This Wednesday, after one of the most public and bitter creative vs. editorial breakups in comic book history, DC will release Batwoman #25 out into the wild. The GLAAD Award-winning duo of J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman — both of whom announced their intention to leave the book after DC refused (among other things) not to let Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer get gay married — are now officially off the book (before they were able to wrap up the highly anticipated Batman vs. Batman story arc), and openly gay writer Marc Andreyko has taken the reins of the series. In his interview with “USA Today,” Andreyko acknowledges that he’s got big shoes to fill, that he doesn’t have any plans to make huge changes to the character, and that he knows how much she means to the LGBT community.

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The authors of “Batwoman” are exiting due to creative differences with DC Comics. Their decision came, in part, after an alleged ban on a same-sex marriage storyline. Co-authors J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman announced they plan to leave “Batwoman” after issue #26 is released in December, The Hollywood Reporter first noted. The announcement was made in a blog post Wednesday.

“In recent months, DC has asked us to alter or completely discard many long-standing storylines in ways that we feel compromise the character and the series,” they wrote. “We were told to ditch plans for Killer Croc’s origins; forced to drastically alter the original ending of our current arc, which would have defined Batwoman’s heroic future in bold new ways; and, most crushingly, prohibited from ever showing Kate and Maggie actually getting married. All of these editorial decisions came at the last minute, and always after a year or more of planning and plotting on our end.”

UPDATE: DC Comics responded to The Huffington Post’s request for comment in an email Thursday afternoon saying, “As acknowledged by the creators involved, the editorial differences with the writers of BATWOMAN had nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the character.”

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

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That’s one hot kiss. Literally.

BY HEATHER HOGAN
AfterEllen

Warning: Lots of spoilers for “Batwoman #23”!

When Kate Kane proposed to Maggie Sawyer all the way back in “Batwoman #17,” all the people who love all the awesome things were ecstatic. It was the first lesbian wedding proposal in the history of mainstream comics, and since Batwoman had been right about foreshadowing the overturn of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” we were buoyed by the thought that she would also be right about foreshadowing the overturn of DOMA and Prop. 8. (She was.) But one thing was missing: Maggie’s answer. Sure, we saw in later issues that Maggie and Kate had moved in together, that they were engaged, that Maggie was trying to reconcile Kate with Batwoman, but we didn’t get that definitive yes, that romantic punch to the gut we were looking for — until this month.

There’s even lesbian spooning.

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“Marry me, Mags!” DC comics not-so-subtly hints at becoming the first mainstream American comic to feature a lesbian engagement.

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

In the latest Batwoman comic book issue, #17, the topic of marriage equality leaves a cliffhanger for readers after Batwoman, or Kate Kane, proposed to her longtime girlfriend Maggie Sawyer, Gotham City’s police captain. The issue ended before Sawyer could respond.

The proposal actually isn’t DC’s first among its same-sex couples; the character Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern, proposed to his boyfriend in a comic book published in June 2012. However, a wedding never happened, as the train they were on crashed and Scott survived because of the power that turned him into the first Green Lantern. As for the Batwoman series, if Maggie says yes, it will be the first American mainstream comic with a lesbian engagement.

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Epic battle between good and evil
Apparently tired of waging repeated losing battles against real people, the conservative Christian activist group One Million Moms is now scuffling with comic book characters. The group, whose actual membership is several orders of magnitude lower than one might otherwise infer from their lofty moniker, made headlines recently for their crusade against J.C. Penney after the retailer named lesbian talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres spokeswoman in their national ad campaign.

Incensed by DC Comics’ recent announcement that one of its perennial characters would be coming out in a June storyline and disgusted by Marvel’s similarly-timed decision to allow superhero Northstar to marry his long-time companion Kyle, One Million Moms is urging its members to express their disdain by emailing the comic book publishers.

“This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t, but do want to indoctrate [sic] impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light,” the group posted on their website, seemingly without benefit of a spell-check review. “These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable.”

Characteristically, the Moms are on the wrong side of history here, mangling even the most basic facts as everyone knows that no gay man with an ounce of self-respect would ever permit himself to be placed atop a pedestal. How passé.

Exxon Mobil feels the heat
Having recently realized success in persuading Equifax and Dollar General to adopt policies to protect the rights of their LGBT workers, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will be urging Fortune 500 behemoth Exxon Mobil Corporation to follow suit during its shareholders meeting set for May 30. DiNapoli plans to introduce a shareholder’s resolution which calls for the oil and gas giant to add LGBT anti-discrimination provisions to its existing policies.

Freedom to Work founder and President Tico Almeida also announced a petition on Change.org asking Exxon Mobil to be more inclusive of their gay employees.  “Exxon is decades behind in adopting the American values of civil rights by refusing to ban LGBT workplace discrimination and denying equal benefits to gay and lesbian employees, even though Exxon receives lucrative federal contracts worth millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars every year. Most major oil companies — Chevron, BP, Texaco — already have these policies in place. This is the right thing to do for business, and it’s the right thing to do morally,” Almeida stated.

While Exxon Mobil espouses its efforts in “taking on the world’s toughest energy challenges,” it would be nice to see them address this most basic of human rights challenges at home.

Cherry chapstick or not, bachelorettes banned at the Abbey
Twice named “Best Gay Bar in the World,” renowned for its all-inclusive atmosphere, and once a home away from home for legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor, Los Angeles gay bar The Abbey announced that it will no longer be welcoming bachelorette parties until such time as “marriage is legal everywhere for everyone.”

“Every Friday and Saturday night, we’re flooded with requests from straight girls in penis hats who want to ogle our gogos, dance with the gays and celebrate their pending nuptials. They are completely unaware that the people around them are legally prohibited from getting married,” explained The Abbey’s owner, David Cooley.

While the club will continue to welcome patrons of all orientations, Los Angeles brides-to-be will have to find another place to dip their toes in the lady pond. Katy Perry was unavailable for comment.

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The years-long financial dispute between Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels has come to an end as the pair reached a settlement during court-ordered mediation. The couple, who parted ways in 2010, will share custody of their twins and Michaels will receive partner and child support in excess of $23,000 per month. In a display of unparalleled optimism, Etheridge is currently on her “Fearless Love” world tour and dating “Nurse Jackie” co-creator Linda Wallem.

Finally a reason to attend Comic-con
Just in time for pride events all around the country, DC Comics announced that one of its prominent characters will come out of the closet in a storyline to be introduced in June. According to Twitter buzz, Aquaman and Wonder Woman have emerged as the most likely candidates. Either way, those League of Justice meetings just got a lot more fabulous.

Forever the Mayor of Castro Street
In real-life superhero news, LGBT civil right proponents across the country celebrated Harvey Milk Day, commemorating the life and achievements of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors member who was assassinated in 1978 along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. As the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, Milk has long been hailed as one of the LGBT community’s civil rights trailblazers. Thank you, Mr. Milk.

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