For Kids That Prefer Getting Their Demonization From Comic Books, Wired Magazine Is Super-Hyping DC Comic's New Lesbian Batwoman's Sexual Politics

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Jun 30, 2010, 4:43:41 PM6/30/10

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For Kids That Prefer Getting Their Demonization From Comic Books, Wired Magazine Is Super-Hyping DC Comic's New Lesbian Batwoman's Sexual Politics
DC Comics’ high-profile lesbian superhero lands her first eye-popping hardcover with Batwoman: Elegy, out Wednesday. But can she shoot straight? You bet she can. Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, is by no means DC’s first openly gay character. But unlike the flamboyant Extraño or the seldom-used Pied Piper, she is one of DC’s roughest, toughest regulars undergoing a serious reboot. And she’s off to a great start with the literary-minded mayhem of Batwoman: Elegy. Smartly written by Greg Rucka with sublime art from J.H. Williams, who is also writing and drawing Batwoman’s ongoing series starting in July, the new hardcover is a promising, powerful and often psychedelic phenomenon in a sexualized superhero landscape dominated by men in tights. The military-bred Kate Kane goes through a few other fashion signifiers before donning the cowl in Batwoman: Elegy, which is mostly driven by the back story. Kane’s tragic metamorphosis from dress-wearing Army brat to masked vigilante is communicated through standard-issue Marines wear, punkabilly tanks and tattoos, and other outwardly iconic gear. Batwoman: Elegy leans heavily on these appearances to hammer out Kane’s sexuality, which is accentuated by appearances from the various women in her life. Her one-time girlfriend, policewoman and latest inhabitant of The Question’ mythos Renee Montoya, complains...