Superman Comic Artist Quits Over Writer's Anti-Gay Views

The artist scheduled to draw the new DC Comics' web comic "Adventures of Superman" has quit the project after controversy surrounding writer Orson Scott Card, the novelist who is to pen the series but has been slammed for his strong opposition to gay marriage, the New York Times reports.

On Tuesday artist Chris Sprouse announced that he would drop out of the new Superman web comic project after fans and retailers expressed their concern over DC Comics' decision to not fire Card despite his anti-gay views.

"It took a lot of thought to come to this conclusion, but I've decided to step back as the artist on this story," Sprouse said. "The media surrounding this story reached the point where it took away from the actual work, and that's something I wasn't comfortable with."

Card, a Mormon who is a member of the National Organization for Marriage, an organization that aims to ban same-sex marriage around the country, is best known for his bestseller sci-fi classic "Ender's Game." The write is also known for spewing anti-gay rhetoric and once said, "the dark secret of homosexual society is how many homosexuals first entered into that world through a disturbing seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual community and live normally", and that same sex marriages are "the end of democracy in America."

An online petition was created, which urged DC Comics to remove Card from the project. As of this writing, the more than 16,700 people of signed the petition.

DC Comics also released a statement on the issue and said, "As content creators we steadfastly support freedom of expression, however the personal views of individuals associated with DC Comics are just that - personal views - and not those of the company itself."