On the subject of diversity, which has always been an issue for comic books, an anonymous fan asked James Tynion IV (co-writer of Batman: Eternal), well, more stated a comment than asked a question:
Anonymous: I'm not trying to suggest you're racist by bringing back Stephanie Brown instead of Cassandra Cain. I just think the massive lack of diversity in DC comics is sad, and you have a chance to do something and aren't.
James Tynion IV: Read Batman Eternal before you make that kind of judgment. Half of the core cast of characters is female, and several of our main Point-of-View characters are POC. Including one new character who is going to be monumentally important for the Bat-Family, and the status quo of the Bat-Books in the next few years.
I’m not saying that’s enough, or that it’s perfect, but I absolutely agree that more needs to be done. I have talked about this many times on this very tumblr. There need to be MANY more POC, queer, and even just female characters that are as completely essential to the core of the Bat-Books, and Superhero comics as a whole. I’ve always been conscious of that, and I think if you look at Talon in particular, you can see that.
Repeated antagonistic statements about how I’m bringing back the “White Batgirl” aren’t helpful in this conversation. Stephanie is another character who represents a large portion of the readership, and those readers have been craving to see her again since the end of the old universe. We didn’t decide to bring her back while cackling over the corpse of Cassandra Cain. And if you want to see a character like Cass back in the DCU, supporting a massive Bat-Project that can explore the supporting characters like the main books can’t is your best way to make that happen.
For about almost three years now, fans have continued to go to comic cons and asked for when Stephanie Brown would be introduced into The New 52. It was only at New York Comic Con 2013 that Stephanie Brown was announced to be introduced in Batman: Eternal.
As fans, we have to continue to ask DC Comics for other DC characters to join the roster. If you want Cassandra Cain, ask for the character and go to comic cons to bring her up. Stephanie Brown fans never stopped asking for her and here she is for 2014. However, you must also support Batman books by buying the issues on the weekly and monthly basis. You really have to show your support physically and verbally.
From what has been addressed by Tynion, he has stated that half of the characters in Batman: Eternal will be female and several of the point-of-view storylines will be by ethnically diverse characters. It's good to see Batman books and other DC books trying to bring more diversity.
Recently, Batman Beyond Unlimited #29 introduced a dark skinned character, Nissa as Batgirl in the Beyond universe. The character was created by Scott Peterson (former writer of Batgirl) and Annie Wu (artist) only to be introduced for one issue in the collected title.
Batman: Eternal begins spring 2014 with its weekly series and you will be judge on how well diversity is being addressed.
Posted by Kristina Collins