US: Gay man announced to replace Batwoman writers who left after DC Comics ‘prohibited’ gay wedding

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

Following controversy at DC Comics when two Batwoman writers announced their departure after the company “prohibited” the superhero’s lesbian marriage, DC publishers have since hired an openly gay man to take their place.

As J H Williams and W Haden Blackman declared they were abandoning their publisher this month, DC Comics has hired openly gay Marc Andreyko, who will take over for December’s 25th issue.

He said: “Yes, it’s true: I’m the new writer of Batwoman! And, as I prepare for the interweb onslaught, a few things: I ADORE J H Williams and Greg Rucka and Haden Blackman and the great characters they’ve created so lovingly.”

Mr Andreyko added: “I am taking this job very seriously and hope to do right by Kate, Maggie, Bette and the rest of the cast. This all happened very quickly, so I’m trying to catch my breath and let it sink in.”

Speaking on the controversial changes to the Batwoman storyline at Baltimore Comic-Con this week, co-publisher Dan DiDio said: “Heroes shouldn’t have happy personal lives. They are committed to being that person and committed to defending others at the sacrifice of their own personal interests.

“That’s very important and something we reinforced. People in the Bat family their personal lives basically suck. Dick Grayson, rest in peace—oops shouldn’t have said that,—Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon and Kathy Kane. It’s wonderful that they try to establish personal lives, but it’s equally important that they set them aside. That is our mandate, that is our edict and that is our stand.”

Batwoman was first reintroduced as a lesbian by DC Comics in 2006, in a new title which aimed to reflect modern society more accurate than previous comics.

As Williams and Blackmore have resigned, DC Comics has hired openly gay Marc Andreyko, who will take over for December’s 25th issue.

In February, the comic seemed to make history as Kate Kane (Batwoman) proposed to her girlfriend Maggie Sawyer. This came amidst controversy surrounding the publisher’s decision to hire a writer with anti-gay views to write for another title.

DC Comics responded to criticism and calls for a boycott after it hired an anti-gay writer to work on a new digital first Superman comic book to be launched this year.

Marvel‘s Northstar, the first openly gay hero, tied the knot with his boyfriend Kyle Jinadu in an issue of ‘Astonishing X-Men’, last year, and recently the creators of Judge Dredd suggested that he could be gay.

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