With characters from DC Future State comprising a not-insignificant amount of DC Comics’ publishing slate — from Superman: Son of Kal-El and Superman and the Authority to I Am Batman, Wonder Girl, and Aquaman: The Becoming — I thought it’d be interesting to look back on one of the other times DC had their books jump…
Father’s Day Special: Devin Grayson on ARSENAL and Lian Harper
In reviewing the line-up for DC’s Green Arrow 80th Anniversary Special, many fans were in fact overjoyed when they learned Devin Grayson was included in the line-up of creators. Their excitement doubled when Grayson announced on her twitter account that she would be writing a story about Roy Harper, and in her words: he would…
The Other History of Rape in the DC Universe: The DEATHSTROKE Problem
Let’s not beat around the bush. Sexual abuse and rape are topics which are difficult to talk about in any format, but it’s especially hard when it comes to discussing it through superheroes. DC and Marvel Comics have both proven they tend to lack certain… nuances in the ways they portray rape and sex abuse.…
History of Violence: WONDER WOMAN, The Blue Snowman, and “Gender Issues”
One aspect of Wonder Woman’s mythology that’s always drawn my attention was her plethora of bizarre, colorful villains during the Golden Age. While she fought against more commonly known enemies such as Giganta and the original Cheetah, Wonder Woman also tangled against the likes of Baroness Paula von Gunther, Doctor Psycho, the Duke of Deception,…
Doom and Bloom: Rachel Pollack and the Evolution of the DOOM PATROL
If you’ve been paying attention to the Doom Patrol in the past two decades, you might notice a key oversight. That is, how transgender author Rachel Pollack’s time as their writer has been largely ignored by DC’s marketing and editorial teams. Even John Arcudi’s run and John Byrne’s critically lambasted run (which even received its…
From Earth Angel to the Grave: Burying Peter David’s SUPERGIRL
During this period of upheaval and death due to the COVID-19 pandemic, who among us doesn’t fear for the future? Alongside trying not to get sick, I’m worried about keeping my comic shop open, the health of my parents, and the life of my grandfather (who just suffered a major stroke and has the virus).…
REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA and its Debt to Shinji Wada
Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard this story before? A pink haired young girl seeks to protect her friend, a bullied young woman with a bindi mark on her forehead. What the pink haired girl doesn’t realize is there’s more to her friend then she’s able to recognize and the girl with…
A Holiday Special Edition: The Rise and Fall of TITANS’ Lian Harper
It’s Christmas, that special day of the year that also happens to be my birthday. And for my birthday I decided to do a little follow-up to my article on Roy Harper — one focusing now on his daughter Lian. With the end of DC’s “Doomsday Clock” in our rearview mirror and DC’s rumored “5G” plans…
The Fall of Roy Harper: How ARSENAL’s Navajo Origins Disappeared from the Page
It was Thanksgiving again, a holiday I loathe because it seems to pride itself on the way it brings out the worst in families. God knows I can’t help but tense up whenever discussion of my own family’s plans for Turkey Day starts. That’s not even me getting into the idea of a holiday being…
Deadly Nightshade: Poison Ivy, SQUADRON SUPREME, and a History of Sexualized Violence
Does it count as consent if the person you’re with has been programmed to never go against your orders — to always give consent, no matter what? In the recent Heroes in Crisis series, we saw Harley Quinn framed for murder and Poison Ivy killed — and subsequently reborn as a shell of her former self.…
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