'Batwoman' Authors Exit, Claim DC Comics Banned Gay Marriage Storyline

The authors of "Batwoman" are exiting due to creative differences with DC Comics. Their decision came, in part, after an alleged ban on a same-sex marriage storyline. Co-authors J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman announced they plan to leave "Batwoman" after issue #26 is released in December, The Hollywood Reporter first noted. The announcement was made in a blog post Wednesday. "In recent months, DC has asked us to alter or completely discard many long-standing storylines in ways that we feel compromise the character and the series," they wrote. "We were told to ditch plans for Killer Croc's origins; forced to drastically alter the original ending of our current arc, which would have defined Batwoman's heroic future in bold new ways; and, most crushingly, prohibited from ever showing Kate and Maggie actually getting married. All of these editorial decisions came at the last minute, and always after a year or more of planning and plotting on our end." Williams and Blackman said they reached the decision to leave DC Comics because "the eleventh-hour nature of these changes left us frustrated and angry" and prevented them from "telling the best stories we can." Williams later clarified the issue of the alleged same-sex marriage obstruction.

@andykhouri Not wanting to be inflammatory, only factual- We fought to get them engaged, but were told emphatically no marriage can result.

— J.H. Williams III (@JHWilliamsIII) September 5, 2013

Back in February, it was revealed that Kathy Kane, better known as "Batwoman," would propose to her girlfriend, Captain Maggie Sawyer. It was the first lesbian engagement to be included in a mainstream comic, and fans were excited about the prospect of a same-sex wedding. "There’s no guarantee we’re going to hear wedding bells," wrote Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston wrote at the time. "But I think that’s a story. I’ve been talking about how much I love this comic for some time, I think it’s DC’s best. Now I’ve just been given another reason." A representative for DC Comics was not immediately available for comment. This is not the only gay issue the company has faced in recent months. In February, DC Comics dealt with huge backlash after hiring anti-gay author Orson Scott Card to pen a story for an "Adventures of Superman" digital-first release. However, the brand has published more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)-friendly content this year, like Batwoman's proposal and Batgirl's openly transgender roommate, a first for mainstream comics. (h/t Towleroad)