Cross-posted to boost the signal.
A campaign has been launched to bring
Cassandra Cain back back fulltime to the DC Comics universe and we need your help.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the character, Cassandra Cain served as the titular heroine of the first ongoing Batgirl comic book series. Of Asian descent, she is also the first non-white member of the Batman family and has remained one of the most prominent non-white superheroes, with a massive following from a wide demographic of fans.
But more than that, Cass is a groundbreaking character because her success is based primarily on the fact that she is handled with the same care and respectability that’s usually reserved for cis straight white male protagonists.
She debuted in April 2000, at #23 on the sales chart list, selling nearly 50,000 books. (
http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2000/2000-04.html) Her title averaged around 25,000 in sales and her final issue in Feb. 2006 sold more than 26,000 copies (
http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2006/2006-02.html), which is more than the current Batgirl title is selling. In fact she's outsold legacy characters such as Green Arrow and Aquaman.
However despite the overwhelming success that she's brought DC, Cass has been another casualty of the ongoing
trend of racefail and erasure of characters of color from the DC Universe. She was repeatedly on the receiving end of shoddy storylines, absurd mangled characterizations and was summarily dismissed and written off while less successful characters have been privileged with reboot after reboot.
There's an online petition asking for the return of Cassandra Cain. Why does this matter? Because exceptional characters shouldn't be eliminated simply because they're a minority. Why does this matter? Because women, POCs, LGBTQs, etc. deserve to be showcased and celebrated just as much as cis straight white protagonists. The truth is we desperately need more Cassandra Cains, Storms, Renee Montoyas, Black Panthers, Wiccans, Midnighters. It’s not acceptable for us to be a supporting sidekick or background dressing, it’s time for us to take center stage.
And we're asking you to help us show DC why diversity matters and why Cass Cain Counts.