A DC Comics publisher recently revealed one of its "major" superheroes would become one of its most prominent gay characters.

co-publisher Dan DiDio, who previously said an existing character would not come out of the closet, said at the Kapow Comic Convention that one will soon change his sexual orientation.

But DC has yet to specify which character it will be.

that DC initially wanted to introduce new LGBT characters instead of switch an existing one's orientation, but their stance has "evolved."

Mike Hudson, manager of

shop on Hargrove Road in Tuscaloosa, says more than anything it's probably a marketing move on DC's part to generate interest in a particular character that might need it.

"I think it's about marketing and money," Hudson said. "DC's just trying to put something out there to tap another market just to stir up something to make an impact in the industry. More than anything, I think it's to see if it would generate anymore sales or interest in the character."

Andy Holmes, co-owner of

at Parkview Shopping Center in Tuscaloosa, agrees that it's probably a marketing strategy but does not foresee the move affecting sales.

"Part of me does believe it's a marketing ploy," Holmes says. "I'm perfectly OK with gay characters being in comics. The discrimination you get doesn't affect comic book readers. Marvel's had a character since the '80s and nobody's ever cared. I don't see it as a trendsetter."

Sho'Nuff co-owner Jon Chandler agrees, adding he doesn't think a character's sexual orientation matters as long as the story is good. Comic fans usually won't care either way, he believes.

"It all depends on the person's political views," Chandler says. "You'll get different answers from different store owners. We here don't really care. It's just going to be up to the person themselves whether or not they're going to read the book if they don't like the character change. It'll spur some interest for a little while. If the story's not good, the story's not good. It doesn't matter if the character is gay or straight."

BleedingCool.com also points out that the first openly gay superhero was Marvel's Northstar. Marvel recently announced Northstar would soon

, setting up the first superhero gay marriage.

Holmes says he thinks DC's decision to reintroduce a character as homosexual could be the company's reaction to Marvel's upcoming issue.

In fact, this won't be DC's first openly gay mainstream superhero character either, as Batwoman is a lesbian.

Batwoman happens to be Holmes' favorite comic book currently, and his bigger concern is not seeing more strong female characters get their own books.

"You could have more women characters," he says. "I have a problem with comics just being an old boy's club. You could always do more female characters, but gay characters are great, too."

Comic fans who know their history will recall German-born American psychiatrist

Fredric Wertham

, arguing in his 1954 bestseller "Seduction of the Innocent" and other articles that comic books had a negative impact on the imaginations of young people, oversaturating them with violence and sex. Wertham also alleged that DC staples Batman and Robin were gay partners. He even suggested Wonder Woman threatened to turn young girls into lesbians, according to Slate.

So which DC hero do you think it will be? Superman? Batman? Robin? Wonder Woman? The Flash?