“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a weekly article on Geeky KOOL about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books.
We have a policy at Geeky KOOL not to discuss politics or controversial subjects on our site. In our culture, politics has become extremely divisive. Many people are unwilling to hear opinions other than their own. Instead of respectfully discussing issues, we have developed a culture of yelling at people and degrading those with differing views.
Geeky KOOL understand that geeks (including the comic book community) come in all forms, shapes, colors, and political views. Our staff at Geeky KOOL have varying political views. We respect our differences and the various views of our readers.
I am going violate our policy to step out of my comfort zone and delicately discuss a political and controversial issue in this space.
DC Comics has recently announced the hiring of Orson Scott Card as a writer for their digital-first anthology Adventures of Superman. Card is best known for his science fiction book, Ender’s Game (and the series- Enderverse). Card is recognized for being outspoken against same sex marriage.
The announcement of Card lead to outcry from the LGBT Community. Some of the comic book related websites have voiced their concern and outrage of Card’s hiring. This includes the opinion article on CBR. There is an internet petition asking for the immediate dropping of Orson Scott Card from Adventures of Superman.
The issue of gay marriage is an extremely divisive political issue (and religious issue for some). Most polls show the United States is almost evenly split on this issue. The Northeast and the West are generally strong supporters of same sex marriage but the majority of Midwest and South are strongly opposed to it. I believe this is the most divisive and emotionally charged issue of our generation.
But I am not here to discuss gay marriage. This issue doesn’t matter for this article. This article is not in support Card or in support his firing. This article contains my thoughts about the comic book community and how we handle this issue.
If DC decides to fire Card because of his views and pressure against him, does this set a horrible precedence? I believe it would. Does it become acceptable to fire others for their views? If a company’s leadership is opposed to gay marriage, then would it be acceptable to fire someone just because they supports same sex marriage? it is quite a slippery slope.
If this becomes acceptable, will comic book publishers need to have an acceptable list of political views for all of their employees? Would this apply to all employees if they do including the maintenance staff?
I am glad this was not the policy back in the 1980s. We probably would not have had The Dark Knight nor The Watchmen. Alan Moore is an Anarchist and is known for some extreme political views. Frank Miller is notorious for his strong conservative politics and that he has publicly decried the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Most of us love the both The Dark Knight and The Watchmen and it doesn’t really matter if we agree with either man’s political views.
The Comic Book fan community is a very small group. Most of us has faced ridicule and persecution for our love of comics . We should not allow our political views divide us. Some of us are going to be more conservative and some more liberal in our politics (including same sex marriage). We need to accept these differences rather than let them define us.
Comic fans have the right support or to not support any creator because of their political and personal views. Fans can protest and fill out petitions but this often ineffective. Fans will determine if a comic book will survive by what they spend their money on. In my opinion, this is the best way to support or to protest a creator.
For me, I will let the story, the art, and characters determine if I am going to buy a comic book. I don’t care any more about the politics of a comic creator than I do the political views of a singer or actor. But I have no problem with eating at Chic-Fil-A and getting coffee at Starbucks. But not everyone will be willing to overlook the views of others for entertainment sake.
