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Post by M is for Morphine on Sept 9, 2013 21:47:52 GMT -5
Dc is killing me lately, and Dan DiDio is... man, where to even start. They're having a ton of creator walk-offs, most citing 'excessive editorial meddling'. I think there were, what, half a dozen 'unplanned team changes' over the last year? I know Brandon Graham previously dreamed of pitching a series to DC but dropped that plan suddenly after doing some work with them on a Vertigo title. What on Earth is even going on over there?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 8:52:23 GMT -5
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Post by Stal on Sept 10, 2013 9:34:47 GMT -5
I'm not sure I would call Harley much of a role model for girls to start with. Since her creation, she's always been rather unhinged and involved in a seriously abusive relationship with Joker. Not much to look up to in her character. (I can understand her popularity, but not so much any role model status).
But that aside, yeah, DC has been doing a lot to alienate its women fan base recently. Someone up there seriously doesn't have any idea how to connect with the fans and actual geek culture now.
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Post by Nimras on Sept 10, 2013 9:50:30 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Harley, but she's always been a model of what not to do. Even in the 'kid friendly' animated series, she and Joker had an emotionally and physically abusive relationship (seriously, watch the episode "Harley and Ivy"). She's got a classic case of Battered person syndrome. But for DC... I get the feeling that DC thought that the "adolescent male area -- no girls allowed and we're so edgy" market was a lot bigger than it really is. I don't think they realize that the comic book market has never been "no girls allowed" and that the girls who were buying (or stealing from their brother's collection in more sexist households) as kids are now adults with wallets who would like to spend money without having their sex thrown in their face as an insult.
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Post by M is for Morphine on Sept 10, 2013 10:12:09 GMT -5
It's very irritating, as DC has claimed they'd like to attract more female creators, not just fans, in the wake of a previous HR gender nightmare. My sister has done a small amount of professional comic work and when she heard about the try-outs she was keen on doing a test page. Until she read the script. A lot of her friends on facebook are female indie comic authors (very indie, kinkos chapbook kinda thing), the kind of people who have a good chance of doing big things in comics some day. They want to make it in the comics world, but not at the cost of doing work they find morally reprehensible. They aren't just alienating female fans, they're cutting off a sizable stream of future creators. Cool people with interesting ideas.
It really breaks my heart. I got into American comics through Vertigo titles, and I've enjoyed a lot of their comics in the past. I grew up watching BtAS. I even have a friend who works at DC (low man on the totem pole, they did not cause this and have no power to change it) who snuck me into a Wizard World several years ago, haha. They built up so much goodwill over the years, only to bleed it away at a startling rate.
I love comics. I mean, a lot. And I buy comics. When I look at my bookshelf, there's so much DC. Transmetropolitan. Planetary. Doom Patrol. V for Vendetta. Fables. Sandman. But the past few years, I've moved on to companies like Image, Archaia, and Dark Horse. I know my money doesn't count for much to a big company, but I wonder how long they can rest on their old accomplishments? How long before the goodwill runs out in more noticeable numbers? I don't know, maybe never. Maybe Batman is enough to fill their coffers no matter how skeezy they get.
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Post by Yoyti on Sept 10, 2013 19:51:03 GMT -5
I don't have anything to comment on the sexism side of this, but I feel it necessary to say that the whole four-panels of suicide greatly disturbs me.
Although I have always found villain suicides to be extremely unsettling (Les Miserables*, And Then There Were None), especially if the villain was unhinged to begin with (Macbeth, Into The Woods**), this takes the cake. Especially in the context of a competition. That's just... wrong.
And "... wrong" is not a phrase I use loosely.
Sorry, I'll get out of here.
*For a given definition of "villain" **For a given definition of "suicide"
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Post by Dju on Nov 11, 2013 13:05:46 GMT -5
I just read this and was extremely uplifted: dispatches.cheatcc.com/dispatches/halo4punishessexism.html#.UoEZ4fmsjLQ...Except I made the mistake of scrolling down and reading the most offensive, sexist and primitive comments I have ever come across...and that's not even close to what's outside there. It kind of ruined my mood, really. But the Halo lady bosses deserve a round of applause, don't they?
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Post by Nimras on Nov 11, 2013 23:19:27 GMT -5
Yeah, it's pretty much never a good idea to read the comment section on an article about sexism or racism. It's like catnip for bigots.
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Post by M is for Morphine on Nov 12, 2013 12:22:58 GMT -5
Yeah, it's pretty much never a good idea to read the comment section on an article about sexism or racism. It's like catnip for bigots. It's like Helen Lewis says: But yeah, reading comments on articles about race is just as bad, if not worse.
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Post by Komori on Jun 11, 2014 23:51:55 GMT -5
Biggest pet peeve when the argument comes up about there needing to be more female representation in video games:
"Hey, if someone wants to write a story with male characters, don't mess with their vision. Don't try to control their creative choices."
Then those same people will turn around and complain how the new Zelda is celshaded, or new characters added/not added to the Smash Roster, or how 1886: The Order is purposely choosing 30 fps for their game. Or complain about the ending of a game *coughMassEffect*. They're allowed to complain about ALL FACETS of these "arteest's visionnnnn", but as soon as someone suggest there should be more female characters, now we're suddenly treating game developers like they're fluffin' Pablo Picasso.
You're allowed to have opinions about someone's "vision," especially if you're going to be giving that someone your money!
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Post by M is for Morphine on Jun 12, 2014 5:54:39 GMT -5
What really, really gets me is how Ubisoft cut female playable characters in Assassin's Creed: Unity multiplayer when the game takes place in the French Revolution. The revolution where a 24 year old Charlotte Corday famously assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, saying "I killed one man to save 100,000." You know, the woman they called "The Angel of Assassination". But women don't belong in that game!
You probably have actually seen her handiwork, The Death of Marat is an incredibly famous painting.
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Post by Komori on Jun 12, 2014 9:19:43 GMT -5
I'm hoping she at least makes an appearance in the storyline, but I'll admit I haven't really followed the story since the 2nd game.
I'm also irritated at their bs excuse that adding a female assassin would be twice the amount of animation work. Even the former animation director of ACIII tweeted that it would only take a couple days of work. :/
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Post by M is for Morphine on Jun 12, 2014 10:28:40 GMT -5
I'm hoping she at least makes an appearance in the storyline, but I'll admit I haven't really followed the story since the 2nd game. I'm also irritated at their bs excuse that adding a female assassin would be twice the amount of animation work. Even the former animation director of ACIII tweeted that it would only take a couple days of work. :/ No, two models is two works! Animators never reuse parts of anything, ever. XD
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Post by Dju on Jun 12, 2014 12:11:55 GMT -5
What really, really gets me is how Ubisoft cut female playable characters in Assassin's Creed: Unity multiplayer when the game takes place in the French Revolution. The revolution where a 24 year old Charlotte Corday famously assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, saying "I killed one man to save 100,000." You know, the woman they called "The Angel of Assassination". But women don't belong in that game! You probably have actually seen her handiwork, The Death of Marat is an incredibly famous painting. It broke my heart when I heard about it... I've always been a big Assassin's Creed fan. Despite having male characters as the main role, they've always brought interesting female characters that proved that the franchise itself did not support sexist ideals - characters such as Maria, Claudia Auditore, Catarina Sforza, Mary Read and of course - almighty Aveline (although that was PS Vita, ans I never got to play it ;- . AND THEN - BOOM. Anti lady characters policy out of nowhere with the ridiculous excuse that it's just too much work? Seriously? Seriously? They're saying they're just not doing it because they're feeling lazy? D: I don't think they're doing this out of sheer stubborness, it's a company - they look beyond that. But still, it's just so unreasonable. It's just so silly.
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Post by M is for Morphine on Jun 19, 2014 18:25:04 GMT -5
Normally I talk about news here, today I just want to vent a little. Went to a book store with my boyfriend. Asked him to look up the author of 'Roadside Picnic' on his phone (my phone is garbage) so I could see if they had. They didn't have it, which was fine, since I knew it was a long shot anyway. Got up the the counter and the clerk starts talking about the book... to Mike. Didn't look at me, didn't acknowledge any attempt by me to enter the conversation (about Eastern European science fiction). Dang it Mike doesn't even know what this book is. I am so tired of being ignored or talked over when it comes to 'nerdy' stuff. It happens all the time and it really bums me out. I just want to talk about the stuff I like but apparently I am sub-human dog dirt that is not allowed to speak.
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