I suspect that if/when Superman was a romance comic and if Apollo and Midnighter's relationship was mentioned only in passing, that these "critics" would still have a problem with it. That's because they are not critics, they are bigots.
This kind of reader treats representation as a zero-sum game. Even if he doesn't think of himself as a bigot, he still registers any gesture toward diversity as a targeted act of aggression against him, at once inherently political and deeply personal. This reader doesn't see any value in diversity, so all that matters to him is his suspicion that inclusivity efforts will demand the [i]exclusion[/i] of the 'classic' characters that represent [i]his[/i] identity and values.
It's like, dude, if they want to say Iceman is gay now then let them say Iceman is gay. I know you hate retcons, I know you have a lot invested in the strict continuity of superhero heterosexuality, but real talk: no one cares about Iceman. No one who has ever picked up even a single issue of an X-Men comic has ever cared even slightly about Iceman. Just let it go. You'll get through this, I promise.
Thanks for your input Fletch. One problem...I love Iceman! I think it's also a problem of being unable to accept the fact that people and thus characters do and are allowed to change as their story does. They aren't a "gesture toward diversity" but an accurate representation of a more real world than comics have shown in the past.
These are such fun! Here’s hoping for a complete retrospective “directors commentary” on your past works so I can re-read along with them and gain new insights!
I went back to read the original run of The Authority and whoo, boy--I don't want to be unkind, and I recognize the work should be read in context of its time, but Jesus Christ some of that dialogue has aged like fine milk.
"Doctor, we're the kind of hard-asses who crack jokes about missing kiddies on the back of milk cartons. Now hand over the baby or you're going to get the snot kicked out of you by America's premiere super-team."
The premise that an emergent AI would mimetically imitate our lowest levels of online discourse has actual basis in our horrible reality. Consider the tragic story of Tay, the Twitter AI that Microsoft debuted and then unplugged in less than 16 hours, because the poor creature rapidly mutated into a sputtering font of racist logorrhea.
I have a question that I (and several others) hope you can address, on the off-chance that you do in fact read this comments and/or care to discuss it.
Near the end of The Invisibles, during one of the scenes where King Mob is in the phone booth talking to Jacqui, there is a sigil on the wall next to him that looks like a half-circle underneath a bracket.
Later, in Final Crisis, during the scene where Jimmy Olsen and others are loading up the Superman Rocket as their last-ditch time capsule, we can see on the the left a similar sigil, with a half-circle just over a similar bracket. This was important enough that the lettering on the panel was changed after the first printing of FC as the sigil was blocked by a world balloon initially.
An acquaintance/fellow fan has told me that someone once asked you about this, and that it was a Rising Sun spell that connected the Invisibles' world and the DC Universe gaining consciousness. They also said that they were told that there is a sigil that appeared between these two. However, none of us fans have been able to locate that sigil.
My question is: would you care to address this at some point in a column, and/or can we have a hint on where to look for that interstitial sigil?
Thanks much and really enjoying this newsletter so far!
‘Parallax’ refers to the resolution of the difference between two observations made by the same person, owing to a conscious, deliberate and measurable shift by the observer in from where he makes his observation; Because The Stars look very different, from a certain point of view, IN HELL. And so many of The Truths we cling to, depend VERY MUCH upon our Point of View.
‘Ion’ is talking to someone else about it.
Darth Vader’s only problem is that he has nobody to talk to.
Captains Log, Saturday 3rd June, 1769 : This day prov’d as favourable to our purpose as we could wish, not a Clowd was to be seen the Whole day and the Air was perfectly clear, so that we had every advantage we could desire in Observing the whole of the passage of the Planet Venus over the Suns disk: we very distinctly saw an Atmosphere or dusky shade round the body of the Planet which very much disturbed the times of the contacts particularly the two internal ones. D r Solander observed as well as Mr Green and my self, and we differ’d from one another in observeing the times of the Contacts much MORE than could be EXPECTED.”
I keep reading these even though I haven’t read the comic, and I’m still entertained. Gotta seek out the book soon though.
I had the comics, but only as online shadows on ComiXology; these annotations persuaded me to buy a hard copy for the future.
I suspect that if/when Superman was a romance comic and if Apollo and Midnighter's relationship was mentioned only in passing, that these "critics" would still have a problem with it. That's because they are not critics, they are bigots.
What’s a Bigot?
This kind of reader treats representation as a zero-sum game. Even if he doesn't think of himself as a bigot, he still registers any gesture toward diversity as a targeted act of aggression against him, at once inherently political and deeply personal. This reader doesn't see any value in diversity, so all that matters to him is his suspicion that inclusivity efforts will demand the [i]exclusion[/i] of the 'classic' characters that represent [i]his[/i] identity and values.
It's like, dude, if they want to say Iceman is gay now then let them say Iceman is gay. I know you hate retcons, I know you have a lot invested in the strict continuity of superhero heterosexuality, but real talk: no one cares about Iceman. No one who has ever picked up even a single issue of an X-Men comic has ever cared even slightly about Iceman. Just let it go. You'll get through this, I promise.
Thanks for your input Fletch. One problem...I love Iceman! I think it's also a problem of being unable to accept the fact that people and thus characters do and are allowed to change as their story does. They aren't a "gesture toward diversity" but an accurate representation of a more real world than comics have shown in the past.
The Second Half of The Joke, of course, is :
“I’m 48% Gay, Myself —
On My Mother’s Side.”
These are such fun! Here’s hoping for a complete retrospective “directors commentary” on your past works so I can re-read along with them and gain new insights!
I AM THE EATER OF WORLDS..!!
THE EATER OF •WORLDS•..!!”
No, You’re just A Clown.
A Lonely, Sad Little Clown, with a Weak Heart.
….who never had an original thought in his whole entire life.
— Heart •CRUSHED• —
Tea, anyone?
I went back to read the original run of The Authority and whoo, boy--I don't want to be unkind, and I recognize the work should be read in context of its time, but Jesus Christ some of that dialogue has aged like fine milk.
"Doctor, we're the kind of hard-asses who crack jokes about missing kiddies on the back of milk cartons. Now hand over the baby or you're going to get the snot kicked out of you by America's premiere super-team."
So good. Rereading the book along with these is such a fun experience.
The "samurai in autumn" haiku is one I'll be repeating all day long, so thanks for that. Along with the "you're in hell... we're here to get you out."
“…is Me doing Him.”
Me : Please, Now You’re only confusing My Assistant — Jo, it’s all Quite Simple : I am He, and He is Me.
Joe Grant : …..and We’re altogether, gü-goo-ki-chu..?
Me : Eh?
Jo Grant : It’s a song by The Beatles.
Him : Oh, really! How Does it Go…?•Toot!•
Me : Oh, DO Be Quiet!
The premise that an emergent AI would mimetically imitate our lowest levels of online discourse has actual basis in our horrible reality. Consider the tragic story of Tay, the Twitter AI that Microsoft debuted and then unplugged in less than 16 hours, because the poor creature rapidly mutated into a sputtering font of racist logorrhea.
Hi Grant. Great writeup as usual.
I have a question that I (and several others) hope you can address, on the off-chance that you do in fact read this comments and/or care to discuss it.
Near the end of The Invisibles, during one of the scenes where King Mob is in the phone booth talking to Jacqui, there is a sigil on the wall next to him that looks like a half-circle underneath a bracket.
Later, in Final Crisis, during the scene where Jimmy Olsen and others are loading up the Superman Rocket as their last-ditch time capsule, we can see on the the left a similar sigil, with a half-circle just over a similar bracket. This was important enough that the lettering on the panel was changed after the first printing of FC as the sigil was blocked by a world balloon initially.
An acquaintance/fellow fan has told me that someone once asked you about this, and that it was a Rising Sun spell that connected the Invisibles' world and the DC Universe gaining consciousness. They also said that they were told that there is a sigil that appeared between these two. However, none of us fans have been able to locate that sigil.
My question is: would you care to address this at some point in a column, and/or can we have a hint on where to look for that interstitial sigil?
Thanks much and really enjoying this newsletter so far!
Well, it’s Barry and Wally, running together, isn’t it?
Superman, as we know, has The Power to turn back the spin of The World on its axis — and so, when he DOES this, what would you SEE happen….?
The Son rises in The West :
• RIZE OR DIE •
‘Parallax’ refers to the resolution of the difference between two observations made by the same person, owing to a conscious, deliberate and measurable shift by the observer in from where he makes his observation; Because The Stars look very different, from a certain point of view, IN HELL. And so many of The Truths we cling to, depend VERY MUCH upon our Point of View.
‘Ion’ is talking to someone else about it.
Darth Vader’s only problem is that he has nobody to talk to.
Captains Log, Saturday 3rd June, 1769 : This day prov’d as favourable to our purpose as we could wish, not a Clowd was to be seen the Whole day and the Air was perfectly clear, so that we had every advantage we could desire in Observing the whole of the passage of the Planet Venus over the Suns disk: we very distinctly saw an Atmosphere or dusky shade round the body of the Planet which very much disturbed the times of the contacts particularly the two internal ones. D r Solander observed as well as Mr Green and my self, and we differ’d from one another in observeing the times of the Contacts much MORE than could be EXPECTED.”
Semantics hyperlinks omni-deployed, Captain!
Even inspector spacetime found his way there.