Amy sells out

As #arrowkidsday draws to a close, a final message from the instigator…

As some of you may have noticed, there was a bit of an influx of tweets today under the tag #ArrowKidsDay. This was the result of the efforts of a group of Connor, Mia, and/or Lian fans to raise awareness that these members of the Arrow family are well loved, as well as to request their return in the so-called DCnU. The fact that it is the same day the first issue of JT Krul’s Green Arrow series was published was no coincidence, but rather a deliberate choice, meant to call attention to those absent from the recently released comic. Now, as our day draws to a close, I can only hope our voices have been heard.

We are not, as some may dismiss us, some small group of obsessive basement-dwelling discontents, the typical derogatory image assigned to fans who express their reservations with any changes to the status quo. We are the young and the old, the new and established fans alike, the men, women, and others who’ve become absorbed into the compelling, inspiring, fantastic, and sometimes frustrating world of DC Comics. And today, we are united by our shared love for the members of the Arrow Family left behind in the whirlwind of the DCnU. We are the ones who fell in love with Lian, the brave girl who may one day have been a hero. We are the ones who came to admire Mia, the brave girl who already was. And finally, we are the ones who grew to adore Connor, the interracial Buddhist monk who, in an era defined by the grim and gritty and a world packed to the brim with supervillains and mundane criminals alike, maintained his optimism, idealism, and respect for life, mercy, and justice.

To us, these are more than “just” characters. They are childhood friends, the role models who shaped the individual we are today. They are new discoveries, giving way to the excitement of a fresh character, strong and courageous, perhaps to be lost almost as soon as they are found. They are the ones who tell us that we are not alone, that whisper to the children of single-parent households, to those stricken with HIV, to the victims of sexual abuse, to the people of color, to the young women and little girls, to anyone who does not fit into the typical mold of the young white Christian male that they, too, can be heroes.

And now, with one callous stroke of a pen, they may be erased.

They laughed, they loved, they cried and fought and yes, in two cases, even died. But through it all, they were a family. Sure, the Green Arrow may still exist after the reboot, but his family is gone. His eldest son is estranged, and never knew the child to whom he used to be so devoted. His youngest son is gone. His daughter is gone. His granddaughter is gone. And without them, Oliver Queen is just as lost to the aether, only a stranger left in his place. And for that, the fans weep.

We’re not going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean we’ll keep buying. We love DC, but that doesn’t mean we love what’s happening now. Making comics more accessible is an admirable goal, but beware, DC, of sacrificing old and ardent fans in your search for new readers, and more than that, beware of alienating those carefully courted new would-be fans by sacrificing existing diversity simply for the sake of a fresh young face.

We are here, waiting to see what you will do. Please, don’t let us down.

Good night, and good luck.

— A loyal fan.