In September 2011, Ed Campbell commented on an issue of Catwoman that had a panel with an explicitly sexual scene between the heroine and Batman (“Let’s Talk about Sex,” www.comicbookdaily.com, September 30, 2011). Campbell felt this was inappropriate for a teen-rated comic. Over the next few months, many others weighed in and some felt that explicit sexual content was one of the reasons for the marginalization of comic books in the U.S. (“Sex & Violence,” www.comicbookdaily.com, December 9, 2011).

We disagree. That’s why we don’t make our stories detour around scenes with sexual content. We believe these scenes help drive the dramatic aspects of the stories. However, we also don’t believe our comic is aimed at young teens—not because of this sexual dimension, but rather because of narrative complexity.

And we are also set on not turning our heroines into idealized sexual objects (“Art and Superheroines: When Over-Sexualization Kills the Story,” www.comicsalliance.com, February 16, 2012).

It’s one thing for characters to have a sexuality, but the treatment of certain related subjects can go wrong. Corey Schroeder spoke out against such a situation: “when Mockingbird was allegedly sexually assaulted by Phantom Rider, Hawkeye, her husband-to-be’s, reaction was to blame HER. You know, THE VICTIM” (“Are Superhero Comics Too Serious,” www.comicvine.com, September 14, 2011). Some topics deserve to be treated with tact. However, this can also become a dramatic turning point if all the implications are developed.