As you can see above, I've decided to restart the numbering with the new year... there are a couple of good reasons to do this.
1) It will help me keep track of how close I am to producing a weekly column. Last year, for example, I think I ended up with 48 columns (not including the little special announcement ones) which is actually pretty darn close to weekly. This year I'm shooting for 52, although the smart money has it that I'll actually be producing even less this year than I did before. Sad but true.
2) Sales always go up with a re-numbering because people LOVE a first issue of something. So, I'm hoping that by making this number ONE of Season Two of Hoopla!, rather than number 49 or something stupid like that, I can double my readership!!! To help make that dream a reality, I'm also going to be releasing a special variant cover of this first column of the second season of Hoopla!, which will have a chronium foil cover and which, when exposed to moisture, will expand rapidly, like one of those compressed sponges.
As you can see, I've returned from New Year's Eve more sales-savvy than ever!!!
So, 2008 looks to be a very interesting year for me... I start teaching at American University in a couple of weeks, I'm hopefully finishing my dissertation in May or July or sometime around then, after that I may move to _____ to start work at _____ , and my girlfriend, Mie, has just moved in with me.
I was actually pretty nervous about Mie moving in with me... big life change and all... but then I realized that this is actually the perfect time to be doing this because modern science, assisted by the work of Joe Quesada and Dan Didio, has made retro-continuity adjustments so painless and relatively inexpensive.
If, a few months from now, I find that Mie is driving me bat-shit crazy, I can always have a friend punch a hole in the wall of reality and - WHAMMO!!! - Mie never moved in with me and all of my hair has grown back. Or, if I have trouble finding work after I graduate, all I have to do is make some half-arsed deal with Mephisto and - SHWAZZANG!!! - I never went to get my PhD at all but, instead, took that lucrative government job that, in this continuity, I passed up several years ago.
And all my hair grew back.
So, I feel a lot less pressure in making life decisions nowadays...
Thanks Joe! Thanks Dan! Thanks modern science!
So, I happened upon some pretty amazing preview pages for a book called Cursed Pirate Girl. You can see these in full size over at newsarama, but here's a brief sample...
Umm... wow.Of course, they look a million times better when you see them at full size over at newsarama, and there are a lot more of them to be seen, too.
Impressive stuff, though, I gotta say...
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So, I came across a sort of interesting debate about a new Dave Sim book that's coming out titled Glamourpuss (The book, that is. Not the debate about the book.)
The gist of the argument is that many people have written that they have no interest in supporting Dave Sim by picking up his book because of his rather fanatical diatribes against women. The primary counter-argument seems to be, yes, he's completely bonkers, but he's also been incredibly important in the comic-book world, his work has been highly influential, and you shouldn't confuse the artist with the art.
And, hey... it's called Glamourpuss! What's not to love?
This is an issue I've pondered before... the first time was with the work of Doug TenNapel, whose outstanding graphic novel, Creature Tech, was somewhat ruined for me when I learned a bit more about Doug's personal beliefs... this was back when I was doing the original Hoopla! column over at comicbookgalaxy. I ended up in a rather lengthy dialogue with Doug, who wrote to me to say that I was misrepresenting his beliefs in my column and that, more to the point, he'd really appreciate it if I'd stop talking crap about him.
To this day, I'm not sure what his personal beliefs really are, but I concluded that if the guy is polite enough to write me and ask me to stop saying nasty things about him, I probably ought to oblige. Especially since I can't be 100% certain that what I'm saying is correct.
In retrospect, I still think Creature Tech was a great book but I haven't purchased any of TenNapel's other books... partially because they're rather pricey but also partially because I'm left feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the whole thing.
To a slightly lesser extent, I've had this problem with Chuck Dixon, who is rather vocal about his homophobia, although I don't believe he's ever called it that and he may have even denied the actual label. I believe his position was along the lines of "I don't want my kids learning about gay people in comics; I don't think gay-ness should be discussed in comics or advocated for through the creation of gay super-heroes."
I still pick up his books on occasion because I really enjoy them but, again, it's sort of tainted my overall impression of the man and makes me slightly more reluctant to pick up his work than I would otherwise.
Dave Sim is a whole 'nother case, though...
The thing about Chuck Dixon and Doug TenNapel is that, regardless of what their personal beliefs may be, they've managed to keep it largely out of their work. Chuck Dixon may not want to write about gay super-heroes, but he also doesn't ridicule gay people through his work and he doesn't spew bile in his letter column about how gay people are parasites sucking the life out of the rest of us or anything like that...
He keeps it to himself, in other words.
That makes it possible for me to enjoy his work without feeling icky inside.
Dave Sim, on the other hand, has used his work to write lengthy diatribes about women and how irresponsible/foolish/evil/parasitic/untrustworthy/etc. they are. He has, in other words, chosen to make an issue of his opinions.
If I buy an issue of Robin that has been written by Chuck Dixon, and if I stop to think, "What message am I sending to the marketplace through this purchase?", the answer I arrive at is that I am sending the following message: "I like well-written, traditional superhero comics with lots of action."
If I purchase a Dave Sim book, however, I feel that I am sending this message: "I approve of mysogyny and of deep-rooted prejudice in general. I think it's okay to hate lots and lots of people and to argue that they are less human than myself."
So, if it turns out that Glamourpuss is the next best thing since wasabi-flavored tooth paste, I think it's still pretty unlikely that I'll buy it. I may read someone else's copy, if my curiosity absolutely gets the best of me, but I won't contribute financially to Dave Sim.
Other opinions...?
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Well, there's a bunch of really neat stuff coming out in the next few months and I'll tell you all about them in the next Hoopla!, but for now I've gotta head home and rest my weary eyes... and say hello to my fancy new girlfriend/roommate.
I hope you all had a restful, mellow winter break, that your parents didn't drive you too crazy, that you got lots of cool gifts, and that 2008 will be a good one for all of you...
Best wishes,
Paul
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8 comments:
"Dave Sim, on the other hand, has used his work to write lengthy diatribes about women and how irresponsible/foolish/evil/parasitic/untrustworthy/etc. they are."
I don't think Sim has said that women are evil. He says that they are tricks from YHWH, which is the devil. As the saying goes, "Men are women's playthings, women the devil's."
"If I purchase a Dave Sim book, however, I feel that I am sending this message: "I approve of misogyny and of deep-rooted prejudice in general."
There is no evidence that Sim is a misogynist or predjudiced.
""I think it's okay to hate lots and lots of people and to argue that they are less human than myself." "
There is no evidence that Sim hates anyone.
This is obviously all a big misunderstanding that can be cleared up by re-reading Men are from Mars Women are the Devil's Playthings.
I just want to hear more about this wasabi-flavored tooth paste.
- the The Hulk
I suppose I would consider the comment "women are a trick from the devil" or "women are parasites" to be an instance of prejudice. It is a generalization about all members of a group, no different from saying "Blacks like watermelon" or "Jews don't like to spend money", etc.
A misogynist is someone who hates women. Based on Dave's writings, I think it's pretty safe to say that he qualifies. If, for example, someone were to say "Blacks are inferior to Whites. Blacks were created by the Devil to suck all the creativity and goodness out of Whites," I would be willing to go ahead and say that person is a racist. It's not really a neutral generalization that is being made.
If Dave Sim were to say, "Women all enjoy salsa music," I would say that he is prejudiced, but I would not accuse him of misogyny.
Ultimately, I think if you're going to argue that Dave is prejudiced and a misogynist, I think you would have to take one of two tacks...
1) You can argue that what he is expressing is simply a statement of fact.
This doesn't work, though, because I have actually met several women who are not the creations of the devil.
so, that one goes out the window.
2) You can argue that there's nothing inherently negative in being a trick of the devil.
I think that would be difficult to argue.
In any case, I appreciate everyone writing in with their opinions and encourage more of the same...
- Paul
Here are some quotes from Dave Sim:
"Emotion, whatever the Female Void would have you believe, is not a more Exalted State than is Thought. In point of fact, I think Emotion is animalistic, serpent-brain stuff. Animals do not Think, but I am reasonably certain that they have Emotions. 'Eating this makes me Happy.' 'When my fur is all wet and I am cold, it makes me Sad." "Ooo! Puppies!' 'It makes me Excited to Chase the Ball!' Reason, as any husband can tell you, doesn't stand a chance in an argument with Emotion... this was the fundamental reason, I believe, that women were denied the vote for so long."
"Behind this...lies the Greater Void, the Omnivorous Engine which drives every... institutionalised waste of human time and energy, which drives, in point of fact, our entire degraded society. The wife and kids."
"In one of those Poor Us studies for which the Emotional Female Void is notorious, it was pointed out that after a divorce, the average male standard of living rises... the average female standard of living drops... I think the...explanation is that the excision of a five-to-six- foot leech from the surface of a human body is going to have more of its own blood in its own veins. Unless the leech finds another body, it is going to go hungry."
"In labouring to fill the insatiable Void Need for material possessions at home, his time and his energy and his spirit disappear into the Vaginal Bottom Line of the workplace."
"The Male Light and the Female Void: Seminal Energy and Omnivorous Parasite."
"If you look at her and see anything besides emptiness, fear and emotional hunger, you are looking at the parts of yourself which have been consumed to that point."
"It wouldn't be that big a stretch to categorize my writing as Hate Literature against women . . . in this Fascistic Feminist country"
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Which part of that is NOT prejudiced, misogynistic, and hateful...?
- Paul
Paul said:
"I suppose I would consider the comment "women are a trick from the devil" or "women are parasites" to be an instance of prejudice. It is a generalization about all members of a group, no different from saying "Blacks like watermelon" or "Jews don't like to spend money", etc."
A generalization allows for exceptions.
"A misogynist is someone who hates women. Based on Dave's writings, I think it's pretty safe to say that he qualifies. If, for example, someone were to say "Blacks are inferior to Whites. Blacks were created by the Devil to suck all the creativity and goodness out of Whites," I would be willing to go ahead and say that person is a racist. It's not really a neutral generalization that is being made."
The text piece in issue #186 is designed to provoke an emotional reaction. Additionally, it is written as being the thoughts of the character Viktor Davis, who is not the real-life Dave Sim but an an alter ego who bears a resemblance to the real Sim.
"1) You can argue that what he is expressing is simply a statement of fact.
This doesn't work, though, because I have actually met several women who are not the creations of the devil."
Creations of the YHWH. YHWH's aim is to lead people away from God. Women are the greatest attachment for men, an attachment which prevents them from living truthfully and nobly.
"2) You can argue that there's nothing inherently negative in being a trick of the devil."
In an absolute sense there isn't. Good and evil is what we define.
"In any case, I appreciate everyone writing in with their opinions and encourage more of the same..."
No prob!
Paul said:
"Which part of that is NOT prejudiced, misogynistic, and hateful...?"
See what I wrote about issue #186 above.
Um, guys? Aren't we forgetting the toothpaste?
-Hulk
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