who said DC is using her sexual orientation as a selling point? The people making a big deal out of it is who is going to make it the selling point.
Im sure this has already been posted, but for those who missed it:
As the news was filteing out through various channels, we caught up with DC Executive Editor Dan Didio to talk about the new character, the role her sexuality will play, and what the future holds for the new Batwoman.
NRAMA: So after much rumor, speculation, and teasing, Batwoman is making her debut
Dan Didio: Yes!
NRAMA: Tell us about her
DIDIO: Were always looking for ways to reinvigorate the Batman franchise, and look at other characters to inhabit his world. One of my problems with it was that I felt that a lot of the characters were coming form the same place, the same sense of origin, the same sense of tragedy in their backstory. We wanted to find a way to branch out a little bit more in the Bat-world. We looked at the Kathy Kane character, and we wanted to find a way to bring her back to the DC Universe. We figured that coming out of Infinite Crisis was a good time to re-introduce the character to the DCU we can blame Superboy Prime for that.
We wanted to find a way to make her feel different, and give her a different personality, a different ideology, and a different backstory, so that she wasnt just another Batman or Bruce Wayne clone. Shes a member of high society and she is different. But her sexuality is not the main thrust of the character; its just another aspect of her personality, one that helps her to determine her choices that she makes as shes fighting crime in Gotham City.
NRAMA: What do you mean by that last part? How does the fact that shes different help to determine the choices she makes as shes fighting crime in Gotham?
DIDIO: Basically, what it means is that we have another very strong female character, and how her private life plays against her heroic life is going to be where the stories play in; as well as different types of adventures and different types of dramas that she gets caught up in. One of the first stories is that she does have a history with Montoya because of that, it pulls her directly into a lot of the events in Montoyas world, brings her into confrontation with The Question, and gets her hooked up with the things that are happening in 52.
NRAMA: Playing devils advocate, as you said, the fact that she is different will play a role in her activities as a hero but, when you flip that, it doesnt really apply to say, Batman. You cant say, Because hes heterosexual, Batmans adventures are thus and so. Heterosexuality as a character trait is has been largely ignored with Batman, yet its not the same when youre talking about a different character. Why is that?
DIDIO: If the character is different, she might have had different levels of challenges in her life. The fact that she conceals her own sexuality to some of the people around her and to her own family is going to be a bit of a story, so there are going to be secrets within secrets. Youll also find more and more about who she is as the story is told, and see how it plays against her lifestyle.
NRAMA: Where does she debut again?
DIDIO: 52 #11
NRAMA: And her name is Kathy Kane
DIDIO: Or Kate as were calling her now.
NRAMA: Her costume designed by Alex Ross it has interesting elements, both a nod to the original Silver Age Batwoman, as well as a nod to the Batman Beyond color scheme. What went into the look?
DIDIO: We really attribute the costume fully to Alex. When we went to him, we explained that we were bringing Batwoman back, but she is coming back for a new generation. He knew the backstory of the character as well, and wanted to do something that would both pay tribute to the past, but also move the character into her own identity. Hes so incredible when he does these things; he pulls from so many different places and still makes it feel unique while still giving a wink and a nod to everything around him.
NRAMA: Anytime someone shows up in Batmans world, he takes a relatively grumpy reaction
well; he did prior to Infinite Crisis. Whats his response to this intrusion, post Infinite Crisis?
DIDIO: Well, remember that shes operating in the city for nearly a year before Bruce comes home. Shes going to be able to establish herself in that fashion, and part of the assumption of the identity will be filling that void in Gotham City that has been left by Batman packing up and leaving after Crisis. This plays out on several levels, because youll also find out that theres history between Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane from before she put on the costume as well. Shes someone whos frequented the high society circles theyve encountered each other in the past, and there is some sense of history between the two, although were not really explaining what just yet. So, more importantly, hes going to have to deal with her on multiple levels, as she reasserts herself in a level of prominence in Gotham society.
NRAMA: Plans for her in the immediate future? Her own series, miniseries, appearances, or can it be said at this point?
DIDIO: One of the things that I would like to do with Batwoman in particular, because we feel that who she is and the development of the character is so unique to what were trying to accomplish in the DCU, but also to what 52 is about, one of the things Id like to see, at least in the beginning, is to see her as a character who will be appearing primarily in 52. Them, well be exploring things in different ways.
To use a Marvel reference, I always liked the way that Marvel introduced the Punisher. He started in Amazing Spider-Man, and had some really landmark appearances in Daredevil, and they allowed interest in him to grow. I think this is a character that can really benefit form appearing in different books first before we test the waters with her on her own.
NRAMA: And let the fan demand fuel a project?
DIDIO: Yeah. Weve introduced a lot of characters in a very short period time, and weve got a lot more coming down the pipeline, but Id like to believe that mostly everything we do now is coming out of other things so that were not just throwing books and ideas and concepts at people cold. I want it to be where it feels like everything has time to take root. Again, were throwing a lot of new ideas, and more importantly, things where people are already predisposed about how they think a character should act and behave. So I want to pull them in a little more slowly now, and get them acclimated to the new directions for the series and the characters themselves, and hopefully enjoy what were doing.
Therefore, when we do go bigger with series and stories, theyre ready for it, and, as the expression goes are coming out, Because you Demanded It!
NRAMA: Bigger picture as you said, youve introduced a large number of characters in a relatively short time coming out of Crisis. A lot of these characters are non-white, or, like Batwoman, minorities in other respects. That was the plan all along?
DIDIO: Always. From the moment I walked in the door. If you go out and try to diversify the DC Universe in 15 minutes and you can but youre going to get something that will instantly forgotten like, not to speak too ill of the dead, Planet DC. Noble effort, smart idea, but the execution short-circuited the concept, and it was stillborn.
So what we wanted to do is have a DC Universe that was more reflective, not only of our readership, but as society as a whole. Everything that were doing, every step that were taking, well keep on pushing that, not only because I think its the right thing to do, but also because it allows us to create those points of difference. The fact that the Blue Beetle is Hispanic allows you to include a different kind of sensibility into the story that we might not have had in another series. Its the same thing with the new Atom being Asian. It should affect the storytelling in some way, because it allows us to give a different point of view, a different perspective. The same thing with Renee Montoya or Kate Kane being different that doesnt matter who they are, but it does help give their stories a different point of view, a different perspective on the DCU that other characters might not have. Its trying to attack these things on a personal level, so we can get much richer, more emotional stories from them.
NRAMA: Wrapping up Batwoman coming back
Batgirl
not around anymore?
DIDIO:
I didnt say that, did I? [laughs]
NRAMA: So the Bat-shakings not done?
DIDIO: Yeah. Theres a good chance that there are some more twists and turns coming up within the Bat Family. There was that sense that they were a single unit, operating with a single mindset, and all the characters were marching to Batmans orders. One of the key things we need to do; especially coming out of Crisis is reinstate that sense of individuality for all the characters that inhabit Batmans world. Weve got a great set of characters with Robin and Nightwing and several others there, but what we need to do is make sure we understand and express what each one of their point of difference is.
I dont want somebody to pick up a Batman book, a Nightwing book, and a Robin book and feel like theyre reading the same story. These are three different people with three different perspectives, with three different stories taking place. They all should have their own tonality and their own feel, and thats what we want to do with Batwoman right now she should have her own tonality, her own feel so that her character and her story has something thats unique to itself, and not just another Batman story with a woman.