[TheBlueMarvel]

@Snowflakian

I wasn’t aware of those story elements of X-23, Arsenal, or Harley. However, I read Identity Crisis and I’m quite familiar with the rape that Dr. Light committed and the resulting transgressions of the JLA members involved in the story arc. To this date, I still feel that Identity Crisis was one of the most powerful DC story-lines I have ever read (DC or Marvel for that matter). I should state that all of the adult themes I mentioned, and the additions you added, have an important place within comics and should not be challenged as artistic expressions. I simply acknowledge that, were I a parent, I would want some control over the presentation of said material to my children.

As you suggest, maybe an isle is in order. Such an effort might highlight how many adult collectors actually exist in the wild. I’m certain that most clerks believe me to be purchasing figures for my children, when in fact; I’m actually buying for myself. It could even reduce some of the stigma that some collectors experience when buying toys as adults. Any such isle shouldn’t be cordoned off like the porno section of a mom & pop video store. Rather, it should simply be labeled as a “mature toys” section so parents (with kids in tow) know what’s up and steer clear. Maybe stores could go the route of age restrictions on purchase for certain figures/toys (although that hasn’t worked so well with video games).

The crux of my objection to a counter petition is that it feels too much like drawing battle lines in the sand. Pitting two sides against one another, when as adults, we should easily be capable of creating a compromise. I see the issue of the “opposition” (so to speak): if we normalize meth use/abuse for children by adding drug accessories to toy action figures, or extend our societal celebration of characters like Walter White to kids without the intellectual wherewithal to understand the complex scenarios involved, then we can only expect a future generation of adults desensitized to the potential pit falls of hardcore drug addiction. For me, this is not so much an issue of censorship as it is one of common sense. I reserve the right to buy the things I want, but I also respect a parent’s concern that those “things” stay out of the hands of their children.