The American Psychiatric Association, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Alliance on Mental Illness released a joint statement accusing DC of "making light of suicide" and being "potentially dangerous" for young readers, the publisher finally speaks about the controversy (even though DC co-publisher Jim Lee had defended the sequence on Twitter while co-writer Jimmy Palmiotti also issued a statement)
The purpose of the talent search was to allow new artists an opportunity to draw a single page of a 20-page story, DC wrote in a statement released yesterday.
True to the nature of the character, the entire story is cartoony and over-the-top in tone, as Harley Quinn breaks the 4th Wall and satirizes the very scenes she appears in. DC Entertainment sincerely apologizes to anyone who may have found the page synopsis offensive and for not clearly providing the entire context of the scene within the full scope of the story.
Many were upset about the page, which some claimed sexualized violence and some were concerned trivialized suicide. The page featured four panels of Harley in a fantasy sequence, apparently attempting to kill herself.
DC’s creators and supporters noted that Harley’s dream sequence was comparable to a
Looney Tunes cartoon and that it wasn’t really “suicide” since the violence depicted would have no consequences and played for "laughs". They also mentioned that being naked in the bathtub isn't sexualizing the character because it is really pretty standard to the scene.
About The Author:
Abary
Member Since
4/12/2013
You don't know who I am? Well sit back because my story is a beautiful tale of power and integrity, a captivating experience and ingenious story.
When I was sent to prison for a crime I didn't commit, I signed up for the weapon X program where I got some acid stuff in my eye which caused me to go blind except for whenever I shout the word, "SHAZAM." I was part of Project: Rebirth and given an indestructible shield, however I had gotten bitten by a radioactive spider which caused my father Odin to banish me from my home, only for both my parents to get shot in an alley. And to top it all off, I was exposed to gamma radiation when my mother died and I was abducted from Earth by a strange blue-skinned alien, which gave me the ability to teleport, shapeshift, read minds, and squirt milk from my nose.
Follow Abary on:
