[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gjmbx3h_s8[/youtube]

The DC Comics panel has started at Baltimore Comic Con and Hannah Means Shannon, Senior New York Correspondent for Bleeding Cool drove up this morning to get there in time!

Dan DiDio has been talking Batwoman. And about a certain story, that JH Williams III and WH Blackman walked off the book because DC refused to allow them to tell the story they'd been building up to, of her marriage.

It went a bit global.

Firstly, Dan DiDio stated that there were complaints when she started as a lead character in 2006 but that DC continues to support her as a character to this day. That she's a hero first, and that being gay is "a part of who she is."

She's clearly a member of the Bat family, and that as a result she shouldn't have a happy personal life. That she's committed to defending others at the sacrifice of personal instincts and personal lives.

So its important to establish their personal lives, but then they have to set them aside. And that heroes shouldn't get married.

He says he stands beside their choices 100% and asks us to name one other publisher committed to a character in that fashion.

I don't know if anyone has said "Archie" yet. They should have.

DiDio has also announced that Marc Andreyko is the new writer of Batwoman starting with issue 25, with a new storyline as part of the Batman universe and a Zero Year issue.

Looks like Williams and Blackman have been dropped from the book earlier than they'd have liked. They stated they'd be leaving after concluding their story with issue 26. It appears that option has been taken away from them.

Hear Dan Didio talk at the YouTube video at the top of this piece.