DC Colorist Gabe Eltaeb Leaves Company Over Superman Character Changes
Don Khan Swaylo | Oct 21, 2021 |
Gabe Eltaeb, a colorist for DC Comics, just announced his plans to depart the comic book company in protest over what the brand has done to Superman.
“I’m tired of this shit,” said Eltaeb. “I’m tired of them ruining these characters.”
The former colorist for DC appeared on a livestream with Ethan Van Sciver to unleash his disgust for what the industry has done to Superman, who just lost his decades-old motto of “Truth, Justice, and the American way” for “Truth, Justice, and a better tomorrow.” Just rolls right off the tongue. But speaking of Jon Kent’s new direction…
Eltaeb went on to say, “I’m finishing out my contract with DC. I’m tired of this shit, I’m tired of them ruining these characters; they don’t have a right to do this. What really pissed me off was saying truth, justice, and a better world [in reference to the previously mentioned son of Kal-El getting an updated slogan to reflect his new activist-slanted persona]. Fuck that it was Truth, Justice, and the American way. My Grandpa almost died in World War II; we don’t have a right to destroy shit that people died for to give us. It’s a bunch of fucking nonsense.” The fire and fury of correct takes didn’t end there.
Gabe went on to criticize who he believes deserves the furor in this. “They call us bigots and racist and shit, I would ask them, find me in the fucking mainstream, not on the fringes, one fucking book, on fucking t-shirt, one movie that says that leftism is bad and conservatism is good. Find it for me! They fucking won’t! They’re not letting people have a voice, they’re the fucking bigots.” But is he wrong, though? “Sorry, that’s been bottled up for five years.”
Eltaeb isn’t the only person closely associated with Supes to voice his displeasure with the direction of the character. Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent in the late 1990’s series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, has been very vocal about his disgust, going as far as to claim the comic house is simply “bandwagoning” on a trend to generate interest.
Comments (9)
If anyone is saying that is “honoring Superman’s legacy,” that should raise more red flags than a Bernie Sanders rally. That is some subversion taking place in broad daylight.
Obviously you’re a big fan, be a fan of what you love and disregard the new direction. The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference. Pay it no mind.
It’s not that I hate the “better tomorrow” part of the slogan. I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why they have to cut out “the American way” and replace it. I mean I have no problem with them saying “Truth, Justice, the American way, and a better tommarow”. They could’ve added that part in without taking the American Way part out. Sure it may be a bit longer to say but the American way part would still be apart of it.
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I really do appreciate it. Superman has been my favorite superhero all my life. I just want DC to respect the character. And this motto change just doesn’t look like it to me.
I get what your saying; at face value, there is nothing wrong with a “better tomorrow,” obviously. But “the American Way” is central to the character of Kal-El/Clark Kent Superman and there’s no rational reason for that to change. The only logical reason is a subversive attempt to undermine the character.
Any time man, you can’t control what others do, all you can do is control your actions. So if DC wants to settle for the mediocrity of current trends, that doesn’t mean you have to.
In regards to what I said earlier about Superman’s legacy , Jim Lee at the DCFandome event said “to honor Superman’s incredible legacy over 80 years of building a better world, Superman’s motto is evolving.” So I don’t understand how DC is honoring Superman’s legacy and say his motto is evolving, when they’re taking away something that is so fundamental important to the character.
I’m actually fine with him losing the motto.
America may have a great way of doing things, but it’s definitely not the supreme standard of all time as to how things should be done. Which, in my opinion, is what Kal-El stands for. Something the entire human race can aspire to, no matter how far we’ve come, something always beyond our grasp.
Good on him for quitting when he did. If i hadn’t already given up on comics this probably would of caused me to do so.
What I don’t understand is how can anyone say that they’re “honoring Superman’s legacy” by throwing away the motto he’s had for decades and replacing it. That’s like if I were to create a piece of art and present it to someone else and hear them say” wow what a great looking painting!” Only then to see this person take my painting, put it into a garbage can, then paint something totally different and then say it’s the same thing. I’m glad to read that there are still some in the comic book industry who dislike the motto change. I do belive that Superman’s “Truth, Justice, and the American way” motto will return some day. It may take a long time, but it will come back some day. There’s just too many fans of that saying that won’t let it be forgotten.