Monday, May 19, 2008

Vixenification Right On Damn Schedule

FUCK YOU, DC

Give with one hand and take away with the other. Vixen has been getting on a lot of covers this year; As a White Woman

Posted by Avalon's Willow at 4:33 PM
tagged: , ,

9 comments:

  1. AnonymousTuesday, May 20, 2008 at 1:58:00 PM EDT

    This may not work for you, but here's how I've decided to solve this problem.

    Step One: Stop reading mainstream comics.
    Step Two: Repeat step one.

    In other news, I picked up Millennia War by Ashley Woods and Yume and Ever by Alitha Martinez at ECBACC this weekend. Good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Avalon's WillowTuesday, May 20, 2008 at 3:16:00 PM EDT

    DF:

    I'm only holding out in mainstream for what happens next with Dazzler. I've given up on seeing more for any of my other favs, far less my fav WoC/CoC.

    How was Ms. Nichols?

    *makes note of Millenia War & Ever*

    Wowio has also soothed me in the looking elsewhere department. Through them I'm finding things someone with limited mobility wouldn't otherwise find.

    It's just... it hurts, y'know? Especially since I've just spent the last three or four years making my way back, spent the last two writing about it...

    It's like I came back to get the door slammed in my face. Where's my fattened calf? Where are my kisses?

    ReplyDelete
  3. notinthefaceWednesday, May 21, 2008 at 4:56:00 PM EDT

    Jeez, I've heard of whitewashing, but "redwashing"?

    This cover skates by with a "D-" when I can think of 50 ways they could have gotten an "A". (Way#1: getting someone like JG Jones or Alan Davis to draw it.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousThursday, May 22, 2008 at 10:06:00 AM EDT

    Nichelle Nichols was glorious. I felt like a peasant before royalty.

    Woods has a spot where you can check out Millennia War previews here:

    http://www.millenniawar.com/previews.html

    If you like what you see, I'm sure she'd be willing to let you put in an order by mail.

    [It's just... it hurts, y'know? Especially since I've just spent the last three or four years making my way back, spent the last two writing about it...]

    Oh, I know what you mean. It hurts. Which means I can't stick around to continue to get hurt. And to be honest, I had to know that technology was eventually going to help mainstream comics catch up with Hollywood. Marvel and DC are just changing these characters to the way they would have preferred them to appear from the beginning. I don't like it, but there's really nothing I can do but read and promote something I do like. The books are out there. Now I just have to grab a bullhorn and tell people about them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mr. BrettersonSunday, May 25, 2008 at 2:05:00 AM EDT

    I hate to say it and I feel I'll get my ass kicked for this but she looks darker than all the other (white) characters to me.

    Am I insane?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Avalon's WillowSunday, May 25, 2008 at 11:56:00 AM EDT

    Mr. Brettson:

    The short version: A black woman's skintone doesn't work that way. Vixen's original skin tone wasn't 'high yellow', it was brown. Please do not bring up Halle Berry or Mariah Carey.


    The long version: Because you may be blind to the realities of skin tone in People of Colour.


    The picture is a mishmash of red shadow and white spotlight.

    You may be looking at her hands which are darker than the rest of her, and the area just under her neck; these body parts are either covered in the red shadow or are created shadows against the white spotlight.


    The character of Vixen should actually be the colour of her hands - all. over. her. body. As it is, her face, shoulder and chest/breasts are the same as Animal Man who doesn't have the spotlight making his suit as shiny or highlighting his chest.


    The leaugers on the ground are pinker because they're not in the shadow, the white spotlight falls directly onto them, cutting into the red shadow enough to turn some things pink.

    Example - Zatana's corset is the same colour as her skin. Last I checked she wasn't actually white as paper. So it's about tinting hues of the red shadow when there's the spotlight.

    The GL's green also shaded into something not pink, but a flatter and darker red tinted colour. So there is no excuse that they didn't know what would happen to a darker tone under the red light.

    Vixen is purposely highlighted, chest and thighs with the brighter light. And the resulting highlight doesn't reveal a dark skintone, but the paler skin of someone Caucasian in dueling light sources.

    Vixen's original skintone would be cast to near black in the under chin shadows with that light and her exposed chest and arm would pale differently in shades of brown, not beige.

    This is my last word since I have walked away from DC and Marvel. Any more racial blindness or stupidity (by anyone) following this will result in the feared ass kicking.

    My journal is not the place for Art 101. There are colleges for that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. notinthefaceThursday, May 29, 2008 at 1:21:00 AM EDT

    Also, the cover editor(s) knew it would be the cover of a Vixen-centric issue. How fucking difficult would it have been to make a cover centering on Vixen and Animal Man that had her regular brown skin color?

    ReplyDelete
  8. notinthefaceThursday, May 29, 2008 at 1:23:00 AM EDT

    Gaaah! I hate comment moderation! (Although I respect your reasons.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Avalon's WillowThursday, May 29, 2008 at 6:37:00 AM EDT

    NotInTheFace:

    Without comment moderation, I'd be deleting comments and much, much, meaner. My blood pressure would also be higher.

    I'm usually fairly good at enabling conversation on the blog in a timely manner, however.

    ReplyDelete

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