The latest "scandal" among comic book fanboys was last week's announcement that the creators of the Batwoman comic were resigning over DC's editorial decision that the title character cannot get married. The question at hand is whether the character's sexuality has anything to do with the decision. For the record, Batwoman is gay.

DC Comics made headlines a few years ago when they debuted this reimagined Batwoman (not to be confused with any of the Batgirls). Therefore, many people assumed that DC's decision not to allow Batwoman to marry was an editorial comment about the moral permissibility of gay marriage. Personally, I don't think that's the case. Why create and hype a lesbian character if you are opposed to lesbian marriage?

Of course, DC isn't a person but a company. It's possible that the decision makers in charge have been replaced (or changed their minds) since the introducing the character in 2006. However, this editorial decision sounds more like a side-effect of the growing influence of the marketing department than any moral/political stance.

Once upon a time, DC told stories in which the characters were allowed to grow. Superman could fall in love. Robin could grow up. Green Lantern could become a villain. However, now the licensing revenue for the characters' costumes are more important than the stories that spawned them. Marketing worries that kids who grew up reading that Barry Allen is the secret identity of the Flash might not buy their children Flash action figures modeled on the Flash's successor, Wally West. So goodbye character development, hello creative stagnation.

DC co-publisher Dan DiDio has tried to justify the decision by saying that all DC characters are required to focus on heroics at the cost of their personal lives. Apparently, so far as DC is concerned, you can't be a hero and enjoy it. These days there's no enjoyment in reading a DC comic book, either.

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First the "Goddamn Batman," now the "Fucking Batgirl"? There's not much mystery to what she's saying when you can actually READ THE WORD, now is there?

DC Comics was in the news briefly last week because it shipped a comic book containing inappropriate "printing gaffes" revealing that Batgirl has a mouth like a sailor. The book, of course, was All-Star Batman and Robin, one of the worst things to ever happen to the Batman mythos, and that includes the movie Batman and Robin.

I know I've complained about All-Star Batman and Robin before: Jim Lee's truly sublime art is completely wasted on Frank Miller's willfully libelous interpretation of the inhabitants of Gotham City as sociopathic characters in a pornographic snuff film.

Personally, I'm much more offended that people are still buying this title rather than by any fucking foul language.

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