Comments on: Find Something Better!

By: Hiatus « ÃƒÅ½les du DÃƒÂ©sappointement

Hiatus « ÃƒÅ½les du DÃƒÂ©sappointement — Wed, 30 May 2007 23:20:34 +0000

[...] answer why: This, this, this, which is still true and brilliant, actually a little bit of this, and the hard reality of [...]

By: Michael Denton

Michael Denton — Sat, 26 May 2007 22:50:48 +0000

I find it more than a little difficult equating superhero comics to an abusive relationship (and a somewhat insulting to people in true abusive relationships) – although I understand the point. Of course, we often fail to distinguish that not all superhero comics lack quality (many do) or that all superhero comics depict women poorly (many do), so a first recommendation should be to find those superhero comics (if one wants to keep reading them) that are high quality and have positive or at least non-negative depictions of women. All-Star Superman, Busiek’s Superman, Daredevil, Astro City, Morrison’s Batman, and Manhunter all immediately leap to mind and I’m sure there are more.

Also, I am someone who likes my superheroes and more challenging, interesting or different material too. We often make the mistake of assuming that we can’t do both. It’s like someone enjoying soap operas and also, say, PBS documentaries or liking Harlequin romance novels (or various spy/war novels) and William Faulkner or Zora Neal Hurston.

I just try not to support those superheroes comics(or comics in any other genre for that matter) that are misognyistic, racist, homophobic, etc. I think we are better off making that distinction because I have certainly seen non-superhero comics that are just as offensive to me.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:07:07 +0000

Yeah, it can be hard work finding something new, both in terms of breaking the habit and seeking out lesser known books.

And for some people, the familiarity of the characters they know, regardless of how much they say they hate how they’re presented and the messages sent to the audience, is a significant comfort.

By: Barry

Barry — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:54:13 +0000

The suggestion for superhero comics readers to stop buying said superhero comics if they don’t enjoy the content is always a good one, but the execution of that idea is easier said than done for many. This is due to the fact that most comics readers have been ‘trained’ to buy monthly periodicals, to the point of obsessiveness. I only buy two comics these days, Whedon’s X-Men and the final issues of “Y”, but still haven’t read them in months. However, I consider myself a casual comics reader and buy only books I like. That only happened after I no longer considered comics to be an important part of my life. As long as the majority of comics readers (obviously not all) continue to involve themselves in the comics culture at large, they will continue to indefinitely buy the same lousy books.

At least that’s my theory.

By: John

John — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:56:00 +0000

Bully for you not letting sleeping dogs lie.

I think the wider problem in superhero comics these days isn’t just their depiction of women, it’s that they suck and their depiction of women is just one way in which they do. It’s kinda like the guy’s abusing you AND he’s a drunk AND he’s drug dealer AND he’s a rapist AND he’s a mugger – AND he’s been all these things for about 20 years now.