Holy lesbianism!

[Dee]

June 1, 2006

Holy lesbianism!
DC Comics resurrects Batwoman – and she's gay (http://www.ottawasun.com/Showbiz/OtherShowbiz/2006/06/01/1608988-sun.html)
By LARRY MCSHANE, (AP)

NEW YORK -- 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 five-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."

NERDS IN A FUROR

The outing of Batwoman created a furor of opinions on websites. 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."

[Dar]

and the first thing I said was, whadya mean, wasn't she always a lesbian??
;)

sounds fun to me, I'll definitely check it out.....now what about Wonder Woman?


speaking of 'ugly people as heroes', did anybody else see the short lived series with Patrick Warburton called 'The Tick'? It was just hysterical, premise being that there is this underground group of people who are closeted superheroes....there was even a superhero bar. One character was trying to gather the nerve to come out to his family as a super hero....
It's available on DVD.....

[ponytail]

I think they need to make Batwoman a Rudie. As she's getting ready to go on a mission, she could be playing Janis's music in the background. They could show the lyrics in word balloons rising from the stereo (with permission, of course). If she has a Batmobile, she could listen in the car too!

[hoops]

dar, i thought the same thing, or prayed it anyway :)

[Melba]

"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.?"

ROTFLMBO.....I about fell out of my chair from the laughter.....:D

And as for the last part...he didn't expect this much attention? Oh, pleeaasse :rolleyes: I don't read comics, but I might now.....sounds like my kinda gal.;)

[Pesky]

Dee,

Thanks so much for posting this. Haven't bought a comic book in 30 years. Well, maybe one or two. I'll look forward to finding the series. I'll let you know when I do.

After working with guys who actually expressed lust for the girl rabbit in the Roger Rabbit movie, I'm open to a new experience.

now wasn't that just Pesky?

[Dee]

BRUCE WAYNE: BACHELOR (http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=963)

My colleague John Fellows recently brought my attention to a piece that ran at Silver Bullet Comics earlier this year in which various comic pros were asked, 'is Batman gay?'

It's a question that Silver Bullet has returned to more than a few times, with varying degrees of insight, but the question has circulated for well over half a century. In fact, no other comic character has been subjected to such prolonged and intense scrutiny when it comes to their sexuality. Bruce Wayne is the Tom Cruise of comics.

Commentators tend to point to two main sources as the cause for the speculation. One is the 1960s TV show, which in turn influenced the two Joel Schumacher movies. The other is Fredric Wertham's notorious 1954 book, SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT. In both cases, the crux of the issue is Batman's relationship with his youthful sidekick Robin.

In his biography BOY WONDER: MY LIFE IN TIGHTS, Burt Ward, the small screen Robin, admits that the characters could be interpreted as lovers, and the show's double entendres and lavish camp help make the case persuasive. Tim Burton's Batman movies forewent the Boy Wonder and the breezy camp, but Joel Schumacher brought them back and pushed homoerotic iconography to the fore.

Yet the TV show didn't invent this reading of the character; it took its cues from the comics of the day. When Wertham accused comics of corrupting America's youth with violence and deviancy, DC responded by camping up. The publisher also added female heroes to the previously rather modern 'Bat family', but the male heroes' reticence to date them didn't help straighten them out.

Wertham himself said of the relationship between Batman and Robin; "It is like a wish-dream of two homosexuals living together", adding:

"Sometimes they are shown on a couch, Bruce reclining and Dick sitting next to him, jacket off, collar open, and his hand on his friend's arm. Like the girls in other stories, Robin is sometimes held captive by the villains....

[mixtymotions]

Her costume is going to have to be really impressive to interfere with my fantasies of Xena.....

[Dar]

Her costume is going to have to be really impressive to interfere with my fantasies of Xena.....


Naaa, not me, I have room in my fantasies for two hot @sskicking women. ;) Not sure if I'd want to be the side kick or the victim they are rescuing......hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm such a dilemna. ;)

[ponytail]

I always knew Batman and Robin were gay, but I wasn't sure THEY knew it! Does anyone remember the hilarious Batman and Robin parody, "The Ambiguously Gay Duo" cartoons on TV Funhouse and Saturday Night Live?

[Eva]

Dar, how about if you are the person who commited the crime. I am sure it takes two beautiful women to wrestle you down to the floor... :D

Eva

[Melba]

Dar, how about if you are the person who commited the crime. I am sure it takes two beautiful women to wrestle you down to the floor... :D

Eva
Oh my...I don't know about Dar, but I know I sure would....;)

[Dar]

Dar, how about if you are the person who commited the crime. I am sure it takes two beautiful women to wrestle you down to the floor... :D
Eva

I can hardly stop laughing long enough to type this............

Eva, that makes it sound like I would put up some sort of a fight. :D ;) :rolleyes:

[Eva]

IEva, that makes it sound like I would put up some sort of a fight. :D ;) :rolleyes:

Dar, Dar, Dar...
Just pretend a little so it lasts longer!
And don't forget to scream things like "You'll never get me!" etc.

(hence new proof that a sick mind is a joy forever... :D )

Eva

[Dee]

So many Gay cartoon characters (http://monster-island.org/tinashumor/humor/gaycartoon.html), but they just didn't know it! :p

Fred Flintstone
Evidence: His nickname on the Bedrock bowling team: "Twinkle-toes Flintstone." The show's theme song ends "...we'll have a gay old time!" Wears an orange dress with little triangles on it. Hangs out with Barney far more than Wilma.

Bugs Bunny
Evidence: Often stands with hand on hip. Plays a hairdresser in one episode. Frequently dresses in drag. Loves to throw on a top hat and tails and belt out Broadway show-tunes with his buddy Daffy -- who, it's worth noting, has a lisp.

Velma (of Scooby Doo)
Evidence: Always tries to sit next to Daphne in the Mystery Machine. Sports that butch haircut. Has broad shoulders and wears thick turtleneck-sweaters and knee socks. Never once shagged Shaggy.

Popeye
Evidence: Eats lots of salad. Wears a sailor suit, even though he hasn't been on a ship in years. Does little sailor-dances. Dates a flat-chested transvestite named Olive Oyl. Best friend named Wimpy.

Batman and Robin
Evidence: Robin's nickname: Boy Wonder. Batman's real name: Bruce. Both wear tights. They're in great shape.

Peppermint Patty
Evidence: Has a deep, gravelly voice. Wears pants, not dresses like the other Peanuts gals. Plays a mean game of football. Likes to taunt Charlie Brown. Always hanging out with that androgynous Marcie. Wears comfortable shoes.
Nickname: "Sir."

The Pink Panther
'Nuff said

And last but certainly not least:

Thank God the Rev. Jerry Falwell has stepped in to clean up children's television. He outed Tinky Winky, from that perverted show the Teletubbies, because, Falwell pronounced, the character is clearly a fount of gayness: He's purple, the gay color; he has an antenna shaped like a triangle, the gay symbol; and he carries a purse, something all gay people do.

[MadMusician]

Thank God the Rev. Jerry Falwell has stepped in to clean up children's television. He outed Tinky Winky, from that perverted show the Teletubbies, because, Falwell pronounced, the character is clearly a fount of gayness: He's purple, the gay color; he has an antenna shaped like a triangle, the gay symbol; and he carries a purse, something all gay people do.

That was the most absurd thing I think I had ever heard. :D

[Dee]

Yes indeed, and when he finds out about Batwoman, Jerry Falwell's gonna have a coronary. Alleluia! LOL

Signed,

Mean Old Dee :p :D

[ponytail]

Dee, your outing of Popeye made me remember a commerical awhile ago in which Popeye and Brutus start hanging out together, arousing Olive's suspicions. It ended with Popeye and Brutus riding happily off together on a bicycle, while Olive stood there smouldering, hand on hip, tapping her foot. I think it was an orange juice commercial. The director of some fundamentalist "family institute" organization was upset about it, and Steven Colbert interviewed him on the Daily Show...he was clueless about the fact that they were making a joke of him. It was probably two years ago.

And I've always loved Bugs Bunny in drag. Particularly when he kisses Elmer and makes him blush.

[Dee]

fundamentalist = clueless

Nothing new there, PT.

LOL

CLOONEY: 'I MADE BATMAN GAY' (http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/clooney%20i%20made%20batman%20gay_03_03_2006)

GEORGE CLOONEY played superhero BATMAN as a gay man in BATMAN AND ROBIN, he has confessed. The Oscar-nominee points to the caped crusader's camp costume as a giveaway to his sexuality. He reveals, "I was in a rubber suit. I had rubber nipples. I could have played him straight but I didn't. I made him gay."
03/03/2006

[Eva]

And it's common knowledge that gays always wear rubber and straights never. :rolleyes:

Eva

[ponytail]

And here I was fantasizing that George's physique really looked like that...:(