So a lesbian character is front-page news to the BBC?

Pathetic. I'd kinda expect it from other people, but you'd think the BBC would know better.

You should've seen the Metro's take on it. Riddled with errors it was, notably the claims of a "utility purse" that seem to be derived from a picture of a much older version of batgirl (a silver age version perhaps). It also had COMIC SANS in the captions, and the traditional "Ker-pow! Zap! Splat! Comics aren't just for kdis anymore!" opening. Not what I need to be reading at 8:30am when I'm usually already pissed off just because I'm awake.

The Metro, there.

When I'm in London I can't bear to even open the fucker.

I read The Metro just so I have something to do on the train to Uni. Also, there's no better cure for morning groggyness than getting incredibly angry at how shit the comic strips are. Nemi's a stupid bitch.

Before this turns into a 'we hate the metro' thingy (tis a good job theres never any copies left of it on the bus when I get on it seams).

The term lipstick lesbian is a rubbish. Just cause a woman likes makeup and girls doesn't mean they're different to any other lesbian woman.

I don't think that people as a society have got over the whole lesbian/bi/gay thing as a novelty yet. This being soooo newsworthy for a start. Another example is Big Brother choosing the most overtly gay flamboyant gay men they could to put into the house. And all this is so newsworthy is it? It's a little childish, well actually I can't say that, children seam to be the only ones, in general, these days that can accept someone for who they are and not who they prefer to go out with.

God yes. I love the wacky slice of life comedy that Nemi provides. My morning just isn't complete until I've seen what the goth platitude for the day is. The letters page is equally hilarious, but for a completely different set of reasons.

Also, since I'm back commenting, I should point out that using the term "lipstick lesbian" in their press pack (and I'm sure that's what's happened, since I've seen the term in basically every article on the matter) seems incredibly ill-advised and panders horribly to the stereotype of what a comics fan is. She's gorgeous, she kicks ass, she wears tight leather and she fucks other women. Who the hell came up with that shit, Frank Miller? Let's be honest, who's going to be most excited about this character - latinos, lesbians, or 14 year old males who masturbate over latino lesbians?

Kathy Kane's not going to be Latina, though, is she? The "Latino" references surely refer to Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle...

Ah, yes, that's probably correct. It's likely that the Metro confused me by fucking up the facts; I was sure that Kathy Kane was going to be Latin-American (in addition to the new Blue Beetle). Out of interest, she actually exist in the DCU at the moment, or is this Batwoman thing going to be her first appearance?

Apparently, she's going to appear in 52 out-of-costume before she appears as Batwoman. But no, this version of the character hasn't appeared in the DCU yet, aside from being shown in that splash page of "the new DCU" at the end of Infinite Crisis #7; there was a pre-Crisis Kathy Kane Batwoman, and her daughter Betty (or Bette) was Batgirl; Bette Kane has in recent years shown up in a post-Crisis version as a different character, but Kathy hasn't.

But no, this new character is obviously a result of the post-Infinite Crisis continuity shakeups... I find it interesting, though, that the BBC (and whoever else) have made such a big deal of "Batwoman returns", since she was never a particularly major character - I think everyone's confusing her with Batgirl, to be honest...

I think everyone's confusing her with Batgirl, to be honest...

I think you're right.

Would now be the right time to mention Yvonne Craig as 60s-show Batgirl was the first screen character I ever wanked off to?

No, if only 'cos it's not the first time you've mentioned it...

Interesting fact - Batgirl was created for the TV series before being introduced in the comics... there had been the aforementioned Bette Kane "Bat-Girl", but she, like her mother, was never a particularly popular character. Probably because they were rubbish.

I'M JUST DESPERATE FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW.

> I think everyone's confusing her with Batgirl, to be honest...

Surely that's the opposite of what's happening? There have been plenty of Bat-Girls, it's the fact there's now a Bat-Woman for the first time since, as you say, Crisis on Infinite Eaths (is that still the Crisis, or is it relegated to just a crisis?) that means people are making a big deal of it, even though the difference between a Bat-Girl and a Bat-Woman is superficial at best.

Yeah, but my point is that there was never really a Batwoman of note at all - she appeared for a brief time in the late '50s and early '60s, and again a handful of times in the '70s. The tone of the media articles I've read is that this is a new version of a major character (hence my feeling that they've confused her with Batgirl) - rather than simply the fact that they're creating a Batwoman for arguably the first time of any note; after all, without the "lesbian" angle, that latter fact is pretty much meaningless to the media at large (which is a pretty sad state of affairs, I'll grant - not the fact that a new character isn't important, but that they have to be a high-heel wearing "lipstick lesbian" in order to be deemed so).