Nah uh Puddin’! A DC Comics artist has revealed that the first canon kiss between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy was edited by the publisher.
Chad Hardin, a comic artist who has previously worked for “DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and Boom!”, recently revealed on Twitter that a ground-breaking moment for LGBT representation in DC comics was removed.
“I have the unedited art if you want to post that too,” Hardin tweeted in reference to an article that DC themselves shared regarding queer coding in comics.
The main image of the article is a panel from Harley Quinn #25 which Hardin worked on as an artist.
It shows Quinn and Ivy locked in a loving embrace with Ivy kissing Quinn… on the cheek.
“It is always easier to ask forgiveness than get permission,” Hardin tweeted as a follow-up to his initial tweet.
Attached to this tweet was the original unedited image, a black and white stencil of the Joker’s ex-girlfriend and the plant controlling eco-terrorist kissing each other full on the mouth.
It is always easier to ask forgiveness than get permission. pic.twitter.com/QnHzTwaQhU
— Chad Hardin (@ChadHardin) June 26, 2021
“Put simply, queer coding was a method that writers used to explore LGBTQIA+ themes they were culturally or professionally not allowed to explore. These themes sustained an LGBTQIA+ audience during their day, embraced and discussed in secret in a community that was not allowed to operate openly,” says the queer coding article written by creative, Esper Quinn.
“It was a survival tactic.”
Nowadays society has grown increasingly more accepting of the LGBT community.
From video games to films, television and art, queer characters have become more prominent and sophisticated. DC Comics has taken steps to do better since Harley Quinn #25 (which was published not too long ago in 2017).
Not only have they introduced a Justice League team made up of an entirely LGBT roster, but they’ve also brought characters, like Batwoman, to television and confirmed the sexuality of others, like Aqualad, in their animated series.
Damn the crazy thing is when I first saw it I just saw Harley and Ivy kissing on the mouth because who kisses someone on the cheek with that kind of body language https://t.co/Jly0tnFjgb
— Darlene Bellerose (@mickiejameskid) June 26, 2021
At the beginning of June this year, Javicia Leslie, the openly bisexual actress who stepped in to play Batwoman on The CW following the sudden departure of the character’s original actress, Ruby Rose, had this to say regarding the show’s (and DC’s) dedication to authentic representation.
“People are able to see this gay woman exist as she is … I look forward to more stories of bi women being able to exist without justification or explanation.”
