Question: What is it about manga/anime that makes so many of them seem to take place in The Land of Not A Lot Happens?

Think about it: I know I’m not the only one who got bored after the 65^th time Inu Yasha totally failed to kill Naraku. I got frustrated after Miyaka and Tamahome (who I affectionately refer to as “Aimahomo”) discovered yet another roadblock on the road to being together that involved the two of them being separated by Evil Things? And not that I don’t LOVE Detective Conan, but isn’t it more than a little ridiculous that Ran hasn’t moved beyond only subconsciously knowing that Conan = Shinichi?

In order to better illustrate my point, let's focus on one series in particular that falls prey to Not A Lot Happens Syndrome (N.A.H.S.). Ranma 1/2, is from the get-go, a series that is ripe with conflict. The premise is openly about gender politics. You cannot talk about the relationships in Ranma 1/2 without coming down to what may be Takahashi's only consistant, poignant statement: Men and Women are Really Really Different. Takahashi doesn't have to dig for the conflict that would be nessecary to propel her characters towards life-changing moments: the conflict is so ever-present that it's safe to say everyone in the entire series is more than a little bit nuts. Given that, it's really inexcusable to me how little everything and everyone actually changes. There were SO MANY CHANCES for Ranma and Akane's relationship to progress to the next level, and I don't even mean that in a "they should so have gotten together" way. Ranma and Akane are two people who are incapable of having a civil conversation with each other, even when something very dire is at stake.

What do I mean by "chances"? Off the top of my head, here's a list:

• The Moxibustion storyline (famous as being "that one in which Ranma becomes weak"). Ranma and Akane come to the realization that, in fact, Ranma's only redeaming quality is that he's a damn good martial artist. Instead of this being treated with the seriousness it deserves, Takahashi chooses to treat this as yet another "funny faces of anguish are made by all!" moment, and not a single second of soul-searching results.
• The Super Suit storyline. For once, Takahashi WASN'T TRYING TO BE FUNNY, and despite Ranma feeling HORRIBLY guilty at the end of it all for having tried to the beat the snot out of Akane just to prove that He's the Best....WE NEVER SEE HIM DO ANYTHING TO EARN HER FORGIVENESS. Their relationship is back to normal by the next issue. There are no refrences made to the incident ever again.
• All of the humanity that Nabiki Tendo possessed in the "Nabiki's Fiancee" storyline completely vanishes afterwards, thus removing her unique magical abilities to Make Ranma and Akane Talk About Their Relationship. What a shame.
• The gorgeous  "what are we really fighting about here?" moment that takes place during "An Akane To Remember" is never discussed by Ranma or Akane after it takes place.
• When Mikado, a known playboy, tries to kiss Akane during a skating match against Akane and Ranma, Ranma threatens to kill him. As in, you know, not just beating him up. Kill. Akane never calls Ranma on this, and Ranma never proclaims that he will do this to anyone else throughout the duration of the series, despite the fact that numerous male characters attempt to physicall/sexually assault Akane.

See what I mean? The whole SERIES is like that. NOBODY MOVES ON. EVER. And what's worse, Takahashi is TOTALLY AWARE of it. In fact, many many times, THAT'S the big "ha ha funny, I love this series" joke at the end of a storyline. Nobody learns anything, nobody ever just picks up and moves on.  And this is after the series lasts a total of nine and a half years!

Conversely, one of my biggest complaints that I have with American comic books is that frequently, the characters progress towards important decisions too quickly; relationships frequently evolve so fast that it just doesn’t feel authentic and natural. Characters who had no romantic history of any kind in the previous issue will suddenly leap into each others arms for the sake of causing emotional conflict (ahem ahem, Teen Titans, Batman, Justice League of America).

Maybe I’m stereotyping, but I have to speculate that the preference for really long, overly drawn out stories is, to some extent, a cultural “those crazy Japanese” thing. Could it be because Japanese culture is, to a much greater extent than the culture I grew up in, founded on patience? Is it because the producers know that once Inuyasha and Kagome kiss, we'll stop watching to see if they do? Is it because the entire country seems to be suffering from Fred "This is going somewhere, really!" Gallagher syndrome?

I have no idea. But if one more person tries to tell me how much they're looking forward to more dubbed episodes of Inu Yasha on Cartoon Network, I am going to have to choke a bitch.

I want to know.

I want to know what color Clark Kent's pajamas are. Are they white, are they sky blue, do they have little pictures of fluffy sheep on them? Are they ill fitting over his broad shoulders? Does he spend so much time slouching during the day in order to avoid looking massive that his shoulders hurt? Is it even possible for him to get a shoulder massage? Has he ever had a nightmare so terrible that he's broken his bed in half? When he doesn't have nightmares, does he dream about farmland, Kansas, Krypto and Pete and the smell of stables that need to be cleaned? When he wakes up in the morning, does he shave using his heat vision? Does he use aftershave to cover the scent of burnt hair? Does he ever get tired of cold, hours old coffee when he's at work, and heat it up himself? Does he watch the news, does he put sugar in his coffee, does he get Batman to help him with his taxes?

I want to know which parts of Wayne Manor scared the hell out of Conner the first time he and Tim were up all night watching movies. I want to know if the ricochet from Bart's speed broke a priceless Chinese vase that Bruce's great great great great something or other handed down through the family.  I want to know if Bruce is down there in the cave, right now, trying to figure out the secrets behind Diana's invisible jet. Why doesn't he have one? It makes sense that if anybody would, Bruce would.

I want to know why Wonder Woman's armor looks like a primary colored American flag. I want somebody to mention off-handedly what kinds of fruit the Amazons eat for breakfast. Does the concept of cereal exist on Paradise Island? Is there a problem with the family silver getting worn down and having to be replaced every thousand years or so? Do they drink milk? What does the milk come from? Do they eat meat? Are they vegetarians?

These details, the little things, they don't have to be the entire focus of any issue. They can be told to the audience in thought balloons, mentioned off hand in captions, delivered with subtlety. I am not by any means suggesting that we should spend an entire issue limiting the creativity of future writers by establishing a rock-solid daily morning routine for Superman.  I don't expect his coffee prefrence to be mentioned every time he gets a cup of joe. I am not going to CRY FOUL if the answer changes. People change, as does their coffee prefrence.  I can easily accept that and make the assumption that Clark simply got tired of cream and sugar, or that Bruce convinced him to start taking his coffee black.

But please. Take these super-beings and explain to me why they're really like people. Take these people and explain to me how it is that they can coexist with superbeings. Telling me that Dick Grayson regularly needs some form of physical therapy, or does yoga, or does special stretches that only four people in the world who aren't Plastic Man are flexible enough to do doesn't hurt.

Superheroes can go to baseball games. They can write letters to their family. They can have a day off that doesn't get interrupted by an international world is about to be destroyed emergency.

They can be alive. They can be healthy.

And I will still love them if there isn't an explosion every six pages that kills someone or sends someone to the hospital.

I've been thinking about Remix's post about the DC comics definition of realism, and the more I think about it, the less I think I can tolerate it.

When you are a writer, you are essentially playing God with a universe that is vast as you want to make it. When you're the editor of a universe that has more than fourty people working on it at any one time, the analogy extends ever further.

Those of us in comic book fandom generally like to believe that old saying that goes something like this: God has a Plan.

The following is a short list of characters who have died/been written out to the point where they might as well be dead recently in the DC universe.

• Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, aka Robin the Girl Wonder. 1992-2005. Tortured to death with a powerdrill. Seen only in dream sequences since then, and rarley if ever mentioned by the Batfamily. Has yet to recieve a memorial case in the Batcave.
  
• Conner Kent/Kon-El aka Superboy. 1993-2006. Died saving the universe from the mess that was Infinite Crisis.
  
• Anatoli Knyazev aka KGBeast, 1988-2006. Thrown off of a roof after screwing up an assasination.
  
• Cassandra Cain, aka Batgirl II, 1999-2006. Character assasination.
• Mia/Cir-El, 2003-2006. Ret-conned to the point where nobody is actually sure if she exists or not.
• Bartholomew "Bart" Allen, aka Impulse, aka Kid Flash, aka The Flash, 1994-2006. Stripped of his powers, no longer a member of the Teen Titans.
• Wallace "Wally" West, aka Kid Flash, aka The Flash, 1959-2006. Written out of this universe during Infinite Crisis. No longer clear if he will ever return to Earth.

There's a whole lot of killin' goin' on. My god, not even Dick freaking Grayson, the original Robin who first appeared way back in the second year of the Batman comics is totally safe from the editorial killing spree DC has been going on latley.

Now, I don't adopt the position that comic book characters Should Never Die: I agree that character death is a natural part of any long running comic book series¹. But that's the key: natural. Death can be random, sure. In real life, death is random. But that doesn't mean it's not a natural part of  stories. What makes death seem natural is the way death forces the characters to rexamine their lives, their feelings, themselves. What makes death natural is the way that it propels change, forces the scope of the horizon to change.

Comic books aren't totally like real life. Real people can't fly, or lift cars above their heads without effort, or do quadruple backward summersaults in the air to evade gunfire. Comic books exist in part because we, as human beings, seem to like to make up stories about things that aren't actually possible. It's okay for them to have "story arcs". Real life doesn't have story arcs, but comic books don't have to totally (and, I would argue, shouldn't) mirror real life.

Bottom line: Death in comic books works when it feels as though it's part of "The Plan". Maybe it doesn't have to immediatly resonate as "I know why they did that!" but, in general, within six months to a year of an event taking place, we should either know why an event made sense to the writer, or know for damn sure that an explanaition is coming as part of the evolution of the story.

Now, in her essay, Remix argues that the editors of DC have taken great pains to emphasize that, in their opinion, "realism = death and unhappiness". And whether or not you agree or disagree with her, an argument can be made that, with so much killing in the DC universe, there's frankly not a whole lot of room for anything resembling realistic reactions to realistic situations. There isn't even time for there to be a grand "story arc" in progress: the continuity of the comic book either doesn't support itself long enough to last a full year's worth of comics, or, as has been happening recently, the deaths of these characters aren't dealt with by those left behind at all.

Now, DC certainly isn't the first place for the "random unexplainable death" to occur for reasons that obviously have nothing to do with character development.  Things like this happen in other media all the time. A famous example that comes to mind is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle getting sick enough of his most famous and beloved character Sherlock Holmes that he threw him off a waterfall with the intent of killing him and moving on. And in a universe as vast and expansive as DC, "trimming the excess fat" isn't always a bad idea. It makes sense that periodically, the focus needs to shit from certain characters to others, and that new faces should be allowed to step into the spotlight. Hell, poor Supergirl doesn't seem to be able to hold on to her rightfully coveted title of "Supergirl" for longer than a few years before she's written out, killed off, and replaced by some new, shinier, more modern version of herself. And, bear with me: while these transitions are hard to bear, that's still not my point.

Some math: A quick look at the above list of characters that have been killed off in the last two years (and it's not even anywhere NEAR a complete list) reveals that all of those characters were created at least three years prior to being killed off/written out of the comics. Now, taking a few liberties to save myself a lot of research (and you, a lot of boring and pointless explaining) let's assume that each of those characters appeared in one or two titles regularly, and appeared in every issue of those titles from the time they were created until they were killed off. Assuming there's a monthly release schedule, that's anywhere from twelve to twenty four issues a year in which those characters appeared. A normal comic book is usually about twenty four pages long: that's something like the potential for 576 pages a YEAR that contain drawings, stories, plots, imagery etc, all relating to the same character.

Now, Cassandra Cain, whose been around in the DC universe since 1999. While not prominently featured at first, Cassie's transition to "the New Batgirl" is arguably an important one for DC, because she's the first person other than the original Batgirl (the one whose more associated with the name, the costume, and the Batman universe in general, having appeared in or on everything from tee shirts to animated series to live action movies) to call herself "Batgirl". Cassie's assumption of the Batgirl persona is arguably HUGE for DC, because it means there's another reason to care about what happens in the Batman universe.

Cassie had her own title that lasted 73 issues, during which time she also appeared in the titles Batman, Robin, Birds of Prey, and many other prominent DC comic series. That's about six years and a half years. SIX YEARS worth of time spent developing an archetype (girl with ninja like prowess who becomes a superhero) and making her into a person. SIX YEARS.

Which, have now, apparently, amounted to nothing in the eyes of the current ownership of DC.

And even better example? What if DC actually HAD killed Dick Grayson? Dick Grayson's been a thinking person in the imaginations of comic fans for LONGER THAN ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL READ THIS HAVE BEEN ALIVE.
The deaths of these characters feel like a waste of years and years of blood sweat and tears that went into creating them. It makes me sad to be a comics fan. It makes me not care about what happens to the characters I used to care about who are still alive. I don't feel that those sacrifices in the name of "grit" or "realism" are worth it.

The DC universe is bleeding. And, given the fact that editors don't seem to notice, there's nothing we can do about it but vote with our pocketbooks. It's a shame, really. I wanted to like DC after Infinite Crisis. I really did. I wanted to like Tim Drake after they killed off his girlfriend, stepfather and best friend, all in the same year. Now, I just can't. How dark a day is it when fans can't even say that they like something that they love?

^1. With the exception of Superman. There's a reason that Project Rooftop suggests not redesigning his costume.

10. Wild Card, Parts 1 and 2

This episode is plenty of fun with a dash of creepy. Aside from the fact that we finally get to meet a slightly retconned Royal Flush gang in their "original" state, we also get to see John and Shayera's first kiss, Shayera with her helmet off, and a creepy-ass redesigned Joker. It's one of the best early ensemble episodes in terms of showing the relationships between the characters.


9. Hereafter, Part 1

Easily some of the most beautiful thirty minutes on television for anyone who's ever loved Superman. Wonder Woman's grief, Wally's realization that he can't goof off as much without Big Blue to back him up, Batman's speech about respect...I...there are just...no words.

8. This Little Piggy

YOU try and come up with something that's more comedic than Batman singing "Am I Blue" to a nightclub audience in order to find a way to change Wonder Woman back into a woman after she's been turned into a pig. Knew you couldn't.

7. Epilogue

A part of me got exactly what I needed in this episode, and a part of me didn't. I'm not crazy about the structure (the black and white sequences are confusing, IMHO) and I'm not sure how I really feel about Terry being a clone of Bruce Wayne. What I do love about it? Is that it answers Terry's questions about why he has to keep being Batman with a simple, beautiful one word answer: Bruce. And you don't really need more than that. And after all, isn't Terry's statement "Like my old man" true, whether or not Bruce is his biological father? I'm inclined to think it is. It's not a perfect bookend to "On Leather Wings", but as continuity enders go, I'll take it.

6. Ancient History

I don't know about you, but I needed this episode. Badly. And when I got it, I slept better afterwards.

5. Double Date

Taking a page from Miller's book: Gail Simone writes JLU. Gail Simone writes JLU. Gail Simone writes JLU. GAIL SIMONE WRITES JLU. VERY VERY GOOD GOOD THINGS HAPPEN. Like Huntress. And Question. Making with the looooooove. Do I love my fandom? HELL YEAH I DO. If you can find a JL episode that's sexier, I'll give you a damn cookie.

4. Secret Origins Parts 1 and 2

Boy, did we EVER get off on the right foot here, huh? Yeah. Can't you feel it? Something amazing is about to happen. And we get to watch. It rocks to be us.

3. For The Man Who Has Everything Parts 1 and 2

I can't explain. I just flail, point, and proclaim my love for Bruce, Clark, and anything that involves both Bruce and Clark.

2. Starcrossed, Parts 2 and 3

I know that a lot of people don't like Shayera...and they're wrong. And when I have to prove that to them, these are the episodes I refer to. Yes, it's ironic, given that she betrays the Justice League, but...even if you can't love Shayera on her own merits as a character, look at the beautiful, complex web of emotions her actions elicit in the rest of the Justice League. Doesn't that make everything worth it? As an additional bonus, this episode contains the first time we see Wally with his mask, and Bruce and Diana's first very sexy kiss. Mmm, UST. I dare you not to cry when Shayera leaves. I dare you. Kiss my Axe indeed.

1. The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped

Batman Beyond, Justice League, same Bat Times, Same Bat Station. My. God. YES. This is the kind of pleasure one normally only gets from fanfiction, and it's here, it's real, it's now, and it's animated goodness. Kevin Conroy is the greatest voice actor ever, and this episode makes me shiver. All over. In a good way.

This deserved it's own post.

Really, it did.

Okay, so I know, that it's dangerous to try and make different stories that are part of the same continuity mesh on the same timeline. I KNOW.

But. Um. Batman/Superman/Justice League/Batman Beyond/Static Shock/Zeta Project is all one big timeline/verse.

Here's my issue: Given that in "Starcrossed", the finale of JL season 2, the Batcave has the Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin costumes in their "retired" display cases, and that the Joker is present only a few episodes earlier in "Wild Card", that would mean that the events in the flashback in Return of the Joker would have had to take place sometime between "Wild Card" and "Starcrossed".

And well. That's not entirely implausible, but, well, yikes.

The timeline, then, would go something like this:

0. Prior to Wild Card, at some point, Nightwing either a) quits the Batfamily, officially, once and for all, or b) revises his costume. A revised costume would not end up in the Batcave, since Bruce only seems to store versions of costumes that were "sanctioned" by him. (An example of this is that Barbara's original Batgirl costume never appears in the cave.)

1. The Joker tries to blow everyone up. The Justice League stop the Joker, and Green Lantern and Hawkgirl finally acknowledge their mutual feelings and begin a romantic relationship.

2. Tim Drake goes out on patrol and is captured by Harley Quinn.

3. Tim Drake is tortured for information, Harley Quinn and the Joker brainwash him, etc.

4. The Joker discovers Batman's true identity, Batman and Batgirl are lured to the Joker's hideout, about two weeks after the date of the kidnapping.

5. The Joker is killed by Tim Drake.

6. At some point during these two weeks, Shayera and John probably sleep together, most likely at his apartment, given her remarks about "having seen his underwear drawer" and "getting Chinese food from that restaurant near your place".

7. Tim Drake is rehabilitated, sufficiently enough that Bruce can fire him.

8. Tim's costume is placed in the display case.

9. At some point during this time, Barbara quits.

10. The events of Starcrossed begin.

Now, if this is in fact the sequences of events, there are several conclusions we can draw from Batman's behaviour here, all of which are a little startling.

•  Think of the implications of his flirting with Wonder Woman, or his revealing his secret identity to the only person on the team who didn't already know and who would care, Wally West. He's just been abandoned by his entire Batfamily, including what was possibly the closest thing he had to a girlfriend. The thing he does during Starcrossed are his way of compartmentalizing his life down to the point where that doesn't bother him anymore, but he's still obviously motivated by all of it, a classically Bruce thing to do. Having been left by Barbara? Good reason to be macin' on Wonder Woman. Having lost Tim? He now gains Wally, AND lets the entire Justice League INTO HIS HOUSE. As in, they met Alfred. And he served them some of the non-medicated cocoa.
  
• Shayera's betrayal must have been especially painful for him, even though if anyone suspected it, it would have been Batman. I mean, Bruce being Bruce, he probably sees what happened with Tim as a betrayal to a certain extent.
• Bruce's comment to Green Lantern about "women" takes on a whole new light, since, OMG, BABS JUST LEFT HIM.
• Batman? Has a death wish. And given that he blames himself for the horrible things that happened to Tim, and that Barbara has just left him, and that the new shiny family he has is totally coming apart at the seams, it's REALLY EASY to see why.
• Clark, of course, can't let Bruce die. And Brue realizes, that the JL IS his new family, and while they can't replace the Bats, they can in fact keep him just stable enough to plug away at it forever another forty years or so.
  
  

Or, it was all just retcon. You choose.

WARNING: THIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SUPERMAN RETURNS, AND IN FACT IS PROBABLY BEST UNDERSTOOD IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE MOVIE. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE MOVIE BEFORE YOU HAVE SEEN IT.


Still with me? Good.


In this post, I am not going to give you my overall review of the Superman movie. I'm not going to talk about the special effects, the majority of the casting, and I'm not going to talk about glaring retconning that went on in the writer's room, or the fact that Jimmy Olsen has the HUGEST man-crush on Clark Kent since he let Clark move in with him back in the 60's.

In this post, I'm going to talk about Lois Lane. And it's not going to be positive, and it's not going to be pretty.


I do firmly believe that superhero comics have a long way to go in terms of equal treatment for both sexes. Never have I been more convinced that Hollywood has even farther to go.

Why?

Here's a list.

1. Lois Lane won a Pulitzer Prize for an article she wrote about why the world doesn't need her ex-boyfriend. It is heavily implied that she only did this because she was pissed off at him for leaving her,
   
2. Thus making her the least professional journalist ever...
3. ...nevermind the fact that the movie never once bothers to let us in on what Lois' arguments were, a fact that only serves to reaffirm the first point.
   
4. There is no such thing as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who doesn't know how to spell 'catastrophe'.
5. Unless it's more than implied that said female journalist's only real worth anyway is that she once may or may not have gotten into Superman's pants.
6. Ms. Lane, a supposed hard-hitting journalist who has to walk around on concrete all day, wears black pumps with four inch heals to work.
7. The only way in which Lois can get the stories she wants to write about is through her fiance, who is a) a man, and b) her editor's nephew.
8. Nevermind the fact that she's won a Pulitzer Prize and apparently has a lot of clout because of it.
   
9. The only time in the entire movie that two women have a conversation with each other is when Peta Wilson, in a very small guest role, tries to politely but vaguely answer Lois' questions about a ship that is about to serve as a plot device for Superman to jump back into Lois' life.
10. And no, sorry, but Bechdel's Law does NOT apply because of that minute exchange.
11. Lois Lane's son, Jason, is captured by Lex Luthor, because it doesn't occur to his supposedly brilliant mother that while snooping around on a stranger's yacht uninvited, it's not a good idea to bring your four year old son in tow.
12. In this movie, Lois Lane never once gets herself out of a life threatening situation. When she needs to be rescued, it is always by a male, even if she isn't being rescued by Superman.
13. Perry White starts asking Lois Lane about the Pulitzer Prize ceremony by asking her if she's picked out a sexy dress.
14. The only woman in Lex Luthor's entourage is a complete idiot who serves little purpose other than to provide the occasional bit of comic relief, and to fall in love with Superman.
15. Ma Kent is in the movie for less than five minutes, and during that entire time, she is talking about a man.
16. Jor-El's monologue about fathers and sons is very gender specific,  when it would have been just as easy to write about the concept of "parent-child" .
17. Jimmy Olsen is more calm and levelheaded in a situation in which everything (including the ground under his feet) is crumbling around him than Lois Lane is when she's being threatened by one muscular bad guy with a rock.
18. As a futher testament to the stupidty exhibited by the women in this movie, Lois Lane's son is depicted as having difficulties breathing without an inhaler, and several other health problems are referred to. It is revealed later that Lois has taken up smoking.
19. Lar-El is never referred to. Once.
20. Superman has an easier time recognizing the true paternity of his child whose birth he never witnessed than the child's mother who has raised him does.
21. Lois Lane's four year old son recognizes Clark Kent as Superman before Lois herself does, despite the fact that she's known Clark for years, and despite the fact that Clark Kent and Superman both arrive back in Metropolis after a five year absence on the same day.
22. The only person other than Lois' son who comes close to noticing Clarks' obvious physical resemblance to Superman is Lois' fiancee.
    
23. When Lois exclaims loudly to her editor that she has already "done Superman", Jimmy Olsen snickers, Clark Kent makes a face, and Perry White looks suprised, even though they all knew what she was really talking about.
24. Ten bucks says that if Clark Kent had been asked to cover Superman and protested the same way Lois did, none of the characters in the movie would have giggled or batted an eyelash.
    
25. The only idea for an article Lois can come up with after the world nearly ends is about, you guessed it, a man.
26. The article's title, "Why the World Needs Superman" is supposed to refute the arguments made that won Lois a Pulitzer, thus reaffirming that she is a catty, bitter ex-girlfriend who never really believed the things she wrote about in the first place.
27. Perry White regularly checks up on Lois's progress on her articles. When Lois asks about an article Clark Kent is supposed to be writing, Perry merely says "I'm sure Kent's handling it."
28. Nearly every "look up in the sky!" shot features a close up of a little boy, because girls aren't supposed to have fantasies about flying, being strong, or being a superhero.
29. The only characters in this movie who exemplify fidelity are all male.
30. The main character male villain, who we are honestly supposed to like as much as we like Superman (because he's Kevin Spacey, and because he's Lex Luthor, and not a terribly villainous one) has a girlfriend who he is verbally and emotionally abusive to. She never sticks up for the sake of her own dignity, instead rebelling only for the sake of saving/protecting Superman.
31. Even after Lex Luthor nearly killed Superman and billions of other people, his girlfriend shows no signs of wanting to leave him, despite having expressed displeasure at both of these concepts many times.
32. Despite the apparent enormity of the Metropolis Police Force, there are no female police officers, security guards, or law-regulating officials of any kind in the movie.
33. There are, however, lots and lots of female nurses, and lots of male doctors and male cops.
34. Even when Superman is rescued from drowning by Lois Lane, it is only because her fiance piloted the aircraft they carried him in, and because her son spotted his body in the water.
35. When Superman nearly drowns, it is his father's words to him about the nature of father's and sons, and not thoughts of the woman he loves who he has spent the entire movie obsessing over, that gives him hope.
    
    In other, unrelated news, the trailer for the new Spider-Man movie kicks ass.
    

Hello everyone! Welcome to my little blog about all things sequential art. :D I plan to post whatever I feel like here, so long as it pertains to my love of comics somehow. Links, critiques, random OMGSQUEE! moments, etc... It should be an interesting ride.

Onto the most recent thing that's been on my mind latley: feminism and the modern comic book fan. A few days ago I discovered the list of links to feminist resources on Girls Read Comics (and they're pissed!) and found that many of the arguments these women (and men, some of them) made really hit home with me. I am very sick of people insisting "Well, comics are mostly for boys anyway, so why should they bother to appeal to women?"

Because it's not about whether or not comics should be appealing to women. Sexism shouldn't appeal to anyone, regardless of the medium. There are plenty of overt examples of sexism in comic books, but those aren't the ones I'm personally concerned about. What worries me most are the little examples of sexism that people, particularly  the young people who read comics, are accepting subconsciously because they're part of the sexism that's ingrained into our culture, and because they aren't taught to think about what they read.

There are plenty of well-written intelligent rants on this subject elsewhere (particularly at the link above), so rather than talk about something others have spoken about more eloquently, I figure I'd rather do something that most people haven't done while discussing this topic: give you a list of some titles/authors, etc, who get the whole "equal treatment thing" right.

Birds of Prey by Gail Simone. It doesn't hurt that it's author is the creator of Women in Refridgerators, one of the websites that sparked controversy and fueled the feminist-comic book fan movement. And that 99 percent of the characters that appear in this comic are women. And that two members of the Birds of Prey happen to be the two most prominent female members of the Batfamily. Seriously. Go read it.

Spider-Girl, and no, I am NOT talking about that Jessica Drew/Charlotte Webb/Mattie Franklin bullshit. I'm talking about Mayday Parker, the alternate universe "what if Mary Jane and Peter's baby had lived and had super powers?" herione who I grew up reading and who kicks major ass. Go to your local comic book store, dig through their back-issues, and hunt down the series, dating from it's earliest issues when it was a "Marvel 2" title. Little piece of trivia that reaffirms my point: Spider-Girl is the only Marvel title that has ever been cancelled and brought BACK from cancellation by popular demand. And it's survived cancellation three times.

Super Girl by Peter David, particularly back in the days before she lost most of her powers, started to be drawn with huge boobs and an apple bottom, and wore two strips of fabric for clothing. No, seriously, before those last twenty issues or so, Super Girl was easily one of the most interesting women in the DC universe. She was a thinking person, a powerful being, and one of my favorite role models from when I was growing up. One of the Wonder Woman archetypes of my generation, really, and oh, so much more. Even as it degenerated into the usual DC boobiful tripe, I was sad to see it go.

TRINITY by Matt Wagner. The story of how Batman and Superman met Wonder Woman. Aside from the fact that that concept alone is just fun, the only dissapointing thing about this comic is that it ends. Frank Miller should take notes on how deftfully Wagner's lovely artwork and dialogue carry the dynamic between Batman and Wonder Woman in this story. They both start out how they should be: Batman is every bit the gruff, arrogant perfectionist bastard , and Wonder Woman is just as sexist (yes, you heard me, sexist) as any woman who grew up believing that all the evil in the world came from men would be. It's a perfect story that treats all three of DC's finest heroes with equal respect. It should also be noted that Matt Wagner wins my heart for knowing that Batman would want an invisible jet.

Astro City by Kurt Busiek. Here's the thing: I'm aware that the first volume of Astro City does contain an argument between Samaritan (the AC equivalent of Superman) and Winged Victory (the AC equivalent of Wonder Woman) about feminism. And honestly, that's part of why it's on this list. I don't know about you, but I sometimes lie awake at night and wonder: does Diana rescue more woman than men, deliberately, and if so, is that really the way to combat the sexist nature of the Superhero/Man's world universe? This is a good read because it's a good read, but it's also a good read because it gives you something to think about.

Alias by Brian Michael Bender. Alias is proof of two things that make my heart happy: Firstly, that adult oriented comic books don't have to be pornography just to please their audience. Secondly, women in comics can be sexy, have sex, and talk about sex, while being a lot more than just sexy cardboard cutouts.  I have a thing for Jessica Jones. I am not afraid to admit this. Even if there is an alternate universe in which she marries Captain America (no, really!)

There's your summer reading list, folks. Go forth!