I ♥ HUNTRESS WEEK → Starting on 3 November – 10 November
Thirty-six years ago, an awesome lady with an affinity for crossbows and the colour purple made her debut in the November-December issue of DC Comics Superstars #17 as well as the December issue of All Star Comics #69, both printed in 1977. Her name was Helena Wayne and she was the daughter of Earth-2’s Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle.
As the Huntress, Helena Wayne was more than just the daughter of Batman and Catwoman continuing a rich legacy on Earth-2, she was also a valued member of both the Justice Society and Infinity Inc, two superhero teams that took on dangerous threats as they attacked her world or two. When not kicking around criminals on Gotham’s streets at night, Miss Wayne could be found prosecuting them in court as a public interest lawyer.
In addition to being all of those cool things, Helena Wayne did more than just make the Huntress a popular character and permanent fixture in the DC Universe. Her popularity with fans also helped open the doors for another equally popular version of the Huntress, Helena Bertinelli, who made her debut in January of 1989 in Huntress #1.
As Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress became the first Italian-American superhero who was also a woman, a Catholic, and a teacher all rolled into one. While she started off as the daughter of an organised crime family, she was also the first Italian-American character to break free of the stereotype that often associates Italy with the mafia in comics. Instead, she established an identity and a life that was uniquely her own.
Though she did not see eye-to-eye with the Batfamily on many things, and was expelled from the Justice League for doing what she felt was right, she was nonetheless a valued member of the Birds of Prey and established meaningful relationships with various superheroes of the DC Universe, including Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, Dinah Laurel Lance, Renee Montoya, Vic Sage (The Question), and many more.
While it is unfortunate that these two great women have not had the luxury of co-existing in the same continuity together (Infinite Crisis notwithstanding), the Huntress is nonetheless a character who many fans have felt empowered by for three decades in both of her incarnations.
To celebrate what the Huntress has meant to us for the past 36 years (both as Wayne and Bertinelli), my friends and I have decided to devote the week of 3 November – 10 November to doing just that: sharing our love and enthusiasm for this one or both versions of the character. (Hence the name ‘I ♥Huntress’)
Day Zero: Why I Love Huntress will take place on 2 November as the ‘prelude’ to Huntress Week in which Stephanie from La Cacciatrice and myself (and possibly Morgan from FY Helena Wayne if she’s able to) will write about what the Huntress has meant to us, though everyone is also welcome to share your story as well! The more the merrier!
Other than that, I ♥ Huntress will officially start on 3 November with Day One : Origin using ‘I Heart Huntress’ as the Tumblr tag (#iHeartHuntress if you’re on Twitter). 🙂
Hope to see the Huntress tags flooded with love that week! 🙂
This is a very important thing.