And speaking of shitstorms, I wonder why this didn't cause more of one...


I picked up JLA: Cry For Justice last week and noticed one little scene. Prometheus explained how he'd been staking his claim in Europe the last few years, killing off various Global Guardians. And he comments on the "bearskin" rug in his living room.


Which turns out to be the late Tasmanian Devil. Prometheus goes on to add: "Idiot named himself after an endangered animal anyway. " Ha ha. You can view it here on Dorian's site.


The whole Cry For Justice mini has had a few questionable moments, from Hal's whining to the Huntress/Lady Blackhawk throwaway line to Ray Palmer being reinvented as "the Incredible Shrinking Jack Bauer". And, oh yes, "Justice!" - WE GET IT!!! I loved James Robinson's work on Starman, and I think he's killin' it on Superman, even without the lead character in the book. But here, he seems to be....how can I put it nicely?.....letting his "hack flag" fly.


While many people may have viewed Tasmanian Devil as just another third-stringer (I last saw him in JLA CLASSIFIED 3) , I can see how it could be a much bigger hit from Dorian's perspective. You see, Tazmanian Devil was gay.


It's a huge understatement to say I have more superheroes who are in my demographic than Dorian does.


Think of all the heroes who are straight males like me. I could list them all one by one and run out of character space before I even got started.


Now expand the criteria to only straight white males like me. Still an enormous list.


Now expand it even further to include only straight white males with brown hair like me. The list is still considerable. There's Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Richard Rider, Hal Jordan, Jay Garrick... hell, I can name several members of the Legion of Superheroes alone in that group.


Now imagine being a gay comic reader, and look at how few gay superheroes there are, and you can see how killing off even one gay male character, especially for the sole purpose of a cheap laugh, can sting.