I have been a fan of the DC characters since I was a kid. Before Christopher Nolan got his hands on Batman, I watched the animated series and pretended to be a super hero myself. I started reading comics in high school, and I’ve followed some of the characters in all of their media incarnations for years. However, DC comics has a long history of problematic story-telling choices, and their comics often perpetuate all sorts of oppression. And, unfortunately, ever since the new 52 reboot, I find myself uninterested in buying basically any of the new DC series because of the constant marginalisation of minority characters (see the attempted killing off of the Green Lantern, John Stewart, one of the most recognisable Black super heroes in the DC line-up. And the retconning/rewriting of Oracle, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl’s super hero identity she took on after she became disabled. And the murder of Alan Scott’s boyfriend. And the redesign of Harley Quinn. And the list continues).
How do you update one of the most recognisable DC villains of all time? You change everything about her and subtract a good portion of her clothing. Skin tight body suits aren’t sexy enough, you see?
However, despite my continued disappointment, I keep tabs on the comics because I do truly love many of the characters, and if the books get better, I am ready to jump back on board. Editorial might be bad now, but there is hope, right? Regrettably, DC keeps stomping on my dreams of something better, and today’s rant involves some major changes to the book, Birds of Prey.
Maggie Gordon's Blog 