, but not just puked out either.

Things I love? Diana's attitude. Diana NOT shying away from WHO she is. The naughty Amazon jokes. The feeling that this time, DC is going to embrace their Amazon Princess & let her be who she should have always been. Push the boundaries a little.
Make her mythology part of her story. Take us into her world rather than plucking her out & putting her in ours and making her forget where she came from.




So, if you have ever wanted to read Wonder Woman & didn't really know where to start, please go grab issue 1 & 2 of the New 52 Wonder Woman at your local comics shop. Go on! It's 15 to 20 minutes of fun each month for $2.99 a comic. I think this could possibly end up being the best Wonder Woman run ever. You wouldn't want to miss it would you?


(All images in this post copyright by DC Comics)

Sideshow & DC Comics

At last! Sideshow has acquired the rights to make DC Universe comic hero figures, statues & more. Check out their official announcement video above.

Wonder Woman Painting: More progress

A bit more progress made. This is where it really starts getting hard. I don't want too much detail, but I don't want it to be too simple either. Getting it clear in my head before I lay it on the canvas is sometimes a bit of a challenge.