The Four Color Media Monitor

The Geek in the City website interviewed Chuck Dixon, one of the few conservatives who managed to climb the ladder successfully in comicdom. And I see he talks here about the Dibnys, who came back as body-possessing ghosts in Batman and the Outsiders:

GitC – As for your work on Batman and the Outsiders. Did you always plan to bring poor ‘ol Ralph and Sue Dibney back into the DC Fold? Also, any other surprise characters you can hint at? Any Haunted Tank rolling with the Outsiders?

Chuck Dixon - The Dibneys’ return was by editorial fiat from on high. And there will be surprises ahead. Some characters returning. Some leaving. Some morphing into a new form.

I just hope that in the case of the Dibnys, it'll be returning as themselves. The whole idea of becoming ghosts does not appeal to me, and does not repair the damage done in Identity Crisis either. But this does tell a thing or two about what the higher-ups wanted to do, which was to turn the Dibnys into disembodied spirits. I'm sorry, but, while I'm sure there are some "darker" things Ralph and Sue can dabble in, the darker world is not the place for them, and turning them into ghosts takes away one of the things that made Ralph such a great guy years before: his ability to stretch with doses of gingold juice. It also detracts considerably from his potential as a comedic superhero.

And Sue isn't helped either by being a ghost.

Ralph and Sue should be returned to the living world. As ghosts, they really don't have much range.

Labels: dc comics