The Need to Be Super: Queers in comics, Zizek, and the Petition to Fire Orson Scott Card

All Out has started a petition to have DC comics to drop Orson Scott Card from writing one of their new digital Superman titles.  Apparently it's a couple of issues and not the entire series, although the petition implies otherwise.  Card, most famous for his science fiction novel Ender's Game,  is notoriously anti-gay, has written about it prominently, and has ties to the National Organization for Marriage, a anti-same-sex marriage political organization.  He is, to be fair, a class-A straight and cisgender supremist who has advocated the overthrow of the government if same-sex marriage becomes legal.

The comments on the petition are strident and strongly worded:

You hire him, you've lost an avid fan of your company and I will never buy any of your products again. I will actually go out of my way to ensure no one buys your products. Ever!

Don't take us back to the 1950's! Get rid of this guy!

The petition itself states:

By hiring Orson Scott Card despite his anti-gay efforts you are giving him a new platform and supporting his hate.

This matter has risen to the attention of even the Guardian, and I want to know why.  I'm curious about the investment people--the large portion of which I'm confident do not read comics regularly--have in this matter?  Why has this particular instance so captivated peoples' attention when far worse is done against LGBT people and far worse has been done to LGBT characters in comics?