Superman colorist Gabe Eltaeb announced he plans to quit DC Comics after the comic book publisher announced a series of progressive changes to the superhero.
Last week, DC Comics announced two major changes to Superman in its series “Superman: Son of Kat-El.” First, Superman would come out as bi-sexual and start a gay relationship with Jay Nakamura. Second, Superman’s motto, “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” will be replaced by “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow.”
Eltaeb railed against the changes to the superhero during an October 13 YouTube livestream hosted by Cyberfrog creator Ethan Van Sciver. Eltaeb said that after the latest change to Superman — DC Comics cutting “the American Way” from the hero’s motto — the colorist decided he would be quitting the comic book publisher at the end of his contract.
“I’m finishing out my contract with DC. I’m tired of this s***, I’m tired of them ruining these characters; they don’t have a right to do this,” Eltaeb said, according to Bounding Into Comics.
“At Comic-Con in 2009, I was pushing Jerry Robinson’s wheelchair around,” Eltaeb said, referring to the prominent Batman illustrator and artists’ rights activist. “That’s the man who invented the Joker. I would work the DC booth back then. I remember bending down to his face and telling him, thank you for creating these characters, so people like me can waltz in and get a job. It’s not about gay or anything else.”
“What really pissed me off was saying truth, justice, and a better world. F*** that it was Truth, Justice, and the American way,” Eltaeb continued.
“My Grandpa almost died in World War II; we don’t have a right to destroy s*** that people died for to give us,” he added. “It’s a bunch of f***ing nonsense.”
Eltaeb then blasted progressives and leftists. “They call us bigots and racist and s***, I would ask them, find me in the f***ing mainstream, not on the fringes, one f***ing book, one f***ing t-shirt, one movie that says that leftism is bad, and conservatism is good, find it for me, they f***ing won’t they’re not letting people have a voice, they’re the f***ing bigots,” he said.
He concluded apologizing for his explosion on the live stream, saying “that’s been bottled up for five years.”
Former “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” actor Dean Cain also bashed the changes to the iconic superhero last week. As The Daily Wire reported:
“It’s hard for me to keep track of all the different Supermen and the different worlds and adventures that he has in the comics,” Cain said, noting that “Son of Kal-El” is only one series of dozens featuring Superman, his offspring, and his partners. “They said it’s a bold new direction. I say they’re bandwagoning.”
“I don’t think it’s bold or brave or some crazy new direction. If they had done this 20 years ago, perhaps that would be bold or brave. But brave would be having him fight for the rights of gay people in Iran where they’ll throw you off a building for the offense of being gay,” Cain added.
The new Superman, Jon Kent, has had a short run as the Man of Steel so far, but his comics have seen him focused largely on battling a new generation of villains, like “hacktivists” and those who would subvert efforts to combat climate change.
“Why don’t they have him fight the injustices that created the refugees whose deportation he’s protesting? That would be brave, I’d read that. Or fighting for the rights of women to attend school and have the ability to work and live and boys not to be raped by men under the new warm and fuzzy Taliban,” Cain said.
“There’s real evil in this world today, real corruption and government overreach,” he added. “It’d be great to tackle those issues, shine a light on those issues. I’d like to see the character doing that.”