More Stuff In A List
1) Again?!
Marvel is doing another honking big universe wide crossover event called "Fear Itself".
Firstly, so much for the whole "we're going to focus on smaller crossovers or none at all" approach.
Secondly, trying to sell your big event by comparing it to Civil War simply makes me more determined to hold onto my cash. (At least it's not written by Millar). I mean SRSLY. Besides, maybe the reason why some fans seemed confused was because they thought that Marvel were giving crossovers a rest. I remember being confused with Shadowland, then it quickly ended with me groaning "Oh no, not again!" to the comic book guy, with him laughing. Even though I was seriously tempted with a Colleen Wing miniseries and an Elektra one shot from that crossover, in the end I decided to opt out and just wait for a trade since the two characters I am interested in are compiled together. I began reading more titles from Marvel because I didn't have to fear crossover madness, even if some of the titles were sort of the tail end of some events, like Black Panther. (I really like T'Challa's book though. Sofiya the Serbian waitress really intrigues me, even though she's just a minor character. And yes, I'm okay with the whole T'Challa run being temporary, my wallet especially likes that).
So Boo to this new honking crossover, especially since both Caps are going to be involved. (Weird fact. I'll be quite cool with Steve becoming Cap again although I am also happy to wait even longer if needed but to be honest I don't want him to join the main Avengers book. I like Secret Avengers better). Oh well, I'll do what I did with Dark Reign and Siege, and only read the barest minimum stuff with the Young Avengers and Captain America. (I did like the Siege one shot for Captain America. I loved how Bucky relied on using an old trick in the hopes that Steve still understood and remembered). Or just refuse to buy.
2) Speaking of Civil War, how about some more scoffing at Millar?
Firstly, I am SO glad that When Fangirls Attack had done some hardcore updating. I missed it SO much. Considering the recent stuff from Paul Levitz saying that girls don't read superhero comics, we need this place more than ever.
One link of interest was this one.
Apparently, it seems that Mark Millar wants to release a CLINT style comic/magazine aimed for girls.
On the bright side, it will be edited by a woman (with experience in women's magazines) and will feature female created material. That's good, even if nitpicky me thinks that a comics magazine should be done by a woman who has experience with comics editing. That said, I am torn between laughing myself sick with the idea that Millar, a writer I have never EVER trusted or respected with issues on race, gender or sexual orientation (He is the poster boy for pandering to the worst and most vile impulses of the straight-white-cis-asshole male crowd while doing hypocritical "cerebral" posturing at the same time) doing a comics magazine for girls and being enraged that even when Millar is doing something that is technically a great idea, he still shits the hell out of me with his careless stereotyping. (Hey dude, if you know it is a stereotype, then why do you still invoke it?) So I blow a raspberry at YOU, Millar. Actually no, raspberries are funny. I flip TWO birds at you, that is a language you would understand more.
3) Haterz gonna hate
So apparently there was a mild scuffle going on in the comic book secrets tumblr about character hate, sexism and Sharon Carter. This was posted about the annoyance at how the Sharon Carter hate comes off as sexist and this was a good response explaining on why the hate comes across as sexist in the scuffle following the original post.
I'm going to be honest here, alright? Truth is, while I like Sharon Carter, I don't necessarily consider her as a favourite. Not because of any inherent failing, it's just that if I compiled a list of female comic book characters I like, she doesn't quite make it. When it comes to the Steve/Sharon ship, the best description I can have about my feelings for it is ambivalent at best. Sometimes I really cheer for it. Sometimes I look at it and go "meh". If Steve ends up going out with someone and the ship and characterisation is done really well, I would be fine with it, unlike my love for Peter/MJ or Ralph/Sue. (Although I will say it, I LOVE Peter and Chat in Spider-Man Marvel Adventures. I was originally wondering if Peter and Gwen would happen because I'm cool with that ship, but if it doesn't happen then I don't care).
But I do think that a lot of the time, the Sharon hate is pretty damn sexist, because while there is no problem with not liking a female character, the tenor of your hate can say a lot. I mean, I was never a Maria Hill fan but I hated how the end of Civil War basically demeaned her in a really fucking sexist way, and I tend not to care or think about her because I'm not buying the main Avengers book anymore. Also, the issues I have with Sharon has more to do with the fact that Brubaker cannot write female angst without indulging in bad misery porn rather than anything else. (I do find it silly though how some fans seem to hate on Sharon for feeling angst but would then woobie-fy and uke-fy Tony with endless relentless misery porn in their fanfic though. Double standards much?! Gets sillier when it comes to shipping). On any perceivable "weakness", I did like how the one time Sharon needed help she was saved by Spitfire. Go Jacqui, Go!!! :)
4) Two comics series that I'm really surprised to be loving:
Life with Archie: The Married Life
I said before that I DID not want to become an Archie Comics buyer, but I have absolutely no idea why reading an Archie book is like catching up with old friends, where you don't know the whole story but you can learn to catch up. The best thing about this series is that the ship battle is resolved with alternate timelines and you get to see characters going through plausible, sympathetic changes. I loved how Chuck and Nancy seemed to have found a real shared love of comics together (Nancy liked to write) and I was glad that Moose and Midge got to grow apart in a way that worked wonders for them. My only real quibble is that the different lettering styles in the Veronica and Betty storylines kinds of puts me off from liking the lettering in the Betty storyline. I also really miss Dilton, but I think it's awesome that he is kind of travelling and working with alternate timelines and worlds. I hope he finds Danni Malloy and they could be an adventuring couple. (I can't believe the Archie TPTB ditched Danni when Dilton's series ended. I loved that she was as intelligent, curious and adventurous as Dilton. We all know they only did that because Dilton has to retain permanent nerd status, never mind that him falling for a fellow nerd is adorable and plausible). Too bad Archie Comics don't approve of fanfic because seriously, Dilton and Danni having more adventures is too adorable and awesome for words. I'll be fine with putting this series on the pull list and only nibbling at other Archie books.
Avengers Academy
I confess to resisting this series for awhile because I wanted to keep a trim pull list but after ditching the Bendis Avengers books (decided to trade wait) I decided to try it after hearing so much praise for it from readers I trust. I'M SO GLAD I tried it. First of all, the cast is a lot more diverse than I realised, with little to no racefail or tokenistic characterisation. Even with something that could be seen as bad in some eyes like Mettle being a POC but is currently looking like Red Skull's lovechild, the fact that his origin story basically makes you realise that white is NOT the default setting and that he was happy in his original form is a very good thing. I find the premise so intriguing, because seriously, you can see both sides of the issue and feel for them. On one hand, you would wish for people to tell you the truth, but there are some things that just simply open up a can of worms too awful to deal with. This is slightly-darker-and-edgier intelligent comics at its very very best. I also have no shipping loyalties, which makes for a nice break, although I loved Reptil's gaffe concerning Hazmat and Mettle. And P.S. I love Hank in this comic. If Gage (who has gained some trust in me with his previous work) ever intends on adding Jan or Wanda into his book, I would quite all right with that. Hey, they would fit in with the premise of super-baggaged Avengers working on themselves and helping others in the process.