Thank god he's not doing the covers for Ms. Marvel anymore.
(Dave reminded me.)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Disney wins Marvel, but do women still lose?
Disney buys Marvel
Of course, the question all over my Twitterfeed is "will this make things better for female fans?" There's some people dreaming of a bright future where X-women marketed side by side with Cinderella and superhero comics aimed for teenaged girls are sold as well as illustrated fairytale classics, but I find myself pessimistic.
Yeah, Disney's good with girls, but a) the word is they acquired Marvel to attract male customers and b) they're the producers of the ultra-feminine Disney Princess line, the long-standing keepers of traditional gender roles. I wouldn't hold out hope that Disney will make Marvel somehow more girl-friendly, when what they want is a boy's club under their banner and they aren't exactly into kickass women themselves.
I suppose there's some hope after the Tinkerbell movie, where Tink was remade based on strength of her name into a complete gadget-geek. The Fairies stuff suggests they're branching out to girls beyond the Princess line, so maybe they'll use some of the superhero characters for that.
At best, we get a court above Judge Joe Q to appeal to when we see something truly heinous. We may even see them pass on the more disgusting ideas for the mainstream titles. But I just don't expect female superheroes to suddenly get better billing and treatment out of this, or that they'll be seen as more than just candy to entice a pubescent male audience.
Aside from the gender-worries, I'm happy for Marvel. Big company, more stable than Marvel on its own. Better resources, more movies and support. Possibly some Uncle Scrooge reprints under the Marvel banner. And a few hours coming up with silly jokes (as well as some inspiring realizations about existing stories.)
Of course, the question all over my Twitterfeed is "will this make things better for female fans?" There's some people dreaming of a bright future where X-women marketed side by side with Cinderella and superhero comics aimed for teenaged girls are sold as well as illustrated fairytale classics, but I find myself pessimistic.
Yeah, Disney's good with girls, but a) the word is they acquired Marvel to attract male customers and b) they're the producers of the ultra-feminine Disney Princess line, the long-standing keepers of traditional gender roles. I wouldn't hold out hope that Disney will make Marvel somehow more girl-friendly, when what they want is a boy's club under their banner and they aren't exactly into kickass women themselves.
I suppose there's some hope after the Tinkerbell movie, where Tink was remade based on strength of her name into a complete gadget-geek. The Fairies stuff suggests they're branching out to girls beyond the Princess line, so maybe they'll use some of the superhero characters for that.
At best, we get a court above Judge Joe Q to appeal to when we see something truly heinous. We may even see them pass on the more disgusting ideas for the mainstream titles. But I just don't expect female superheroes to suddenly get better billing and treatment out of this, or that they'll be seen as more than just candy to entice a pubescent male audience.
Aside from the gender-worries, I'm happy for Marvel. Big company, more stable than Marvel on its own. Better resources, more movies and support. Possibly some Uncle Scrooge reprints under the Marvel banner. And a few hours coming up with silly jokes (as well as some inspiring realizations about existing stories.)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Happy Birthday, Jack Kirby
It's about six to midnight my time, and I know that my readership has dwindled to those who have subscribed and never unsubscribed but I'd be remiss if I allowed the 92d anniversary of Jack Kirby's birth go by without saying something. I'd like to post panels and write essays, but I put it off too much.
So instead, let me just call attention to three things:
24 Hours with Jack Kirby -- Bully's Kirbyathon, currenlty ongoing because the day hasn't slipped away in his timezone yet.
Kirby Facts -- This meme on Twitter.
Stan's Vs. Jack's Sue Storm -- This two-year old livejournal post that I still absolutely love that contrasts Sue Storm as drawn with Sue Storm as written. Judging by her posture and actions, Kirby envisioned the Invisible Woman as a full and valuable member of the team--the kind of kickass woman that little girls in the 60s could admire. I get a strong impression that pictures spoke louder than dialogue and that's why we have the Sue we have today.
So instead, let me just call attention to three things:
24 Hours with Jack Kirby -- Bully's Kirbyathon, currenlty ongoing because the day hasn't slipped away in his timezone yet.
Kirby Facts -- This meme on Twitter.
Stan's Vs. Jack's Sue Storm -- This two-year old livejournal post that I still absolutely love that contrasts Sue Storm as drawn with Sue Storm as written. Judging by her posture and actions, Kirby envisioned the Invisible Woman as a full and valuable member of the team--the kind of kickass woman that little girls in the 60s could admire. I get a strong impression that pictures spoke louder than dialogue and that's why we have the Sue we have today.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ahem.
Ryan Reynolds will be Hal Jordan.
That is all.
Oh, and the cat came back. So did Captain America, which you probably already knew but since I'm listing happy thoughts I figured I'd throw that out there.
That is all.
Oh, and the cat came back. So did Captain America, which you probably already knew but since I'm listing happy thoughts I figured I'd throw that out there.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Kwitter
Part of the usefulness of Twitter is that I can find out pretty quickly if something has happened to my beloved cat (previously referred to as Knight, Hak, Mordred, That Furry Bastard, Buttbrain, Bucky...etc... Generally whatever strikes me as a fun thing to yell at the beginning of GET OFF MY UNIFORM) through my sister's feed. She catblogs via Twitter, and of course is too impulsive to stop herself from bleeting out that the male cat escaped last night.
This after she urged me to give the cat to her because my mother would assuredly let the little beast slip to his dangerous freedom within the first week. My mother kept saying he'd try to find his way back to Oklahoma when I dropped him off there last summer. Since Ma was being a defeatist I agreed.
I figured he'd be fine since I had him for three years in a tiny apartment and he never once tried to bolt, despite my holding the door open while I paid the pizza guy. Should have known he wouldn't like my sister as much as me.
I'm not mad at her. Yet.
Hunger might set in still. He might come scratching around the screen door soon. I hope he does. He might be okay on his own, but I can't replace him. He's too perfect for me. Friendly, likes to be picked up and carried around, enjoys chasing pacing people, talkative, adventurous, dumb, amusingly clumsy... All the best cat traits.
Anyway, if you're in the Endless Mountains area and you see a big black cat that's wandering around (probably bumping into things) wearing a green collar (it had better still be green) and an expression on his face like Kyle Rayner's first week in outer space, be nice to him. He's a sweetheart.
EDIT: He's back.
This after she urged me to give the cat to her because my mother would assuredly let the little beast slip to his dangerous freedom within the first week. My mother kept saying he'd try to find his way back to Oklahoma when I dropped him off there last summer. Since Ma was being a defeatist I agreed.
I figured he'd be fine since I had him for three years in a tiny apartment and he never once tried to bolt, despite my holding the door open while I paid the pizza guy. Should have known he wouldn't like my sister as much as me.
I'm not mad at her. Yet.
Hunger might set in still. He might come scratching around the screen door soon. I hope he does. He might be okay on his own, but I can't replace him. He's too perfect for me. Friendly, likes to be picked up and carried around, enjoys chasing pacing people, talkative, adventurous, dumb, amusingly clumsy... All the best cat traits.
Anyway, if you're in the Endless Mountains area and you see a big black cat that's wandering around (probably bumping into things) wearing a green collar (it had better still be green) and an expression on his face like Kyle Rayner's first week in outer space, be nice to him. He's a sweetheart.
EDIT: He's back.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Don't Panic
Okay, so I found out on Twitter (via various) last night that Tom Brevoort dropped a fun Captain America image in our laps. A female Bucky.
I'd like to smack the guys who say that Natasha and Sharon are the obvious choices over the head, and not for lack of continuity knowledge. It's an insult. Natasha and Sharon have identities. Damned good ones, at that. Sharon may arguably be the sidekick-girlfriend (which works for her, she's as very cool sidekick/girlfriend and right-hand woman to Nick Fury--they really should've kept her that way in the Ultimate Avengers movie rather than trying to put her personality on Natasha), but she is a well-established as a superspy and a sidekick/girlfriend under the name Agent 13. Black Widow is commonly a partner and love interest, but she's one of the leading female Avenger characters, and of all the supporting cast roles she's had she's never changed identities to suit her boyfriend. Switching to be a female Bucky would be a serious downgrade from their own well-rooted identities.
And nothing that these women have done, and nothing in their plotlines suggests that taking on Bucky's costume would be natural. If Tasha wants to hide her connection to the New Captain America, it's too late. Sharon's emotional connections are to Steve. She may have a lot in common with Bucky, but she's got no reason to emulate him. It could be pulled off--as part of some temporary trick--but the assumption is horrible. It just doesn't fit either woman.
Not to mention they have the Spy vs. Spy theme going on with their current costumes and we've yet to see an artist play with that.
My own first thought on just reading about the picture was that Bucky had a long-lost daughter or granddaughter surface because there is ample opportunity for him to have had children. And grandchildren. (I still fully expect some day he'll run into Rick Jones and ask if his grandmother was a Red Cross volunteer named Katherine Jones who was in London during 1943. It explains nicely why there was a perfect Bucky lookalike around when Steve defrosted.)
Then I saw the picture.
Admittedly, she does look like Natasha (its the red shading), and if Natasha ever had any kids it would have been pre-Widow treatment (I've been informed she's sterile since getting that Russian serum). A writer who wanted a Black Widow/Winter Soldier story would be easily able to fit the affair with Bucky in while she could still have kids, and get a baby or a set of twins out of it. Especially with Tasha's messed up memory. Perfect soap opera/superhero baby setup. They could bring them in at any age they want and do their motherhood story with Tasha without taking her out of action for nine-plus months of storytime.
But it's almost certainly not a new character. It's also certainly not Natasha or Sharon. She's wearing goggles. I adore goggles on a superhero costume, but they are like leather jackets -- a 90s thing. Tasha or Sharon would have been given a more 21st Century look for a new costume. Same with a new character.
It's the Heroes Reborn character (Yes, that's all the poor girl gets on Wikipedia), and I'm really happy about that. I always liked the idea of a female sidekick for Cap, but the art was just too horrible to try out. I've been wanting a chance to read this character without really dreadful art.
I'll be happy as long as she doesn't die horribly. (Yes, I'm looking at you DC and your female Robin stunt.) I sincerely hope this is not just killing an "excess character" off. It's one thing if she's just a ten-page backup story that ends with her retiring from superheroics to have a normal life, it's another if she gets horribly killed off as a way of illustrating the dark nature of the world and brushing that whole Onslaught/Heroes Reborn craziness under the rug. Way too often cleaning house in a franchise involves getting rid of young female derivative characters in really shitty ways.
But that's a really awesome picture, so I intend to be optimistic.
I'd like to smack the guys who say that Natasha and Sharon are the obvious choices over the head, and not for lack of continuity knowledge. It's an insult. Natasha and Sharon have identities. Damned good ones, at that. Sharon may arguably be the sidekick-girlfriend (which works for her, she's as very cool sidekick/girlfriend and right-hand woman to Nick Fury--they really should've kept her that way in the Ultimate Avengers movie rather than trying to put her personality on Natasha), but she is a well-established as a superspy and a sidekick/girlfriend under the name Agent 13. Black Widow is commonly a partner and love interest, but she's one of the leading female Avenger characters, and of all the supporting cast roles she's had she's never changed identities to suit her boyfriend. Switching to be a female Bucky would be a serious downgrade from their own well-rooted identities.
And nothing that these women have done, and nothing in their plotlines suggests that taking on Bucky's costume would be natural. If Tasha wants to hide her connection to the New Captain America, it's too late. Sharon's emotional connections are to Steve. She may have a lot in common with Bucky, but she's got no reason to emulate him. It could be pulled off--as part of some temporary trick--but the assumption is horrible. It just doesn't fit either woman.
Not to mention they have the Spy vs. Spy theme going on with their current costumes and we've yet to see an artist play with that.
My own first thought on just reading about the picture was that Bucky had a long-lost daughter or granddaughter surface because there is ample opportunity for him to have had children. And grandchildren. (I still fully expect some day he'll run into Rick Jones and ask if his grandmother was a Red Cross volunteer named Katherine Jones who was in London during 1943. It explains nicely why there was a perfect Bucky lookalike around when Steve defrosted.)
Then I saw the picture.
Admittedly, she does look like Natasha (its the red shading), and if Natasha ever had any kids it would have been pre-Widow treatment (I've been informed she's sterile since getting that Russian serum). A writer who wanted a Black Widow/Winter Soldier story would be easily able to fit the affair with Bucky in while she could still have kids, and get a baby or a set of twins out of it. Especially with Tasha's messed up memory. Perfect soap opera/superhero baby setup. They could bring them in at any age they want and do their motherhood story with Tasha without taking her out of action for nine-plus months of storytime.
But it's almost certainly not a new character. It's also certainly not Natasha or Sharon. She's wearing goggles. I adore goggles on a superhero costume, but they are like leather jackets -- a 90s thing. Tasha or Sharon would have been given a more 21st Century look for a new costume. Same with a new character.
It's the Heroes Reborn character (Yes, that's all the poor girl gets on Wikipedia), and I'm really happy about that. I always liked the idea of a female sidekick for Cap, but the art was just too horrible to try out. I've been wanting a chance to read this character without really dreadful art.
I'll be happy as long as she doesn't die horribly. (Yes, I'm looking at you DC and your female Robin stunt.) I sincerely hope this is not just killing an "excess character" off. It's one thing if she's just a ten-page backup story that ends with her retiring from superheroics to have a normal life, it's another if she gets horribly killed off as a way of illustrating the dark nature of the world and brushing that whole Onslaught/Heroes Reborn craziness under the rug. Way too often cleaning house in a franchise involves getting rid of young female derivative characters in really shitty ways.
But that's a really awesome picture, so I intend to be optimistic.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Every once in a while, Sims shows evidence of a working brain.
Like on IM today...
Chris Sims: So.
Chris Sims: To review.
Chris Sims: Post-Nextwave, Machine Man gets to be a surly, drunken, shape-changing leading man in MARVEL ZOMBIES 3, where he takes on an entire planet of the undead and wins.
Chris Sims: Post-Nextwave, Monica Rambeau gets to be in MARVEL DIVAS, which is described as "Sex in the City in the Marvel Universe."
Chris Sims: No wonder you women are so mad all the time.
The comparison hadn't occurred to me until then. I'd even been willing to write the whole thing off as EiC Foot-in-the-Mouth syndrome, but now I'm all mad Marvel again.
Chris Sims: So.
Chris Sims: To review.
Chris Sims: Post-Nextwave, Machine Man gets to be a surly, drunken, shape-changing leading man in MARVEL ZOMBIES 3, where he takes on an entire planet of the undead and wins.
Chris Sims: Post-Nextwave, Monica Rambeau gets to be in MARVEL DIVAS, which is described as "Sex in the City in the Marvel Universe."
Chris Sims: No wonder you women are so mad all the time.
The comparison hadn't occurred to me until then. I'd even been willing to write the whole thing off as EiC Foot-in-the-Mouth syndrome, but now I'm all mad Marvel again.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Marvelous thoughts
Courtesy of Brainfreeze:
If this is timed for July 4th, I might be able to keep my ice cream money.
And if we're reading this promotional stuff right, I hope Bucky goes back to being Winter Soldier rather than some silly new identity. Winter Soldier is actually a pretty good codename, considering the alternatives, and I absolutely adore that character design. Honestly, I wish he'd wear his Winter Soldier outfit and just use the shield more often.
~~~~~
A conversation on Twitter about X-Men merchandise led to the realization that Wolverine is the Lancelot of the X-Men. This probably isn't anything original, but those of you who haven't seen it come up should consider these three points:
-- Lancelot was added in the 12th Century to a mythos that dates back to the 5th Century.
-- Wolverine was added in the 70s to a franchise created in the 60s.
-- Lancelot's romantic plotline includes many women (most named Elaine), but revolves around a mutual attraction with Guinevere, who is married to the King.
-- Wolverine's romantic plotline includes many women, but revolves around a mutual attraction with Jean, who is married to the team leader.
-- Lancelot is a Frenchman in an English court.
-- Wolverine is a Canadian on a US team.
-- Lancelot periodically goes off wandering to avoid being tempted by the Queen. At least once he went crazy and lived in the woods like a wild animal.
-- Wolverine periodically goes off wandering into other people's books. At least once he went feral lived in the woods on the schoolyard grounds like a wild animal.
-- Lancelot is now such a central character that a King Arthur movie or book without Lancelot is almost unthinkable.
-- Wolverine is now such a central character that not only is an X-Men team without Wolverine is almost unthinkable, he has to guest-star in every comic Marvel publishes. Hell, they once did a whole month where everyone just fought Wolverine! He was in the fricking Invaders that month!
I'm certain we can find more if we tried.
~~~~~
And finally, I'm more extensively annoyed at Marvel over on Robot 6. Enjoy.
If this is timed for July 4th, I might be able to keep my ice cream money.
And if we're reading this promotional stuff right, I hope Bucky goes back to being Winter Soldier rather than some silly new identity. Winter Soldier is actually a pretty good codename, considering the alternatives, and I absolutely adore that character design. Honestly, I wish he'd wear his Winter Soldier outfit and just use the shield more often.
A conversation on Twitter about X-Men merchandise led to the realization that Wolverine is the Lancelot of the X-Men. This probably isn't anything original, but those of you who haven't seen it come up should consider these three points:
-- Lancelot was added in the 12th Century to a mythos that dates back to the 5th Century.
-- Wolverine was added in the 70s to a franchise created in the 60s.
-- Lancelot's romantic plotline includes many women (most named Elaine), but revolves around a mutual attraction with Guinevere, who is married to the King.
-- Wolverine's romantic plotline includes many women, but revolves around a mutual attraction with Jean, who is married to the team leader.
-- Lancelot is a Frenchman in an English court.
-- Wolverine is a Canadian on a US team.
-- Lancelot periodically goes off wandering to avoid being tempted by the Queen. At least once he went crazy and lived in the woods like a wild animal.
-- Wolverine periodically goes off wandering into other people's books. At least once he went feral lived in the woods on the schoolyard grounds like a wild animal.
-- Lancelot is now such a central character that a King Arthur movie or book without Lancelot is almost unthinkable.
-- Wolverine is now such a central character that not only is an X-Men team without Wolverine is almost unthinkable, he has to guest-star in every comic Marvel publishes. Hell, they once did a whole month where everyone just fought Wolverine! He was in the fricking Invaders that month!
I'm certain we can find more if we tried.
And finally, I'm more extensively annoyed at Marvel over on Robot 6. Enjoy.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sir Gawain: Great Knight, or Greatest Knight? Those are your only choices.
Today is the "What's your Scott and Jean?" meme day, where participating comic bloggers declare and explain their "Scott and Jean" or rather their "Greek Sacred Cow"--the one story point that they cling to that makes them completely frothing-at-the-mouth insane, and are unable to discuss reasonably.
I have a lot of those. Kyle Rayner is a better Lantern than anyone else; Wally West should be the Flash; Steve Trevor should be the love interest for Wonder Woman; The Kingpin has only 2% body fat (I once stopped the car over this one) to list a few, but those all fall among those that are negotiable. Things that change after a few years or after seeing the right writer manage it.
Really, in all of Geekdom there is only one matter that I will never negotiate on: Sir Gawain.
My first real interest in the King Arthur legend came with the reading of Sir Gawaine and the Ugly Wife (Not the Howard Pyle version. Do not read the Howard Pyle version.) It was followed by seeing a televised presentation of Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight. Preferring short stories to longform novels even as a child, most of my Arthurian research came from hunting for folklore books in the library/on the internet. Mainly I searched for Gawain stories. He was my favorite character, the rightful heir to the throne (as the oldest son of the oldest sister, he had much more legitimacy than Mordred), the paragon of courtesy and gentleness (when written correctly), and often the only one of those fucking stone-aged Roundtable morons who treated women like human beings. He may be seen as a womanizer because he had a different girl in every story (and most of the more interesting women in Arthurian literature are in Gawain adventures), but can you honestly fault the only man in Logres who would solve a dispute over who gets to marry a woman by ACTUALLY ASKING THE GIRL for getting laid a lot? No, that's only natural.
Bundled into this protectiveness are very specific ideas about his mother. See, I always traced Gawain's progressive attitude towards women to the influence of his mother Morgause, King Arthur's more interesting sister. I always like to describe her as the Blanche Devereaux of Camelot. A mature, vibrant woman with an especially active sex life who may be a bit self-absorbed and blinded by passion at times, but is still a warm, good-hearted mother.
Modern writers love to redeem Morgan Le Fay so they can have a "strong woman" but want to keep the witch, so they like to make Morgause the evil one. I fucking hate that. She has so much potential on her own as a female character. Sure there's stories where she slept with her brother and don't get me wrong, I find that horrifyingly disgusting as we're all meant to. But think about it, wouldn't it suck royally to find out that the hot little prince you slept with to cement a treaty was not just a blood relative, but a freaking sibling? Oh, and that you're going to have his kid. I mean, what's with these writers that they can't empathize with a character who made such a huge freaking mistake and need to demonize the character to keep the plot point. Do we really need to make her the wicked witch of the North to keep that part of the story in?
Hell, just leaving that part out (a lot of writers are squeamish on the incest), do we really need to cut off her head in the end for bedding a hot little knight a third of her age twenty to forty fucking years after her husband kicks it? I mean, what's wrong with someone in the Court having a healthy sex life?
I had been reading pre-Malory legends for years when I finally got off my ass and read Le Morte D'Arthur and The Once and Future King. I discovered right away that I really hate Le Morte D'Arthur because Gawain is such a blockhead, because he's shown up as the idiot, because he has to have a freaking enchantment just to explain why he can stand up to Lancelot AFTER spending much of the story getting his ass saved by Lancelot. And honestly, I fucking hate Lancelot and the whole fucking Lancelot/Guinevere story that moviemakers/comicwriters/novelists/etc are so fucking fascinated by that they'll throw considerably more interesting characters in the fucking trash to make time for it. I hate that so muchfiction after this point was based on Malory's story, running the Lancelot loves the Queen story into the ground when they could have been fleshing out characters like Gawain, Perceval, Yvain, Lynnette, Morgause, Eric, Enid, Kay, Bors and so on. (And for the record Perceval gets screwed in this book too because they give his Grail Quest glory to Lancelot's shitty little cipher of a son Galahad. That's Perceval's fucking story, dammit!)
And I will never forgive T.H. White for giving the Green Knight adventure to that little asskisser Gareth and for making "Morgause is the evil witch" (though I concede that The Queen of Air and Darkness is a kickass title) into a motif that everyone who wants to show Morgan as sympathetic likes to use. (Yeah, fuck you too Mists of Avalon!)
My Gawain is not the jerk of the Howard Pyle stories, or the dick of the Tristan cycle, or the blockhead written by Thomas Malory and TH White. My Gawain is the respectful, quiet, handsome man from the Green Knight and the Ugly Wife/Loathly Lady stories, and if your Arthurian story features any other Gawain, I will most likely hate it and call you mean names no matter how skillful and innovative the story may be.
I have a lot of those. Kyle Rayner is a better Lantern than anyone else; Wally West should be the Flash; Steve Trevor should be the love interest for Wonder Woman; The Kingpin has only 2% body fat (I once stopped the car over this one) to list a few, but those all fall among those that are negotiable. Things that change after a few years or after seeing the right writer manage it.
Really, in all of Geekdom there is only one matter that I will never negotiate on: Sir Gawain.
My first real interest in the King Arthur legend came with the reading of Sir Gawaine and the Ugly Wife (Not the Howard Pyle version. Do not read the Howard Pyle version.) It was followed by seeing a televised presentation of Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight. Preferring short stories to longform novels even as a child, most of my Arthurian research came from hunting for folklore books in the library/on the internet. Mainly I searched for Gawain stories. He was my favorite character, the rightful heir to the throne (as the oldest son of the oldest sister, he had much more legitimacy than Mordred), the paragon of courtesy and gentleness (when written correctly), and often the only one of those fucking stone-aged Roundtable morons who treated women like human beings. He may be seen as a womanizer because he had a different girl in every story (and most of the more interesting women in Arthurian literature are in Gawain adventures), but can you honestly fault the only man in Logres who would solve a dispute over who gets to marry a woman by ACTUALLY ASKING THE GIRL for getting laid a lot? No, that's only natural.
Bundled into this protectiveness are very specific ideas about his mother. See, I always traced Gawain's progressive attitude towards women to the influence of his mother Morgause, King Arthur's more interesting sister. I always like to describe her as the Blanche Devereaux of Camelot. A mature, vibrant woman with an especially active sex life who may be a bit self-absorbed and blinded by passion at times, but is still a warm, good-hearted mother.
Modern writers love to redeem Morgan Le Fay so they can have a "strong woman" but want to keep the witch, so they like to make Morgause the evil one. I fucking hate that. She has so much potential on her own as a female character. Sure there's stories where she slept with her brother and don't get me wrong, I find that horrifyingly disgusting as we're all meant to. But think about it, wouldn't it suck royally to find out that the hot little prince you slept with to cement a treaty was not just a blood relative, but a freaking sibling? Oh, and that you're going to have his kid. I mean, what's with these writers that they can't empathize with a character who made such a huge freaking mistake and need to demonize the character to keep the plot point. Do we really need to make her the wicked witch of the North to keep that part of the story in?
Hell, just leaving that part out (a lot of writers are squeamish on the incest), do we really need to cut off her head in the end for bedding a hot little knight a third of her age twenty to forty fucking years after her husband kicks it? I mean, what's wrong with someone in the Court having a healthy sex life?
I had been reading pre-Malory legends for years when I finally got off my ass and read Le Morte D'Arthur and The Once and Future King. I discovered right away that I really hate Le Morte D'Arthur because Gawain is such a blockhead, because he's shown up as the idiot, because he has to have a freaking enchantment just to explain why he can stand up to Lancelot AFTER spending much of the story getting his ass saved by Lancelot. And honestly, I fucking hate Lancelot and the whole fucking Lancelot/Guinevere story that moviemakers/comicwriters/novelists/etc are so fucking fascinated by that they'll throw considerably more interesting characters in the fucking trash to make time for it. I hate that so muchfiction after this point was based on Malory's story, running the Lancelot loves the Queen story into the ground when they could have been fleshing out characters like Gawain, Perceval, Yvain, Lynnette, Morgause, Eric, Enid, Kay, Bors and so on. (And for the record Perceval gets screwed in this book too because they give his Grail Quest glory to Lancelot's shitty little cipher of a son Galahad. That's Perceval's fucking story, dammit!)
And I will never forgive T.H. White for giving the Green Knight adventure to that little asskisser Gareth and for making "Morgause is the evil witch" (though I concede that The Queen of Air and Darkness is a kickass title) into a motif that everyone who wants to show Morgan as sympathetic likes to use. (Yeah, fuck you too Mists of Avalon!)
My Gawain is not the jerk of the Howard Pyle stories, or the dick of the Tristan cycle, or the blockhead written by Thomas Malory and TH White. My Gawain is the respectful, quiet, handsome man from the Green Knight and the Ugly Wife/Loathly Lady stories, and if your Arthurian story features any other Gawain, I will most likely hate it and call you mean names no matter how skillful and innovative the story may be.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I'm about to lose some money, aren't I?
So Kalinara and I have a standing bet on Captain America. We're both completely convinced that Steve Rogers will be back very soon. Kalinara figured on a milestone issue. She said they'll either bring him back with issue 50 or they'll renumber Captain America like they did Fantastic Four and Thor on the next big centissual (I know that can't be the right word but I'm using it anyway) and mark the event with resurrection of Steve Rogers. I said that it would coincide with a date or an event rather than an issue number. I expected Steve Rogers to be resurrected on the month of his 70th Anniversary issue, in a special 4th of July or Sept 11th issue, or just before the movie comes out.
Yeah, they might as well have just put "The Return of Steve Rogers" in that solicit. There's a chance I can keep my ice cream money in June (maybe if someone from Marvel sees this blogpost and goes "oh shit, the fans are on to us!") but it's so slim it's under five on the BMI scale. This solicit is so obviously for a resurrection event that I'd bet the Steve is back reveal happens in the first few pages and that the end of the book has a completely different cliffhanger (You know, like in issue #25) if Kalinara didn't also figure on Brubaker pulling that again.
I took the long bet mainly because I wanted to watch Bucky squirm in Steve's place for a few extra months but I think I'll get over it. See, I'm starting to love the idea of Steve coming back in the middle of Dark Reign. How else can you can top "Wait.. you guilted/extorted/bribed my traumatized (semi-adopted) baby brother to risk his life doing my job..." but with "Tony... HOW did the Green Goblin end up holding the list of superhero names and addresses, along with all of that tech specifically designed to take out the people NOT on the list..."?
CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
Written by ED BRUBAKER with MARK WAID, ROGER STERN & OTHERS
Pencils by BUTCH GUICE, LUKE ROSS, DALE EAGLESHAM & OTHERS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
50/50 Cover by ALEX ROSS
Where were you when Captain America died? It's the anniversary of the day Steve Rogers was killed, a day of reflection and mourning in the Marvel U...a time to look back on the things Steve did and what he stood for... or is this issue actually the beginning of the most wicked plot twist since issue 25? Yeah, actually it's both. Plus, contributions from Cap creators past and present, including a very special essay by Joe Simon, a classic story from Cap's Golden Age, a full gallery of 600 Cap covers, and more anniversary shenanigans than you can shake a shield at!
104 PGS./New and Reprints/Rated T+ ...$4.99
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: CAPTAIN AMERICA
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Cover by LUKE ROSS
A milestone 600th issue is worthy of a special issue of SPOTLIGHT no matter what the title. But when it's CAPTAIN AMERICA? We're gonna rock and roll with a SPOTLIGHT that's full of as much red, white and blue shield-slingin' surprises as we can! First up is an exclusive interview with the creative team ushering in this august occasion: Ed Brubaker, Butch Guice and Luke Ross -- three luminaries who have been letting their Cap flags fly! On top of that, we'll have coverage of some of the great Cap artists of all time, including 600th-issue cover artists Steve Epting and Alex Ross. We promise you'll be just as thrilled to read this as we will be to put it together! Remember: Cap's history is America's history! So join the SPOTLIGHT team as we take a look back and to the future with America's most patriotic hero!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
Yeah, they might as well have just put "The Return of Steve Rogers" in that solicit. There's a chance I can keep my ice cream money in June (maybe if someone from Marvel sees this blogpost and goes "oh shit, the fans are on to us!") but it's so slim it's under five on the BMI scale. This solicit is so obviously for a resurrection event that I'd bet the Steve is back reveal happens in the first few pages and that the end of the book has a completely different cliffhanger (You know, like in issue #25) if Kalinara didn't also figure on Brubaker pulling that again.
I took the long bet mainly because I wanted to watch Bucky squirm in Steve's place for a few extra months but I think I'll get over it. See, I'm starting to love the idea of Steve coming back in the middle of Dark Reign. How else can you can top "Wait.. you guilted/extorted/bribed my traumatized (semi-adopted) baby brother to risk his life doing my job..." but with "Tony... HOW did the Green Goblin end up holding the list of superhero names and addresses, along with all of that tech specifically designed to take out the people NOT on the list..."?
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
For Sale: One Feminist Linkblog, Slightly Neglected
When Fangirls Attack: Announcement
Just as Kalinara's school gets really intense, I get transferred from working on aircraft to working on air traffic control systems -- a considerably more demanding job -- in a completely different country. Something had to give, and really it was internet time. I haven't really checked my bloglines since January (I haven't written anything substantial since last year), and I keep up to date through a couple mailing lists and through what I see on Twitter. This is no recipe for keeping track of discourse of any type. So Melissa and I sat down and decided it was time to let the brainbaby go to someone else. We decided to leave ourselves because we knew we'd get picky and bossy as subordinates on any team.
Email me at ragnellthefoul[AT]hotmail[DOT]com if you're up for keeping track of the blogosphere and posting a regular linkdump.
Oh, and don't do it alone. Bring friends, for sanity's sake as well as to spread the work out.
Those of you who still follow this linkblog may have noticed a sharp decline in the quality and quantity of posting here on WFA. Anna's always great manga posts are the notable exception, but sadly, she can't carry the weight for all of us.
The truth is that real life got in the way and got in the way hard, and we've come to some unpleasant truths. There's no way we can keep this linkblog going.
We're sentimental types though, and we like to think that WFA serves a purpose in the fan community. We'd like to see it continue and regain some of the relevance it had previously.
That's why I'm posting. We're looking for someone/some people who are interested in taking over WFA.
Just as Kalinara's school gets really intense, I get transferred from working on aircraft to working on air traffic control systems -- a considerably more demanding job -- in a completely different country. Something had to give, and really it was internet time. I haven't really checked my bloglines since January (I haven't written anything substantial since last year), and I keep up to date through a couple mailing lists and through what I see on Twitter. This is no recipe for keeping track of discourse of any type. So Melissa and I sat down and decided it was time to let the brainbaby go to someone else. We decided to leave ourselves because we knew we'd get picky and bossy as subordinates on any team.
Email me at ragnellthefoul[AT]hotmail[DOT]com if you're up for keeping track of the blogosphere and posting a regular linkdump.
Oh, and don't do it alone. Bring friends, for sanity's sake as well as to spread the work out.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Another reason I shouldn't let this blog go dormant.
Everytime I let it see too long, the spam bots think I've abandoned and they can just drop tons of links in my comments. Bastards.
I'm not gone for good, dammit. I'm just resting.
I'm not gone for good, dammit. I'm just resting.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
And another thing...
Apologizes for all the slice of life crap lately. You guys have no idea how much it annoys me when all I can come up with to write about is a diary of the day's events. But I need to get back on the damned horse.
If I'm not careful I might end up someone who never blogs.
I'm trying to keep from falling into month-long periods without writing a word, but life gets in the way. I have fun ideas for blog posts and stories that keep getting put off. This job is much meatier than my last, or I'm just listless right now. My week's been interesting to live through at least.
This morning I woke up and noticed missed messages on my phone. I'd been waiting on a coworker to call and tell me he didn't need me to drive out of my way to pick him up, so I figured that was the message. My conscience wouldn't let me leave his travel to chance, so I called back the number to doublecheck.
A deep voice answered with the name of the Maintenance Chief. I rolled my eyes and told my coworker that was very funny. After the third insistence I realized this was indeed the chief of maintenance who'd tried to call me the other night. He'd wanted me to let him into the building, since I was the building manager. When I hung up and hurried because I actually had to pick up the coworker now, I comforted myself that I wasn't as bad off as that Congresswoman who hung up twice on the President. And I avoided a very embarrassing conversation, because on Sunday I'd closed the car door on my dropped set of keys, bending the master key to the building (and my house key, and my apartment key--which led to waiting in the snow for the landlord to drive up with a new set on a day all of the locksmiths are closed--GOOD TIMES!) and I hadn't gotten around to replacing/bending it back.
In the afternoon I drove two hours and got lost in a hospital only to find that the doctor who referred me to this new office hadn't actually written out any diagnosis notes for the lady I needed to see. My real first session was postponed so that she could track down my doctor, and in the interim I can try yawning.
Prior to that I found myself being sharply reminded by the flight chief that my job title is "technician" and not "file clerk" even though I am responsible for all of the files in the office. I swore I'd never be that woman in the office who does all the clerical work, and here I am doing all the clerical work. Why am I doing all the clerical work? Because the boss needed someone to organize the papers and those idiots I work with wouldn't know organized if they tripped over a sorted and labeled pile of it in the lovecraftian pit of disrepair that we laughingly call a workshop. (To be fair it may indeed be a workshop, but I've yet to see the tables cleared so I have my doubts.) Also, I was the "New Guy" at the time the additional duty involving filing opened up.
This is all a typical day for me right now.
So I've been a bit too tired to write substantially. Instead I've been amusing myself with Twitter. Last night I suggested to Canton that Black Widow--who is in her 70s but still looks to be in her 20s due to funky Russian supersoldier experiments--isn't using epic birth control, but rather is post-menopausal. From there we pounded out a premise for what is either the most awful or most awesome miniseries on the Internet--BLACK WIDOW: HOT FLASH.
We're bad people, yes.
(The title was Canton's idea.)
This morning I woke up and noticed missed messages on my phone. I'd been waiting on a coworker to call and tell me he didn't need me to drive out of my way to pick him up, so I figured that was the message. My conscience wouldn't let me leave his travel to chance, so I called back the number to doublecheck.
A deep voice answered with the name of the Maintenance Chief. I rolled my eyes and told my coworker that was very funny. After the third insistence I realized this was indeed the chief of maintenance who'd tried to call me the other night. He'd wanted me to let him into the building, since I was the building manager. When I hung up and hurried because I actually had to pick up the coworker now, I comforted myself that I wasn't as bad off as that Congresswoman who hung up twice on the President. And I avoided a very embarrassing conversation, because on Sunday I'd closed the car door on my dropped set of keys, bending the master key to the building (and my house key, and my apartment key--which led to waiting in the snow for the landlord to drive up with a new set on a day all of the locksmiths are closed--GOOD TIMES!) and I hadn't gotten around to replacing/bending it back.
In the afternoon I drove two hours and got lost in a hospital only to find that the doctor who referred me to this new office hadn't actually written out any diagnosis notes for the lady I needed to see. My real first session was postponed so that she could track down my doctor, and in the interim I can try yawning.
Prior to that I found myself being sharply reminded by the flight chief that my job title is "technician" and not "file clerk" even though I am responsible for all of the files in the office. I swore I'd never be that woman in the office who does all the clerical work, and here I am doing all the clerical work. Why am I doing all the clerical work? Because the boss needed someone to organize the papers and those idiots I work with wouldn't know organized if they tripped over a sorted and labeled pile of it in the lovecraftian pit of disrepair that we laughingly call a workshop. (To be fair it may indeed be a workshop, but I've yet to see the tables cleared so I have my doubts.) Also, I was the "New Guy" at the time the additional duty involving filing opened up.
This is all a typical day for me right now.
So I've been a bit too tired to write substantially. Instead I've been amusing myself with Twitter. Last night I suggested to Canton that Black Widow--who is in her 70s but still looks to be in her 20s due to funky Russian supersoldier experiments--isn't using epic birth control, but rather is post-menopausal. From there we pounded out a premise for what is either the most awful or most awesome miniseries on the Internet--BLACK WIDOW: HOT FLASH.
We're bad people, yes.
(The title was Canton's idea.)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tales from the Office...
All blog jokes aside, I don't consider myself a confrontational person. Certainly not in real life, at least. I've always considered myself meek to a fault, and especially shy in person. I've even kicked myself for being far too much of a pushover. A wallflower, meek and mild. I worry I suck up too much to the boss and I let too many things slide from my coworkers. I've always considered myself in person to be very much the opposite of my online persona.
Last week at work, though, I got a surprise.
I understand completely why I have a reputation for tactlessness at work. I've seen the memos these guys write. Full of extra wording and platitudes around the point and--to quote my coworker who told me my memos were tactless--"buttering up" the other party to get what we want even after the matter has been agreed to over the telephone and the memorandum is merely a formality. "Sir/Ma'am, Due to events entirely beyond our control we no longer have running water in the bathrooms. According to regulations, we need to be able to wash our hands before we eat in order to prevent dying from some horrible disease. If you could find it in your heart to send a plumber, we would be greatful. Help us, Civil Engineering, you're our only hope."
I find that to be an utter waste of time. I also think something like "Please repair the bathroom plumbling at your earliest convenience" is far more polite than necessary and should be sufficient for asking someone to do their fucking job anyway. It also saves ink.
So it was no surprise to me that--after I asked Blunt Boss to brief the office on how to fill out a certain form and had been told by him to brief them myself because they'll listen to me because "women are scary" (I'd responded that my coworkers aren't afraid of me, they just assume I'll burst into tears if they push me too far and he'd insisted that was good enough so there was no getting out of it)--I was gently chided by Diplomatic Boss because "you get more flies with honey than you can with vinegar."
Now anyone who knows how much I fucking hate that turn of phrase will appreciate how nice I was when I disagreed with him. I said I had been nice but promised not to use any profanity next time. He told me i shouldn't start a lesson with "You've been doing it wrong" which made no sense to me, because the whole point of the briefing was they'd all been doing it wrong.
This conversation took place at the end of shift in the middle of the office and led to my statement that I wasn't confrontational. This statement was greeted with laughter.
Naturally, there was a bit more arguing and Diplomatic Boss declared no progress would be made on either side once I'd narrowed my eyes and repeated "...female logic..." in response to a description ("Here is male logic, here is female logic, and WAY over here--") by a coworker. This coworker was the next person to talk to Diplomatic Boss about effective communication.
And for the record, earlier that day that coworker--who had indeed read comics in his life--had been insisting that neither Steve Rogers nor Bruce Wayne would return from the dead so his opinion is suspect.
I did get Diplomatic Boss to concede that I was a pushover about "some things."
All in all, I ended up thrown into a minor identity crisis by the entire incident before the weekend was even underway. I understand that humans have these internal views of ourselves, and its naturally disconcerting to find out just how different others see us than we see ourselves. But that wasn't it entirely. See, I've been keeping this blog for some time as an outlet and I suspect its led to a personality change. But exactly what sort of change, I'm not sure. I chose the nickname Ragnell the Foul on a whim, after a funny description I'd read of Gawain's wife in some Arthurian encyclopedia or another. I wanted to indulge my monstrous side a bit, I wanted to have a chance to be the sort of person who doesn't let shit get flung on her and the name seemed to exemplify that.
And there's an idea in the Wiccan community--a small shadow of an idea that doesn't always surface but its definitely something to be kept in mind when chosing a name (Wiccans often take a "Craft Name" for their religious life)--that we conform to our names. That if you pick the name of a story character you end up living out that story. (Think twice about naming yourself for that tragic hero who lacked self-awareness.) That if you take a description, you end up living up to it. (Be wary of using modifiers such as "sometimes" or "not exactly" in front of virtuous descriptors.) I've noticed it borne out enough online, some people just fit their handles. I've wondered at times if this is putting the cart before the horse--if we just unconsciously choose a good description of ourselves when we choose a name--or if human beings really are such pattern-seeking monsters that we unconsciously mold ourselves to fit the front we put forth. And that little incident at work, and the realization of how much I've changed over the last decade as well as the realization of how differently I see myself compared to how I act has me mulling it over. Did I become Ragnell the Foul somehow, or is it just the real me leaking into my professional life?
And why are the guys I work with so damned sensitive?
Last week at work, though, I got a surprise.
I understand completely why I have a reputation for tactlessness at work. I've seen the memos these guys write. Full of extra wording and platitudes around the point and--to quote my coworker who told me my memos were tactless--"buttering up" the other party to get what we want even after the matter has been agreed to over the telephone and the memorandum is merely a formality. "Sir/Ma'am, Due to events entirely beyond our control we no longer have running water in the bathrooms. According to regulations, we need to be able to wash our hands before we eat in order to prevent dying from some horrible disease. If you could find it in your heart to send a plumber, we would be greatful. Help us, Civil Engineering, you're our only hope."
I find that to be an utter waste of time. I also think something like "Please repair the bathroom plumbling at your earliest convenience" is far more polite than necessary and should be sufficient for asking someone to do their fucking job anyway. It also saves ink.
So it was no surprise to me that--after I asked Blunt Boss to brief the office on how to fill out a certain form and had been told by him to brief them myself because they'll listen to me because "women are scary" (I'd responded that my coworkers aren't afraid of me, they just assume I'll burst into tears if they push me too far and he'd insisted that was good enough so there was no getting out of it)--I was gently chided by Diplomatic Boss because "you get more flies with honey than you can with vinegar."
Now anyone who knows how much I fucking hate that turn of phrase will appreciate how nice I was when I disagreed with him. I said I had been nice but promised not to use any profanity next time. He told me i shouldn't start a lesson with "You've been doing it wrong" which made no sense to me, because the whole point of the briefing was they'd all been doing it wrong.
This conversation took place at the end of shift in the middle of the office and led to my statement that I wasn't confrontational. This statement was greeted with laughter.
Naturally, there was a bit more arguing and Diplomatic Boss declared no progress would be made on either side once I'd narrowed my eyes and repeated "...female logic..." in response to a description ("Here is male logic, here is female logic, and WAY over here--") by a coworker. This coworker was the next person to talk to Diplomatic Boss about effective communication.
And for the record, earlier that day that coworker--who had indeed read comics in his life--had been insisting that neither Steve Rogers nor Bruce Wayne would return from the dead so his opinion is suspect.
I did get Diplomatic Boss to concede that I was a pushover about "some things."
All in all, I ended up thrown into a minor identity crisis by the entire incident before the weekend was even underway. I understand that humans have these internal views of ourselves, and its naturally disconcerting to find out just how different others see us than we see ourselves. But that wasn't it entirely. See, I've been keeping this blog for some time as an outlet and I suspect its led to a personality change. But exactly what sort of change, I'm not sure. I chose the nickname Ragnell the Foul on a whim, after a funny description I'd read of Gawain's wife in some Arthurian encyclopedia or another. I wanted to indulge my monstrous side a bit, I wanted to have a chance to be the sort of person who doesn't let shit get flung on her and the name seemed to exemplify that.
And there's an idea in the Wiccan community--a small shadow of an idea that doesn't always surface but its definitely something to be kept in mind when chosing a name (Wiccans often take a "Craft Name" for their religious life)--that we conform to our names. That if you pick the name of a story character you end up living out that story. (Think twice about naming yourself for that tragic hero who lacked self-awareness.) That if you take a description, you end up living up to it. (Be wary of using modifiers such as "sometimes" or "not exactly" in front of virtuous descriptors.) I've noticed it borne out enough online, some people just fit their handles. I've wondered at times if this is putting the cart before the horse--if we just unconsciously choose a good description of ourselves when we choose a name--or if human beings really are such pattern-seeking monsters that we unconsciously mold ourselves to fit the front we put forth. And that little incident at work, and the realization of how much I've changed over the last decade as well as the realization of how differently I see myself compared to how I act has me mulling it over. Did I become Ragnell the Foul somehow, or is it just the real me leaking into my professional life?
And why are the guys I work with so damned sensitive?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
From the 4th Letter..
"You know what sucks about character death?"
One of those posts where I found myself nodding my head after every sentence.
One of those posts where I found myself nodding my head after every sentence.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Oh wow.
Chris is buying Tarot again, and I couldn't be happier. Check it out: The Stark, Existential Horror of Tarot #53
And since I'm linking, my first post at Robot6 is up: Just Past the Horizon: Heroic appeal
And since I'm linking, my first post at Robot6 is up: Just Past the Horizon: Heroic appeal
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
YES!!!!!
Next DC Animated Film Confirmed: Green Lantern
According to the back-cover art of the upcoming Wonder Woman disc, the next DTV animated film to come from DC Comics and Warner Home Video will be Green Lantern. No details are available as yet, including the identity of the lead character in the green tights. But you can bet your bottom dollar that the animated film will be looking to tie-in to or promote the upcoming live-action film currently in development at Warner. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more.(Hat/tip)
Wonder Woman hits shelves this March 3rd.
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