A scuttled pitch from writer Magdalene Visaggio saw Conner Kent coming out as a trans woman. The latest issue of Marvel’s Daredevil has been accused of antisemitism. And the top-selling kids’ graphic novels of September have been revealed. All on Comic Book Club News for October 11, 2023.
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Episode Transcript:
Superboy was pitched as a trans woman.
Daredevil accused of antisemitism.
Kids graphic novel bestsellers revealed
This is Comic Book Club News for October 11, 2023.
Magdalene Visaggio Pitched Conner Kent As A Trans Woman:
Could Conner Kent, aka Superboy, come out as a trans woman? That was the idea behind writer Magdalene Visaggio’s pitch for the character to DC Comics… One that will now most likely never happen.
As reported by Bleeding Cool, Visaggio revealed the pitch on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Said Visaggio, “Since it’s never going to happen, yes, I was going to make Conner Kent a trans girl. I give you SKYROCKET, my master plan for a story that will never happen.”
The pitch document details at length how Visaggio views Conner Kent, a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor’s DNA, as always feeling frustration with his place in the Superfamily. That frustration leads to the realization that she is trans, changes her name to Connie Kent, and her superhero name to Skyrocket. A shortened version of the idea, but Visaggio lays out the whole 12-24 issue story, and how having a member of the Superman family come out as trans would not only be a sales bonanza but also important to trans youth.
Says Visaggio in the document: “This will save kids’ lives. This will give them hope. That’s what Superman is for.”
The document even includes designs of the character by artist Darick Robertson. And while the story isn’t moving forward, Visaggio noted that “DC has every right to pursue their own direction with their own IP, and I wish them the best. No hard feelings whatsoever.” She also revealed that the 10-page story she wrote for Action Comics #1057 was supposed to tee up this storyline.
Superboy may not be trans in continuity, but with this reveal, now, and forever in the hearts of both trans youth and absolutely awful trolls on YouTube, her legacy will live on.
Latest Daredevil Issue Accused Of Antisemitism:
Does Marvel’s latest Daredevil #1 include antisemitic imagery? As reported by the Religion News Service, rabbis, and scholars are speaking out at the depiction of a new villain in the latest issue.
In the first issue, written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Aaron Kuder, Matt Murdock faces down a demonic entity. Among other aspects, the creature is depicted as having a long, white beard, horns, and a hooked nose — the image that seems to be causing most of the issues.
Said Malka Simkovich, director of Catholic-Jewish studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, “This illustration draws from an ancient tradition of demonizing Jews in literature and art to portray a clash between good and evil… The hooked nose and the beard, as well as the weathered and wrinkled forehead, suggest that the antagonist in question is a demonic rabbi.”
Other pundits went further. Rabbi A. James Rudin called the image “repulsive.” Philip A. Cunningham, director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at Saint Joseph’s University added that “When I first saw the illustration of Daredevil’s opponent in this new iteration of the comic book hero, I was immediately struck by his resemblance to posters advertising a Nazi propaganda film called ‘Der Ewige Jude’ (‘The Eternal Jew’).”
Daredevil Artist Aaron Kuder Responds:
When reached for comment, Kuder vehemently denied the allegations. “If you’re comparing my art to that of Nazi propaganda … Well, that’s just insane. Completely laughably insane. Also extremely and utterly insulting,” Kuder told Religion News via email. He further explained that visually Nazi propaganda usually includes dark hair and short height. “Neither of which are components in the villain design,” Kuder contained. “Literally any kind of person can have large facial features and long hair. There is no correlation here.”
Kuder further clarified that he only commented because he did not want to be lumped in with other Marvel artists who have been accused of antisemitism. Those include Ardian Syaf’s antisemitic messages in 2017’s X-Men Gold. And antisemitic imagery that Joe Bennett snuck into Immortal Hulk, leading to Marvel breaking their 27-year relationship with the artist.
For what it’s worth, speaking as a Jew and a comic book fan, my initial impression was that this was a Catholic demon, given Murdock’s new position as a priest of the faith. The imagery, if anything, throughout the book seemed to pull on Japanese horror’s depiction of limbs stretched and broken.
Marvel has yet to respond to these allegations. And the story, as they say, will continue to develop.
Kids’ Graphic Novel Bestsellers For September Revealed:
Finishing up here on a slightly less hot-button issue, let’s talk about the top-selling kids’ graphic novels of September. Top of the charts? Dog Man.
The latest volume of Dav Pilkey’s hit series took the top slot on ICv2‘s charts, while also nabbing slots ten, thirteen, and fourteen. Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper snagged three slots, though fell to number seven, sixteen, and seventeen after last month’s strong showing. And rounding out the top five are new volumes of Hooky, Investigators, and two entries in the Five Nights at Freddy’s: Fazbear Frights series.
Meanwhile, Raina Telgemeier’s Smile sits at number twenty for the kabillionth month in a row. Yes, that’s a word.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And I got no jokes here because that was a heavy one. Whew!
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Why do some boys and men want to be girls and women when females still suffer from sexism more then males do?
It’s not that they want to be, they are.