Dear Mark Millar,

No, that doesn’t happen. Oh, sure, I’ve heard those sub-Dane Cook level comedians make those same sophomoric jokes: “Hnurr hnurr, I wish I was a lesbian, I’d just stare at myself all day, amiritefellas?”
It’s not funny. It’s really kind of offensively stupid. And the joke really doesn’t translate when being applied to gay men. Especially not when it appears in a comic aimed at 25-35 year old man-children who would probably shriek in terror at the thought of a nude gay man.
And yes, this is me being appalled at something in the worst comic since Skate Man. A fool’s errand at the best of times.

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Speaking of people who have apparently never met a real-life homosexual, I’m a little weary of people trying to make the Machine Gun Joe character in Death Race some sort of indicator of the progress of gay characters in mainstream films.
In the film, when the question of the character’s sexuality is introduced, it is quite clear from the context that it’s just a homophobic taunt. From one of the likable “good” characters, naturally, homophobic insults still being something that it’s okay for protagonists in mainstream films to say. Unlike smoking or racist insults.
Now, I’m aware that some of the film-makers have said that the character is meant to be gay, while others have not. In any case, there is nothing in the film itself to suggest the character is gay, save that insult. The character himself never declares himself to be gay. And the one vaguely “homoerotic” moment in the film is almost instantly deflected by the normalizing return of heterosexual values.
In a way, the film-makers have stumbled upon a neat trick; they get to take credit for a “ground-breaking” gay character in an action film without ever actually having to deal with a gay character.

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So, I keep thinking about Kevin’s posts about bad retailing decisions, mostly because I’m baffled that smart people keep missing Kevin’s point so badly. Either they think it’s a good thing for a retailer in a small margins business to actively discourage sales in the names of “integrity”–which is an argument that really phenomenally misses the point that comic shops being run like club houses instead of businesses is bad for the industry, or they keep bringing in this asinine restaurateur metaphor, as if a waiter suggesting the crab cakes because the clams with linguine are a bit off tonight is anything remotely like a retailer sending out a mass e-mailing to existing and potential customers insinuating that they’re idiots if they like a comic he doesn’t.
It all makes me reconsider that “smart” adjective.
But what I keep coming back to is that telling your customers your opinion of a book, and still selling it to them, are not mutually exclusive.

Amazing Spider-Man #2338; While many fans, myself included, were upset with what it took to bring the character to the new status-quo, the new creative teams on this title have met with critical and commercial success. A new storyline starts here for those curious about what’s been going on.
Astonishing X-People #2222; While the combination of Ellis and Bianchi are not to my taste, a new storyline starts here, tying in to the larger “Manifest Destiny” branding in the X-books. It’s a good jumping on point for those who enjoy Ellis’s super-hero work.

Hey, whoa, did you see that there? I gave as neutral a judgement as I could while still finding a way to tell interested customers to check the book out. And it was easy.
Of course, this doesn’t address the concerns of those bloggers who see nothing wrong with what the retailer in question did because he was bashing super-hero books in his newsletter. But I’m sure that if he had slapped a big NOT BUY on Kramer’s Ergot or Love and Rockets, the art-comix bloggers would have had my back.

Still moving, updates still to be spotty, so amuse yourselves with this:

NONA…Nerds Only Need Apply

I was thinking of this while reading a discussion of the new Star Trek film, and how my gut feeling is that the franchise hasn’t lain fallow long enough to remove the stigma of being for a hard-core cult audience that a new film version needs to be viable. That, to be truly effective, the franchise needs a Doctor Who or Battlestar Galactica length gap between old and new versions; long enough to make the old fans happy it’s back, but also long enough to make the wider audience comfortably nostalgic for it. At this point, it doesn’t matter how many pretty young men you pack into the film (and boy howdy, are they packing them into this movie…almost as if they’re deliberately banking on gay men and slashing fangirls shoring up the box office), the general public’s opinion of Star Trek is that it’s something for nerds, by nerds, and no one but nerds would have any interest in it.

But, I kind of like that turn of phrase, NONA, even if I must say so myself. And now I’m curious; what else out there in the pop culture spectrum do you think is being hurt (or helped) by the Nerds Only Need Apply attitude of creators?

Pete: “So, in that JLA Classified story, the only version of [villain of the piece] Red King that survived was the absolutely evil one, right?”
Me: “Yes.”
Pete: “Did that not make a lot of sense?”
Me: “It didn’t really, no.”
Pete: “Plus, if all the other versions of the Red King knew about the back-up plan, why didn’t he?”
Me: “Like you said, the story didn’t really make a lot of sense.”
Pete: “Does it seem like they’re just putting people on Classified who don’t know a lot about DC or care about continuity?”
Me: “Well, since JLA: Classified seems to be the dumping ground for inventory stories cluttering up the JLA editor’s desk drawers, I think it’s safe to say that the stories in the title aren’t in continuity.”

As for me, I was more put out by an odd…well, I’m tempted to call it an art error, but that’s mostly for lack of any other good explanation.

So, that’s the JLA versus the Royal Flush Gang. So, why are there seven of them, when there are only five cards in a poker hand? And, I read all five issues of that “4th Parallel” story, and I don’t recall seeing those two highlighted characters anywhere other than in that spread above…which was repeated exactly as is, with only dialogue changes, in the middle three issues of the story.

And why are there only five members of the Royal Flush Gang anyway? There are four suits in a deck, after all. Shouldn’t there be about twenty of them?

Actually, the comic oddity I want to see exploited someday is this: If Thanos is just Jim Starlin riffing off of Darkseid, and Mongul is just Jim Starlin finishing off Thanos stories with Superman instead of Captain Marvel (the bad one)…why hasn’t anyone done a story with Darkseid and Mongul?

(I have to apologise for that last paragraph, it was possibly too geeky even for me.)

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Favorite DC message board thread of the moment: Are D.C. creators completely sexist?

1. Sexless Ice Queen: It seems that every writer is afraid to address Wonder Woman’s sexuality. As far as I can tell, she has never had ANY serious relationships at all, since post-Crisis. You could argue that neather has Batman, but at least his relationship problems stem from his mission statement. (“I am a creature of the night. I can’t let anyone get too close, because they will hamper my mission to fight crime, and that’s all that matters.”) Superman is married to Lois. It seems like they don’t want to give Wonder Woman any sexuality because if a man is sexual, he’s a stud. If a woman is sexual, she’s a *****. Come on D.C., grow up and let Diana grow up, too. At least Batman had time to have a son, which brings me to my other point…

2.The Blessed Virgin Dianna: I’m almost positive (correct me if I’m wrong)that Wonder Woman is still a virgin. Why? It’s fine if that’s her choice, but I don’t believe that’s why. I think writers are afraid to let Dianna have sex, because then she becomes “unclean”. Women are sexual beings, and having sex is a natural part of being a woman. If Dianna is waiting until she’s married, please let her state that view. Leaving it ambigious is just annoying.

Now, I’m always a bit…concerned over people fretting about whether or not Wonder Woman is a virgin, but the bit I love is that later on in that same post:

4.Bathing Beauty: Finally, I will end with a simple statement about Wonder Womans wardrobe. SHE WEARS A BATHING SUITE TO FIGHT CRIME! Come on, D.C. It’s the year 2007, give the woman a pair of pants! How can any woman look up to a hero who runs around in hooker boots and a tiara? I know purists say, “her costume is iconic, you can’t change it!” Yes, you can, if it is better for the character. Instead, it just gets smaller and smaller, until all you can see is cleveage, and her a$$ hanging out.

So…you want a Wonder Woman that’s more of a sexual being, but you want her to wear a more frumpy costume?

So, the popular rumor of the day is that Jake Gyllenhaal is being considered for the title role in any Captain Marvel (the good one, not any of the Marvel ones) adaptation that may come out. Personally, I think it’s premature to worry about casting in a film like that, and Gyllenhaal is a bit younger and trimmer than I think Captain Marvel should be, but it’s not as if he’s a bad actor or couldn’t add muscle to his frame.

But go ahead and guess how comic book fans reacted to the “news.” Go ahead. Did they make reference to his latest role in Zodiac? Or perhaps to the role that first brought him to prominence, the sci-fi film Donnie Darko? Or perhaps his early, ground-breaking performance in Bubble Boy?

If you guessed that they made trite Brokeback Shazam jokes, well congratulations, you’ve obviously encountered fanboys before.

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Via Dave comes an interview with Doctor Who producer and writer Russell T. Davies. It’s an interesting article, not least for this paragraph, on how the show responds to fan complaints and criticisms.

But then, everything creates uproar in the Doctor Who online community. Fans spend hours logging what’s right – and what’s wrong – with Davies’s doctor. He just ignores them. ‘In the community of sci-fi shows, I think we’re the only one that actively ignores its online fanbase. American shows seem to court them, or pretend that they do. That way lies madness. I can’t think of a show that’s improved its quality, or its ratings, by doing it. It’s like going in search of a massively biased focus group – why would anyone do that?’

You might as well retitle that paragraph “Why no one cares about Star Trek anymore” or “What will kill (what’s left of) the comics industry.”

Ahem…that being said, I would be perfectly happy to see Davies quit the blatant Judeo-Christian symbolism in series 3. The Torchwood finale and Impossible Planet were rubbish.

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Several people have already linked to it, but if you haven’t seen it yet this translation of an interview with German cartoonist Ralf Koenig is worth a look. Because anything involving Ralf Koenig is worth a look.

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Shane has done some inspired Marvel propaganda posters. I think this She-Hulk one is my favorite.

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I know it’s also made the rounds since last week, but if you haven’t seen it, this bit of fan service from Manhunter #29 is inspired.

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I dig it when blogs that aren’t comics blogs talk about super-heroes in an entertaining and non-condescending way.
Tbogg on Marvel
Lance Mannion on Iron Man

I want to personally thank you for coming to the smart decision and removing Joss Whedon from the Wonder Woman film project. I’m sure it’s terribly obvious in hindsight, but the man was simply never a good fit for the project. In every interview he gave on the subject, he seemed disinterested in the film. Persistent rumors even suggest he never even bothered to finish writing a first draft of the screen-play. And I know I, personally, felt he was wrong for the film when he mentioned that he wouldn’t use any of the traditional Wonder Woman villains in the film. I’m sorry, but if you can’t think of a good filmic treatment for characters as diverse as the Cheetah, the Silver Swan, Ares, Circe, the Red Panzer, Paula von Gunther or Doctor Psycho, maybe you shouldn’t be writing a Wonder Woman movie.

(And I realize I’m in the minority on this point, but I just don’t see the cause in citing him as a “good” writer for female characters. Outside of pixie-ish ingenues prone to making contextually inappropriate pop culture jokes, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in writing women.)

Now, to address some of the complaints about this decision you’re likely to hear, let me take two I spotted right away as examples:

I don’t understand why Hollywood doesn’t just give this man a blank check and let him do whatever the hell he wants. I think he has proven he has the perfect blend of commercial sense and intelligence and the fact he has so much trouble getting a TV show/movie off the ground/on the air really speaks to how stupid Hollywood has become.

To clarify, Joss Whedon had one movie tank, a moderately successful cult television show, a struggling television show, a quickly cancelled television show, and a second film that tanked. Oh, and a couple of moderately successful comic books, by the current standards of the comic book industry. Not assigning such a person to a summer tent-pole, franchise-launching film is a sign of a studio executive trying to prevent the loss of great amounts of money, to my mind.

And while that response rather misses the point of the decision, I’m sure you’ll be getting plenty of responses like this:
First, to Time-Warner, two words:

Word the First: SUCK.
Word the Second: ME.

First, you braindead bastiches go over DiDio’s head, and shove that talentless, never-met-a-deadline-he-couldn’t-miss-by-a-country-mile, full of himself, arrogant ass Heinberg down our throats by putting him on the main (and may I point out, ONLY) Wonder Woman title. And what does that loser do? Well, when he can be bothered to get his head out of his rear for long enough to actually write a word or two, he undermines the character, puts together a pointless, kitchen-sink story that is one big fight, and writes dialogue that wouldn’t make it past an eight grade English teacher’s desk without serious concerns.

OK, Heinberg liked the TV show. WE GET IT ALREADY!

Second, you hire Joss Whedon to write and direct a film. You string him along for a couple of years, you look at a number of drafts, and then you decide that your view of the film is better than his. So, it’s better if we all start over with someone altogether new. Given your track record with Heinberg, I can only imagine what it is that you are looking for. Maybe you can make another “Catwoman”. Yeah, go for it.

Then, on top of all that bullsh*t, we get crap like Diana’s appearance in the last Green Lantern. (That’s not T-W’s fault. That’s Johns’ fault, who, when not writing Diana is great. However, he couldn’t find Wonder Woman’s character with both hands and a flashlight.)

What a total, utter, complete failure on every front. I’m done now.

There are two phrases I’ve been known to bandy around; “nerd rage” and “fan entitlement.” That excerpt above? It’s a near perfect example of both principles in action. An over-identification with a fictional character, to the point where any slight deviations from what the fan thinks should be done is taken as a personal affront, and inappropriate emotional reactions to something of ultimately trivial consequence.

(I mean, I’m a Wildcat fan, and a bit notorious for being one at that, but when Geoff Johns kills Ted Grant off at the end of the current Justice Society story-line, you’re not going to see any angry, bitter posts from me on every blog and message-board you can find, nor will I be calling Johns names. My borders might go black for a couple weeks, but that’s about it. This is because, while I’m a fan of the character, and care about what happens to him, I’m not fucking nuts.)

Lastly, and if I may be presumptive, there is one tremendous benefit to not having Whedon attached to the project. And that’s the possibility that Peter Dinklage could be cast as Doctor Psycho:

Sincerely,
Dorian Wright

Remember when I said that “Clone Thor” was the worst idea in a comic, ever? I spoke too soon. Marvel managed an even stupider idea with this “Penance” character. It’s almost as if they took all those fan complaints about the alleged “darkening” of the DC universe and decided to see if they could top that with the most inappropriate character they could find to make into a dark and grim angst machine.

I’m honestly flabberghasted at this. I don’t even feel slightly guilty for putting up a spoiler-ish post on a new comic, because if this knowledge “ruins” the comic for anyone, well, good.

I don’t even like the character, and I can tell that this is an insanely stupid idea.

The “Better Late, Literally, Than Never” Award
Goes to Marvel comics, for publishing a “creator-owned” Jack Kirby comics years after his death. I suppose at this rate, Steve Ditko might start getting some of the credit for creating Spider-Man sometime around 2030.

The “These Are Not The Queers You’re Looking For” Award
Goes to Marvel, for their entertaining to watch policy on gay characters. We went from “gay characters only in adults only titles, because we don’t want to offend bigots” to “we’re reviewing the policy” to “there never was any such policy” to “we love the gays, look, our flagship title Marvel Team-Up has a gay lead” to “oops, we just killed our gay lead character.”

The “You Kids Stay Off My Lawn” Award
Goes to a some-time blogger and comics commentator, nameless here because even I feel slightly guilty about picking on the guy, who felt the need to try and dictate who could and could not link to his on-line comments made in public forums. Guess what folks, the internet doesn’t work like that.

The “Taking My Ball and Going Home” Award
This very nearly went to Tokyopop, because of their attempt to make low-selling titles on-line exclusives, thus cutting direct market stores, the only venues which really had a chance to sell the niche, low appeal titles Tokyopop was pulling in the first place.
In the end, however, I think it has to go to Alias Comics, for dropping all their non-religious titles and selling what remains of their line only in Christian bookstores. It was about as bold a statement as to the niche nature of their product as they could make, really.

The “Well, Somebody Had To Say It” Award
This is all Grant Morrison’s, for telling us exactly what he thinks of Frank Miller’s proposed Batman vs. Al Qaeda series. The money quote:
Batman vs. Al Qaeda! It might as well be Bin Laden vs. King Kong! Or how about the sinister Al Qaeda mastermind up against a hungry Hannibal Lecter! For all the good it’s likely to do. Cheering on a fictional character as he beats up fictionalized terrorists seems like a decadent indulgence when real terrorists are killing real people in the real world. I’d be so much more impressed if Frank Miller gave up all this graphic novel nonsense, joined the Army and, with a howl of undying hate, rushed headlong onto the front lines with the young soldiers who are actually risking life and limb ‘vs’ Al Qaeda.

The “I Didn’t Make Him For YOU” Award
Chris Butcher wrote a thoughtful piece on yaoi, from the perspective of a gay man. Yaoi fangirls reacted with much horror, because they seemingly forgot that gay men are actually, you know, real, and might have an opinion about companies and creators making money off of fetishizing gay sex for teenage girls. And, in the process, the creepy homophobic/heterosexist attitudes of many yaoi fangirls was brought kicking and screaming into the light. So, this award goes to all those yaoi fans who can’t stand the thought of gay men putting in their two cents about mass media depictions of gay men.

The “Truth Hurts, Don’t It Fanboy” Award
Goes to Tim Leong and Comic Foundry, for articulating quite well just what is so damn off-putting about Wizard if you’re not part of the mouth-breathing section of comics fandom. For which he was much villified and called a hypocrite by those in the comics community with a complete inability to grasp nuance.

The “AHHH! Pornface!” Award
This is for Greg Land, who this year taught us all that you don’t need much to be an artist, just a stack of porn magazines and a lightbox. Hey, look, I can trace super-hero costumes over pictures of porn stars too, where’s my Marvel contract?

The Creepiest Realization of 2006
At some point this year I realized what, exactly, was causing me to hate Kitty Pryde so much. When the character first appeared she was, to borrow a phrase from manga and anime fandoms, a moe-ish type. She was the ideal comic book girlfriend of those folks who were just a tad too into their X-Men comics. But, as Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men has made crystal-clear, she’s morphed into more of a Mary Sue figure for the mostly male comics audience. If you will, the attitude from fans has gone from “I think of her as a younger sister…that I wanna screw” to “I wish I was a super-genius Jewish ninja getting fucked by a Russian body-builder.”
I mean, the fan attitude towards the character was messed up to begin with, but the Mary Sue appeal brings up all kinds of weird, kinky psycho-sexual issues with comics fans that I just do not want to think too much about.

The Cognitive Dissonance Award
All those comic fans complaining about all the sex in Lost Girls. You…you don’t want borderline inappropriate porn? Since when?

The “Worst Idea Ever, Of All Time, Bar None, Subject Closed” Award
Clone Thor.
What the hell was Millar smoking when he came up with that? I know it wasn’t crack. Not even crack messes your head up that badly.

The “We Get It Already” Award
Without a doubt, this goes to all those folks still complaining about All Star Batman and Robin. Okay, we get it, you don’t think it’s good. I’m not sure there’s anyone left who doesn’t know you don’t like it. Constantly bringing it up to bash it or complain about? Not clever, not funny, pretty much a dead cliche at this point.

The “Would You Just Publish The Damn Thing Already” Award
Oh, so many contenders for this award. I could give it to All Star Batman and Robin, for becoming an annual instead of a monthly, but that’s too easy. There’s always Daredevil: The Target. I’m slightly inclined to Ultimate Wolverine Vs. The Hulk, because the quality of Lost gives the lie to the excuse that it’s taking up all of Damon Lindelhof’s time. But, in the end, it has to go to Civil War, because Marvel editors, in their infinite wisdom, are so certain that anyone will still give a damn about this book in five, ten, or twenty years time, that it absolutely must have a consistent artistic vision throughout. A consistent artistic vision on a commercial cross-over which only exists to encourage Marvel readers to buy more Marvel books than they already do. A consistent artistic vision on a book which is really just a glorified “super heroes punch each other over stupid misunderstanding” story spread out over seven issues and 70+ ancillary titles.
A consistent artistic vision that was apparently worth pushing back almost all of Marvel’s entire publishing output several months. Because, all those other books I named above? Their lateness only affects themselves. Civil War‘s lateness affects Marvel’s entire line. And that’s almost beautiful in its wrongheadedness.

The “Gee, Can Even I Get Away With Saying This” Award
Now, as any long time readers here know, I’m interested in gender issues as they relate to comics. I have a genuine concern about how men and women are depicted, and I truly think that issues of sexism and misogyny in the comics and the industry should be discussed in a mature and rational manner. But, over the past year, I noticed that the types of fans who are prone to knee-jerk, hysterical bouts of fannish rage, the fans who have a tendency to think that all comics should be drawn and written to their own over-privileged and over-indulged tastes, discovered a new tactic which allowed them to indulge in their outlandish rages and whines without getting much in the way of challenges. And that was to just barely disguise their rages and whines as feminist concerns. Which, you know, I found more than a bit off-putting. Because while there is ample evidence of institutional sexism in the comics industry, and more than our fair share of out and out misogynists working in the industry and in fandom, whether or not Stephanie Brown has a display case in the Batcave is a real hard-sell for me as a legitimate grounds for calling out DC for sexism. Batgirl becoming evil is not evidence of misogyny, it’s evidence of sloppy writing. Every time I see a fanboy or fangirl entitlement rant disguised as a serious discussion of gender issues, I cringe, because all those false accusations of sexism confuse the signal to noise ratio to the point where genuine issues of sexism and misogyny get lost, or dismissed out of hand.

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Okay, now that you all hate me…

Favorite Superhero Comic of 2006
Seven Soldiers. It may go down in history as, at best, a flawed masterwork, but masterwork it was. Grant Morrison’s examination of super-heroic archetypes, the nature of fiction, and the interplay between text and reader was the most exciting super-hero work of the year, bar none.

Favorite Nonsuperhero Comic of 2006
Testament, Douglas Rushkoff’s retelling of the Old Testament against the backdrop of an uncomfortably plausible future is one of the most challenging and well-drawn, and criminally under-read, books on the stands.
Close Second
Elephantmen, a touching and subtly characterized sci-fi story with jaw-droppingly beautiful art.

Favorite Graphic Novel of 2006
Rock Bottom, Joe Casey’s and Charlie Adlard’s examination of what it means to be human was another stunning work, and an impressive leap in Casey’s skill as a writer.
Close Second
Pride of Baghdad, another beautifully illustrated work that will rip your heart from your chest.

Favorite Manga of 2006
Reborn. It’s about a toddler assassin. Who shoots people in the head. What is not to love?

Sexiest Man In Comics, 2006

A bit of a change of pace this year, as a comics commentator gets a nod.
Tim Leong

And, since I can never pick just one good-looking man, his co-winner.
Chip Zdarsky

(photos nicked from Kevin Church, who will probably give me grief for not choosing him for this award)

Need a summary of Sandman series
I need a favor fellas, the hot indie record store/cafe girl i’ve been trying to kick it to it turns out likes comic books. the bad part is, she doesn’t like superhero stuff really, just that weirdo goth stuff like sandman. i lied and said that i love sandman and said some vague stuff about symbolism and what-not. i was just making smal talk plus she’s real cute in a geeky way kind of like lisa lobe or daria from the beavis and butthead cartoon. anyway she got real excited and said we should get coffee together sometime and talk about sandman. i don’t want to buy it, and my library doesn’t have it, can anyone give me a summary or point me to a good site?

Because the whole lying thing really turns chicks on.

What’s Your Ideal Comic Catfight?

Uhm…yeah…

An open discourse on the board’s general misogyny
Has everyone lost their sense of humor? Being a misogynist, actually hating women and treating them like objects/garbage is wrong. Acting like a misogynist, play acting, in front of your buds, whomever, is funny. It’s a way to blow off steam and remind us of our ever present faults/dark sides. I think that’s mostly what goes on on here at the boards, harmless tomfoolery.

Putting that through my “comic fan to rational person” filter I come up with: “Geeze, can’t you dumb broads learn to take a joke?”

You know how, from time to time, I make mention of how comics fans hate change, even the illusion of it, even the most superficial of changes?

Archie Comics plans to experiment with a more realistic art style.

Comic fans, most of whom probably haven’t even read an Archie comic since their age was in the single digits, go a bit weird about it.

IS NOTHING SACRED??

now the question is will they take the next step and have the gang in real teenage situations like teen pregnancy, drugs, divorced parents, etc. it doesnt have to be serious all the time, it could be funny in an OC kind of way

I already got you covered there.

WHY ARE YOU RAPING MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, that’s the kind of reasoned discourse I expect from comic fans!

I have two daughters, one who will be reading soon (she already has a dozen superheroes down cold – Dad’s been working O.T.!)
They will NEVER see this atrocity.
Good God, what goes through people’s heads?

Yes, because God forbid your kids like something you don’t…

Q: How do we know Big Moose is a virgin?
A: If he wasn’t, Midge would have a pair of bowed legs the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Fleisher Brothers and Ub Iwerks were doing cartoons!

So…Moose is a comic fan?

Is it just me, or does Veronica look like a bull dyke on at the example page?

Y’know, I could have made a comment about the acceptance of casual homophobia amongst comic fans in response to this but, nah, too easy.

I almost thought That Archie comics would be the last place that I would find Changes like this, but now that it about to occur I’m scared.
I always thought that Archie’s comics were scaraed cows of comics, never changing the look of the characters but always kept with the current times. TO see the comics like this may be step forward into trying to gain new readers by looking like a current comic book series, but it also a mistake due to the loyal fans of the old Archie style.
I’ll give this a chance, althought it may seem a bit creepy at first but maybe it a sign that changes. Ones that may have to be made in order for a business to continue, but the scarfices made for the changes may live on forever in the minds of those responsible.

It’s…it’s just a change in art style, man! Suck it up!

And, of course, the inevitable:

I’d still totally do Betty.

Blog@Newsarama has the statement and a recap of the situation I discussed in brief here. As I sort of suspected, Ross’ objection wasn’t that Andreyko made Obsidian gay so much as it was that the character was being written in way that was slightly different to the way Roy Thomas wrote the character. Twenty years ago.

So, yeah, fanboy entitlement at work.