Inheritance

I suppose I should report on this prose novel by Devin Grayson, as in includes Aquaman. The novel, Inheritance, has gathered some criticism for its rather blatant subtext. It's supposed to be about the relationship of superheroes to their sidekicks... um. Well... read for yourself (profanity warning). And there is more here.

Galley Cat asked what was up.

So I shot off an email to Grayson and asked her how this all happened. She reminded me that as one of the comic book industry's few openly bisexual women creators, she's enjoyed working queer material into her stories throughout her career. "That said, I am also a contract worker when at DC crafting stories with licensed characters," she explained, "and my job at that time is to stick pretty close to previously established interpretations and guidelines, which is a necessary and satisfying aspect of this kind of work. In the licensed publication novels, we have more room, permission, and need than we usually do in the comics to explore character back story and culture." Despite that additional freedom, she's careful to point out that Inheritance is about father/son dynamics, not gay culture. "But are the characters in Inheritance aware of gay culture?" she asks rhetorically. "Sure. And they get to joke about it, just like I, as the narrator, get to joke about it. I'm joking with the reader, the characters are joking with each other."

I may not really enjoy it, but I do plan on getting a copy. If I do, I'll be sure to review it here for Aquaman fans.