Comic History - Blog Posts
Sometimes I remember that Karl Kesel (creator of 90's Kon El) said that he thought Superboy would be bisexual because "...his sexual appetite would be quite large and far-ranging..."
And I'm like.
Bruh.
That's some stereotype right there, ayup. And yep, it fits his character to be a horny teen. But also. That's such a stereotype. And I'm glad you want him to be part of the lgbtqa+! It makes me feel like you genuinely didn't know what you said was a stereotype.
Oh, the nineties.
I read a post earlier and then lost it before I could reblog it with some interesting information so I'm gonna throw the information out into the void.
The original post was a comment about how no one who has ever inked a comic has ever met a person of color before. They had very valid complaints about bad shading and inconsistent skin tones.
And y'all know me. I am a fiend for comic industry history.
Color in comics is obviously a huge deal, not just in skin but for iconic costume designs. The oldest and most well-known characters tend to be bright shades of red, blue, green and/or black. This is true across the board in early comics and it's due to a variety of factors. The biggest one being that most comics, to be made cheaply, could only use around 63 colors for a standard issue. On top of that, the way the DC and Marvel printed their comics was basically with pointillism and shifting densities.
Before I wind up regurgitating the whole article, let me link one of my go-to resources.
And
Actually, womenwriteaboutcomics.com in general is a fantastic educational tool and a great way to keep an eye out for opportunities to submit your own comic story submissions.
Thanks for letting me nerd out about comic history again!
Do you think Bruce Wayne became written as a worse and worse parent because the idea of what makes a person "Heroic" has changed over the years?
(Cut for rambling)
At the start of Batman comics there was a very clear need for the audience to suspend their disbelief. The comic was very much a story, a reflection of the world where the reader was to be entertained with tales about a strange detective investigating the strange crimes of Gotham City.
Robin was Batman's partner, a new element to the story that appealed to a younger audience. They were a team that brought in a lot of capital. Authors would write heart-rending storylines and at the opposite page there would be a weird cheerful ad for Batman and Robin using fruit pies to stop crime.
Society evolves quickly and our media can struggle to keep up. The notion that children should be protected is a relatively recent one and it makes the inclusion of child heroes become... unpalatable to people. Modern values have changed and so too must the characters.
But applying current social values to the concept of child heroes would erase them.
Their whole existence is to be young and to fight the people who want to hurt them. To be young and be able to protect one's loved ones is a compelling story.
It's not just comic book heroes who fall under this paradox, either. Avatar: The Last Airbender is full of children learning how to fight and die for their world. Percy Jackson is another. Hell, one could even make a case for Warrior Cats. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were facing off with murderers just as often as any kid hero.
It's a common and loved story because we've all been children who have had to carve out a place for ourselves in the world.
So the existence of Robin, of child heroes in general, becomes an awkward duality. The character is too profitable to retire. Many people can still suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Other people struggle to accept that a "hero", a "good Dad", could allow his children to fight at his side.
So authors are tasked again and again to try to explain Robin. To excuse the existence of a child hero in a day and age when most responsible adults would freak the fuck out at the idea of a kid going out at night to fight criminals.
And sometimes, more often than many of us would like, they come up with writing Bruce as a bad parent. A bad leader, even. It doesn't help that writers don't often get to have stories published that have significant influence on Batman as a character. He's purposely, perpetually trapped at one starting position for every new story.
Which is a valid take. In my opinion it's uninspired, but I understand the rationale behind it. They're working against a lot of baggage. There's nearly 90 years of culture shift to account for and hundreds of authors. Even the way comics are written now is very different from back then and that also messes with perceptions.
To me, Bruce is a deeply flawed man. He's been a shitty dad, yes, but not because Robin exists. He didn't have a choice with Robin - that was decided by forces beyond his control. I don't know how to judge canon Bruce Wayne; there are genuinely too many stories for me to feel like I have an accurate read on him.
I know that he tries very hard to do good. I know that he has the potential to make better choices and take kinder actions.
I'm not going to hold my breath, though. Even if we get a canon Batman run where he gets therapy and apologizes for his mistakes and past actions, where he has some real, meaningful dialogue with the people he loves... The next writer can ignore that for a more dramatic plot where he acts like a complete drip.
Pick your preferred version and warp canon to fit that guy - it's what DC does.
Thank the goddess for fanfiction.
Yoooo! Yes!
When Batman was a wee little character, just a concept still being fleshed out by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman killed people.
Like, with guns, even.
One of the early comics has him straight up acknowledging that he's about to kill innocent madmen who were experimented on at Arkham and turned into monsters, but he had to stop them from killing other innocent people.
Early comics were wild and I am out here so excited to talk about history and the moral panic of the 50s and how legally you couldn't publish a comic that made a criminal sympathetic!
I've got. So many essays. About the Comics Code Authority and its effect on media and culture.
Me, skimming pages of Batman year one and two, with Jaybin: . . . The f#&% you mean Batman has killed before in self defense? •-•
WHAT!!!??? BATMAN HAS KILLED PEOPLE!?!?!? ._.
This... This messed with my character analysis so much.
WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN?!
"I'm glad they're dead!" Careful, Jason, the writers took that singular comment and haven't let it go since.
Also, just shout out to Jaybin for being all cute and >:/ and :D
you ever wounder how batwoman turned from batmans gf in the really old comics to his lesbian cousin