I’ll be up front with you Scott. I’m a comic fan, and I tend to follow authors. While I can’t say with any certainty that I’ve started reading a book you were attached to simply because you were writing, I have taken notice and really enjoyed some of your work. Wildcats Vol. 3 springs immediately to mind, as does Generation X.
I don’t know if you’ve been following the internet buzz lately, but it seems that people are up in arms about your new series, Red Hood and the Outlaws. In particular, they’ve taken some issue with your depiction of Starfire. Now, I’m not here to shake my fist angrily, but I would like a moment of your time, if you have it so spare.
Yes?
Good. Sit down.
See, I loved the Teen Titans as a kid. Most fans have an issue or a story line that turned them into life-long fans of comic books, and for me it was the “Judas Contract.” So me and Kori go back a long way. She’s always been a bit sexualized and her attitude towards it has never quite conformed to societal norms. I get that. For fucksake, she spent the 80’s fighting crime in a costume that was essentially metal dental floss. And I’ve got good friends who have lived happily for years with very sexually open relationships, so I can’t exactly judge her on that, either.
So while I get the people angrily calling for a boycott of Red Hood because of her portrayal as a hyper-stylized fuck-bunny, I can also see where this is coming from. That said, I was prepared to not read the book, despite being initially thrilled by the concept and preview art I’d seen.
But I had already placed it on my pull list at the local comic shop, so it was in the bag when I picked up my comics today. And I’m not one to make uninformed decisions if I can help it.
So I read Red Hood and the Outlaws. And I’ll be honest. I enjoyed it. I love the art, the hooks placed for future issues, the sense of mystery, the dialogue, pretty much the whole book. But–and you know there had to be a but otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this–I sincerely hope that you move away from blissfully indiscriminate with a libido that goes to 11. I would like to think Let’s not forget that she was also a a fearsome warrior as well.
I’m leaving Red Hood and the Outlaws on my list. I’ll even go so far as to take a look at Superboy because Fairchild is in it and apparently not as the playfully fetishized wank material she was drawn as in Gen-13. And of course I’ll have to pick up Teen Titans for nostalgic reasons, and because of the new gay Hispanic character you’re introducing there. I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re going somewhere with Starfire. And I’m willing to bet that even if you weren’t the outrage you’ve heard might course-correct her arc a bit.
I’ll be watching.
Thanks for your time.
Don’t let us down.
Tales from the Ragged Edge 
That’s kind of the general reaction about the DC Reboot, as I’ve understood it so far: There’s been some good, and there’s been a lot of bad. I stepped out on DC a long time ago, a decision solidified by the recent behavior of the editorial staff in regards to female fans and their concerns, so I really don’t have a lot to say. But I know a lot of people, men and women alike, who have been crushed to see what’s become of their favorite characters in the new timeline. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see how DC fares in the next year.
*Gives her brother the latest Batman titles and a sympathetic pat on the head*
I think that, despite their EiC being a bit of a caveman, that they’re at least listening to those cries of outrage and trying to make some changes. Case in point, they’re bringing in the absolutely brilliant Ann Nocenti to fix what is lackluster (if I’m being generous) Green Arrow as of issue 6. And I’ll keep my ear to the ground, support the books that are getting it right while calling out the books that make us all look bad.
But really, Batwoman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Mera in Aquaman show considerable promise. Plus, I love the holy hell out of Frankenstein and the Agents of S.H.A.D.E.