Uhg, there has been much ranting on Twitter regarding DC Comics this week.
They've been steadily killing and sidelining characters of colour for the past couple years, and with Blackest Night it's become so... blatant. I have no idea how DC can be this fucking clueless.
And this week they killed of an Asian American character (one who others have pointed out is one of the few non-martial arts-based Asian American superheroes) who they introduced only a few years back. (And back then they apparently talked about and were praised for diversifying their roster of characters.)
Thanks for posting those links though! *saves them to put up on When Fangirls Attack*
Ugh. It makes me happy and simultaneously saddens me that DC is being so much fail. Happy because I left the fandom long ago; and sad because my leaving DC wasn't a *fail!breakup so much as just persona fannish disagreements on canon.
It always makes me wonder how much *fail was happening when *I* was a young'un yumming up comics, that I just didn't notice/was ignorant of?
Well, part of the problem is that those in charge now are Silver Age fanboys, so they're bent on bringing back elements of that era (Barry Allen, Ray Palmer, Hal Jordan, etc), instead of their more modern counterparts. And from what I understand the 90s-ish* time period in DC comics brought in slightly more diverse characters and teams.
I've seen more than a few people joke that all we have to do is wait for the 90s-ish nostalgists to take the reins.
There probably was still fail before. But I think there's just been a heavy increase in the past few years.
*90-ish, I'm thinking probably mid/late 90s to early 2000. But I'm not an expert.
Edited to add, characters like Jaime Reyes and Ryan Choi were introduced in recent years, but something obviously when wrong in the way those books were presented to DC readers, because they didn't sell well. Which is travesty, because Blue Beetle is honestly one of the best superhero books I've ever read. And although I haven't read much of Ryan Choi as the Atom, it's written by Gail Simone and
( ... )
And like I seriously live in a fandom bubble, because sooo many comicfans on my flist waxed rhapsodic about Jaime!Beetle to the point where I was convinced it was a well-selling comic. It shocked me to learn it was being canceled for lack of interest. Maybe all the Jaime!fans were on my flist, heh.
Ryan Choi. :(
Interesting point about the 90's. Y'know, them more I live in the '10s the more I crave the awkward attempts at 'diversity' that was shoe-horned into the '90s. I'd take clumsy shoe-horning over hipster!irony anyday.
(or in the case of comics, a nostalgia for the whiter, brighter good 'ol days)
For me, the question goes both ways. Because sometimes it's, "Would this character be forced to give up their personal goals in favor of the person they love if they were a boy, or would the boy get the goal and the girl?" And sometimes it's "If this were a teenage girl and an adult mentor instead of a teenage boy and an older woman, wouldn't it be considered rape instead of just coming-of-age?" But yeah, a lot of times I mentally switch genders of characters and get horrified by our cultural expectations of what different genders are expected to like or to endure.
And sometimes it's "If this were a teenage girl and an adult mentor instead of a teenage boy and an older woman, wouldn't it be considered rape instead of just coming-of-age?"
This one in particular. One day I asked myself that gender-switch question (after reading/seeing/whatever this teen-boy/adult-woman sexual encounter play out...I can't remember if it was comedic or not, but I'm sure it was) and was repulsed by the thought, naturally, of teen girl/adult man. Obviously, once I asked that question, there was no going back for me; it just opened up my eyes to see just how much societal 'norms' led me to believe that one was okay and the other was illegal.
Yeah, the assumption is that a woman can't rape a man either because he's supposed to always want sex or because he's not supposed to be able to perform if he really doesn't want it. Which also puts the boys in an awful position, because they feel like if they say no or if they feel violated afterwards, they're no longer "real" men, so they have to say yes in the moment and pretend everything's great afterwards.
Comments 7
They've been steadily killing and sidelining characters of colour for the past couple years, and with Blackest Night it's become so... blatant. I have no idea how DC can be this fucking clueless.
And this week they killed of an Asian American character (one who others have pointed out is one of the few non-martial arts-based Asian American superheroes) who they introduced only a few years back. (And back then they apparently talked about and were praised for diversifying their roster of characters.)
Thanks for posting those links though! *saves them to put up on When Fangirls Attack*
Reply
It always makes me wonder how much *fail was happening when *I* was a young'un yumming up comics, that I just didn't notice/was ignorant of?
Reply
I've seen more than a few people joke that all we have to do is wait for the 90s-ish nostalgists to take the reins.
There probably was still fail before. But I think there's just been a heavy increase in the past few years.
*90-ish, I'm thinking probably mid/late 90s to early 2000. But I'm not an expert.
Edited to add, characters like Jaime Reyes and Ryan Choi were introduced in recent years, but something obviously when wrong in the way those books were presented to DC readers, because they didn't sell well. Which is travesty, because Blue Beetle is honestly one of the best superhero books I've ever read. And although I haven't read much of Ryan Choi as the Atom, it's written by Gail Simone and ( ... )
Reply
Ryan Choi. :(
Interesting point about the 90's. Y'know, them more I live in the '10s the more I crave the awkward attempts at 'diversity' that was shoe-horned into the '90s. I'd take clumsy shoe-horning over hipster!irony anyday.
(or in the case of comics, a nostalgia for the whiter, brighter good 'ol days)
Reply
Reply
And sometimes it's "If this were a teenage girl and an adult mentor instead of a teenage boy and an older woman, wouldn't it be considered rape instead of just coming-of-age?"
This one in particular. One day I asked myself that gender-switch question (after reading/seeing/whatever this teen-boy/adult-woman sexual encounter play out...I can't remember if it was comedic or not, but I'm sure it was) and was repulsed by the thought, naturally, of teen girl/adult man. Obviously, once I asked that question, there was no going back for me; it just opened up my eyes to see just how much societal 'norms' led me to believe that one was okay and the other was illegal.
Gyah.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment