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Coming soon, to a comic book store near you...She has long, flowing red hair, and wears a black half-mask to conceal her true identity. She dons red knee-high boots and a form-fitting black (in my mind, leather) body suite with a red bat emblazoned across the chest. She has a red lined black cape, and a red utility belt. She is one bad-ass woman who you don't want to mess with. She's easy on the eyes, as every super hero should be. She is, Batwoman.
Starting this June, as Detective Comic's potential replacement for the missing and presumed dead Batman, Kate Kane/Batwoman will be the subject of the series for at least 12 issues. Did I mention that Batwoman is a lesbian? An OUT lesbian. I think I also read somewhere that she is Jewish too. But it's the lesbian part that is getting all the internet buzz. Now I guess that Kate Kane/Batwoman being a lesbian is sort of old news. Back in 2006, before her appearance in '52,' a New York Times article created a stir when it revealed that Batwoman was a lesbian. But save for maybe 3 issues, Batwoman hasn't really been developed as a character. Until now.
The relationship between Kate Kane and Renee Montoya has been touched on. You've seen it in "52." It factors into "Crime Bible." It factors into "Revelations." It factors in here. This is the story from Kate's side of it.
-Greg Rucka, from Greg Rucka Talks "Detective Comics" interview at Comic Book Resources.
Rucka says he's actually been developing Batwoman for the last two years, and his goal is to make her an established character. During Batwoman's 12 issue series, her origins story will be told. If you're curious, a sneak peak at the first five pages, can be found at Newsarama.
Some are claiming that Batwoman being a lesbian is nothing more than a publicity stunt. If it is, well, mission accomplished. DC Comics has successfully peaked my interest. I'll more than likely buy all 12 issues, because, well, I'm a sucker for a girl in leather. Especially if she's hot femme lesbian. And if it's not a stunt, well, good for them. It's about time that world gets to see a gay superhero who is the primary character in the plot line.
What I have found interesting about this story, is that the reactions are not what I would have expected. At least not in the GLBT blog posts I've read. What I expected to find were a bunch of posts by lesbians, all up in arms about the objectification of women and exploitation of (hot femme) lesbians for the gratification of geeky guys, and how Batwoman doesn't represent real lesbians because she is such a femme. You know what I mean? It happens every time there is a major gay character. They are either too this, or not enough that. We place high expectations on gay characters.
The harshest post I found in the lesbian blog world was by Dana at Mombian. After reading that the writer said Batwoman would make you think sexy like a succubus, she worries they will give her some crazy plot line.
Oh, great. All we need is another killer lesbian with bisexual tendencies. The only twist this time is that she's part of the lesbian baby boom. (One would imagine she'd do the inseminations herself, without the help of a male incubus.) Wonder if she carries a cryo tank on her utility belt?
-read Dana's post, Will Lesbian BAtwoman Steal Sperm to Impregnate Partner?
Other than Dana's post, the lesbians who I found who had written about this we excited about it. Most stated they had never been into comics before, but they were going to give this one a try. What really surprised me were some of the posts by men. Patrick, at Geek-Tastic worried this comic is really going to be little more than some male fantasy played out over the series.
Written by mostly men, I'm sure we're bound to see Batwoman turned into nothing more than a excuse for the writers and artists to have two scantily clad women making out in the pages of the Bat comics in a sad attempt to get horny fanboys to buy issues.Somehow, I highly doubt we're going to be seeing an intelligent and deep character portrayal
