By now, everyone should know that DC is getting rebooted and starting over reverting back to issue # 1. The DC Fan base has been divided on this controversial decision of DC. Now Fans that are upset about the relaunch are planning to protest at the 2011 comic con this year. I have been honored by the opportunity to talk with the organizer of the protest, Miss Laura Hornack on Facebook.
JM4: When you heard the news about the DCU Relaunch and saw the sneak peak of the relaunch, How did you feel?
LH: I wasn't "shocked" or anything, I was merely surprised. I know that the comic universes tend to change now and then, give or take another AU, but that seemed to be pretty big. The first thing I saw was Jim Lee's Aquaman cover, and I felt pretty neutral about that one - it didn't seem to be that big of a deal after all. That was my first impression. But when I heard about several changes in the origin stories, and read how Babs Gordon is going to be Batgirl again, as well as seeing Harley Quinn's awful new design (awful in my opinion, let alone her forced/unforced team-up with the Suicide Squad), I was exceedingly disappointed.
JM4:How did you feel about Superman's costume, this has definetly been one of the biggest uproar from fans about this.
LH:To be honest, I am not an avid Superman reader. I enjoy his appearances in the JLA series and during crossovers and series with Batman, but have not a huge connection to him as many fans I know of do. Nevertheless, Superman is -the- image of a superhero, has always been. And this image is composed of a blue suit, red cape and red underwear. The new suit in my eyes is completely ugly and takes the spice out of the costume. It has nothing to do with making him look "cooler" or "more appealing to a younger audience". It does just not look like Superman.
JM4:Now it looks like Batman Inc will continue later on in the Relaunch, to you does it really make sense if Batman is being rebooted?
LH:It does not. I'm a fan and avid supporter of Dick as Batman (even if he would be one of two Batmen, if Bruce is picking up the cowl again!) and Damian as Robin. I don't see Dick going back to being Nightwing, at least not yet. I'm putting all my hope into a conclusion of "Gates of Gotham", which I am reading right now, for it has been announced that this mini-series will lead Grayson back to embracing Nightwing as his vigilante personae. Drake as Red Robin and anybody - really, ANYBODY - but Babs Gordon as Batgirl would suffice in my eyes.
If the point of Batman Inc. was, after all, to re-introduce Bruce Wayne, then it has succeeded, but I don't see why anything else this series has accomplished should be nullified.
JM4: I know you are not a avid fan of Superman but how does it make you feel that Superman and Lois, the greatest superhero couple will not be married in the new universe?
LH: That goes into the same category as the red underpants - for Superman fans it's blasphemy, I find it simply stunning and would love to know why the creators did this and what they are trying to accomplish with that. Those two belong together, period. Lois is the main reason for Kent's struggle between his "normal" and the Superman personality, and with her "gone", in a sense of not by his side as she used to be, Clark loses a huge part of the more emotional problems he has to deal with - which by the way always make a great storyline and make him, being an alien with merely one weakness, less human. Maybe even less identifiable.
JM4: True, and now comes the big question. When did you start organizing your protest?
LH: When I saw the re-design of Harley Quinn. I am a huge fan of Harley and have been active in the campaign of reuniting her with the Joker (see also the current Gotham City Sirens issues, especially 22-24), led by Elise Archer, and she is my absolutely favorite character in the DC Universe. When I saw her new outfit, I was simply angry - and not for the seemingly obvious reasons. A lot of people have complained Harley would look "like a slut" or that her outfit is "too skanky" - uhm, we're talking about that frisky woman who screwed her way up to a PhD, as clearly seen in her origin story, "Mad Love". I think that the red and black spandex is indeed one hell of a sexy costume, and on various occasions we see Harley dressing revealingly - that is part of her personality. Also part of her personality is that she uses her blonde hair and baby blue eyes to create a false image of innocence, only to crack the confused victim's head open with a mallet. Seeing her with a demonic grin and a pale/greenish face, a from now on "mainstream"-costume that resembles the biker/goth-style from Arkham City (which is AU), simply takes away a huge part of who and what she is. The fact that she starts now from being imprisoned and then forced to join the Suicide Squad, so far without ANY connection to The Joker, who created her, who MADE her who she is, seems like a nightmare to me.
I was surprised that so many fans joined in on taking action - this is, I say it once again, a peaceful walk, mainly consisting of HQ fans, but we get more and more Oracle supporters and Superman fans too.
What I also like to ad, adressing the many people who have been insulting and ridiculing us - I doubt that any of you would walk straight up to me and say even half of your ignorant and childish remarks out loud.
JM4: I was going to ask about the backlashes but I see that you have already addressed them. Do you hope to accomplish in your mission?
LH:My "mission" is not to run straight to the DC booth and scream "Give us back the old characters!" - for that woud accomplish nothing. I just hope that the fans who love the "old" (and old as in anything before September 2011) comics get a little attention, and that maybe some writers and artist think about the drastic changes. They have a lot of old fans who still enjoy comics as a medium. That this has decreased due to various reasons doesn't mean they should desperately cling to a newer and "more modern" audience. DC does have their customers, and I think they know that. We're still there, and we're still loyal to the characters we love. We're just hoping to be able and enjoy them just as much with the change. But I guess, in the end, we have to wait and see what happens.
The "Reunite The Joker and Harley Quinn campaign" that started on facebook back in September 2010 has shown me how much fans can achieve if they act sincere and with a passion. We don't expect an open ear from -everybody-, neither do we demand some weird sort of respect for what we do. We just do it, because we're fans. And we love being fans.
JM4: Thank you for taking the time to do this
LH: Of Course
JM4: I really hope you succeed
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