Whoopi Goldberg teamed with Dark Horse Comics to produce another mainstream comic targeted at the wine aunt demographic. As the comic book industry continues its death spiral with identity politics, someone at Dark Horse thought it would be a good idea to virtue signal to overweight, middle-aged women.
The superhero graphic novel The Change features a self-insert character of Whoopi, whose powers get triggered by body fluctuations in menopause. The book is billed as a serious book and not a parody, with a heroic Whoopi portrayed on the cover with blue and purple energy rising from her hand like a flame.
Dark Horse produced a press release elaborating on the concept, saying, “Because of her lifelong love for comic books, Goldberg decided it was time to create a new kind of superhero – one who might be a little older, whose body might be a little thicker…and whose breasts may or may not be the same size. She is also smack in the middle of menopause which, along with chills and hot flashes, also gave her some unexpected superpowers. The iconic actor, producer and author matched minds and wits with Jaime Paglia, someone “just as outside the box as I am,” says Goldberg, to take the story to the next level. And, thus, The Change was born.”
“Isabel Frost is a woman who has spent her life as wife, mother, grandmother – a life she feels isn’t all she had hoped for, with a husband who has grown in another direction,” the press release details. “A college graduate with a degree in science, Isabel is an amazing gamer, who plays with people all over the country. With the help of her comic-loving grandson and irreverent best friend, she must learn to control her abilities and embrace her new identity as The Change – both the change of life AND her surprising and extraordinary superpowers.”
RELATED: Marvel And DC Writer Shannon Hale On Utah: “It’s Just Too White”
YouTuber and avid comic collector, YellowFlash 2, was not impressed with the concept. “So, this is gonna sell nothing. No one’s gonna rush to the comic shops. I don’t get this,” said YellowFlash.
YellowFlash continued to talk about the trend of recent celebrity self-inserts where they hire a writing team to build heroic characters around them, mentioning the wildly popular BZRKR, a Keanu Reeves concept about an immortal man.
The difference between the Reeves book and Whoopi’s is BZRKR has a solid concept that fits action-adventure concepts. A woman undergoing menopause changes doesn’t evoke the same feelings in readers, to say the least.
A good idea or not, Dark Horse has hired Hollywood writer, Jamie Paglia, famous for his work on Eureka and CW’s The Flash, to write the book. With a pedigree like Paglia’s, perhaps he can pull a rabbit out of his hat to make a cringy concept into something readable.
Joining Paglia is artist Sunkanmi Akinboye with Alexandria Batchlelor coloring and Frank Cvetkovic lettering. The cover was done by Khary Randolph.
The Change is slated to be a 72-page hardcover graphic novel, releasing November 28th for a price point of $17.99.
Do you think comic readers will be buying The Change based on Whoopi Goldberg’s star power? Leave a comment below and let us know.
NEXT: Ultra Cringe Moments From Modern Comic Books