SPECIAL EDITION #1: PoC SciFi & Fantasy Carnival

Special Edition: The IBARW Edition hosted @ lj on The IBARW Community.

Links, links, links and more links. If you missed some of the wonderful discussion of IBAR2 the first time around, find it now. Read. Browse. Self-educate.

There's been a lot going on recently; discussions, trolls, flames. The links here might lead to better conversations seeing as how 2007 seems to be the year we discuss how to discuss racism so that we're all on the same page when it comes to addressing it.

Coming near the end of the month, a regular edition, hosted at Willow_dot_com @ Lj IF I don't hear back from assigned hostess Starkeymonster / Julia's Livejournal.

Submission deadline 10/20. Post goes live 10/24.

Apparently A Part 2 Is Needed

Dear AOL Proxy Anonymous 205.188.117.134,

If you find this fat, round, freckled, black lesbian so boring/annoying, why are you still reading?

And why are you behaving in a manner that makes me reconsider allowing anonymous postings (for the sake of OpenID)?

I don't know why you're concerned about whether or not I get laid. The last time I checked the value of a woman was not in her ability to lay down and spread them - contrary to what certain fundamentalists and neo-conservatives would have us believe.

I am not a walking vagina and uterus here to incubate under law.

This is not A Handmaid's Tale.

Am I meant to cringe that some stranger who's never met me doesn't think I'm pretty? Am I meant to be upset that I'm not a paragon of starvation beauty? Hell boy, I'm black - I wouldn't be a paragon of beauty in general American perception without blonde weave and contact lenses. Now in parts of Africa and the Caribbean it might be another story.

Am I meant to be upset that you think some form of sexual frigidity and unhappiness is why I don't like to see the beauty of things female and feminine reduced to arse and tits for male enjoyment / due to male lack of creativity / due to male lack of breaking long grooved thought patterns of women as the done to and men as the doers?

Have you been comprehending my blog? I know you've been reading, but has it sunk in?

Ahem, attention anyone else reading this blog; I am a fat, black, freckled, dreadlock sporting, bosom having, brown eyed gal. I believe that woman's equality should be factored in things big and small. The comic industry's portrayal of what a woman's role should be in a heroic, potential for prosperity society is as important to me as women being stoned for not covering head to toe in certain countries is as important to me as women being mutilated so their husbands can be assured they'll never enjoy sex and thus never cheat.

It all factors into global consciousness. (aka the bigger picture, what life will be like 7 generations down the line)

Attention Buttwipes, Turds, and the Terminally Ego Damaged

Someone replied to my post on the WonderHero costume with "You complain too much to be taken very seriously Willow". Note the lack of comma. The comment was of course, anonymous.

For a moment, reading that line within the comment, I felt hurt. And then a reality check slapped me upside my head. This is the net. This space is being used for a blog (vs a journal which is far more personal). This space is only about what I like and don't like. And I've been upfront as f*ck about not feeling the squee recently.

There's a fabulous post written here about Privilege as a Bodyguard. I was thinking about posting about it here and now I am, because WTF? Comic fan boys complain. They complain that someone's been given some love interest to distract them from fighting. They complain that someone's not being shown as strong enough in their current storyline. They complain about writers, artists, inkers, editors and the executives. It's what they do.

So why is it when a fangirl complains, she's not a fan with gripes she's writing out in a journal. She's suddenly someone not to be taken seriously?

Then again, maybe the anonymous poster meant to tell me that they ordinarily find my reflections on comicdom interesting but I complain too often and am unhappy too often and so my brilliant thoughts will never be taken seriously; because the world is full of arsewipes who want women, blacks, asians, first peoples, gays and the disabled to just play nice and smile and bow their heads when something bothers them, because no one pays any attention to suggestions unless they come wrapped in a bow addressed to Master.

To which I say a hearty FU.

Just because you have the effing bodyguard doesn't mean I'm going to fear you and thus arrive humbly and submissively in high heels in an impractical outfit, wherein my boobs don't work the right way and my skin is several shades too light and my existence as a lesbian serves only to titillate.

F*CK YOU.

No wait. Fornication can be plenty fun when it doesn't involve arseforbrains. And no one should be threatened with rape.

GET SMART.

Yeah, I said it. GO READ A BOOK.

GO SEARCH YOUR SOUL.

GO DO SOME WORK ON BECOMING A BETTER HUMAN BEING.

GO BUY A CLUE.

GO FEED YOUR BRAIN.

GO MINIMIZE YOUR EGO.

GO RESPECT YOUR MOTHER / SISTER / DAUGHTER / COUSIN / AUNT.

GO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BE AN ALLY TO THE REST OF THE HUMAN RACE.

Go Find A Way To Become Interesting

The rest of the world might actually wait for you.

I on the other hand, won't.

And as for this part:

"girl's can dress as female characters if they're in healthy shape...but guys?
you have to be a bodybuilder to wear a superman,batman,green lantern etc. costume.that sucks.

Yeah Right.

[ This now concludes my response to the self-crotch sniffing, tape measure ruling, chest oogling, masculinity threatened idiots of the world. ]

-Insert Flashy Pretty Stamp Here-

Dear Kalinara,

Why does The New Captain America look so much like Kurt Busiek's Silver Agent ? And not in that whole, Cap was first, Silver Agent was nth way.

Also since you know these things, is Patriot too young to have stepped into Cap's shoes should there be a need for a Captain America? Or is he solidly in his own persona?

-Willow

Take One

Halloween's a coming.

It's a time for little boys and girls and not so little boys and girls to dress up as their favourite heroes. A time for them to stride around pretending to zoom through the air, or hack helpless citizens to pieces all in performance for candy (or someone's house gets egged and tp-ed). A time for little girls to ...

[SCREETCH]

Ok so she's not a little girl. But a young woman, a teenager could presumably, maybe want to dress up like Wonder Woman - oh excuse me, Wonder hero. Random chick with white stars on blue bottom, gold thingies 'round her breasts and a red star.

I don't know if I'm glad they're not calling it Wonder Woman, curious if they thought they might get sued, or pissed at the flimsy skirt and wondering where the hell that cape came from. I'm pretty sure those boots aren't included.

damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn - Hating The Dubya B

Dear Warner Brothers,

I hate you.

Your decision, your new official policy that states girls are icky and don't sell at the box office therefore there will be no more movies with female leads, and the head of the studio doesn't even want to hear about movies with female leads, has me hating you.

I love Batman. You own Batman - you absolute wanking fuckers!

I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. Because of course now I have to fucking well boycott your stupid ass studio and not happily throw my money and inner fangirl at Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and not buy The Dark Knight the second it's available - likely through pre-order and not pimp it hard to my friends as the second coming.

Of course it could suck and have me doing all that anyway, but you had a fan in me you shit sucking, lice picking, arse scratching, brain damaged, Neanderthals in business suits!

Gah. As if it weren't bad enough that you're associated with woman choking, bitchslapping, evil raping, breast scraping, black people killing Supernatural.

Arrrgh!

Sometimes I wake up and hear shit and my brain explodes

Dear Dan Dido,

You are an ass.

But don't fret, this is just the opinion of a lone female who's too budget restricted to do more than buy trade paperbacks anyway. So it's not as if my opinion will mess up your revenue.

Still.

I love Batman.

No seriously. I love Batman the way fat mice love cheese, the way Paris Hilton loves getting high, the way basement dwelling fanboys love your product.

So to your idea of having Jason Todd take on the persona of Red Robin, Dick Grayson's elseworld persona from Kingdom Come - I call you an ass. An unmitigated ASS.

Robins are NOT interchangeable, fucker.

No no no no no. And NO.

Dick's aliases are Dick's aliases.

Come up with something else you unimaginative little shit.

Why couldn't / can't Jason reform the name Red Hood? It's not like DCverse is unfamiliar with the concepts of both Red Riding Hood or Robin Hood.

But never mind that. I'm just pissed because you're squeezing on some trite shit on my favourite Robin. That's right, my favourite. Jason Todd needed to be Robin. He needed to belong. He needed to feel wanted, loved and appreciated. And if you don't think a little pre-teen reading back issues could relate to that just cause she was a girl - well go suck your left egg.

Wanker.

Issue #3: People of Color in SF Blog Carnival

The third People of Color in Scifi & Fantasy Carnival is up and live @ Bellatrys Livejournal.

Please, please go take a look. It's a very interesting collection of links and commentary, noting everything from Victorian attitudes on the Dark Continent to the treatment of Characters of Color in Boy's Love Manga.

And she mentioned Coptic Art!

Also October has a host but I haven't heard back from the people who said they'd be interested in November & December. So, any takers?

Excited About Anime

I've taken to watching a lot of anime lately. Behind the cut-tag are my thoughts on the first 25 episodes of Claymore. The series runs 26 Episodes and I've got to wait around for the fansub of the final one (end of season, end of series, I don't know). But the last one aired this past Wed.

Before the cut, however, I will say that there are amazing similarities between Claymores (the female warriors in the series - which is also a manga - and Slayers, as in Btvs. Like there are serious similarities, but in a very interesting, if occasionally frustrating and potentially gender wtf way.

If you don't mind being spoiled for some concepts of the series, click the cut-tag. But I'm really going to try not to give away too much. I just need to say now that Claymores are female warriors who are half-human, half-demon, with blonde hair, run by a shadowy organization of men.



Yes, the parallel to the Slayer (aka Buffy the Slayer vs simply one of many) is right there in your face. And don't worry, if you like Faith - there's a Faith too.

Right from the start when I realized that shadowy male figures, who are obviously handlers, and are part of an organization with no name, are effectively controlling these amazing women - I went wtf.

I didn't like that episode of Buffy where we discovered that the first Slayer was essentially raped by demons, under the watchful eye of selfish tribal elders and that until Buffy came along women had been dying in the name of protecting humans from the dark as pawns of an organization of those elders and their descendants for centuries. It turned the whole concept of the blonde girl in the alley turning the tables on the monsters right back around to women as the victims. Not to mention women being granted power by men, but said power being so dangerous that the women need guarding ever after.

As Claymore reveals itself in it's first few episodes I felt more and more uneasy. And yet I was hooked by a very clever play on show it don't say it. Bad fiction tells me the protagonist is a hero (as in champion of good) but then shows me said character being selfish, dishonest, petty, vain and any number of other things.

Claymore tells me that these women warriors are not to be trusted, that they are dangerous tools barely held in check. But then it shows me a protagonist who affects people in positive ways. It shows me someone who is thoughtful, protective, aware of her limitations and faults.

And then it begins to show me why the protagonist and her comrades in arms might voluntarily wear a facade of uncaring. It shows me how they're treated by the populace and their own handlers. It shows me how even their friendships are used against them. Most of all it shows me that however these women were chosen or chose to become such protectors from the moment that was done, they were treated as less than humanity while protecting humanity.

There's an angle I loved about Season Five of Buffy, wherein Buffy slowly realizes that everyone is telling her how weak she is because of her power. As a survivor of abuse I know full well how easy it is to be talked, bullied and emotionally battered out of realizing that you can fight back, or walk away. I loved watching Buffy realize that she had several groups of people pulling the same shit on her to keep her from realizing the truth - that she wasn't lesser or wild or dangerous or even inexperienced and badly trained. (I guess that explains my dislike for S6. To me S5 was a high and then...well that's another essay)

Obviously in this kind of show, Claymore, the protagonist will be special some how in one way or more than one way. The similarities with Buffy continue, to me, in that unknowingly our protagonist draws people to her. Within an organization that seems determined to keep it's warriors isolated and alienated - for the most obvious reason, I suspect, of preventing them from banding together against their superiors - this is suspicious.

Loyalty, Caring and Warmth as suspicious.

How often are those considered to be defining traits of female characters (and women in real life for that matter) and how often are those very traits used as weaknesses? Her too soft heart. Her too caring attitude. She needs to toughen up. She trusts too easily. She's mislead through/by love. She's too open.

Over and over again. I've seen it in fiction.

Now truthfully any heroic figure with hangers on they care about is opening themselves up to hostage situations, pain and possible manipulation. But to me there's something distinct in how such possibilities set up female characters as self-created victims, whereas with male characters it's the villains doing something purely vile and 'not game' somehow. But I digress.

Claymore intrigues. There's the organization. There's our protagonist. There's her personality and actions and how those are viewed by the organization. And then there are the reflections of the protagonist in the form of her comrades. Remember all Claymores have blonde hair and oh yeah, silver eyes. So they're a group that look peculiarly alike.

The Faith reflection is a Claymore who likes blood too much. She lives for the fight, the thrill, the hunt, the action and the blood. Claymores are feared for being half-monster (called youma). The Claymore version of Faith is a monster, she's still simply wearing her human face. It's a self deception that had me wondering if there'd ever be circumstances where she'd come head to head with that or if instead she'd end up a monster with no idea she is a monster, because really if she feels the same on the inside what's the difference?

Ahh yes, the reason Claymores are feared for being half-monster is that Claymores tap into their demon potential in order to fight the human preying demons. But if they tap into too much they become a monster and have to be hunted down themselves.

What? You're saying I should have mentioned that earlier? Why? The organization keeps tabs on each warrior, remember? The moment one reaches that point - well snap chop cut it's over. Thank you for playing and no there's no door prize on the way out.

Besides this way even without seeing the episodes, hopefully you have a sense of a champion trying to do good, treated like an animal, in fear of her own abilities, all while attempting to follow the rules and her own sense of honor.

Let me know if you looked it up.

PS: It's also a Manga with a slightly variating plot.

x-posted personal journal

Wtf Comic World? WTF

The Stupid It Is Contagious At The Executive Levels

Or more than likely; Copycat Copycat OMG.

So Marvel goes and says : Hey Wolverine's a bit of the old slut and he's kind of ancient, he's got to have spawn lurching around the globe. So they make it so. With the really tired plotline of tortured bratty boy child, wants to kill his father, new nemesis, blah blah blah, shadow schemer manipulating him, blah blah blah.

I can dislike the storyline and not follow it and wait for Logan to get interesting again. No problem.

But what the fuck DAMIAN WAYNE?

Ibn al Xu'ffasch - Son of the Bat / Grandson of the Demon, raised in secret by Talia, part of an ELSEWORLD UNIVERSE is suddenly canon? And roaming around being balls to the gas pedal bastardastic?

I know there's no such thing as a new story, just creative ways of telling the same stories told and retold and expanded upon since the beginning of time.

But seriously DC? Seriously?

I know if I say: Have Thee No Shame - someone will tell me that there's no proof or something that that they're copying a storyline, or mention that the concept of Batman's Son was going to fall off a licensing map or something.

I. Don't. Care.

I just... g'damn it. I have to wait another decade for DC to start doing stuff that doesn't make me want to stick all their wangs in an electric pencil sharpener.