"We also acknowledge that premarital sex obviously does exist…."
So that panel I posted from New Teen Titans #1 yesterday, with Dick Grayson and Starfire…I mentioned that there was some consternation on the part of the fans at the scene, and I went looking for such in the letters pages for that comic. I found a couple people noting it, generally positively, with some “I didn’t realize their relationship was so serious!” reactions. I suppose the shocked, negative reactions were mostly in the fan press of the time…it was enough for writer/editor Marv Wolfman to address it in issue #4:
“…This has become one of the most controversial panels we’ve ever presented. Many readers wrote in saying ‘Way to go!’ and others said ‘How could you do that in a book about teenagers?’
“The question cannot be resolved in a letter column. We didn’t mean to use Dick and Kory as role-models. That’s never been our intention anyway, but we realize by their being printed and portrayed as heroes (which they are) the mantle of being a role-model rests on their shoulders.
“We acknowledge the problem some of you had with the scene and we apologize if it bothered you. We honestly had no idea there would be any problem. We also acknowledge that premarital sex obviously does exist, and we neither condone nor condemn those who believe or disbelieve in it.”
If they didn’t expect that certain fans weren’t going to flip out in reaction to that scene, then all I can figure is they’d never encountered any fans before, ever.
I’ve just sat here for about ten minutes, trying to think of a way to frame a discussion on the idea of “superheroes as role models.” Is that really as much of an issue any more? Sure, we like our heroes to be, well, heroic, but I don’t know if any of you folks out there, who are self-aware enough about their comic-collecting to, say, read blogs about comics, are making decisions by thinking “Hmmmm….what would Green Lantern do?”
The “role model” thing seems to be an extension of the “superheroes should be kid-friendly” idea, which is fine, but with the departure of children (for the most part) from superhero comic readership, I wonder if the perceived need to maintain characters as role models for them has lessened.
Okay, the answer is probably “Well, duh,” but it’s just something that came to mind.
If I had to pick a role model for myself from the comics…hmmm, I’d have to think about it, because all that comes to mind right now is “Popeye,” though that’s not a bad choice, considering. Swamp Thing seems too obvious. How ’bout Herbie? God, I don’t think I’d be up to emulating Herbie…who could?
In other news: I don’t know where pal JP finds this stuff, but thank God he does. JOKER LADY AND BAT HORSE. The heck? (Don’t worry, it’s Safe for Work.)
