079.1 Justice League/ the 99 Crossover
And then today DC posts this little nugget:
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the heroes of the Justice League will join forces with Teshkeel Comics’ THE 99, the award-winning original superhero group based on Islamic culture and history.
THE 99 team, which debuted in June 2006, was recently identified by Forbes Magazine as one of the “Top 20 Trends Sweeping the Globe.” Not too shabby, huh? In THE 99 — created by Naif Al-Mutawa — are a team of superheroes, including Jabbar the Powerful and Noora the Light who must collect 99 gems encrypted with the wisdom and power of the ancient Dar Al-Hikma library of Baghdad, which are spread across the globe.
The mini-series will be penned by incoming AZRAEL scribe Fabian Nicieza, who’s no stranger to THE 99, having written the series previously. We’re saving the artistic announcement and official release date for another day, once we’re ready to show off some of the art.
079 Criticism (and Defense) of Dust
After hearing about French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposed ban on burqas and the controversy it caused, I immediately thought of this well-written post by Jehanzeb Dar. In the post Dar reflects upon the X-Men character Dust, created by Grant Morrison during his now classic run on X-Men, and the depiction of of Muslim women in an age of comics where “female characters are depicted with large breasts and skimpy skin-tight (or lack of) clothing”. Ultimately Dar feels that while a step in the right direction the character still reinforces old Muslim stereotypes.
What are some of these stereotypes? One is something that I’ve in the past fallen victim to myself; namely, the criticism and misunderstanding of the hijab and burqa. I think as Americans a lot of times this misunderstanding presents itself as sympathy for the wearer. We “feel bad” for Muslim women because they’re “forced” to conceal themselves. However is the Islamic teaching of modesty any more “restrictive” than a Hasidic frock? Any criticism of that attire would come off as anti-Semitic (and rightly so.) It’s a lifestyle choice, and a religious one at that. Sarkozy comments that “In (France), we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,”. He doesn’t take into account that this is part of an identity; that to some fashion isn’t the be-all, end-all of what makes a person unique.
In the world of comics, though, it seems Dust’s identity is at times based solely on dress. While it’s interesting that Marvel has created a truly positive depiction of a Muslim character they certainly haven’t done much to build her up in any way. In fact her only contribution to the team seems to be “token Muslim girl”, who doesn’t really do much because her religion won’t allow… well, anything. I understand her having to constantly defend herself amongst her peers – they’re young, and part of being young is the ignorance and misunderstand youth brings – but her arguments always seem so weak. It’s as if the writers write her to be “wrong”; like her religion is “wrong”, and if you live in the U.S. you have to be just like the rest of us good, white people. At best she was a plot device for Morrison’s story, and now she doesn’t bring much else to the table.
That being said, she’s religious, and unashamedly so, which I think is a good thing. She’s often seen praying, asking God to forgive her sins. Unless it’s Nightcrawler in a confessional booth we don’t see much of that in comics. I myself am not an incredibly religious man but I can appreciate that aspect of humanity being represented in media. Another aspect I thought was smartly done was her first appearance story. Yes, it’s admittedly heavy-handed; Wolverine gutting Taliban members while saving the Muslim girl is such a power fantasy that I’m surprised Morrison didn’t have Logan use his dick to impale them all rather than his claws. That being said I don’t think it was a case of, as Dar put it, the “Western male gaze”; I don’t think Morrison was saying the Muslim world needs the Western world to rescue them. I just think it was his incredibly obvious, intentionally ham-fisted way of introducing a positive Muslim character. By having a negative characterization of the Muslim world victimize a positive characterization it makes the dichotomy especially stark and gets the point across to your average American that these are just people, and some people are good and some people are dicks, and it doesn’t matter the color of their skin, because, yes, in 2002 we still need to have THAT conversation.
Another thing I like about her character is that her power reflects her environment. I think it’s cool that she turns to sand and cuts people up. I mean, fuck yeah, drive that point home. Remind people where she’s from at all times. Make it not “weird” that there’s someone from Afghanistan on the team, or that there would be someone with a burqa in comics. Diversity in media starts when people stop caring so much, and people stop caring so much when they’re used to something. So ok, maybe this opens Dust to being too much of a stereotype for now. As long as this gets the ball rolling, and as long as she’s not doing something stupid like declaring jihad on the Avengers, I’d say no harm no foul.
So, yes, I like Dust. Or rather, I like the idea of Dust. There’s room for improvement, sure, but at the end of the day I think Dust was a good idea that has just been horribly mishandled. So how can Marvel improve her?
077 Here Are Some Books That WAIT, WHAT?
Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Tales From Wonderland: The Cheshire Cat
Written b–ohwhogivesashit
I’ve never had the slightest inclination to read one of these fetish comics before, and to be honest I really didn’t feel like wasting my money on one in my attempts at doing reviews and writing about comics here on this blog. However I’ve been having a rough time making it to the comic shop as of late. A mixture of bad economy and too much work have made my purchasing habits a bit few and far between. That being said I didn’t want to let a week go by without a review, so I made the decision to find a site online that I could download this week’s books from. I then had to decide which books I could download in good conscience; for example, I wasn’t going to download the new issue of Invincible, because that’s a book I actually like. I want to pay for that book, and support both the book’s creators, and my local comic shop. For similar reasons I wouldn’t download the Action Comics annual because of my respect for Greg Rucka. Likewise, Captain America 600. And I’m definitely holding out for when I can put money down for Air #10.
Then, as I scanned the website for something I knew I would never support financially, never buy on my own terms, I came across this. This– ridiculous, inane, offensive piece of fucking trash. This is the kind of book that makes me depressed; depressed to be a comics fan, depressed to be a human being. ALRIGHT PAL, I’M GLAD YOU’RE WORKING OUT YOUR ISSUES WITH WOMEN IN A CONSTRUCTIVE MANNER BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE THE KIND OF THING YOUR THERAPIST WOULD RATHER YOU KEPT PRIVATE, MMKAY?
Let’s ignore the gratuitous tits-n’-ass that run rampant throughout the book– and there are a plethora– because on some level I get it, you know? On some level i understand that there’s an audience for this, just like there’s an audience for Playboy or Playgirl, and Maxim, and slasher flicks, and even those trashy romance novels. I understand that they all serve a purpose, and sex sells. But it’s the sheer amount of graphic violence against women that’s so disturbing. This is a story set at a college that’s presumably coed (there’s a sex scene with a guy who seems to go to this school that’s otherwise populated with female pornstars) and yet the only graphic violence we see, the only real punishment, disembowelment, is all toward women. Sure, said male ends up dying, but he goes in a car crash; quick, easy, and with an explosion. No body, no mess. Wanna see one page of female deaths?
Yes, “aaaaiieeee”, indeed.
And so, yeah, I understand that there’s a purpose for this type of thing. But even in those slasher films, it just– it feels different, you know? It feels like silly fun. This is mean. This feels personal. This feels like stereotypical “comic geek” in high school, socially inept, turned down by all the popular girls, who all of a sudden gains control of his own universe, and what he does with this universe is make all those girls pay, and when he does it he says “this is for you guys, this is for the rest of you who were abused and felt worthless at the hands of Billy and his gang who called themselves the Bad Boyz.” But what the people who published this book need to realize is two things: first, high school ends and you grow up and you stop pretending like someone calling you “gay” when you were 17 years old is the most traumatizing thing that could possibly happen to you, and second, that maybe, just maybe, perpetuating this kind of attitude, and these kinds of ideas, is dangerous. Glorifying violence towards women serves no purpose in this story, and what’s worse it’s irresponsible and sets a poor example to its audience, saying it’s ok to think of women this way, it’s ok to think of them as sex objects, and so when you brutally murder them it doesn’t matter, because hey, that’s what objectifying’s all about, right? It makes it so you don’t feel bad about being a misogynist and a sadist.
See, that’s why mainstream comics are fucked up. It’s so much easier than “women in refrigerators”, and strong female protagonists, and all that. Let’s start at the basics: when you objectify women, when you do an Ed Benes hack job and make the majority of your fanbase see women as cum-dumpsters and submissives, or when you pull a Bendis and turn a scene with Tigra into a weird S&M fantasy projection, you are not hurting comics, you are hurting society. As an editor, by turning to complaints about your Divas book and saying “hey, if you don’t like it don’t buy it”, you’re dismissing people’s legitimate concerns, and for those people out there who are alienated by it, for those out there who are downright offended, you’re saying “go fuck yourself, because there’s thousands of teen to middle-aged men who don’t give a shit about you and I’m one of them”.
So, yeah, Cheshire Cat… it’s about the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland who gets a boner by killing women. It’s fucking stupid.
034 The Multicultural Mask
The following entry was written by non-comic book fan and friend of the blog Chelsea Bahr.
I can’t say enough good things about the Multicultural Mask panel. Easily my favorite of the ones I went to this weekend. Not only was Greg Pak adorable, but all the panelists– moderator Jeff Yang (Asian Pop columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and editor of Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology), Jann Jones, (DC Comics coordinating editor), Stuart Moore (writer and founding Vertigo editor), Perry Moore (Hero), Robert J. Walker (Delete, O+Men) and Danielle O’Brien– were very intelligent and interesting to listen to. Discussing the issue of diversification in comics and comic book characters, Greg Pak right out the gate made an interesting point regarding characters that portray race stereotypes (Fu Manchu, anyone?). He stated that regardless of whether a character’s first appearance in a comic is “dated”, the fact that that character is even available– to be developed, expanded, etc.– is incredibly significant. The problem I have with this, however, is how long does it take for those characters to be developed from the “Fu Manchu” stereotype? I mean, I suppose that without that introduction, the token Asian nerd that inevitably pops up in every television show and box-office hit might not exist, and sure they always make you laugh and are always incredibly endearing, but does that make it ok?
Editor’s note: going along with that same point, I wonder how much the token Asian nerd is an expansion or development, helping break stereotypes rather than reinforce them? I’d say not much of one. -P.D.
The panel moved on to talk about how comics are really the last medium to break through the “true diversification wall”, and that even the diverse characters that do exist are nowhere near being on par with existing lead characters– think Falcon vs. Thor. Perry Moore, creator of Hero (the story whose lead character is not only an Asian American, but a gay Asian American) pointed out that people tend to write from experience, and the comic book industry is an industry full of white guys. He went on to say that the fact that there are no original black superheroes isn’t a racist thing (although, I think that’s kind of ignoring the fact that racism probably did at one time exist in Marvel and DC offices, if it doesn’t still), it’s simply a “write what you know” thing.
Moore went on to talk about identity, and made the point that people sometimes tend to get caught up in equating a character’s race, gender, sexual preference, etc. with who the character is. Someone asked if any of the panelists thought a big, flagship character (like Captain America) could ever be in an issue and be like, “Hey, guess what? I’m gay!” Moore responded: “You have to stay true to the character. The character’s identity isn’t made up of ‘being gay’ or ‘being heterosexual’- they’re made up of a lot of different things, and if they’re gay, that’s only one small piece of who they are.” Jann Jones went on to talk about the incessant hate mail received for the creation of a lesbian Batwoman (who is apparently becoming a lead in Detective Comics): “You’re not going to make everyone happy, but you have to put it out there. And there’s a challenge in not making it too inclusive or exclusive.”
“The bigger question than the inclusion of these representatives, then,” Yang stated, “is how these representatives are portrayed.” The hour ended, and I ran home to add Hero to my Amazon wish list.
033 The Representation of Women in Comics panel: Chelsea thought it was dumb and then I agreed with her.
The following entry was written by non-comic book fan and friend of the blog Chelsea Bahr.
Perhaps the most irritating thing about the gender argument is the fact that the people that always seem to be doing the arguing are either a) extremely irritating b) misinformed c) extreme and entirely unwilling to even consider anything outside their argument (Editor’s Note: Wednesday’s Child feels that he is none of these things.) Unlucky for me, the Representation of Women in Comics panelists were all of the above. Moderated by Abby Denson, Chris Butzer of Rabid Rabbit, cousins Jillian and Mariko Tamaki of Skim fame, Robin Furth, who adapted Stephen King’s Dark Tower for Marvel, and a couple others not only decided to use the hour for their own self-promotion, but danced around the already vague and predictable questions Denson posed. Sorry guys, but the fact that some women find a 36-24-36 blonde bombshell in skin tight latex offensive is nothing new.
As Denson asked questions like, “What comes to mind when you think of ‘the representation of women in comics’?” and “Do you think the portrayal of women has progressed?” I watched as audience members became (if they weren’t already) totally uninterested. I couldn’t help but feel like these shallow, unaffecting questions had been scrawled out onto a napkin on the hike over from the food court. Not only did they fail to establish any sort of dialogue from the panelists, but they also didn’t allow any room for audience members to open up a discussion of their own.
Most irritating about the panel (aside from the complete lethargy) was the hypocrisy found therein. The driving point reiterated over and over throughout the hour by each of the panelists was that females have progressed in comics because of the shift in their positions of power. ORLY? Denson mentioned- several times- her current project centered around Aunt May stealing Peter Parker’s Spidey Suit to go fight crime, unbeknownst to him. She emphasized how she felt the character of Aunt May has always been so “dated”, wearing “unfashionable clothes” and “staying at home all day twiddling her thumbs”. Denson said she felt compelled to transform Aunt May’s character into a strong, modern woman. This really made me raise my eyebrows. So the only way Aunt May is able to be “strong” is by putting on a male character’s suit and going out to “fight crime”- the traditional male “action role”? So older women who “sit at home” and exhibit any sort of femininity can’t be strong, since strength is apparently still being equated with stereotypical masculinity? So not only are you perpetuating gender stereotypes, but you are recreating gender boundaries? Well that’s great. Thanks so much Denson! I’ll be sure to wipe off my nailpolish the next time I decide to shotgun a beer.
A response, by Paul DeBenedetto:
While I did not attend this panel I agree with Chelsea here, insofar as a lot of argument regarding strong women protagonists is that it’s important to prove that women can do what men can do; the problem with this is that you’re making men the barometer. By saying “I’m just as tough as that guy; see?”, you’re basically setting yourself up to fail, because essentially saying this perpetuates the idea that, overall, men are “better” than women- that is, if there’s such a struggle for women to prove themselves to men the implication is that men are something women should aspire to be like.
Ultimately, rather than try to “masculize” women in comics, why not accentuate their inherent femininity? It’s like my friend Thimali once said to me; she’s a woman, and she knows there are clear differences between her and a man. Not weaknesses or strengths, just differences.If she were in Aunt May’s shoes, for example, she wouldn’t need to dress in that Spider Suit to prove she can “hang with the boys”. Yes, generally men are hopped up on testosterone, but aren’t women more emotional animals? Paraphrasing her (probably butchering her real comments, actually): “once a month my emotions are thrown for a loop. I am happy, I am sad, I am angry, I am moody. And thus by definition I am more in touch with my emotions than a man is.” And this is true. Men and women experience different things, are built differently, and thus act differently.
This is not to say that female characters CAN’T be traditionally strong or tough. Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Powergirl, Batgirl, Batwoman, Echo, Ms. Marvel, Elektra; all of these characters are physically strong, and it’s in character. Aunt May? Not so much. Incidentally, you know who else is “dated” and wears “unfashionable clothes”? My grandmother.
Yes, throughout history masculinity and the “Alpha Male” have been dominant, whether it be on television, in literature, or even in the workplace. But isn’t the answer to rebel against and reject THAT idea, rather than to ostensibly play into it?
013 Sweet Christmas! Black People in Comics!
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as well as the inauguration of our first black president, I thought I’d take a look at a couple of the ways black characters have been portrayed in the funny books. As is the case in other forms of media, minority interpretations in comics written by white men are often embarrassing or insulting. Prime example:
The 1940′s were not a particularly flattering time for creators, who relied mostly on negative stereotypes in order to get cheap laughs from their mostly white audience. Negative black characterizations were rampant during this time, with notable examples being Whitewash (pictured above, tied up) and The Spirit’s Ebony White. Big eyes, thick lips, foppish clothing and behavior; these were all it took to create a black character in the world of comics. Another popular portrayal around this time was that of the savage, which was a device one of my favorite creators, Windsor McKay, unfortunately used. The argument here, of course, is that these creators were “products of their time”; I always wondered if that was a good enough excuse. Columbus was a product of his time, as were early Civil War era slave owners. I find it difficult to forgive these people for their transgressions. In the case of these creators, especially McKay, I am once again at odds; can I separate the creator from the work? (It should be noted that although the physical depictions of their characters was deplorable, Eisner and McKay were considered slightly ahead of their time in other ways; for example, they often put these characters on equal ground without any extraordinary humiliation. That being said I’m not really sure I’ll be handing out any special posthumous commendations on their behalf.)
The sixties were sort of a turning point for black characters, as the black hero took the stage. Black Panther was introduced over at Marvel, followed a few years later by the Falcon. Marvel used these characters not as a novelty but as role models; the Falcon was a social worker and the Panther, when not ruling his fictional nation of Wakanda, was a schoolteacher. Both would be a source of moral clarity Bill Willingham would cream himself over, all while being interesting, three-dimensional characters. The problem here is that they were often relegated to backup roles. Falcon backed up Captain America, and Black Panther was originally a Fantastic Four guest character (though his overwhelming popularity [for a black OR white character {where do you go after squiggly brackets?}] gave way to his own title.) Unfortunately the rise in popularity of black characters gave way to that embarrassing seventies trend…
…Blaxploitation! Just like in the world of film, comic books just couldn’t stray from this terrible, terrible idea. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching Shaft as much as the next guy but there’s something inherently wrong about the whole thing, isn’t there? I suppose on a “so wrong that it must be right” level it’s some classic shit, but I can’t shake that dirty feeling any time I watch it. Looking back on some of these characters, had I been alive at the time, reading these comics might have induced that same cringe. Luke Cage (pictured above ACTUALLY TRAVELLING TO LATVERIA TO SHAKE DOWN DR. DOOM FOR 200 BUCKS), Black Lightning (he’s young, urban, and edgy!)… they even gave the Falcon a pimp suit.
Today I think black characters in comics are portrayed more realistically, just not prominently enough. DC’s biggest heroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash. Marvel’s big guns: Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four. I can see both companies trying to be more progressive, I just don’t see the results. There are clearly still some stereotyping issues. For example, black characters in comics always seem to choose codenames with the word “black” in them. Also, why are black heroes always proteges to white heroes? Black Goliath, John Stewart, War Machine; it’s not even so much that there are black proteges, as much as there aren’t (to my knowledge) any white proteges to black heroes. It’s a weird stereotype. And black characters are often drawn with white features.
The question I’d like to pose is, do comics fare better or worse than movies or television when it comes to the portrayal of black characters? There clearly is a parallel. It seems that as other forms of media (or at the very least, movies) go, so do comics. My main issue here is that it seems like comics tried for a little while, but gave up. It’s similar to the female conundrum: did black readers not care, or did the companies not give enough of a chance? Does it even come down to black fans, or did creators say “this is the kind of black person our (young, white, male) audience wants to see”? The problem with addressing this kind of discrimination is that it’s usually not intentional. Do I really think there’s a conspiracy in the comics world against women, blacks, Asians, and Jews? No. I just think these companies have targeted a safe audience and are sticking to what they know. They just don’t think black men, women, or even (GASP) black women would be interested in their product, so these demographics are not catered to.
I think this is the most I’ve ever linked myself in a blog. Also, extra points if you recognize the catchphrase in the subject line.
011 When Personal Beliefs and Personal Taste are at Odds
Just a quick thought for today.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about creators, specifically how and to what extent their views and personal opinions shape their creations. Recently a friend and I were discussing the recent controversy and subsequent blogosphere coverage (including right here) of Bill Willingham’s mission statement against “superhero decadence”. It was essentially a conservative creator’s manifesto, and while discussing it, my friend Matt had mentioned that, while not having any specific references or examples, he did get an overall neo-con, “hawkish” feel from Fables.
Over at the Cerebus Diablog, where Laura Hudson and Leigh Walton are revisiting the story of Cerebus issue by issue, a conversation about the misogyny of the perpetually controversial Dave Sim broke out after just two issues! Sim, a man who has had plenty to say about women through the years, chooses as Cerebus’ foe a succubus; a creature which takes the form of a beautiful woman in order to suck the soul and energy from a poor, unsuspecting male. Subtle.
Now, I happen to think that Fables is one of the better comics of the past twenty years and that Cerebus is a work of staggering genius. I love both works and could care less about the writers’ personal beliefs. But at the same time I sometimes wonder why I would openly criticize these men and yet support the work they do. All over the internet there are swarms of people boycotting the books and dropping Fables completely from their pull list. So how much are the creations shaped by the creator? Am I a hypocrite?
006 Comics: The He-Man Woman Hater’s Club?
I think it’s pretty safe to say that comics have, traditionally, been a “boy’s club”. From the characters all the way up to the creators and editors, high ranking females are hard to come by. Sure there’s your exceptions: Wonder Woman is one of DC’s “holy trinity” along with Superman and Batman. Gail Simone is one of the best writers in mainstream comics, and Karen Berger is executive editor at Vertigo, DC’s mature reader imprint. But while it’s nice to have exceptions I think this is a pretty clear case of those exceptions proving the rule.
Heidi McDonald, on her blog entry last month about this very topic, made an interesting observation which I think illustrates the point perfectly:
While indie and manga scenes have given rise to dozens of notable women creators on all levels, there are still only a tiny handful of mainstream female “superstars.” For instance, the New York Comic-Con has announced dozens of featured guests – including the tech writer for Newsweek, the marketing director for Bandai, and the guy who covers video games for MTV News — and only two women, Barbara Canepa and Colleen Doran.
As it stands the list has grown, and the percentage of women involved is even smaller. This is not to blame the NYCC itself; on the contrary, it’s not their fault at all that there’s not enough women in the industry for them to make a bigger impact at the convention. But the question remains: who is to blame?
Who’s to blame for the cancellation of female superhero books like Manhunter, a book about a female character not created to further a male character’s popularity, nor whom becomes a costumed vigilante because she was a victim who wanted to get back at her oppressor. She’s a lawyer who’s tired of the guilty getting off, so she puts on a costume and kicks their asses. Perfect example of a positive female portrayal in comics. So again, who’s to blame? The fans? Do comic book fans really not want to see a popular female character? I doubt that’s the case, as there was a pretty solid, albeit small, fan base for the book. I would moreso think it’s a case of the publisher ASSUMING fans don’t want female characters, and thus not promoting her correctly. Manhunter could have been one of their biggest books in my opinion, and they seriously dropped the ball.
Or how about Birds of Prey, Simone’s very popular all-female book which was both critically and financially successful, which was just canceled and replaced with an Oracle mini-series. Dan Didio was quoted in a Newsarama interview as saying:
Like I said, Birds of Prey goes away, but there’s an Oracle miniseries coming which places a prominent female character front and center.
which is sort of like saying “I’m not racist, I know a black guy!”His logic is of course ridiculous, since BoP was an ongoing series, while Oracle is a six-issue limited series that will probably get little to no attention. So who is to blame for that? Clearly this is not the case of fans not caring, so why kill the book?
As far as women having jobs as editors, writers, artists, and other positions in the industry, well, that one seems a little easier to answer. Women in the workplace have traditionally been held back (hell, I work at a company with not one minority or female high-ranking executive) so it’s no surprise it would happen in comics, especially with the stigma comics have as being “for the boys”, which is not helped by posts such as this.
And so I guess another question we need to answer is as to why this is happening. I think to dismiss it as “girls don’t like comics as much as boys” is irresponsible, and doesn’t really help solve the actual problem at hand. If you don’t know anything about Women in Refridgerator syndrome read up on it, it’s pretty interesting stuff, but it’s basically a theory hyptohesized by Gail Simone regarding the use of female characters as a way to make male characters more popular. Her final conclusion is that if you kill, maim, or depower the strong female characters that girls can relate to then girls will stop reading comics. And to me it’s a strong case: what girl is going to want to read comics if there’s no one to identify with?
Side note – going back to that ComicCon list, apparently Anthony Forrest is billed as a “celebrity guest”. I had no idea who he was so I read the description: he was the stormtrooper that gets hypnotized by Obi-Wan at Mos Eisley in the original Star Wars movie. And I assure you, his booth will be packed. Sigh…. nerds will get excited by anything.
003 Merry Christmas…
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A brain for Dan Didio
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For Nightwing to be his own character (rather than a new Batman for a year, before Bruce Wayne comes back and rains on our parade [see 1])
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A female writer or artist who is allowed to evolve and flourish in today’s comic market (BESIDES GAIL SIMONE), or at the very least a strong, A-list female character (bring back Manhunter!)
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A positive LGBT comics role model (especially the T)
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For comics creators to stop using racist, sexist, and homophobic plot devices in order to tell a story. Fanboys are generally too conservative as it is; don’t encourage them please.
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A Green Lantern ring
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