By Robin Jones
San Diego Comic Con is over for another year. We’ve had thrills, excitement, laughs, terror, upset and boobs. In fact, plenty of boobs. Too many boobs if I’m honest. I’m not here to talk at length about all the announcements at Comic Con, but I will mention some I find intriguing! Batman/Superman should be interesting, as it’s the first time they’ll have been on screen. Zakk Snyder said “Let’s face it, it’s beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest Super Heroes in the world.” Plus it has also been confirmed that they’re looking at Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns as source material which could prove interesting! I felt that TDKR was the strongest DC animated feature that’s been released so far and the possibility of an already established Batman, older and pissed off at the establishment could be a very interesting premise. However, that’s enough speculation and conjecture on that, as I’m no professional. All I know is that I’m really looking forward to seeing it! And the same goes for X-Men Days of Future Past, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Flash, Justice League, Ant-Man, Kick-Ass 2, Godzilla, The Wolverine, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Riddick, 300: Rise of an Empire, The Lego Movie, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Arrow Season 2, The Walking Dead Season 4 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Plus there’s also the Fantastic Four reboot, Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United, Hulk and the Agents of Smash, Big Hero 6, Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, Beware The Batman, Justice League: War, Son of Batman, Batman: Assault on Arkham. Add to this, DC comics announcing that their once troubled Vertigo imprint is being revived and revitalised, and the pick of their new crop of titles is a prequel to Neil Gaiman’s much coveted, and it’s a title on this writers wish list, Sandman known as Sandman: Overture. Also, IDW is rejuvenating Little Nemo in Slumberland. I honestly have never heard of that one, but apparently it was a very good, renowned comic. For a full list of Comic book announcement, check out io9′s list here. And now I have blisters on my fingers.
The sheer scale of SDCC has shown that what has happened is we have reached a zenith, a high point, a pinnacle or as Rob Salkowitz, author of Comic Con and the Business of Pop Culture, says, “Right now, we’re at what I [Salkowitz] call ‘Peak Geek,’ a moment when comics culture has taken over pop culture, including Hollywood. When you’re at the peak of a cycle, it’s hard to imagine the future as anything but a trend-line pointing ever upward.” That’s a scary thought, but also vindication for all those people who in their childhood were labeled geek, nerd, outcast, weird and fuckwit for liking comics, superheroes, games and other fandoms. As a culture, we, the comic book community have evolved massively over the past twenty years or so. In his autobiography, one of the contenders for the much coveted title of “King of the Nerds”, Simon Pegg, justifies this by saying “Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating.”
And extremely liberating it might be for the majority of us, there is still a major problem that I have with what I will now refer to as our, as in your’s; mine; his; hers; theirs; even the ginger’s, community is not that it doesn’t have strong, balanced female characters, because it does. My problem is that a vast majority of them are overly sexualised. I realise this isn’t a new topic, and has been greatly debated throughout forums, books, comics, twitter and others for years, however I like to stir up talk. Throughout the history of comic books, the industries main assumed target audience has been male, and there is no lack of female characters and leading ladies within the pages of comic book history. There is however, a trend of portraying these women as sex objects. Now, I’m not a prude, not by a long shot, but I think now, in the 21st century, we need to be moving towards much more gender equality across the board. I have children, as do many of my readers, and the thought of my daughter being viewed as purely a sex object scares me. Women’s experiences of sexism and abuse at the hands of so called “Boys will be Boys” behaviour is appalling, as highlighted by the Everyday Sexism project on Twitter, and I am always looking for strong, positive role models for my little girl. Our community is changing and evolving, and female characters are becoming much more grounded and stronger in characterisation, but there is still a long way to go. Laura Hudson, culture and entertainment editor for Wired has been quoted as saying “I have long maintained that to bring in more female readers, superhero comics don’t even need to specifically target women as much as they need to not actively offend them. This is not an insanely hard thing to do, and yet here we are.”
Before anyone ties a bandana round their head, and loads their ergonomically adjusted keyboard with venom and launches into a tirade against what I’m saying, I understand that hyper-visualisation is inherent throughout the comic book world, and that both men and women are objectified in comic books, therefore lets do this head on. Would Witchblade’s armour really offer her any protection in a fight? Did powergirl really need such large breasts? Or such a conveniently placed cut in her outfit? Do the Birds of Prey really need to look like they’ve just slipped off an overly greased stripper pole? If you can tell me that Withcblade’s nipple plates would stop a shotgun blast, then I will happily eat my beard. I love the morals that comic books generally hold aloft, truth, justice, honour, courage, maintaining good friendships and how with great power comes great responsibility. Comics have also been very forward thinking when it comes to homosexuality, racism, equality and encouraging tolerance. All it needs is to nip its boyhood fantasy models in the bud. Many readers have taken it upon themselves to do just that, taking to that Marvel-ous tool, the internet. We have such great sites like The Hawkeye Initiative, who’s mission statement is “How to fix every Strong Female Character pose in superhero comics: replace the character with Hawkeye doing the same thing.” There are also many writers and columnists who are arguing the merits of changing this objectification of women within comic books. I suggest Lowell McDonald’s argument here and Kelly Thompson’s great column for Comic Book Resources here. Women should be empowered and should be shown as strong characters. However, if you’re still insistent on having such objectified images of female superheroes, then lets take them all and put them somewhere where they can be enjoyed by those who feel the need to look at it. Maybe a more adult section in your local comic book shop? I’m not saying confine it to a pervy sex shop or carry it in brown paper bags, but I feel perhaps a more conscientious approach should be taken by comic book artists across the board to present strong characters without the need to pornify the subject matter. We don’t want people being chastised for innocent intentions. Therefore some form of different approach is needed. We’re all adults, and sex is natural, then lets be adult and reasonable about such things and appreciate the art and not the ridiculously huge breasts. I don’t have the answer, but lets debate the question and come up with one as a community. One which works.
Which leads me nicely back to Comic Con and a past time I have always found rather interesting and also raises similar questions. Cosplay. Now, I’m not about to launch into a tirade against those who do cosplay, I have no problem with it whatsoever. It’s no stranger than going out dressed up on halloween or for a themed night out, but strange nonetheless. I dress up, I’m happy to admit, for as many occasions as I can. Some of the costumes are phenomenal, and are the results of hours of hard work and dedication and some are not. But that freedom of expression and liberation to be able to dress up as characters you admire and put on a pedestal is fantastic. It’s also a huge compliment to our community that we are as accepting of it as we are. It again shows the forward thinking of the comic book community as a collective and how we are so accepting and understanding of our outpouring of expressionism. What I dislike is the way that cosplayers are also objectified! Celebrate the costume, the hard work and dedication, the passion and drive of the woman underneath the breasts! Instead of drooling over people who cosplay, why not find someone to include in your life to share that passion and excitement with? Embrace that freedom of expression with your partner, and build upon it in your relationship! Go here and enjoy the sheer dedication of these cosplayers. If you think they’re having more fun than you, then get involved in the action! If you’re single, then start exploring your creative side and meet a like minded individual! And so ends the sermon!
Anyways, I’ve asked you to vote on Hellblazer storylines for me to read! A lot of you were saying you haven’t read any Hellblazer, so perhaps we should read along together and share notes! If I used emoticons there’d be a winky face there…
Anyway, the votes are in. I counted them all on my own appendages, and the story line I shall be tackling is…
So keep your eyes peeled for my view on “All His Engines” and my second, dark wave inspired playlist!
Until next time…
For more comic views and reviews follow Robin on Twitter at @Hulksmash1985
Posted on July 31st, 2013
Category: NEWS & VIEWS, PAPERCUTS AND INKSTAINS
Tags: Comic-Con, Cosplay, Papercuts and Inkstains #010, Robin Jones
By Pete Barrington and Sean Favager
One day, just one day we will become the Ant & Dec of blogging....aspirations we all should aim for!
Welcome back to your new favourite blog on the interweb. Yeah it’s the one, the only…. The Comic Asylum (Really need theme music here..!). This week I have a special limited edition version of the Asylum which involves me doing as little writing as possible (Cash Back!). My good friend who I may have mentioned a little over in the first few blogs @Pete_the_Red went to the London Comic Con last weekend. So instead of me rambling on about nonsense I’m handing the Comic Asylum and this special #004 over to him. Before I do I have been doing some brain storming over future ideas of blogs to come and I think you’re in for a good read in the coming weeks. I would also like to note that Pete will be joining me to co-host the Asylum for good (or till we have a drunken falling out) starting next week. We will become the Ant & Dec of blogging, if you’re American that means we will try to be funny but fail and come across as slightly homosexual. So without further ado you lovely bunch of people enjoy the read and I’ll see you next week!
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London Film and Comic Convention July 6th – July 8th at Kensington Olympia
Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty geek!
OK I realise that titles a little long so let’s just say COMIC-CON BABY!! WOO-HOO. So when @SeanFav1 asked if I wanted to co-host the Asylum with him this week, I had loads of ideas but nothing solid enough to fill a whole blog. He mentioned writing about the upcoming Con I was going to and I agreed, but what part of the Con to write about, do I write about the costumes, the stalls, the celebs (of which there were many), all of which are very valid points to write about. So off I went to the Con seeing what caught my eye to write about. Then I arrived and I realised the sheer scale of the work that must go into one of these things was astounding so I just decided to write about the whole experience, from start to end, and obviously talking about the individual points mentioned above. So here are my thoughts on the first (and definitely not last) Comic-con experience.
So as you may have guessed, this Saturday I went to comic-con in Kensington in London. Now I come from the Wirral (just next to Liverpool, by the way), unfortunately meaning getting up at 05:30am and travelling for almost four and a half hours. Finally arrived at the scene of the Con only to be told that the ticket I had pre purchased did not allow us entry until 11am “Bastard!”. Now the mathematicians amongst you will realise that left me with a little over an hour to kill in a city that I hadn’t stepped foot in since I was 12 (I’m now 27), so there I was, in the middle of London, just me and my con buddy @SeanFieldstead, knackered and wondering what time the boozers open in London. We were contemplating waiting outside until 11am and taking in all the glory of the ‘Cosplay’ action going on (more on that later) but as is inevitable in these situations, it started raining, so we went and found a Costa and settled for a brew.
Soon as the rain stopped, we headed for the entry, ticket in hand ready to enjoy the splendour. As we turned the corner to where we previously stood, there was now a queue of about 300 people that had appeared from nowhere and were now all ahead of us in line. Now I consider myself to be quite an atypical English bloke so you would think that I’m used to having to queue for things, be it at the bank, at the supermarket, the local brothel, you get the idea! But this queue was slightly unbearable, weirdly the sun had come out and it had quickly become ridiculously warm and they had us crammed in. The only saving grace was the many costumes on sight; I saw Mega City Judges, female versions of Thor and Loki (HOT!). Many Bats, many Spidey’s and others far too random for me to know who they were supposed to be.
The collectors edition Loki Russian Dolls, a must buy for all you Tom Hiddlestone fans out there!
So we finally got in, walked straight in and there was a life size replica of the Bat mobile from Keaton’s/Burtons Batman right in the doorway, looked up and only then we saw the scale of the thing, I’m talking at least 3 football fields long and the same size wide as well, just full of stalls and memorabilia. Without sounding too mushy, it really was breath-taking. We decided to start around the outside and then work through the middle aisles. I could have spent 100’s just in that first aisle, the things on sale were just awesome, everything a comic and sci-fi geek could want, and ranging from original Star Wars collectables to Japanese Anime collections, there was even a stall for wrestling fans. Now what that has to do with comics and sci-fi, I don’t know but all I knew was it felt unreal, and this was only the first aisle!
"The flower children think we're cool, man. Like, we turn 'em on, you know."
Now don’t worry, I’m not going to go into detail about every aisle there was and everything that was on sale coz then this would go on for ages and @SeanFav1 might not ask me to co-host again. But just an example was an entire stall dedicated to swords and weapons, selling replicas of actual weapons used in movies and comics. There was a stall where you could take a picture of yourself and then your head could actually be put on the body of any superhero action figure. Great idea, but not worth £80! Especially when you think about it, how many superheroes only show their face without a mask or cowl, not many really. This same stall did sell actual replicas of the Rorschach journal though, which was very cool. The amount of stalls was something to behold too. The crazy thing is, no two stalls were exactly the same, and there was always something on a stall that you hadn’t seen in the previous 104 stalls. It was crazy good. I literally could have written this whole thing on the amount of random and amazing things on all the stalls. Maybe I’ll save that for another time.
Now costumes are a massive part of any Con. It’s a great excuse to show other people how creative you can be and also just be amongst other people who share your interests and rather than look down on you just coz you enjoy dressing up as a Borg or Jedi, but actually applaud the effort and queue to get a pic. Now I didn’t get involved in the ‘Cosplay’ (as I believe it’s called). I went with a Captain America armour t-shirt I got for Father’s Day, simple but effective. But some of the people there really went for it, and I mean massively. Now I’ve added a few pics as well so you can see just what I mean. The ones that I couldn’t take though just add to the story and spectacle of it all. As I said earlier, there were many Batmen, ranging from the Arkham Asylum Batman, The Dark Knight Batman and we even got a Batman/Catwoman double act from Batman Returns. The weirdest I saw had to be a grown woman dressed as a cat being led around on a leash by her owner. The best was clearly, from a male point of view, a lady dressed as the Silk Spectre II from Watchmen. The outfit was perfect and I will regret to my dying day not having the balls to ask her for a pic. [[Note from Sean: I will personally make sure he regrets this every-single day of his life…!]]
Check out the CGI on the Lizard, this is way better in 3D!
Apart from the stalls and the costumes, probably the most important part of any Con is the celebs (and I use the word loosely) that appears to do autograph sessions and give a talk too. Now in the build-up to going, I was constantly checking who was going to be there, constantly telling work colleagues and friends who I was going to see and get a picture with and successfully making them all jealous that I was going and they weren’t. This plan was still in effect until we got to the section of this massive hall where all the celebs were, now I had only read about approx. 10-15 different people that should be there, the ones that I was most excited about included Hayden Panettiere from Heroes (and a cheerleader dress) fame, Alex Winter (otherwise known as Bill S. Preston Esquire) from Bill and Ted and the queen of Sci-Fi herself, Gillian Anderson, famous of course for her amazing performance in Johnny English Reborn and playing the lovable Jenny in that one episode of Frasier back in 1999 (who can forget that right!). Of course I jest, I heard Scully was going to be there and was quite excited to see her and get a pic. I was of course expecting a charge for this, as nothing in this life is for free, but when I heard that she was charging £35 just for an autograph and another £10 for a pic and then yet another £35 for when she was speaking, I decided to swerve that money-grabber and get sly sneaky pics of the lesser celebs that were not hiding in a cornered off booth with security. The pics I got were of Virgil from WWF, complete with the Money Inc. belt. Mickie James, former WWE diva, now TNA knockout and former John Cena ‘special’ friend. The best ones were Michael Winslow from Police academy (yes the one that done all the noises) and Martin Kove, who played the evil sensei in the original Karate Kid (he was still rocking his Cobra-Kai t-shirt!)
Of course there were others, to name a few, there was David Prowse and Kenny Baker (The guys inside Darth Vader and R2-D2 respectively) Thomas Dekker (John Connor in the ‘not as bad as everyone thought’ Sarah Connor Chronicles) and the ones whose names escape me, the lad from Gremlins, that bald Skinner bloke from X-files, Todd from Scrubs and many, many more.
Now I know @SeanFav1 got some cheap heel heat from @InterComics for dropping some names in his previous blog, but I was in the presence of these people so I feel its justified. There were so many things about this day that in any other given situation I would have hated. Like the money-grabbing celebs, the travel, Being on my feet all day. £7.90 for two pints, the rain and the heat inside the place. I could go on but the fact of the matter is that the day was just amazing, from start to finish. I felt like I was in heaven for a while when I found the comic aisle, I’m talking at least 100,000 comics in one aisle!
The last thought I have is that I would recommend anyone to go to a Con, even if you have only a slight interest in Sci-Fi or comics, then you should go, there a things there that ake you feel like a little kid again, and in my opinion, that can’t be a bad thing. And if anyone who’s reading this, is contemplating going to this one next year then no doubt @SeanFav1, @SeanFieldstead and I will see you there, although this time I will be driving, so if anyone wants a lift then let me know!
Finally, big thanks to @SeanFav1 (hope this is the first collaboration of many) and also to @InterComics (maybe one day you will let this Peacock fly solo ha-ha) for letting me air my views (EDITORS NOTE: Pete will now be doing a regular while Sean will clear his desk out and resume his original job of busking for a cup of tea!)
Stay Classy Planet Earth!
Hope you enjoyed my first effort in the world of blogging. If you want to praise or criticise then I will accept both with open arms, you can find me on Twitter @Pete_the_Red
Posted on July 10th, 2012
Category: NEWS & VIEWS, THE COMIC ASYLUM
Tags: Comic Review, Comic-Con, Cosplay, DC Comics, London Comic-Con, marvel, Pete Barrington, Sean Favager, The Comic Asylum
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