Comic Book Shoppe owner takes anti-gay writer off the shelves

A local comic-book-shop owner is pulling a prolific author off his shelves in response to the writer’s rampant homophobia.

Rob Spittall says keeping work by Orson Scott Card in stock would make him a proprietor of hate.

Card penned the upcoming DC Comics Superman series. Spittall, who owns The Comic Book Shoppe, says Card is a talented writer, but he will not support work by someone who takes a rabid anti-gay stance.

Card has actively lobbied against gay marriage and has written racist columns advocating ethnic cleansing.

A petition on allout.org imploring DC Comics to fire Card has amassed more than 15,000 signatures.

“We have a lot of gay clientele, being in the Village, and Superman is an iconic figure to many of our gay clientele,” explains Spittall, who is straight. “To me, in good conscience, I don’t want to support someone who has got such a strong standpoint against my clientele. There is a difference between supporting something and being a leader who goes out to abolish it. To see someone like that writing for Superman; I am not okay with that.”

But Spittall respects personal choice. Customers who wish to purchase Card’s upcoming series can place special orders for the Superman comics. Spittall says four customers have signed up to purchase Card’s series so far.

“I don’t want to force our beliefs on other people, but I will make a stand as a store,” he says.

Queer comic book fan Cecil Turcotte says that a boycott sends a clear message.

“Card’s very public position must be responded to, like any other artist’s positions have always been. A boycott of an artist’s works is a clear and accepted way to convey disagreement,” Turcotte says. “While it doesn’t necessarily change their views, it illuminates how much of their audience agrees.”

This is not the first time Spittall has taken a stand against an author. He also removed work by the Canadian author of Cerberus, David Sim, in response to Sim’s misogynistic views.

The Comic Book Shoppe’s mandate is to be open to everyone, Spittall says.

The Comic Book Shoppe

228 Bank St