Geeked

The idea of demanding a product and then immediately rejecting that product before it ever reaches your fingertips is one that is both confusing and laughable.

Why would you spend a large chunk of your time (fuck, any chunk of time) demanding, for example, a Female Centered Comic Book and then, when that Female Centered Comic Book comes to fruition, exclaim that you refuse to buy it because you do not like the way it is being pressed.

I might be talking about Marvel Divas again.

I criticized the pitch. I broke the pitch down, sentence by sentence, and discussed what irritated me about it as well as what I liked. The pitch is built on partial suck. The pitch isn't what ultiately matters. It's the product. If, as a reader, the way something is pitched isn't exactly appreciated, make it known. I'm not suggesting that anyone keep their mouth shut, but what I am suggesting is a modicum of common sense.

Well, it seems like common sense to me to give a book that is built a bit around the fact that women like reading about women a bit of a chance.

Here's what also makes sense to me: money. And more importantly, money makes sense to the business producing such a product. Not just money, but numbers. Clearly numbers are important in the comics industry, where when Secret Invasion beats out Final Crisis everyone pisses themselves in one direction or another and makes a big fucking deal out of it. The same thing goes for a book like, uh, Marvel Divas.

Say all the people out there who have been asking for a book about heroines buys the first issue. Say the first issue is less than awesome and turns out to be what a lot of us fear: Just Another Booby Fest. Don't buy the second issue. The numbers will drop off and that's what a businessman sees. Joe Quesada is, at his core, a businessman. As a editor-in-chief of Marvel, this is what he ought to be. He has to consider multiple sides of everything and pitch for the numbers. If feminists keep outrightly rejecting books on the basis that 'surely, this is like every other book and I refuse to pander to their covers, and also refuse to buy albums/movies/etc based on their sexy covers because I never, ever, ever give in at all to Sex Sells', our numbers will never blip on the map.

Consequently, the businessmen will have no idea what the numbers could be. If everyone that's demanded a book like this buy it and find that it is, in fact, a booby fest that has no real value and then do not buy any more of them, this will be noticed. What is not noticed (shockingly) is when these readers don't bother to show up to the party at all, after clamoring for the party to be held. This is a foolish thing to do.

Don't ask for a book about women and then reject a book about women before it's even hit the shelves. Reject the book after you've purchased the first issue and you don't like it. Give Joe Quesada the evidence of your existence, not just an angry post on the internet. Give him what matters to Marvel: the lack of your money. Show that the money is there and when you do not like the product, take that money away. Take it away and demand a better product.

Buy the first issue of Marvel Divas. Help prove to the industry that the number of people who want quality books actually exists. Show up to the party, then do what you want from there, but it is critical that we actually goddamned show up. Joe Quesada is not perusing Livejournal in his free time and giving serious consideration to complaints that show up there, but go no further than bitching in comments. Joe Quesada is considering the money, so show him that your money can be there for him, given that he can give a product that you actually want to buy. If the $3.99 (is it 3? or 2? whatever) is important to your budget, return the book. Talk to your comic seller and say, 'hey, if I hate this, is it okay if I return it? Or can I exchange it for something else that I know that I like?'.

Be a wise feminist and utilize business values. Take their game and make it yours. Your voice is your wallet, not your livejournal/blog/whatever. Use your voice.

Pass it on.

I love it when shit blows up. Those Explosion Money-Shots that were so popular in the eighties/nineties/todaytodaytoday!? Those were my vitamins growing up. The cheesier the better. I want to always see someone casually strolling out of a blazing inferno. That was so AWESOME. It's still awesome today! Look at this Die Hard explosion! I love watching him crawl through the vents and I love action movie one-liners, I love watching Rambo do really random ass cool shit with a really big friggin' knife. I constantly think to myself, 'Hey, this movie needs more explosions'.

But you know what else I love? Creepy. Gross. Outrageous. Stuff that is just entirely not okay. I love it when werewolf sodomy makes utter sense in a comic book. I like violent comic books. I like the sight of entrails on a full-page panel. Fists disappearing into chests? Okay! Guys punching the hell out of each other's faces? Whee! Full-blown alien invasions? I'm on it. It's all so freaking cool and fun and important to me.*

I like expensive or big shit to go boom. Big boom! Bada big boom!

Here's a great movie example of this theory: Fifth Element. I think it's a really, really great movie. It's on my Top 10. For me, it has It All. Awesome sci-fi action-adventure with drama. Delicious drama. It's one of my favorite love stories as well--it's deep, it's quiet and not over-stated, it's not the only drive to the story. But neither are all the really awesome action scenes. It's a great balance, with great acting I <3 sci-fi. It's a popcorn movie that still manages to make itself feel important. Not every action flick has to have a throw-away plot, something that the most recent slew of really popular action blockbuster movies have been realizing.

Everyone likes a bit of everything, it's just the degrees that are different. So when I say 'stop throwing things at my vagina' it doesn't mean I don't like the fact that a certain title/show may exist, it just means I don't like that it to the exclusion of men. Or for it to be loudly aimed at any one group/sex and not just advertised as what it is. You don't need to mention boobies for us to know there will be boobies. You don't need to mention tampons for us to know there will be tampon discussions. Or, drama that needs to apologize to men for existing. Everyone can like everything in different amounts, your comic book/fiction book/movie/television series doesn't actually need to pander to a vagina or a penis. It's patronizing. People don't really need to be told what their body parts would prefer to read, seeing as we can figure it out by ourselves. Besides, obvious pandering is a turn off for people that would be easiest for you to hook onto your product, Comic Book People. Stop over-doing everything. I understand this is fiction we're working in and everything gets exagerrated, but come on.

Besides, actions hurt. How would you like it if I threw things at your penis? You wouldn't, would you?




* Except poop. I do not enjoy poop. I do not think poop is funny or interesting. The word 'poop' is funny, but actual poop? Not funny. Poop is gross. I have to wipe poop off my toddler. Every. Day. No, I do not want a 'poop' sign. Though it is a funny idea and if you like poop, you ought to buy yourself one. You could courtesy-post it outside the bathroom you share with people, as to warn them of the 'beauty' you have created and left for display, if you are inclined to such odd behavior.

Blog post inspired by some awesome Alert Nerding done by Sarah over here. Sometimes I'm just not sure who comic book companies are aiming at. Sometimes it's frustrating being a woman who thoroughly enjoys comic books, because we get paragraphs like this about upcoming titles (in this case, Marvel Divas):

“The idea behind the series was to have some sudsy fun and lift the curtain a bit and take a peep at some of our most fabulous super heroines. In the series, they’re an unlikely foursome of friends–Black Cat, Hell Cat, Firestar, and Photon–with TWO things in common: They’re all leading double-lives and they’re all having romantic trouble. The pitch started as “Sex and the City” in the Marvel Universe, and there’s definitely that “naughty” element to it, but I also think the series is doing to a deeper place, asking question about what it means…truly means…to be a woman in an industry dominated by testosterone and guns. (And I mean both the super hero industry and the comic book industry.) But mostly it’s just a lot of hot fun.”

-Marvel Divas writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, via My Cup o' Joe

Let's break this statement down.

Judging by the first sentence, which is the Topic Sentence, this is a book aimed at Men Who Want To See Boobs/Ass/Bubble Baths. Also, it discusses peeping on sexy women. Strangely, I do not find this appealing. The next sentence introduces the characters involved and the Main Plot Summary, which is the cliché female standard: Strong women having man troubles. Sex and the City was partially tiered around this-and largely pitched as this-but they did it right. Third sentence . . . wait--third sentence entirely subverts the first two. The third sentence actually makes me interested. What the hell? I was all turned-off, and now I'm doing a 180. I'm confused. I want to be hopeful. I'm interested and a bit cheered and confused as to why Aguirre-Sacasa led with 'sudsy fun' when this sentence was hiding up his sleeve. The sort-of-fourth-parenthesis sentence is a decent one, it tells me that someone's starting to Get It. I'm leaning over the fence now. I'm reading the last sentence. I'm . . . abruptly back on the fence once more. I'm dizzy and also irritated. I may be falling off the fence again, because it feels like a two versus one and my side is losing.

That paragraph tells me they don't know how to sell their product and are also slightly confused about what their product is. Saying 'But mostly it's just a lot of hot fun' after discussing the series going to a deeper place in the connections between strong women seems like an apology to the "WE WANT BOOOOOBIES" crowd for having actual depth. Starting the main definition of the title with 'sudsy fun' seems like this book will just be soft-core porn with a T.V. Repairman plot to string it all together. Is that what Marvel Divas is?

More importantly, are all books possibly aimed for women (they brought up SATC in the pitch room, which leads me to believe they are trying to nudge the door open farther for their female readership) going to be apologized for? I'm not a member of the 'Girls Only club'. I don't feel like I need a comic book that is aimed specifically at my vagina for me to enjoy comic books, but if one is going to be made I think that it should be done well. Sarah brought up Ultra by the Luna Brothers in her post and I completely agree (this is a subtle recommendation that you all read it) that it is a good standard for Female Superhero Books.

I'll ask it again, because this is an important question I'd like an answer to: Are all comic books aimed at women going to be apologized for?

I wonder when it'll be okay to not super-sex everything up for the male video gamers? I understand the desire to see sexy women ('cause gosh, they aren't anywhere else!), but when is there going to be a middle road? Or just a basic understanding that 'sexy' doesn't need to mean 'falling out of their shirts while their pants fall down'?

Pretty sure that's not too much to ask.

If you haven't read it already, John DiBello wrote an essay addressing the issue of SDCC not having a sexual harassment and brought up a few incidents he witnessed at the convention. Rachel Edidin, of Inside Out, has her own story about a dick with a 'Free Hugs' sign--an incident that also occurred at SDCC. She also posted yesterday, 'Blogging Isn't Enough' which I wholeheartedly endorse a thorough read of (I read it sometime during the writing of this post, then realized she said what I'm saying so, so much better. I'm going to say it again anyway.).

And there are a plethora of stories exactly like theirs, which shouldn't shock/surprise anyone. If it does, promptly dislodge your head from your ass and start over at the beginning of this level, you have failed.

Moving onto my point.

Between movies, video games, advertisements, comic books, so on and so on, we're becoming more and more used to and/or inundated with sexualized images of both women and men. It is becoming the average. Which is fine--so long as we're not disrespecting a sex (hey, shocker, there's an empowering way to look at sexuality??), engaging in Women In Refrigerator syndrome, etc--we're sexual creatures, we have base instincts and desires and I both recognize and encourage. Safely. Politely. Consensually, if incorporating another person into the mix.

But there is a group out there--let's call them the Lowest Common Denominators--that doesn't seem to understand that appreciating this:

Does not equal to assaulting women behind counters at comic book conventions.

Even this, which would have been so, so much better (read: less clearly a 'Jerk Off To This Later, Boys, hurhurhur') if they'd done both men and women costumes:



Does not mean yelling at a woman for not wanting a free hug is okay.

Our wonderful, ruining it for everyone Lowest Common Denominators don't actually understand that while whatever they'd like to fantasize about in the privacy of their mother's basement is fine, taking that fantasy and applying it to assaulting, either physically or verbally, real women is not fine. Women going to conventions in whatever costume they want is their business--it does not give you the right to grope them, even if they're Power Girl. It does not give you the right to walk up to them and touch them. You have to ask first because those women aren't their for your personal fetish. Even if they were hired for non-stripper entertainment purposes, you are not entitled to them.

And okay, if the first response your ape-like brain can muster is, 'But, but they're in skimpy outfits!! Clearly they want attention!!', you're a fucking idiot. Go outside and ask someone to punch you.

Spending a lot of time on a costume is not an invitation to harrassment. Looking pretty? Not an invitation for harrassment. Dressing up? Not an invitation for harrassment.


Attention and Harrassment are not the same thing.

"What an awesome costume, you look great!" is not the same as "I'mma touch me some biiiiig boobies, hurhurhur."


And it's responses like the latter that earn people the Lowest Common Denominator tag.

Enjoy yourself the pictures of the sexy girls, enjoy the girls in costumes on a inner level that might range towards the wee bit naughty--again, it's okay. I enjoy the hot men, after all. I'm not ranting against sexualized people or having a fantasy life--I have a huge problem with over-sexualization, blatant misogyny, images that are clearly Women In Refrigerators, but with sexuality in general?

Not so much.

Sexuality is important and I think it's a thing we all need to be so much more comfortable with, for a myriad of very important reasons. But I hope you get my point on this, and if you leave a serious comment about me hating sexuality in general, I'm going to sic the dogs on you.

But if you're going to write/draw/enjoy this, you need to take responsibility. Yes, you. Yes, me. We need to take responsibility for these Lowest Common Denominators because we're letting it stay out there. We need to understand that this problem is our fault and that we need to step up in a very big way.

Lowest Common Denominator Fanboys don't know when to stop. They do not know where to draw the line in their fantasy, so much so that they are harrassing women at conventions in order to get a little more of that fantasy fulfilled.

And that sucks for us, doesn't it? What a damn damper on our party.

Am I saying this means we shouldn't have sexuality in any form in our books?

Uh, hell no. Why let creeps dominate what we have? Why let them take away something that most others can enjoy without taking it to that level?

What I am saying is that this barrier of silence has to stop, that allowing these undersexed over-fantasizing assholes to run rampant around conventions is tired, old and only holding the industry back. You know what people think of when they hear Comic Book Geek? Yeah, they think of that guy. And that's going to kill any chance of our industry making it into something that's respected outside of our circles.

It's an understanding that these morons are out there at conventions--how many jokes are cracked about the Typical Basement Comic Nerd? We know that some people, for whatever reason, don't know where to draw the line--be it pure uncultured idiocy or purposeful assault.

What we don't seem to know is how to stand up for each other. How many people witnessed that Ghostbuster's girl ass being grabbed? Probably a lot.

How many actually said something? Probably no one--and the one person that did go to do something about it found that there wasn't anyone to tell. What the hell?

Seriously, in all the years SDCC has been going on, someone's going to honestly act like this hasn't ever happened before? And John is the first person to check? That just can't be right.

These girls aren't telling anyone? Witnesses aren't stepping in with a 'hey, man, that's not okay.'?

This is bullshit, and I am calling a goddamn shenanigans.

So, here's what I'd like and here's my challenge to everyone. Stop talking big on the message boards, stop being full of shit where it doesn't count. The next time you're at a convention--the next time you are anywhere and you see something you know isn't okay, step up. Say, "Hey man, that's not okay". And get them thrown out.

Be more like those fictional heroes we all love so much. (Uh. Not like Punisher, though, thanks, you don't need to get arrested.)

You do it. I'll do it. That guy over there will do it and that chick over here will do it. And then, our Lowest Common Denominators are going to find that there's no one left to pick on. That, in our awesome comic book industry, there is no room for them. That they can no longer infest something that is becoming more and more awesome with every year that goes by. Go figure.

Enjoy your sexy. I'll enjoy mine (even if there should be more). I don't mind the sexy camp in my books, so long as it's all in the spirit of appreciation and not manipulation, but what I do mind is how almost everyone just lets this sort of behavior slip by. It being written off as 'Those Comic Geeks' isn't okay.

And massive props (are the kids still doing those these days?) to John DiBello for stepping up, for using Bully's blog as a microphone to get this gone.

ComiCon Internationals contact information, courtesy Rachel's Blogging Isn't Enough post. Polite correspondence only--while it's highly remiss of them to not have something regarding harassment in their rules, it isn't their fault that these guys are out there.

EMAIL:

cci-info@comic-con.org

SNAIL MAIL:

Comic-Con International
P.O. Box 128458
San Diego, CA 92112-8458

San Diego, CA

HOTLINE: 619-491-2475
FAX: 619-414-1022

Now go tell a friend and then have yourself a soda.