The Potomac News not only talks intelligently about the death at the end of the most recent issue of Runaways, but is even kind enough to provide a spoiler’s warning, which I should do as well …
SPOILER’S WARNING after the jump…
When Superman bought the farm in 1993, millions turned out to buy three Mylar-sealed copies.
This death was, obviously, a publicity ploy not intended to last.
A character’s death last week was of far greater cultural importance than a gimmick – and I don’t think she’ll be back.
Unless you follow comics, you’ve probably never heard of Gertrude Yorkes or the teenage Marvel heroes “Runaways.” Yorkes was a popular Jewish heroine with an E.T.-like bond to a deinonychus (a dinosaur). The non-newsworthiness of her death – along with a previous African American Runaway’s death – might represent a watershed in comics where minority superheroes begin to shed the adjective “minority” and become “superheroes.”
It covers not only the writer’s grief over losing a “friend,” but also racial issues in comics and how people relate to fictional characters. Go check it out.
August 2nd, 2006 at 10:57 am
Always raggin’ on the Jews. First Mel Gibson, now Brian Vaughan. Man, we can’t catch a break… (I kid, I kid because I love.)
Actually, I guess it was first Brian Vaughan and then Mel Gibson. Whatever…
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:04 am
Damn, I wish I hadn’t read this, I didn’t know Gert got killed off.
August 4th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
Wow, I’m totally stoked this got picked up here. Special thanks to Jim McCann and all the folks at Marvel for helping me get art so tight to deadline!