Are Their Concerns Justified?

When it came to comics, I would say I was sort of a late bloomer and I really didn't delve into them until I was in my upper teens. So when I read an article in the Charlotte Chronicle today about parents who were outraged over "Batman Confidential #18," I kind of rolled my eyes, knowing that parents can be parents and that could mean they overreact sometimes. Then again, what I may not find offensive, someone else very well could.  How bad could it have been, really? Thinking back to the issue, I can recall there being a weak plot, and 'okay' art until I remembered the content. In the issue, Catwoman steals Commissioner Gordon's notebook, and Batgirl (Gordon) chases Selina to a nudist club. There's the kicker; the nudist club part. So maybe these parents in Charlotte, North Carolina had a case. Having read the comic, though; it sounds much worse than it actually is. While the comic itself, from what I remember did take the two female characters to a nudist club; it was far from pornographic. In fact, it was almost campy. The level of graphic material was insignificant compared to what we see in Moore's "The Killing Joke," or Millar's "All Star Batman and Robin." Then again, I read comics; these people obviously don't; so seeing the panels was obviously a bigger deal for them than it would be for me.

For a dime, Spivock bought the comic book last week for her 12-year-old son at Mecklenburg's South County Regional Library. Her kids recently discovered the 1960s Batman TV show. The most eye-popping scene is a two-page spread showing Batgirl's body-to-body tussle with Catwoman for the important notebook. But it doesn't look like a struggle, and contains none of those exclamations from the TV show: POW! BOOM! WHAM! Spivock and her husband, Bill, were not amused.

Okay, the "Batman" television show? Have these people been living in a cave for the last 50 years that they have not watched "Batman Begins" or "The Dark Knight" ? Even Joel Shoemaker and Tim Burton's film versions of Batman were a far cry from the campy and playful Adam West television interpretation of Batman of yesteryear. Even so, I should not be so insensitive. As parents, I feel that if they are really concerned with the reading material their children are exposed to, it is ultimately their responsibility to screen the material beforehand. However, I do feel that DC comics does not do enough to aid parents in that endeavor and that maybe they should take some responsibility.

The call for a rating system!

Stop reading this, right now. Get up, go to your dresser and pick up the last Marvel comic you purchased. Don't open it. Look at the cover. On the bottom left you will see a rating system which will indicate one of the following four options:

• # ALL AGES

Appropriate for readers of all ages.

• # A

Appropriate for ages 9 and up.

• # T+ TEENS & UP

Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they may want to read before or with younger children.

• # PARENTAL ADVISORY

15+ years old similar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery. Recommended for teen and adult readers.

• # MAX: EXPLICIT CONTENT

18+ years old Most Mature Readers books will fall under the MAX Comics banner, (created specifically for mature content titles) MAX and Mature-themed titles will continue to be designed to appear distinct from mainline Marvel titles, with the "MAX: Explicit Content" label very prominently displayed on the cover. MAX titles will NOT be sold on the newsstand, and they will NOT be marketed to younger readers.

Marvel does this with each and every one of their issues, and a lot of people seem to think that it might be in DC's best interest to adopt a similar rating system in order to prevent instances such as these from re-occuring.

"DC seriously needs to adopt a rating system for their books. I don't know why they haven't started yet."- Tina/Batmansgirl via http://twitter.com/batmansgirl

Tina, I completely agree. I have personally always felt that as a publishing company with content that varies in being very innocent to sometimes very graphic; it is in their best interest utilize a rating system similar to Marvel's. However, this does beg the question: will instilling a rating system for all DC Comics, or perhaps a unanimous rating system for all comics in general really make that much of a difference to some parents? I know, I know; always the pessimist, but how often have I seen parents complain about content in the media in the past? While I feel that DC should input a rating system of their own, I don't necessarily feel that it will make a dramatic difference in the way some parents approach comics. In the end, I really feel that ultimately they are the ones in control over the material that their children are exposed to, and I am sure that Mr. and Mrs. Spivock's 12 year old son has been exposed to much worse material via the internet and "Victoria's Secret" catalogs than what he saw in that issue of Batman Confidential.

Lastly, in no way do I find it a coincidence that this article was printed in the Charlotte, North Carolina newspaper just in time for the Charlotte, North Carolina "Heroes Convention." Just saying.