"Fascinating. People take a couple of out-of-context comments spread over a thirty year career and brand me a racist. Morrison has taken potshots at the most basic conventions of the genre in virtually everything he's written for about 20 years, and people insist he "loves" superheroes"

I still contend that if he "loves" superheroes, it's akin to the way a juvenile delinquent who pulls the wings off of flies, "loves" flies -- not for what they are, but the thrill he gets out of damaging them.

>Same with Mark Millar. How that man continues to get superhero assignments is quite beyond me.<

because the editors who hire him have the same view of superheroes that he does, perhaps?

>Ok, also, I have to say that I don't blame Frank Miller for all the negative stories dominating the genre. I blame the people who think stealing his "dark" props is a substitute for actual talent. His books aren't really cool cause they're gritty. It's because he can write an interesting story. Which is a rarity in comics. <

I think Frank has to shoulder at least SOME blame - there is nothing wrong with Dark, Gritty, Noir, Sex & Violence stories, even in comics -- and when he moved off into Sin City to do them, more power to him -- but i do think, good story or not, it should have been thought about more carefully before Miller was set loose Millerizing Batman - in DKR and even more so in Batman Year One.  Keeping an All-Ages Sandbox  suitable for ya know . . all ages isn't that hard of a concept to understand, and as Sin City showed, there are OTHER sandboxes for telling any kinda of story he may have wanted -- it didn't need to be done to Batman.  Otherwise, i do agree - people with less talent took a "hot" notion done with better intentions and made matters even worse.

I don't understand the part of the quote where Morrison says Batman should represent what's best about secular humanism.  What does secular humanism have anything to do with Batman?

While there are some superheroes where it could be said involving specific philosophies are important, Batman is not one of them.  Certainly there is nothing inherent in Batman or the pulp crime genre he comes from that involves secular humanism.  One could easily invoke Catholic Augustinianism, Roman Rule of Law, the Germanic warrior ethos, or anything else.

Interpreting characters, especially non-political ones, in one's own world view will not serve them well.