"Watch Out, Boy - She'll Chew You Up"
CBR has an interview with Marc Andreyko, writer on DC's upcoming Manhunter series.  It sounds as though Andreyko has some interesting plans for this series, including a focus on different conceptions of justice.  (Jim Henley alert!)  I realize that Manhunter is still going to be a mainstream superhero book, so I'm not going to get my hopes up for a nuanced examination of Rawls' Theory of Justice, but quotes like this still sound promising:

One of the predominant themes in the series is a discussion of "real" justice, something not seen in most superhero comic books and Andreyko says the issues is one close to his heart. "It's important to me to explore the concepts of justice, punishment and retribution because we all feel the need for these things whether it is on the terrorists who felled the WTC, the bully from grade school, or someone like Jeffrey Dahmer or Manson.

"Why hasn't this issue been explored in more comics? Well, it's not a black and white issue. It is incredibly complex and, even within my own opinions, I find myself torn between being pro-capital punishment in theory, but against it in its actual... Ahem.... execution. So, exploring the moral ambiguities and nuances of justice, along with the hypocrisies and inconsistencies, is a challenging and, I think, exciting journey."

I also liked Andreyko's remarks regarding the problems of costuming female superheroes:

Female protagonists are generally hard sells for comic fans, unless there's an instant visual sex appeal or a long-standing history, but "Manhunter" is a series in which Andreyko hopes to buck the trend. Kate's costume is practical, not sexual; realistic not titillating and there's a good reason for that. "Not having Manhunter in some chain-mail, T&A costume was something that was agreed upon during the conception of the series. I wanted to write a complex female lead and was wholly supported, and advised/guided, by both Dan DiDio and Joan Hilty.

"That, and being a gay man, I tend not to ogle women in thongs and push-up spandex costumes [laughs]."

Maybe we need more gay men writing female comic book characters so we're not subjected to idiotic costumes like this:


(And I know Gail Simone has said she's planning on changing the costume at some point, but it still boggles the mind that Jim Lee thought this was a good design for a non-powered urban crimefighter.)
  ¶ 11:21 AM | |