Alright. So I’m pretty sure many of you’ve already heard about the recent Batgirl cover controversy. This dispute has gotten me aggravated in a couple of ways. Obviously, I’m pretty upset about the cover itself, but I am more pissed about how people are responding to the cover and how the events are being reported. And if I am being real honest? For a couple of days, I completely agreed with this guy:
The whole Batgirl variant cover situation is now so radioactive on both sides, you shouldn't go near it with a 10 foot Bat-Pole.
— Smedley (@robsmedley86) March 17, 2015
During all of that anger and confusion in the first few days of the controversy, all I wanted to do was read the Cassandra Cain Batgirl written by Kelley Puckett, and I can now confirm that the comic is still amazing even after 15 years. Then, four days after the cover was released, deep in the middle of this controversy, I tried to have a meaningful conversation with a “friend” on facebook. I spent maybe 20 minutes crafting a brief, meaningful, and respectful response to his hateful knee jerk reaction. I posted the response to his wall, which my “friend” deleted, and immediately unfriended me… So yeah, that sent me over the edge. Now I’m here to (hopefully) add some clarity on who said what in what order, and give my personal (but respectful) opinion on the matter. I hope that people will take this matter seriously rather than run away when the going gets tough.
First off, ignoring that one shitty experience, I’m actually pretty happy that people are talking about this online. Are some people turning rabid, chumming the waters, or otherwise trolling? Absolutely. But you know what, this is the internet. That’s not to say threats of any nature are appropriate. I totally understand that this is an emotionally charged situation, but it’s obvious that more people need to express their opinions in a calm and collected manner. Now, I don’t want to give the impression that my opinion is “right” (which it is) and all other opinions are “wrong” (not all of them, just the threatening ones). As long as all opinions being expressed don’t contain threats of violence, I think this discussion can be very positive.
Second, I want to make it SUPER clear that DC Comics DID NOT censor this comic book cover. The original artist, Rafael Albuquerque, made the decision to pull his own work from publication. So, speaking of who did what, and when, here are the series of events, as I understand them (following three days of research):
Friday, March 13th
This cover is previewed as a variant cover for Batgirl issue #41, which will be released in June, 2015, as part of the Joker’s 75th anniversary. Many other DC Comics will feature variant covers this famous villain as part of a celebration throughout June.
You can see all of these variant covers here. A lot of them are really cool.
In response to this preview, critics of all genders objected to the cover, as they have every right to. Among these critics was G. Willow Wilson, author of the bestselling Ms. Marvel comic book series:
https://twitter.com/GWillowWilson/status/577901541803192320
Wilson perfectly sums up the whole problem in 140 characters. Thanks twitter, and thank you G. Willow Wilson, for everything!
What followed was incredibly upsetting, yet surprised no one. Trolls started spreading threats of harm, violence, and death all over social media. Using #SaveTheCover, these individuals felt that threatening people online would help change people’s minds. Yeah I don’t understand their logic, either. I have chosen one of the least offensive #SaveTheCover tweets to contain my rage:
https://twitter.com/Daddy_Warpig/status/577854805588115456
But for real, the tweets get much worse.
Monday, March 16th, afternoon
DC Comics releases this statement:
Regardless if fans like Rafael Albuquerque’s homage to Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke graphic novel from 25 years ago, or find it inconsistent with the current tonality of the Batgirl books – threats of violence and harassment are wrong and have no place in comics or society. We stand by our creative talent, and per Rafael’s request, DC Comics will not publish the Batgirl variant.
DC Comics says that they are pulling the cover, at the request of the artist, because threats of violence are wrong. The first thing that jumps into everyone’s mind, myself included, is that people are threatening Albuquerque because the cover is so horrible. Well, this isn’t exactly how it happened, or more accurately, this isn’t what happened at all. It’s just what people inferred from DC’s open-ended statement.
Monday, March 16th, evening
Later that same night, a couple of clarification tweets were made by the artist himself, Rafael Albuquerque, and the regular artist for the Batgirl comic book, Cameron Stewart:
Ill talk more about it tomorrow but I was never threatened. just to make it clear.
— Rafael Albuquerque (@rafaalbuquerque) March 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/cameronMstewart/status/577656291839119362
Just to clarify: The artist did not pull the cover because because threats were made toward him. Threats were directed at the people who criticized his art. Albuquerque was protecting the very people that hated his work.
Tuesday, March 17th
Albuquerque released a statement explaining his decision in more detail:
My Batgirl variant cover artwork was designed to pay homage to a comic that I really admire, and I know is a favorite of many readers. ‘The Killing Joke’ is part of Batgirl’s canon and artistically, I couldn’t avoid portraying the traumatic relationship between Barbara Gordon and the Joker.
For me, it was just a creepy cover that brought up something from the character’s past that I was able to interpret artistically. But it has become clear, that for others, it touched a very important nerve. I respect these opinions and, despite whether the discussion is right or wrong, no opinion should be discredited.
My intention was never to hurt or upset anyone through my art. For that reason, I have recommended to DC that the variant cover be pulled. I’m incredibly pleased that DC Comics is listening to my concerns and will not be publishing the cover art in June as previously announced.
With all due respect,
Rafa (Rafael Albuquerque)
To summarize:
- A preview of the comic cover was released,
- Some people were offended and criticized it on the internet,
- Other people threatened these critics with violence,
- DC Comics released a statement that they would be removing the cover,
- Albuquerque and Stewart clarified who had been threatened, and
- The next day, Albuquerque gave a more in depth statement about removing the cover.
As for my personal opinion on the matter:
I AM HAPPY THIS COVER WAS REMOVED! IT IS UNNECESSARILY TRAUMATIC!
Think about this: the new Batgirl series is primarily aimed at younger girls, and when 1 in 5 girls is a victim of child sexual abuse, comic books should be used to help these girls feel more powerful, not remind them of traumatic events. Do I think that issues like rape and violence need to be honestly addressed in all forms of media, including comic books? Absolutely! But the content of this individual comic book has nothing to do with The Killing Joke (below). The reason this new cover was made is, like I said earlier, DC Comics is currently celebrating the Joker’s 75th anniversary. This cover, along with a variety of covers across many DC titles, is used to sell the comic as a promotional or collector’s item rather than referencing the specific material in the issue. For this Batgirl cover, stylistic decisions were clearly made to heighten the fearful feeling, the crying, and the complete helplessness of the character, specifically to remind people of a story where she had been kidnapped, tortured, and potentially sexually assaulted. Come on! How could this ever be appropriate? If the comic book is addressing violence against women by starting an honest dialogue, then an argument can be made in favor of this cover. But in this specific case, Joker’s violent tendencies toward Batgirl are used to make a profit rather than raise awareness. The threat of violence is something that women have to face on a daily basis, and to sensationalize this problem on a comic book cover, when it is not being addressed inside the comic, is incredibly insensitive.
If an artist or comic book publisher wants to pay homage to an emotionally charged story like The Killing Joke while remaining sensitive of our culture of violence, look no further than last month’s cover of Batgirl issue #39 (above). This cover does an excellent job of parodying the original The Killing Joke cover, while showing that Barbara Gordon is not defined by her trauma. She is literally turning the camera around on her villain. Batgirl asks Harley Quinn to “SMILE!” just like the Joker asked her on the cover of The Killing Joke back in 1998. This cover pays tribute to the original, but does not define Barbara Gordon by this single event. It’s perfect.
In the end, I really want to say that neither Rafael Albuquerque nor DC Comics should be blamed for these events. In fact, I think they should be commended for at least taking responsibility. Sure, it would have been a lot better if the damn cover had never been made in the first place. But the events that followed show that individuals like Albuquerque and companies like DC Comics can changing for the better. This artist realized that something he created was implicitly sexist, and instead of digging his heels in and resisting change, Albuquerque did the right thing. Now, DC Comics could have been a lot more clear in their statements regarding threats of violence, that’s for sure. I’m not saying they intentionally mislead people, but this was most likely a glaring mistake that had to be quickly clarified by the artists.
So is there really anyone to blame in this situation, or is this one of those “everyone is right and everyone is wrong” situations? No, fuck that. If you are looking for someone to blame in this situation, blame the haters, the shade-throwers, the trolls. Be angry at people using internet anonymity to scare others with violence. In some backwards, twisted way, they feel like the best way to protect freedom of speech is to publicly threaten everyone that disagrees with them. Honestly, I don’t think they really give a damn about the cause, haters are just gonna hate I guess.
Moving past all this hate, let’s focus on the writers, artists, and characters that have changed the industry for the better: Batgirl, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Alias, Thor, Sex Criminals. These are just a few examples of how progressive attitudes are making a positive change in the portrayal of women in media. Instead of spreading violence, let’s get the haters to read these great stories, and hope they are capable of evolving.
Featured image source: Cover to Batgirl #39, Released February 2015, art by Cliff Chiang.