tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post114760115096688924..comments2024-01-02T09:18:23.893-05:00Comments on Written World: The Complete Wynonna EarpRagnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00373059673228550524noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post-1147883717563419742006-05-17T12:35:00.000-04:002006-05-17T12:35:00.000-04:00All right, I actually dug up and read the first is...All right, I actually dug up and read the first issue of Wynonna Earp last night. I happened to find it in a quarter bin a while back, but never got around to reading it - largely because, well, the cheesecake factor made me assume it wasn't actually good.<BR/><BR/>[So why'd I pick it up? Hey, I'll buy almost any first issue for a quarter. I'm just a comics man-slut that way.]<BR/><BR/>I think what's noteworthy about Wynonna is there's nothing noteworthy about Wynonna. That is, Wynonna acts just like a male hero would in that situation: the self-assured manner, the tongue-in-cheek quips, and of course the ready violence. The closest to a "girly" moment she has is fretting about getting zombie guts off of her boot - after she's <I>kicked through its torso</I> - but really, who wouldn't worry about their footwear stinking after something like that?<BR/><BR/>The only sexually charged moment, I thought, was one panel in the midst of the fight:<BR/><BR/>Zombies: "I WANT AN ARM!" "I WANT A LEG!" "I WANT A BREAS-!"<BR/><BR/>Wynonna: "Don't say it." *BOOM!*<BR/><BR/>Which is clearly a gag about how much meat there is on Wynonna's bones, as it were, but the moment passes quickly. Besides, she shoots the zombie in the head anyway. :-)<BR/><BR/>When Wynonna's backup arrives, first he addresses her with respect as "Marshall," deferring to her command, then he jokes with her; but he jokes with her the same way he would with a male collegue, not with the flirty sexual tension we usually expect to see in comics with such a buxom heroine.<BR/><BR/>And Wynonna's attire is fairly practical, relative to the standards for this sort of comic: no battle bikinis here. My goodness, she's even wearing a jacket! At the end of the first issue, when she's lounging around in her hotel room, it's not as though she's suddenly decided to wear lingerie for the audience's benefit - she's just sportin' a t-shirt, same as any normal person.<BR/><BR/>In short, despite her busty physique and the cheesecake artwork, Wynonna comes across as "just one of the guys," here to do her job. She's meant to be sexy, but she isn't treated like a sex object. And maybe someday, we won't feel the need to comment on such characters anymore because they'll be pretty darn ubiquitous. :-)Ferrous Bullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707719932073719083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post-1147805598824641862006-05-16T14:53:00.000-04:002006-05-16T14:53:00.000-04:00I think there's a certain breed of macho writers w...<I>I think there's a certain breed of macho writers who aren't misogynists per se, but who look down on "girly" qualities; i.e., it isn't women that they hate, it's certain "feminine" traits they despise. They're just as likely to sneer at girly men as frilly women.</I><BR/><BR/>I'm not sure Smith is really that sort of writer though. I mean, in Warrior, the guest appearances with Kyle Rayner (who's about as metrosexual as you get in the DCU) went pretty well, I thought. Kyle was treated relatively respectfully while at the same time not being warped into a more aggressive persona.<BR/><BR/>In general though, he does seem to fall into that category. Which is definitely a nice change of pace. :-)<BR/><BR/>And I really have to hunt down Wynonna Earp.kalinarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01417686761943716312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post-1147804470972922242006-05-16T14:34:00.000-04:002006-05-16T14:34:00.000-04:00I think there's a certain breed of macho writers w...I think there's a certain breed of macho writers who aren't misogynists per se, but who look down on "girly" qualities; i.e., it isn't women that they hate, it's certain "feminine" traits they despise. They're just as likely to sneer at girly men as frilly women. And it may seem like a subtle distinction, but it's an important one, because their respect is based on <I>behavior</I>, not <I>biology</I>. We've just "conveniently" gender-typed certain behaviors in our society.<BR/><BR/>So when these writers create female characters they like, they imbue them with the same "masculine" traits which they give their male characters. They make `em as tough, rough, and capable as the men: women who can throw down with the best of `em. Meanwhile, the stereotypically "feminine" female characters typically end up in secondary roles: relatives, love interests, damsels in distress, background window-dressing, etc. The message tends to be: when trouble rears its head, grow some balls and take it head-on - regardless of whether you're a man <I>or</I> a woman.<BR/><BR/>And while I'm not familiar with Beau Smith's work, I shouldn't be at all surprised if he falls into that category of macho writer. Honestly, "hot chicks who kick ass" is a pretty old adolescent male fantasy; it's just sometimes an adolescent female fantasy too. I mean, who doesn't want to look good and break heads? :-)Ferrous Bullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707719932073719083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post-1147732111758343282006-05-15T18:28:00.000-04:002006-05-15T18:28:00.000-04:00droviousso -- I can buy that, actually. My mother...droviousso -- I can buy that, actually. My mother tells me something similar about my father. She says he ended up with her rather than any of his other girlfriends (they were both playing the field, actually), because she didn't follow him around like a puppy and would get another date instead if he wanted to do something she didn't.Ragnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00373059673228550524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16538843.post-1147634351834513282006-05-14T15:19:00.000-04:002006-05-14T15:19:00.000-04:00You know, I've always seen Beu's writing in his co...You know, I've always seen Beu's writing in his column as his eternal quest for a girl that can stand up to him, not one that will wimper and bow down to him. He seems to want a girl who'll out drink, out shoot, and out smart mouth him. It doesn't supprise me that his writing in comics is the same way at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com