[John Valentine]

I never saw the comic book hero as 'dark'.

Depending on your age and your degree of interest, it's likely you never read any of the comics I refer to as "dark". And there was little heroic about them, either, although I wouldn't discard that term. And, quite frankly, I think it is possible to understand and use the term "dark" without being a "liberal" and moreover, the term "dark" as I used it predates the present use of the word liberal by centuries.

[fortheDeclaration]

I am talking about the comics from the 60's.

I know that later comics became more 'dark'.

I never said the term 'dark' was in itself a liberal one, it is a liberal one in relationship to a hero.

Darkness is about evil, light is about good.

The implication in making the hero 'dark' is to associate him with evil, a 'dark side'.