On Batgirl

Jul. 26th, 2011 03:33 pm
eleanorjane: The one, the only, Harley Quinn. (Default)
This WebSnark post perfectly sums up the problems with Barbara Gordon's reversion from Oracle into Batgirl, for me.

... Barbara Gordon was put in that wheelchair in 1988. She had debuted in comic books in 1967, so she had a twenty one year run as Batgirl. She debuted as Oracle in 1989, so at this point she’s had a twenty-two year run as Oracle. That’s an important point — she’s been Oracle (and disabled) longer than she was Batgirl.

So the brand argument, to me, is somewhat specious. That brings us to their earlier statement — the one on diversity and how they’re chock full of it.

Well, they’re not. They’re just not. The ‘new’ DC Universe has put more white men in the forefront, not less.

And Barbara Gordon has gone from an extremely powerful role — and role model — to a weak one.

Oh, I have confidence in Gail Simone to write a strong Batgirl. I really do. But Barbara Gordon is Batgirl again. Some other character is Batwoman, defined as being entirely independent from Batman. Barbara Gordon is back to the role of being passive and scared (look at that cover I’ve reprinted above) as Batgirl, where she was strong, confident, independent and distinctive as Oracle.


Right on.
eleanorjane: An angry alien! (mad)
You know, I was really pretty excited about the upcoming DC reboot - I really like comics in general, but I don't follow anything enough to keep up with the storylines, and DC is just so intimidating to try and get into. (As is Marvel.) So I've mostly stuck to the other labels and other kinds of stories, but I like superheroes, and I was relishing the chance to get in at the ground floor with one of the big superhero universes, without having to try to learn years of legacy backstory.

And then we find out that actually, they're keeping around a bunch of the legacy backstory (ie Batman and Green Lantern stuff), and they actually don't care about fans like me - like us - anyway.

From Bleeding Cool:

The target audience are men age 18 to 34 though they do realize that they have readers in other demographics.


This from one of the monoliths in an industry that has been shrinking for years. I can only assume that, in the words of Yahtzee, they're allergic to money and success.

(Also, given the dearth of superheroes of colour in the reboot, I think it's safe to say that there's an unspoken "we mean white men" in their audience identification.)

Guess what, DC? I'm pretty sure that you've already got all the (white-)men-aged-18-to-34 you're going to get. This was a good chance to make fans like me feel welcome in non-token ways, and not only did you blow it, you didn't care in the first place.

Since you don't want me as a fan, I won't burden you with my icky girl money - I'll continue throwing it at Dark Horse, and maybe have yet another try at Marvel. At least neither of them have officially said they don't care about my interest.
eleanorjane: The one, the only, Harley Quinn. (Default)
I've been playing DC Universe Online a bit lately, and it's reminded me how much I really do love superheroes, despite the fridged girlfriends and ridiculous art and labyrinthine storylines. I know there have been a lot of animated adaptations lately, and I'm after recommendations about which ones are really worth catching up with:

- The Timmverse/Diniverse (ie Batman: TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League, JLU, etc.)
- Batman: the Brave and the Bold
- Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
- X-Men Evolution
- Wolverine and the X-Men
- anything else?

Plus there are the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, some of which I've seen and liked (Wonder Woman, Justice League) and some of which bored the pants off me (Green Lantern).

Man. Sorting this stuff out is just as complicated as the comics themselves. >.<

(Crossposted to both journals.)
eleanorjane: The one, the only, Harley Quinn. (Default)
So! I've just finished Runaways, which I loved, and Young Avengers, which I quite liked (and would have liked more, had the non-young Avengers not been such raging dicks).

And now I'm looking for something fun to read, comics-wise. Any recommendations, per favore?

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eleanorjane: The one, the only, Harley Quinn. (Default)
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