I hereby reinvest my hope that there's room in the relaunch for a retcon/regression of Etta Candy to her Golden Age incarnation.
Anyway, this week: Kyle Rayner. Here's hoping the artist smartens up about the panel angles in Ion. Nobody is reading to see his face. Stop giving us the front view.
Jenn's thoughts about blogging, and her new Wiki project on Ethnic Stereotypes in Comics. She's requested some help getting it off the ground, but all I can really give her is Italians and she doesn't have a spot for them. Any other experts?
I'm really liking Planet Karen lately. Not sure Can't imagine why, though.
I got Justice.
And Dora's got a feminist manifesto... feminifesto... womanifesto... Ehh..
Dora's got a cool idea.
And for those of you still curious about Yesterday's Quote -- Anon, a moose gave it a guess and nailed the quote's origin in the comments. You may speculate on the meaning of this development, or you can go with my explanation.
I'd also like to reclaim the term "Harpy" for feminist empowerment. Anyone else?
I'd also like to reclaim the term "Harpy" for feminist empowerment. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'm down with that.
As in, what's the upside to being a harpy in either the classical sense (ugly, smelly, bird woman who steals men's food and poops on what's left) or the modern meaning (angry, hectoring shrew)?
At least with "bitch," while yeah, it means you're mean, at least it implies a certain level of badass competence.
My favorite Golden-Age Etta moment occurred when she was briefly transformed into a replica of Wonder Woman - and complained her new body was too skinny!
ReplyDeleteNow that's a role model we can all get behind.
Now that's a role model we can all get behind.
ReplyDeleteAll of us at once. [rimshot]
Seriously, though, Golden Age Etta couldn't just hold her own in a fight -- she could hold down a book in her own right. Wonder Woman NEEDS a strong supporting cast member like that.
I think too many comic artists are afraid of learning how to draw more than one body type.
(Verification word: kgbwc, which is where all those Silver-Age Soviet Supervillains went to powder their noses.)
Love wonder Woman! can't wait for the reboot. Did you read that Wizard recently presented its greatest villains of all time? Check this out
ReplyDeleteSteven -- I like flying things.
ReplyDeleteAnd bitch didn't imply badass until it was reclaimed.
Keeper -- :) Bring her back!
Serpent -- It seems easier to draw a woman like Etta than someone like Diana, actaully. She's rounder and less defined.
hostile -- Did you miss the #1 on the 7th?
Jenn -- *Grins* I'll write something up for you once I'm done with the Carnival. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm...
ReplyDeleteReclaimed suggests it had positive connotations in the past that you're bringing back. For instance, some neo-pagans are reclaiming the word witch. They say that its original connotation was that of a wise woman but then the meaning was changed into that of devil worshiper, ugly hag, or evil woman.
As for Steve Trevor...
Catwoman can do well when she has several love interests or none at all. I think Wonder Woman can do the same.
Moreover, given the choice between Diana and Etta, why must Steve choose Diana? If Diana is always more desirable, it would seem to suggest that an ideal woman is always more desirable than a real woman.
~ Anon, a moose
Anon -- I suppose so, but I've never known "Bitch" or "Slut" to have positive connotations, as they're the names of female animals applied to humans, and those are undergoing reclamation.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are positive qualities to Harpy, actually. It's the flocking, the loudness, the ceaseless shrieking image that's evoked when someone uses it to deride a woman. Like Bitch, it takes important qualities, qualities that get shit done, and skews them as undesirable.
I say if you want anything done, you need to be willing to be a harpy about it.
Choosing Diana over Etta -- You must be unfamiliar with WW lore. Steve Trevor was originally Diana's Lois. He fulfilled precisely the same role, while Etta was much like Jimmy (only, y'know, useful). When the retcon was done, Etta's comedy relief qualities were removed and Steve was reaged and cast as a "Father figure," making Superman the love interest (what really annoys me about that the most prominent love interest was not that he was unattainable, but that he was more powerful). The writer then gave Etta a crush on Steve, and married them off once Etta had lost enough weight -- although Steve protested that he loved her as is. *Rolls eyes*
I'm not against Etta having a love life. My problem is the swift removal of the only man in comics who properly fills Lois Lane's position. It grates at me. Ideally, I want the whole marraige retconned away and the two characters put back where they belong -- Etta overweight but not feeling any need to diet, and extremely useful anyway, and Steve constantly gettign into trouble, being rescued, and being completely turned on and unthreatened by the woman who will always be more powerful.
Yes, a choice would imply that "an ideal is more desirable than a real" but I dislike the iodea there would be a choice. Wonder Woman is Diana's story, not Steve's. The characters should be set up around her.
I don't think it does imply that an ideal is more desirable than the real, because Diana is just as real as Etta. Isn't she? Or am I missing a point?
ReplyDeleteMatt -- No, you aren't -- but it appears I was when I agreed too readily with the previous commenter on the ideal.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to reclaim the term "Harpy" for feminist empowerment. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteI already have. Me blog? Sugaredharpy.com. And yes, come along!
And as for the term, "Harpy," it doesn't mean a foul bird-woman until late in its life, suffering the not-so-unusual fate of vilifying women's powerful roles.