Batgirl 19 with a bit of a surprise

[fantastic_four]

Sifting through the physical analysis, long story short - you got a crush?

 

Nah, just tough to come up with examples of guys who can effectively make that transgender transition...you have to be so far below the average frame for a guy to pull it off well. I do go for girls around his size, but they have to be much bustier like Uma Thurman, Janet McTier, or Elle MacPherson.

[fantastic_four]

Hey sorry I don't read this comic. Who is the black haired transgender girl? Is she someone important?

 

Maybe that's D ick Grayson?

 

I haven't read the comics, but she looks like that chick from the "Birds of Prey" television series, Huntress. The other character in that series was a wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon I think.

 

[Dale Roberts]

'Forced scenarios'?

 

Somebody is writing this, therefore everything is 'forced'.

Maybe "artificial" or "strained" would've been a better choice of words than "forced".

 

Could be the two pages accompanying the article. Barbara Gordon is all blah blah Joker-shot-me, paralysis, her brother, some cat...

 

Response: "I'm transgender, Barbara."

 

Seemed... forced.

 

Totally forced imho. A big strrrrrrrrrrrrrretch to garnish some press, some sales, some being we are edgy pioneering writers over here.

 

As for "accurately portraying the make-up of of our general population"............According to the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law, in America - April 2011 there were around 0.3% Americans were transgender.

So is percent of a percent enough to justify a decent sample our general population? Not imho, but doesn't matter.

 

I find it also interesting that DC premiered this in a "T" comic.

According to DC: "T TEEN Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes."

Is this really a needed topic/theme for this age group? Maybe it is. I just would think T+ would have been a more viable option.

 

Maybe next is Batman handing out ribbons to all the bad guys for just showing up and giving it their best. And a special colored ribbon for the Joker, since he ends up in last place and we mustn't exclude him or hurt his feelings. That would not be very nice if we didn't.

 

 

 

 

So I did the math. As of five seconds ago, there were 315,658,423 people in the United States.. 0.3% of that number is 946,975 - so almost a million people in the United States clasifiy themselves as "transgender". That's more than the population of San Jose, California, just as a barometer.

 

Estimated sales of Batgirl 18 were 51,677 copies.

 

If 1% of the transgender population in the United States - one percent! - picks up a copy of Batgirl 19, that's a 20% increase in sales of the book.

 

Why wouldn't they try it? Its Batgirl. If it doesn't work, it will get put back in a box and forgotten about.

 

Or maybe it pisses off 20% of the current readership and sales drop and the book gets cancelled.

 

I don't understand how this is supposed to be edgy at all. Kind of pathetic that you have to try to boost sales by involving sexuality in a super hero comic. Why not just write a better story?

[fantastic_four]

I don't understand how this is supposed to be edgy at all. Kind of pathetic that you have to try to boost sales by involving sexuality in a super hero comic. Why not just write a better story?

 

This one story element doesn't determine the quality of the story either way. Not seeing how them using transgendering is any different than any other author using contemporary issues in their writing as they have for thousands of years.

[Ken Aldred]

I don't believe this will create much of a sales boost. In a few weeks' time, no one will remember or care.

[krighton]

aren't most comic readers male...so wouldn't the transgender comic sales increase only happen if they switch from female to male...so you need to do the math figuring out what percentage of females became a he and what percentage of males who switched to a she no longer read comics and think they're stupid boy stuff.

 

Until then i'll keep staring at the Wonder Woman animated gif, enjoying my he'ness and the bountiful blessings of Lynda Carter (who as far as I know has always been a she)

[PEP]

I guess kids these days don't know about the old Dallas TV show, eh?

 

 

 

-slym

 

[Sal]

According to the link, the writer decided that the DCU was underrepresenting a group of people whom she knew were avid fans and decided to create a character to provide at least a semblance of representation.

 

As a middle class white male, I've no idea what it is like to have no representation in comics of people who 'look like me' so I can't say one way or the other whether this is just spitting in the ocean or something that the LGBT community can feel good about. I suspect the latter and if so, good for DC.

 

 

Dale, boosting sales of comics using sexuality is something you're not familiar with? Have you actually read any comics? I suppose any of the one billion half-naked women on the covers of just about every title not produced by Harvey are only there to provide colour?

[Dale Roberts]

According to the link, the writer decided that the DCU was underrepresenting a group of people whom she knew were avid fans and decided to create a character to provide at least a semblance of representation.

 

As a middle class white male, I've no idea what it is like to have no representation in comics of people who 'look like me' so I can't say one way or the other whether this is just spitting in the ocean or something that the LGBT community can feel good about. I suspect the latter and if so, good for DC.

 

 

Dale, boosting sales of comics using sexuality is something you're not familiar with? Have you actually read any comics? I suppose any of the one billion half-naked women on the covers of just about every title not produced by Harvey are only there to provide colour?

 

To me, there is a difference though. When you buy Fathom for example, or Grimm Fairy Tales, you know what you are getting. Putting a sexy cover on a book is certainly a sales technique that has proven effective.That book has a target audience, of primarily single white young males. Most of these books are never read, but collected for the titilation of the art.

 

The Batgirl book seems different to me. This is a main stream super hero book. Sure it is about a girl, but it is a hero book first and foremost. Just seems very contrived and agenda driven, instead of a natural part of any storyline.

 

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

[conditionfreak]

hmmm....the comic books of old, helped make "us" what we are today.

 

Will the modern comic books, help make us different folk?

 

Or is it all just forgotten and un-ifluentual fodder, after you close the back cover?

 

Will we ever see the Hulk in drag? Will we ever find out if Supergirl is doing her cousin, Superman (after all, who else could take the pounding), (well, okay, Woman Woman could)? Will we ever see Joker french kissing Riddler?

 

That is the kind of stuff we need in our comic books. No more of this God, Country, Mom and Apple Pie, krap. That has never worked before.

[FlyingDonut]

I don't believe this will create much of a sales boost. In a few weeks' time, no one will remember or care.

 

I agree with this entirely, but I think there's no downside in doing it.

[Point Five]

The Batgirl book seems different to me. This is a main stream super hero book. Sure it is about a girl, but it is a hero book first and foremost. Just seems very contrived and agenda driven, instead of a natural part of any storyline.

 

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

An honest question then. Was it 'agenda driven' when DC and Marvel writers first introduced black supporting characters into mainstream superhero books?

 

 

[fantastic_four]

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

 

Comic stories have long been what you describe as "agenda-driven," i.e. written to highlight contemporary issues. Stan Lee in particular did it quite frequently. Remember the Harry Osborn drug overdose issues of ASM, #96 through #98 not approved by the comics code? I could list you dozens of other examples, but I think you can think of plenty on your own. Here's one very famous example that your exact argument here could easily equally apply to that I'm sure plenty of people with a similar mindset to the one you're expressing here were rolling their eyes about in 1966:

 

[Dale Roberts]

The Batgirl book seems different to me. This is a main stream super hero book. Sure it is about a girl, but it is a hero book first and foremost. Just seems very contrived and agenda driven, instead of a natural part of any storyline.

 

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

An honest question then. Was it 'agenda driven' when DC and Marvel writers first introduced black supporting characters into mainstream superhero books?

 

 

Maybe agenda driven, but certainly was long past overdue when it happened. Don't see it quite the same though, but I am sure others probably do.

[Davenport]

To me, there is a difference though. When you buy Fathom for example, or Grimm Fairy Tales, you know what you are getting. Putting a sexy cover on a book is certainly a sales technique that has proven effective.That book has a target audience, of primarily single white young males. Most of these books are never read, but collected for the titilation of the art.

 

The Batgirl book seems different to me. This is a main stream super hero book. Sure it is about a girl, but it is a hero book first and foremost. Just seems very contrived and agenda driven, instead of a natural part of any storyline.

 

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

It does seem different, but probably a generational thing. Between reality-tv serving up every base human interaction known to man, career launch via bedroom cam, and constant agenda-seeking divisiveness, pigeon holed groupings is the norm.

 

Still, it seems weird that a Universe full of 'secret identities' needs to examine crotches and private inclinations.

 

"Mind your own bees wax" is a dead concept. It's a need-to-know basis now, except everybody needs to know.

[fantastic_four]

An honest question then. Was it 'agenda driven' when DC and Marvel writers first introduced black supporting characters into mainstream superhero books?

 

 

Maybe agenda driven, but certainly was long past overdue when it happened. Don't see it quite the same though, but I am sure others probably do.

 

Only difference I see is that African-Americans are 12% of the population and transgendered people are 0.3% of the population. What's the difference you're thinking of?

[Sal]

The Batgirl book seems different to me. This is a main stream super hero book. Sure it is about a girl, but it is a hero book first and foremost. Just seems very contrived and agenda driven, instead of a natural part of any storyline.

 

I don't know, and don't know why it bothers me, as I don't buy new comics anymore anyway. I just hate that everything has to be agenda driven anymore. I guess I am just longing for the comics and innocence of my youth, and wishing my kids could grow up in that same type of world that I did.

An honest question then. Was it 'agenda driven' when DC and Marvel writers first introduced black supporting characters into mainstream superhero books?

 

 

Maybe agenda driven, but certainly was long past overdue when it happened. Don't see it quite the same though, but I am sure others probably do.

 

I think your perspective is probably one that is shared by a lot of people. I don't think this sort of story being one that is being written for those readers who feel the way you do, not that I think your feelings are wrong or whatever.

 

I just think it's being done for a specific audience, much like the titillating artwork mentioned earlier is done for the specific audience you mention.

 

The innocence of one's youth has more to do with the level of exposure to society one had as a child, rather than any great change in society. But without change, would nostalgia still be possible?

[fantastic_four]

I just think it's being done for a specific audience, much like the titillating artwork mentioned earlier is done for the specific audience you mention.

 

I bet Stan Lee's reason for introducing T'Challa is similar to or possibly exactly the same as the Batgirl 19's author's purpose in introducing this transgendered character, that they both had the agenda of opening people's minds.

[FlyingDonut]

I just think it's being done for a specific audience, much like the titillating artwork mentioned earlier is done for the specific audience you mention.

 

I bet Stan Lee's reason for introducing T'Challa is similar to or possibly exactly the same as the Batgirl 19's author's purpose in introducing this transgendered character, that they both had the agenda of opening people's minds.

 

I'll bet the agenda of increasing sales probably had something to do with it as well. I'm quite sure that adding a transgender character to Batgirl will not push readers away as Gail Simone has been pretty consistent on what she's putting in the book. DC isn't stupid - they wouldn't have greenlit the new character if they didn't think it would show a positive increase in sales.

[FlyingDonut]

That sound you hear is Dale's head exploding.