DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Launch "DC Super Hero Girls" Initiative

[CagedLeo730]

I think some people skipped over the part in the article that says superheroes and supervillains. Harley and Ivy will still be bad guys. There are no superheroes without supervillains to fight.

[Sirzechs]

It was going to come sooner or later. I'm not totally shocked lol.


"Don't turn a positive into a negative" That went straight out of the window unfortunately lol.

Don't worry its not just about the new52 its a general DC hatred, no matter what they do people will find some reason.

[Kit Walker]

I love this! My sister and I have been running out of kid friendly Wonder Woman merchandise to give our goddaughter, now we're gonna have a whole world of female characters for her. If they follow the lead of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, they're gonna be off to the damned races.

And yes, it would be better if we could have one toyline that was considered to be gender neutral. But I was at work today (Target, and we most assuredly do color code our aisles - yellow is unisex baby toys, pink is girls, blue is boys) and I heard a little girl be told "Those are boy's toys" by her grandmother when she asked who a specific Age of Ultron character was supposed to be. That we have super heroes (or NERF guns) being marketed for girls is a step in and of itself.

With the New 52 origin for the Amazons and Wonder Woman and the like, I wouldn't want children anywhere near this stuff.

DC needs to clean up its act before trying to do something like this. Otherwise, it won't end well.

You think the parents groups were bad about toys and toy promotion in the 80's? Just show those parents some of what else that DC has been putting out in their other lines. It will be utter pandemonium!

It has been twenty years since comic books were something parents could freely associate their kids with. Batman and Spider-Man are the two biggest characters on the planet Earth and both have storylines (One More Day, The Killing Joke) and characters (their respective arch-foes, Joker and The Green Goblin) that parents wouldn't want their kids anywhere near. But their kids aren't going to be near the comics, they're going to watching the cartoons and buying the toys, so parents don't give a damn.

Mortal Kombat, Rambo, RoboCop, The Toxic Avenger, and Conan The Barbarian all had kids shows and toylines back in the 90's. You're just looking for a reason to complain about something wholly unrelated to the announcement at hand.

[Darrin Kelley]

When I walked into my local comic book store this morning, I saw plenty of parents taking their kids inside and introducing them to comic books. Quite a few of them had asked the staff what was appropriate for kids to read. And that's fine. I'm a big fan and supporter of getting children into comics.

However, what I have been in opposition for a long time was the continual push to make main line comic books to be filled with subject matter that definitely is not suited to the General Audiences demographic that comic books had traditionally long occupied.

When it comes to adults only comics, I believe they do have their place in a comic book store. Out of reach of readers too young for the subject matter. And most comic book stores I have delt with in my life did just that.

But if companies keep pushing the age inappropriate content, they certainly deserve their books being moved into the "adults only ghetto" of the store.

But I do find it extremely hypocritical of DC Comics to try to make a "girls line" featuring characters they routinely use in bloodbaths and softcore (and sometimes not so softcore) sex scenes to the general audience of the comic book buying public. And then suddenly act shocked when some kid gets their hands on a book full of what is certainly age inappropriate material using the same characters they are straight up marketing to those kids.

Call me old fashioned. But I think it's pretty irresponsible of the company to be engaging in that.

[Cipher]

Lots of negativity from people on this thread, who are biased towards New52, even though DC has already started diversifying their line and, come June, will have a number for girls to pick, and most importantly even though this line has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with their mainstream line.

Seriously, even if DC announced tomorrow they're publishing 100 new all-ages books come August, people would still find something to complain about.
Why isn't there an issue when the other company does anything?

I really like the direction DC is taking the New 52 line in -- I think they're doing better, but I think there are still some major issues with this approach. But as to the "ABSOLUTELY nothing," people are invoking the mainline comics in general because this is coming from the same company. That's ... I don't know, that makes a lot of sense to me. Were DC a company to have a history, in its mainline comics or otherwise, of fostering great gender-neutral superhero environments, I might have fewer reservations about the way this project is being presented. Or even if it did seem reductive in some ways, it might be a blip on an otherwise fairly successful track record.

I don't keep up with Marvel as much, but I'd have similar reservations were this line to come from them. Though in general it seems like they're on a better trajectory of fostering a non-gendered place for superhero fans, and I don't see this particular approach getting DC there. I'd love to be proven wrong.

The posts to the effect of "People will complain about anything DC" are by far the most irritating in the thread, and the only ones not discussing the announcement in a serious way.

[somacula]

I hope older fans don't end up pulling a MLP

[Dark Faerie]

I'm actually pretty happy to see this. The redesigns are adorable. ^^ I'd say it's certainly a step in the right direction & can appreciate what they're trying to do. If it provides happiness & enjoyment and if it inspires and gives some little girl somewhere some feeling of empowerment, that she can do and be whatever she wants to be, then that's a very good thing.
I'm hardly 12 (almost twice that) but even I'm interested to see how they handle it & what these heroines (and villainesses) are like as teens.

[trooper_thorn]

Alright, I predict 1.5 to 2 yrs of this before it folds, maybe three if DC is stubborn and thinks it can wring a few headlines out of continuing it another year.

I mean by all means try it, but this is just Marvel Mangaverse and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane all over again.

[AdamFTF]

Well, it's about time. And I don't just mean that in a "Woo-hoo! Girl Power!" kind of way (though, yeah, there is that). I also mean that as someone who's kept an eye on the brands that have been popping up over the past few years.

Basically, I've been wondering for a few years when the superhero equivalent of Monster High and Ever After High would pop up and this looks like it. I don't know if anyone's taken a walk down the pink aisle of the toy store lately but there's been something of a trend in recent years of genre fiction inspired fashion doll lines popping up lately. First was Monster High, which must have been a huge risk when it was first created, but spawned a line of imitators. Then came Monster High's sister line, Ever After High, which even Disney seems poised to mimic in the coming year. Both went on to spawn web cartoons, books and other stuff. And I know people will balk at the idea of this being compared to anything that started as a fashion doll line because the concept still sits under the big, pink shadow of Barbie. However, from what I've seen, they're actually neat little concepts with a lot of character and some thematic punch (Monster High is kind of about self-acceptance while Ever After High is about creating your own destiny). So, yeah, this looks like it'll be along similar lines and should fit right in. It's nice to see toy companies and other big companies acknowledging that there's some geekiness in little girls and drawing from genre fiction for their products. I'm curious to see how the proposed action figure line from this property turns out.

[Agent 37]

Great news!

I keep wanting to get into a title with my daughter (as she's really into comics/reading and art), and it's a fun way to share a hobby. But the titles available for a young girl are almost non-existant. Hopefully this gives kids a few more options!

[colonyofcells]

Great costumes altho I am not sure if Harley and Poison Ivy are great role models for girls.

[Cmbmool]

If DC and Warner Bros can pull this off, then Why can't Marvel and Disney do the same thing ?

Other than that, this is a great idea as DC does have some great female heroes.

[MajorHoy]

. . . But I do find it extremely hypocritical of DC Comics to try to make a "girls line" featuring characters they routinely use in bloodbaths and softcore (and sometimes not so softcore) sex scenes to the general audience of the comic book buying public. And then suddenly act shocked when some kid gets their hands on a book full of what is certainly age inappropriate material using the same characters they are straight up marketing to those kids.

Call me old fashioned. But I think it's pretty irresponsible of the company to be engaging in that.

I think you are being a bit old fashioned. The comic book audience changed, and companies had to make changes to keep up with that or they'd go the way of Harvey Comics. And even what's deemed "acceptable" for non-adults has changed over the years. Some of what would have been banned in a movie that wasn't designated only for adults or at least adult supervision now can often be seen on TV or in movies rated PG or PG-13.

DC does place labels on their comics as to whether they're intended for All Ages, Teen, or Teen+, and as long as that's clearly on the comics, it's up to parents to try and guide their children on what they should or should not be reading. Yeah, kids won't pay attention all the time, but that's not the comic book companies' fault.

[Kid A]

I'm pointing out a simple fact that parents aren't going to want their children associating with properties, like the current main line Wonder Woman book that portrays Wonder Woman's Amazon Sisters as "Rape Pirates".

Your mythical parents aren't going to care about what's going on in a comic book that appeals to a completely different set of demographics and have no bearing on the products this initiative is putting out.

[Pinsir]

I think some people skipped over the part in the article that says superheroes and supervillains. Harley and Ivy will still be bad guys. There are no superheroes without supervillains to fight.

They are probably going to be "supervillians" though, girl media generally doesn't emphasis beating people up