LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
FIRST Hand |
by Marion McGrath |
Holy Homosexual! Batwoman's a Lesbo?
It's been decades since I've held a comic book in my hands, but that's all changed. When I first heard whispers that a new comic featuring the character named Batwoman was due to hit the stands it didn't register high on my radar until I learned that she was, gasp, going to be an openly lesbian super hero. That prompted a trip to my neighborhood comic book store. See? Right away there's a big difference. When I read comic books you went to the drugstore, read as many on the rack as you could for free, then grudgingly spent a dime to take one home for your own. I don't know when comic books disappeared from the drug store, but their new venue is Comic Book Store. And, the new price is $2.50. Wow. I didn't know what to think. Is this progress, or just a case of niche marketing gone berserk? We really do have a neighborhood comic book store, named Fantom. When I first went in it was with a sense of hesitation. I do have pierced ears and a tattoo on my wrist, but I somehow felt this wasn't enough to give me street cred. There were two young people, and I do mean young, working there, and, to their credit, neither batted a dewy eyelash in my geriatric direction when I asked about the upcoming Batwoman comic where she comes out as a lesbian. In fact, they were great. The guy jumped on the computer to find out more details for me, and the young woman said something to the effect that it really was no big deal, everyone's sexuality is what it is, and that in today's world no one needed to make a big pronouncement, they just were what they were (you can sprinkle a load of "like" in there for more authenticity). I would have given her a big hug, but I was sort of stunned, and at the same time so filled with hope that what she said was universal to the kids of today, that I just stayed rooted to the spot and sort of nodded, yeah. The kids and I developed sort of an inter-generational bond. Each Wednesday when I'd walk into the store they'd immediately give me the latest update on the publication. As it turns out Batwoman doesn't have her own comic but appears with a cast of other super heroes in DC Comic series 52. Here are some things I found out: The original Batwoman was started in 1956 as sort of an alter ego to Batman. Batman co-creator Bob Kane claimed that he originally drew her to resemble his wife, and named her "Kathy Kane." Do not confuse her with Bat-Girl, who is Batwoman's neice, Betty. There's lots more, but it's all too convoluted to go into in an 800 word article. Let me just say that Batwoman was killed off in 1979, not to be seen again until this recent resurrection. So, how about this new (and faaaabulous) incarnation? Well, she shares the name of her predecessor, sort of, Kate Kane.; she's an heiress of a Gotham City family whose fortune is comparable to that of the Wayne Family (Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, remember?). The new, and definitely improved, Batwoman is no longer romantically interested in Batman, and marches to the beat of her different drummer. This Batwoman is most assuredly a lipstick lesbian. She's 5' 10" tall, has flaming red hair and when not in her socialite persona, is all decked out in a form-fitting black spandex costume, complete with knee-high red boots with spiked heels. Does this seem to you to be little more than pandering to a straight man's fantasy? Whatever. In her first appearance (wearing a skin tight red gown with, of course, a perfect string of pearls) Kate Kane meets her ex of ten years ago, Renee Montoya, a hard boiled cop who is at the Kane mansion to question Kate about some connection or other to some crime or another (I just can't keep up with all these plots!). In the third frame of the chapter, she slugs Montoya in the head, whose only reaction is to hold her jaw and think "It's a good hit. I feel the blood filling my mouth." Wow. Talk about dyke drama! She almost decks her again when Montoya accuses her of still being in the closet. Things calm down a little and there's some discussion of them once being in love with each other. I'm left more than puzzled, but on to next week's issue. Aha! At last Batwoman makes her full-fledged and most dramatic entrance to rescue Montoya, and what an entrance it is: it involves a lion, gorilla, and a cape spread Batwoman showing every well defined curve and defying gravity and aerodynamic laws with her huge bosom. Montoya utters, "Hot Damn!" My own reaction is more along the, jeeeeze line. It seems so cheesy to me. Guess there's a reason I no longer read comic books, and am pretty sure that my trips to Fantom are over. While the Batwoman story didn't exactly overwhelm me, further research into homosexual characters in comic books sure did. Wikipedia is a wealth of information about these folks, and while much as their sexuality is indirect and impliedas in the delicious comment by a character named Rawhide Kid when he says, of the Lone Ranger: "I think that mask and the powder blue outfit are fantastic. I can certainly see why the Indian follows him around."there is, nonetheless, a list of almost 200 gay, lesbian or bisexual comics characters. And, that doesn't include an additional long list of transgendered superheroes. I was blown away! So, is this progress? I'd say definitely yes. While it may not come in the shape we'd all like it to assume, it is out there, and for better or worse, people are reading it. We may not exactly be in a Gay Renaissance, but with more positive appearances in film, books, television, and, yes, comics, we truly are everywhere. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 16, No. 12 August 25, 2006 |