Join the Battle for Net Neutrality!

Today, our site is slowing down for Net Neutrality. Well, actually we'll be running at the same speed as usual. But if you want us to keep doing that, click on the link above and learn how you can join the fight to save our Internet.

STOP C.I.S.P.A.

 

Greetings United States gov,

We are the Internet. Again, you are trying to pass this ridiculous CISPA law in order to control and censor the people. This will not stand. You already control the media, the economy, the criminal underworld, your national plots and our energy. YOU WILL NOT GET OUR INTERNET!

The U.S. law that would turn Google, Facebook, and Twitter into legally untouchable government spies just passed the House.

This bill affects everyone — not just U.S. citizens. Anyone with a Facebook account could now have their data shipped directly to the U.S. government. That’s why Internet users overwhelmingly oppose this bill. Over 1.5 million people signed petitions against it. But Congress didn’t listen. This law broadened the state terror and repression of the people. By allowing corporations to track our every action on the internet the state and corporations will be merged and that we have seen before: it is called fascism.

We are going dark on MONDAY April 22nd at 6 AM GMT for 24 hours to protest your illogical and terrorizing bill against the Internet itself. Even with the whole Internet crying out to stop this BILL, the US House of Representatives failed to do so blinded by lobbyist's money and cum in your eyes. So we will take action ourselves and open your eyes. Every popular/mainstream websites will be black until you, Mr. DronObama promise us to use your VETO power to stop this bill at Senate. Take this as a protest or a warning, as you wish. One thing is for certain, neither you or anyone else in this world can control the Internet, so don't even try. Stop wasting taxpayers' money into doing these kind of shenanigans.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not Forgive.
We do not Forget.
Expect us.


Follow @SageAnon on twitter for updates.

Join The Fight!

Gail Simone to follow Gail Simone on Batgirl!

In the words of Groucho Marx, "let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons and necking in the parlors!"  For Gail Simone is back on Batgirl, babies!


SOURCE: The New Writer of BATGIRL is... GAIL SIMONE!

Let it never be said that an organized, polite protest can't change things. :)

Thoughts On The Colorado Theater Shootings

I wasn't going to write anything about this here. My emotions were too raw yesterday and I was in a state where I thought it was best not to say anything, lest I say the wrong thing. A day later we are still gathering all the facts and there's way too many conflicting reports for any of us to get an answer to the big question - Why?

This is a tragedy, any way you slice it. And there's too many people who are seeking to exploit it for their own personal pet causes.

I've seen Marvel Comics fans boasting about how this sort of thing didn't happen at Avengers.

I've seen DC Comics fans joking that the shooter must have been a Marvel fan who couldn't cope with the thought that a Batman movie might unseat Avengers as the highest-grossing movie of the summer.

I've seen liberals proclaiming that the shooter must have been a Tea Party member with more guns than sense, spurred to action by Rush Limbaugh's claims that the Batman movie was liberal propaganda manufactured to make Mitt Romney look bad.

I've seen conservatives declaring that the shooter was an plant from the Occupy movement and that this is all clearly an Obama plot to take our guns, ala Fast And The Furious - Part 2.

I've seen numerous cosplayers decry the action of one theater chain, who has declared that they are banning costumes and fake weapons from their theaters in the wake of this tragedy.

I've seen numerous NRA members decry the ban most theater chains maintain on concealed weapons, even if the local laws do allow for licensed conceal carry.

This has got to stop. For a few days, at least... can we stop this?

Can we just be united as decent people in the face of madness for a little while?

Yes, there are a lot of heavy issues at play here. And we do need to have a discussion about a lot of things. But not right now. It isn't the right time.

I had a talk about all this with one of the teenagers I work with yesterday after he cracked a joke about the tragedy that I said was made too soon. I told him I understood the need to try and lighten the mood and that I've got a rather dark sense of humor myself. (My friends and regular readers are right now are probably thinking "Now THAT'S an understatement.") But time needs to pass before a comedian can hope to bring comedy out of tragedy and right now everyone was in a state of shock about the whole thing.

We talked about all the people trying to blame someone or something for all of this and he asked me that big question again - Why? Why is everyone looking for a conspiracy of liberals, conservatives, Marvel fans, DC fans, gun lobbyists, cosplayers, gamers, rappers, heavy metal fans, celebrities, religious zealots or terrorists when it was more than likely the action of one lone person with mental issues?

I told him that I think it's easier for most of us to cope that way. And disturbingly, as I was explaining this, a quote came to mind. From the last Batman movie...

"You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan." Even if the plan is horrifying!"

Nobody wants to think that these things happen randomly - that one guy just snaps one day and decides to go out and hurt people. Because if it happened once... it can happen again. And the next time it happens randomly, it might happen to you or someone you know. Much better that there be some organized conspiracy out to do this sort of thing - some enemy you can put a face to.

That is also why we fall back on these arguments. This wouldn't have happened if everyone was armed. This wouldn't have happened if our gun laws were stricter. This wouldn't have happened if everyone went to church. This wouldn't have happened if there weren't violent video games. On and on and on. Because we need to feel like Something is being done.

That's why the theater chains are banning costumes and fake weapons now. Because it's Something that can be done. It's not Something that's going to be useful, but at least Something is being done. As George Carlin once noted, it's all about providing the illusion of safety... whether your idea of safety involves.

I can't pretend to have an answer for all of this. As I said, there's a lot of complex issues here and this isn't the time to try and discuss it. Now is the time for healing and there is a lot we can all do to help that.

So please, if you're able - sometime this weekend or in the next week - find a place where you can donate blood and do so. And if you can't donate blood for whatever reason, pass this information on to those who can.

Thank you.

Super Best Friends Forever Premieres, Already In Trouble & How We're Going To Save It

First, if you haven't seen what is easily the best of the DC Nation shorts yet, behold!

Good, wasn't it? Cute. Funny. Childish without being idiotic. But, at the same time, something that adults can enjoy watching as well. And, from a feminist perspective, it is nice to see three young women with different, distinct personalities going off on an adventure that is not boy-related.

In short, this is great. I dare say this could be used to reach out to young viewers and turn them into young readers. Naturally, the very same weekend this premiered, DC Comics seemed to be determined to burst our balloon...

SOURCE: Super Best Friends Forever’s Days Are Numbered

Lauren Faust, acclaimed animator and director whose work has included Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, The Powerpuff Girls, and a relaunch of some show with horses that’s all the rage, is finishing up her run on Super Best Friends Forever.

There will be a total of only five 75-second long shorts featuring Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Girl, each of them aired as interstitials during episodes of Green Lantern or Young Justice.

Serious folks, just five for now. Straight from the pony’s mouth.

Slightly on the upside, there was hope given for ‘possible maybe perhaps we’re not going to commit to it but lets tease the fanbase anyways possibly’ more given at the DC Nation panel.

*sighs* Why, WB & DC? Why do you hate joy so much?

Now, I know what you're thinking. Isn't there a chance that they're just teasing us and that they are certainly going to do everything they can to get a full-length series of this up-and-running ASAP? After all, the buzz for this short among comic fans has been big. And Faust's My Little Pony is probably the most popular cartoon to come out in years. Creating a product using the same art style with the goal of bringing in more young women and girls into the comic reading fold? Should be a no-brainer.

Well, considering these are the same blokes who have ignored basic math for years regarding the percentage of women to men in their potential readership and the number of people who watched Teen Titans Go! vs. the number of neckbeards who would like to replace all the real women wiith FemBots, I don't think we can take any chances.

So here is what we're going to do...

1. If you're on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/warnerbrosent and http://www.facebook.com/dccomics.

2. If you're on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/#!/warnerbrosent and http://twitter.com/#!/dccomics and https://twitter.com/#!/DC_Nation

3. Write a simple, polite message saying how much you love Super Best Friends Forever and how much you'd like to see it made into a full series. If you have kids, talk about how much they loved the short. Use a #SBFF tag or something similar so it can stack up with the other comments.

4. Encourage your friends and followers to do the same.

Batgirl #1 - A Review

When I first saw the list of DCnU titles coming out this week, I knew which one would have to be the first I’d review; Batgirl #1. I wanted to review it for my love of the character and the author Gail Simone. But I knew I also had to review it so I could address the many controversies surrounding the title.

For those of you coming in late to the game, let me sum up.

"The Batgirls" by The Black Cat of the web comic "Batman And Sons"

Since the 1950s, several young women have gone by the heroic moniker of Batgirl. The most famous of these women is Barbara Gordon – librarian by day, vigilante by night and daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. While Barbara wasn’t the first Batgirl, she is the most widely recognized by the public at large thanks to her appearances in the 1960s Batman TV series, the Filmmation Batman cartoons and nearly every Batman cartoon since, including Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman.

For over twenty years, ever since the story Batman: The Killing Joke, Barbara Gordon has been paralyzed from the waist-down following an attack by The Joker. It was John Ostrander who gave Barbara a new lease on life in the pages of Suicide Squad, where it was revealed that Barbara had decided to use her computer skills and photographic memory to fight crime in ways she’d never dreamed of as Batgirl. She adopted the codename Oracle and quickly became a power to be reckoned with as part of the Bat Family, a member of the Justice League and the brains behind the various incarnations of The Birds of Prey.

When it was announced that Barbara would be returning to action as Batgirl, the fan reaction was heavily divided. While most fans met the news with enthusiasm (if the advance pre-orders for the book are any sign) fans of the more recent Batgirls – Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown – worried that their favorite heroines would be erased from the new DC Universe altogether. And a large number of Oracle fans – among them Newsarama columnist Jill “The Nerdy Bird” Pantozzi and actress Teal Sherer – expressed their concerns that Barbara’s legacy as Oracle and her position as an inspiration to handicapped women who read comics were being marginalized.

To her credit, Gail Simone did try to address these concerns in an interview with Pantozzi. In it, Simone – who has done more than anyone to promote Barbara Gordon as an A-List heroine in the last decade – stated that she understood the reactions of fans like Pantozzi and reaffirmed her own love for Oracle as a concept. However, Simone did repeat the sentiment expressed by many in recent years - “why is it that virtually every single hero with a grievous injury, or even a death, gets to come back whole, except Barbara Gordon?”

It’s a fair question. Why, in a world with alien technology that can regrow whole bodies, magical Amazon technology that can heal any wound and people with miraculous healing-touch powers (the means used to heal Batman’s severed spine after his first encounter with Bane) must Barbara Gordon be the eternal handicapped heroine?

I heard someone liken this conflict to the Buffalo Springfield song For What It’s Worth and the lyric “Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.” I think the truth lies closer to a scene from Fiddler on the Roof.

There's a funny scene where two men are arguing about something before a group and after listening to the first man our hero Tevye says, "You are right." Then the second person gives his argument and Tevye proclaims, "You are right.” One of the men in the crowd protests, "Tevye, you said he is right. Then you said he is right. They can not both be right.”

Tevye’s response? "You also are right!"

In any event, there are no easy answers and there is nothing left but to look at this comic and see how it reads. Am I right?

Thankfully, Simone not only meets the high expectations set before her – she exceeds them!

To get my one complaint with the book out of the way early and address the big question on everyone’s mind, we get precious little explanation for how Barbara is back on her feet. In fact, we know nothing about Barbara’s background save that she is still Jim Gordon’s daughter and that it has been three years since she walked, following an attack by The Joker that synchs up with The Killing Joke Nothing is said about how she spent those three years, so there is little to alleviate the worries of Oracle fans... save that Barbara is as strong-willed a heroine as ever.

Thankfully, this book makes it clear from the start that while Barbara may never have been Oracle (as far as we know), she is far from a shrinking violet and much more than “Batman with Boobs”. We are presented with image after image of a competent, confident young woman who knows her business and her business is kicking ass and taking names. All of these images are ably illustrated by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes, who prove to be every bit Simone’s equal in the creation department.

The story itself is the perfect mix of drama, action and comedy that we’ve come to expect from Gail Simone. We are treated to Barbara’s first night back in the costume as we learn something of her methods and her adjusting to things which have changed. Some changes are for the better, such as her increased upper-body strength. And those who fear that technical skills may have disappeared in the Revamp, worry not – Babs proves as tech-savvy as ever in how she has found a way to keep informed of major crimes in Gotham.

We also get to see Barbara as she moves out, meets her new roommate and has a faithful encounter with a new villain called Mirror, who seems to have it out for those who somehow cheated death… including a criminal Barbara helped bring to justice and Barbara herself. And worry not - there's plenty of the trademark wacky Gail Simone humor as Batgirl rides her motorcycle through a hospital.

It’s easy to see Simone writing a little of herself into Barbara throughout the book. Of course all writers do this but Simone has set up an interesting parallel between Barbara moving on with her life after having regained the use of her legs and Simone writing this book. Simone has been quite vocal about how Batgirl was her “gateway” character into comics and how she always identified with Batgirl as another strong-willed red-head. You can see this in the scene where Barbara has breakfast with her father and discusses her decision to move out, contemplating that it would be so easy for her to stay someplace she feels safe but considering that she has to move on and face new challenges.

That is the Barbara Gordon we all know and love - the woman who will not let anything get in her way. No man, no monster… not even the loss of control of her own body will stop her from doing whatever it takes to succeed.

That is the core of the character, regardless of whether she is hacking a drug lords’ bank accounts or high-kicking a hustler. She will fight them on the rooftops and from her desktop. She will fight them in the cityscapes and in cyberspace. Whatever her name and whatever the mask, she is Barbara Gordon and she is glorious!

Share The Love Of Our Hobby: Gift A Comic 2011

SOURCE: Gift A Comic 2011

The world of comics is shrinking. Sales are floundering and the fan base is not growing. Marvel and DC are doing what they think is best to attract new readers. And it is high time we the fans do something as well.

Many of us have friends and family who read but don't read comics. And that needs to change. So this holiday season, gift a comic to a friend and/or family member. Whether it be a single issue, a trade, graphic novel, or a digital copy; the goal is to spread the joy of comics to new people.

This isn't about digital vs. print, or indie vs. mainstream, this is about spreading our love of comics to new readers and possibly new fans. If we don't grow and expand our industry, no one will.

#GiftAComic2011


A noble goal, but I say - why wait until the holidays? Reading isn't a once-a-year thing. It's an all-the-time thing! Why not buy your friends and family a comic now? Or donate a graphic novel to your local library - share the gift of comics with your entire community!

A Real Cry For Justice: Help The Cheerleader Who Refused To Cheer For Her Rapist

SOURCE: Help the Cheerleader Who Refused To Cheer Her Rapist!

This girl was raped at the age of 16 by the star player for her high school basketball team. She reported him to the authorities. He plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor assault charge and was let go with a suspended sentence. The school made their support clear, refusing to even consider booting the athlete from the team while the matter was under investigation.

She had to deal with constant harassment from her fellow students and the community after. The administration’s way of coping with this treatment was to suggest she avoid the cafeteria and not go to Homecoming. Her rape counselor encouraged her to continue all the activities she did before the rape... to refused to act like she had done something wrong.

So she stayed on the cheerleading squad - an activity she loved. She went to the games and cheered for the entire team, but when it came time to cheer her rapist’s name individually as he shot a free throw, she simply crossed her arms and stayed silent. She was summarily, and publicly, kicked off the squad.

The girl and her parents sued school officials and the district, arguing that she was being punished for exercising her right to free expression. But the Federal Appeals court that ruled against her did not see it that way, and in a cruel twist ordered that she and her parents reimburse the district for more than $45,000 in legal fees for what they called a frivolous suit. And the Supreme Court refused to even hear the appeal of that ruling.

I don't usually get political on here or plug specific causes. But I don't want to live in a world where a convicted rapist is allowed to stay in a normal public school, having the time of his life and probably getting more money than most of us will ever see in a lifetime to go play ball for some college while the girl he raped is stuck footing the legal bills for the district that just wanted her to keep her mouth shut unless she was shouting "Go Team!"

So please... click the above link. Give a dollar. Give more if you can.

We can't change what happened but we can keep this girl and her parents for having to pay blood money for standing up for justice.

Help Fight Child Sex Slavery At The Super Bowl

Because this is happening in my home town and because I'm always up for exposing the indifference of politicians to basic human rights violations...

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/ask_the_super_bowl_host_committee_to_stand_up_and_protect_children

DC Superhero Glasses Among Those Recalled Over Lead Levels

I found out about this after a royally bad Monday ($450 in unexpected car repairs - goodbye Holiday Bonus) JUST after I hit up two comic shops so I could get a matched set of Green Arrow pint mugs.

On the bright side, I hadn't had a chance to use them and still had the receipts.

SOURCE: Feds Probe Lead-Tainted Comic Character Drinking Glasses

Not just DC Comics glasses, mind you, but just about ANY collector glass made in the last few years. Warner Brothers is just the first to do a formal recall. Turns out the Shrek glasses scare at McDonald's this past summer? Tip of the iceberg...

Let's Cheer Up A Geek-Girl In Training.

SOURCE:Anti-Bullying Starts in First Grade

A first-grade Star Wars fangirl got made fun of by some boys because "only boys can like Star Wars".

While I'm sure cosmic irony will ensure that this girl is fighting those same boys off with a Tusken Raider staff in ten years when she's attending her first Con, she needs some comforting now. Particularly from geekish ladies.

So if you can spare a moment to write something encouraging, follow the link above.

Hateful Religious Crackpots Outnumbered and Outgunned By Geek Love

SOURCE: Super Heroes vs. the Westboro Baptist Church

There's quite a few photos at the above link, though I see precious few superheroes. I do see Bender & Fry from Futurama as well as The Buddy Christ himself.

Actually, the only superhero I saw was Gail Simone.

Not really comics related, but this is very near and dear to my heart...

SOURCE: Budget woes a chance to remake libraries


Clearly this man hasn’t set foot inside a library in the past year.

While I'll admit there is some justice in his complaints regarding Dallas being slow to adapt new technology (they had just upgraded the public computers to Windows XP while I was working there in the summer of 2008) the whole thing is amazingly ill-informed.

Just to pick out a few choice lines...



libraries are not dying, they're dead

Tell that to everyone trying to find a parking space during story-time at my branch.



Perhaps the system could expand its Bookmobile program, a perfect example of the library literally meeting customers where they are.

Except people still have to get to the Bookmobile stopping points which - in Dallas - means taking a bus if you can't drive yourself, so they might as well just take the bus to the library. Especially since most of the libraries have their own bus stop or are close to a bus stop point.

For that matter, wouldn’t more bookmobiles require spending MORE money the libraries don’t have on vehicles and gas?



For example, a popular attraction is when authors or even residents come into a branch to read to patrons.

This assumes of course that you have an author who is willing to appear for free.

Popular, professional authors (i.e. people your patrons have heard of) generally have very busy schedules and since personal appearances take away from their writing time when they aren't doing book tours their publisher set up, they tend to charge money to do them.

The authors who most libraries can afford tend to be self-published and tend toward genre fiction. And by genre fiction I mean badly edited vampire pornography.



Additionally, the "how to" features deserve expansion, with more classes such as how to build a website or create a Facebook page.

That would require computers that were capable of opening Facebook without crashing.

Actually, I know there was at least one librarian who used to work in Dallas, who tried to do a class or two like that. And he did manage to muddle through a website design class and a MySpace for beginners class, despite handicaps like a lack of a digital projector, a lack of a private computer lab and a lengthy waiting list to borrow a Wi-Fi capable laptop and an S-video capable projector form the city IT department so he could do a PowerPoint show.



When I was a sales representative, I often stopped at libraries during my lunch hour to browse the internet. Whether at the Oak Lawn or Park Forest branch, there was almost always a wait to use a computer.

Yes, I had to wait for a computer nearly every time I went there - but remember, libraries are dead! Not dying - dead!



Not only should the library system assess its budget priorities to get more computers into the system, but also secure other technology aimed at e-book reading.

One question: which reader standard do we use? I checked, Amazon was banking rather heavily on being the only place people could buy books for the Kindle and they weren't doing ANYTHING to make those ebooks accessible to libraries.



But these are the delivery methods young people are looking for,

... on Pirate Bay.



... and libraries should become the place to find them.

... downloading books onto their e-readers using BitTorrent.



While the library is still vital for families, it was never designed to only serve children.

To Serve Children! It’s a cookbook! A COOKBOOK!



Libraries compete with big book stores for adult patrons and must find a way to lure them back.

We do? We provide internet access, book, music and movie rentals and – in some cases – live entertainment for roughly $25 a year. If anything, the big bookstores are competing with us by giving away Wi-Fi in their stores and actually allowing their patrons to read stuff in the store.



It's going to take more than lattes and paninis to win back those who now use coffee shops and cafes as their study hall and meeting place.

So... the libraries need to sell espresso AND lattes?



Why can't the library start selling new books?

*clearing his throat and doing his best Alan Rickman voice*

Because then we’d be a book store, you twit!

Seriously, libraries trying to sell new materials DOES NOT WORK.

True Story: Dallas tried a program in 2008 – Street Smart – in which patrons had the option of paying $5 to rent popular movies and books with no wait. Oddly enough, few patrons wanted to pay that much to rent a movie they can get for the same price or less at the Blockbuster down the street. Even fewer were willing to pay for the privilege of checking a book out. But many of them were willing to line up for a chance to speak with the branch manager and tell them (or anyone else in earshot) that libraries are not supposed to sell books.



If scores of patrons are on a waiting list to check out the new Oprah biography, might some buy a new copy from the library if it was available?

No, because that would require money they either don’t have or don’t want to spend.

You see, libraries mainly cater to two segments of the public.

1. Economically disadvantaged people who can't afford Internet service/books of their own. (i.e. poor bastards)
2. Thrifty people who don't like to spend a lot of money on luxuries like Internet service and books. (i.e. cheap bastards)

The poor bastards can't afford to buy the new Oprah Book Club offering. The cheap bastards won't buy the new Oprah Book Club offering. They won't even pay to RENT it! See the above example, re: Street Smart.



As a southern Dallas resident, at least a couple of libraries are closer to my house than the nearest major book store.

As a southern Dallas resident, there’s probably also at least a couple of crack houses and brothels closer to your house than the nearest major book store. Why not ask Smiley The Pimp about stocking that new Oprah biography?



And when was the last time that your favorite author held a book signing at the local library?

About a month ago. And his local paper is screaming bloody murder because the state spent money on paying an author to do a personal appearance rather than building a new football stadium.

Comic reviews Later. First, some serious business.

This week, I've heard a lot of... well, I hesitate to call them people, so let us follow the example of Craig Ferguson and call them personalities. Personalities who have not only discouraged their readers and listeners and viewers from doing something - anything - that might help their fellow man in a time of crisis but cast suspicion upon the motives of all those who would help orsay that the victims of Haiti somehow deserve what has happened to them.

Edmund Burke once said "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I wouldn't presume to call myself a good man but know evil talk when I hear it. And I can't sit here with what little influence and soapbox I have and do nothing.

So if you can afford it, please, find an organization on this list which suits you and give them a little. Even if it's just a dollar, every little bit helps.

http://haitiearthquake.yahoo.com/networkforgood/index.html

Let's Send Disney A Message About Marvel's "All-Ages" Books.

I avoided writing about this for the last few days. Partly because I hadn't read the issues in question and partly because so many others were covering the story in a better fashion than I ever could. In case you've somehow avoided hearing about the "Spider-Man Rape Scandal" until now, you can read all the dirty details, with image scans, here.

Actually, you can read all about them at more than a few sites. The story has become so big it has broken into the mainstream media at multiple points. So why break my silence now?

Because I still believe that with great power comes great responsibility. And minute as my power as a comic-reviewing blogger is, I do feel a responsibility to use it.

Because I don't think that heroes - especially heroes in a book advertised as being suitable for young children (Amazing Spider-Man is rated "All Ages" according to Marvel Comics) - have any business drinking to the point of insensibility.

Because I don't think that it is appropriate to imply sexual activity - particularly irresponsible sexual activity - in a book that is apparently intended for younger audiences. And make no mistake - according to Marvel assistant editor Tom Brennan, "what you think happened is pretty much what happened."

Because I don't think portrayals of women as hateful, nagging shrews who can be turned into clingy, obsessive bimbos after one sexual encounter rape make-out session are funny or appropriate in the 21st century.

But mostly - because I don't like having my intelligence insulted. And I can't think of any word besides insult that I can use to describe a Marvel Comics editor Steve Wacker insisting that "readers have imagined more than is on the page" after they depict a woman wearing a man's shirt and underwear as she immediately starts setting down rules for their relationship and telling him what they are going to do together.

They've implied a sexual act occured between The Chameleon and Peter's roommate, Michelle. Plain and simple.

And you can argue the legal definiton of rape, based on whichever country, state, provience or prefecture you live in - it's still sleazy and wrong by any decent moral standard.

And even though the most recent issue reportedly confirms that nothing happened between Michelle and the Chameleon besides a make-out session on the kitchen floor, portraying Michelle as clingy folowing the act - whatever it was - when she's been nothing but dismissive and insulting to Peter before now does not make a lick of sense.

At best, it's an insulting stereotype (i.e "bitch just needs to get laid!"). At worst, it's an insult to the intelligence of the readers to believe this sudden change of heart came about because of a simple make-out session on the kitchen floor.

Thankfully, there's a new power running things at Marvel now. And they don't take kindly to racial stereotyping, blatant sexism or rape as comedy.

http://corporate.disney.go.com/responsibility/feedback.html

I think they would appreciate hearing your polite, thoughtful letters about your concerns over this sort of thing being presented as "All-Ages Entertainment".

Help out Aerie of Queen of Wands and Punch and Pie!

http://community.livejournal.com/punch_an_pie/130146.html

I know some of you are fans of her comics, so if you can afford to PayPal a few bucks her way, do so.

Now Is Your Chance To Play Hero For Real, For The Man Who Created Oracle

SOURCE: Comix For Sight

Here's the sitch. Suicide Squad author and the man who turned Barbara Gordon into Oracle, John Ostrander, is in serious danger of going blind to extended problems with Glaucoma.

I know times are tight for a lot of us right now, but if you can afford to Paypal a few bucks, please go to the site above and do so. If not, please include Mr. Ostrander in whatever hopes, prayers or whatever you may do to appease the higher powers.

Looking To The Stars - A Time For Action!

A short column this week, as I have a four-day weekend this weekend that is being entirely devoted to going to Scarborough Faire and recovering from going to Scarborough Faire. (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme)

I honestly did plan to write something longer, but I got dragged into several conversations across a number of message boards, most of them dealing with one simple fact: Judd Winick is destroying Green Arrow and now we have mathematical proof!

I'll spare you the gory details; if you wish, they're spelled out on our forums. The long and the short of it is that sales have dropped with quality and the book has lost nearly 40% of the audience it had when Judd took over the book three years ago.

But some people have asked me, why do I rage against the machine? Why do I keep reading a book I don't like? Why do I keep trying to talk sense into people who don't want to hear what I have to say?

Maybe it's because Ollie is a very special character to me and it pains me not only to see him badly written, but to see people holding up as strengths what I see as weakness in what was once one of my favorite books.

Maybe it's because I feel it's my duty as a critic to keep digging through the rubble and describing the horror, though I'd rather not.

Maybe it's because I'm a liberal in Texas and it is second nature at this point.

Regardless, my discussions have made one thing clear to me. Ranting will do nothing. Raving will do nothing. And even boycotting the book won't work at this point. The people have already spoken with their dollars and apparently DC is content to let the book float along the sea of mediocrity when it might fly into the heavens once sailed by writers such as Smith and Meltzer.

The time has come for drastic action.

I was going to do a hunger strike, but the editorial staff of Comics Nexus wouldn't hear of it. Besides, it was politely pointed out to me that nobody cares about a 225 pound white guy trying to starve himself to death and that it would be months before there would be any noticeable change.

And then it hit me; since I cannot starve myself, I will merely change my diet.

Henceforth, I take an oath before you my readers as well as whatever gods are so bored as to be reading my column. So long as Judd Winick is writing Green Arrow, I will no longer patronize any local family-owned Mexican restaurant.

Why? Why not? We know that dropping sales doesn't seem to have any effect on DC Comics. And it is my hope that Judd Winick will hear of this noble crusade and, being a man of honor, will step down rather than deprive the people of La Taquerita Le Sierraita near my place of work of the $20 they make weekly off of my lunch breaks.

Besides, it makes as much sense as trying to finance a disaster ridden city with gay marriage.

Should you wish to join me in this quest, I have started a petition.

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.


Looking To The Stars is a critique/satire published by The Comics Nexus, and is not intended maliciously. The Comics Nexus has invented all names and situations in its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental, or used as a fictional depiction or personality parody (permitted under Hustler Magazine v. Fallwell, 485 US 46, 108 S.Ct 876, 99 L.Ed.2d 41 (1988)). The Comics Nexus makes no representation as to the truth or accuracy of the preceding information.

Looking To The Stars: More Important Than Comics

Last week, I asked everyone for your thoughts on whether or not I should publish a list of things that were making me angry about the comic book industry and comic fandom right now. The unanimous response from all the e-mail I received was that those of you reading this like my work no matter what the tone and subject matter. Everyone who wrote in wanted to see my list.

And you will. Eventually.

This week though…I have just one thing bothering me about comics fandom; all the people who have nothing better to do right now than sit on their ass complaining about comics when there are more important issues to worry about! Yes, I’m talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So here, in no particular order, is a list of people and things in the current situation that are annoying the piss out of me.

1. BLAME-SHIFTERS

This covers a LOT of ground on both sides of the political fence. There are too many people who are trying to blame the slow response time and lack of organization concerning disaster relief on one political affiliation or the other. Right now, it does not matter that the Mayor of New Orleans is a Democrat. It does not matter that the President is a Republican. It doesn’t even matter at this point when the States asked the Feds for help.

What matters is that there are a lot of people in danger of dying from disease and famine and trying to assign blame for why things are so bad is not doing a damn thing to help them. So to every politician, reporter and jerk in a chatroom with too much free-time on their hands; get off your ass and do something to help!

2. PSEUDO-PATRIOTS

This goes along with #1. While it doesn’t do us any good at this time to start playing the Blame Game, that doesn’t mean we can ignore the fact that things are being badly mismanaged at the Federal level. Naming names helps no one, but failing to keep an eye out for people exploiting the disaster hurts everyone.

Would you wait until after the surgery was over to point out that the doctor was cutting off the wrong leg? Of course not! You’d say something while it was still possible to fix things before they got worse. That’s why I have lost all patience with the people who are pleading against blame-shifting purely as a means of protecting whatever interests they think will be endangered by people trying to think about how things got this bad. The most common excuse against this is because it’s Un-American.

Case in point: while we knew this disaster would cause gasoline prices to go up, the jump started BEFORE the oil supplies along the Gulf Coast were trashed. It seems probable that some of the oil companies are gouging the consumers and using the disaster to cover their tracks. Well, rather than be one more voice complaining about the gas-prices, do something useful and report it. There’s a handy dandy on-line form at US Department of Energy Website. You might also try calling the Attorney General for your state; many of them have started investigations into the illegal price-fixing. And even if you don’t do something to fight the gas-pirates, shut up about the gas prices. I don’t care if they really hit home; just be thankful you still have a home.

3. LOOTERS

Let me clarify first of all that I am not talking about people stealing food or medicine that is seriously needed for the survival of their families. I’m not a religious man, but I’ve read enough to know that most religious dogma agrees that while stealing is a bad thing, forgiveness can be warranted for good causes. St. Thomas Aquinas once said that if a man’s family is going hungry, it’s no sin for him to steal a loaf of bread. And even ignoring the spiritual arguments, I have a lot more logical sympathy for the woman stealing baby formula than I do the jackass who is taking advantage of the disaster to get an X-Box 360. Sure, I can’t play it now… but once the water goes down… oh baby!

4. PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT ALL LOOTERS

Okay. It’s technically criminal. But you’d be breaking windows to get some canned peas if you were in their shoes too. You may deny it, but you would. So get off your high damn horse and do something to help these people.

5. SUBTLE RACISM

While I don’t buy into any of the theories going around about how the slow Federal response to the disaster was part of some mass conspiracy by the power elite to racially cleanse the Gulf Coast by allowing the poorest, minority-filled areas to be hit the hardest and denied aid, anyone who denies that there is a subtle form of racism going on in depicting the current situation is just naive.

Don’t believe me? Check out these photos and the accompanying blurbs.

Remember kids: Black people are looters. White people are finders.

I’ve also had it with all the ignorant people making snap judgments as to why the people stranded in New Orleans chose not to leave. Most of them chose nothing. I can’t find the statistics to confirm this, but I heard on the news that 1 in 3 people in New Orleans don’t own a car. Even removing the children and the infirm elderly, that still leaves a sizeable number of people who had no direct way to take action for themselves. And these people need help right now; not some jerk telling them they should have helped themselves and asking why they should be bothered to do anything?

6. DENIALISTS AND THE WRONG MEDICINE

According to Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step to overcoming alcoholism is admitting that you have a problem and that you need help. This is actually good advice in dealing with many bad situations; you can’t start fixing it until you admit things are broken and that you need help.

It seems to me though that our Federal Government is refusing to admit that we need help. With a lot of the National Guard units of the states affected overseas in Iraq, there is a serious lack of manpower to move in and deal with the few people in New Orleans who have turned to violence. And trust me; the people who are rioting are a minority. The LA Times has a good article about this and how we sent in soldiers who were expecting combat who found only a lot of hungry and sick people desperate for a way out.

Sadly, it says a lot about the mentality of the people running the show right now that their first thoughts are of punishing the wicked and not saving the needy. This is not blame-shifting or finger-pointing. I just honestly want some things explained to me.

Explain to me why we are refusing the aid of other countries? There have been countless stories of this going on in the past week. A Google search will bring up a lot of them but the first one I saw involved us refusing the aid of the the Jamaican government.

Explain to me why we are turning away volunteers? People are showing up and being turned away by the forces surrounding the city. Even the Red Cross has been denied entry to start distributing food and evacuating the sick. Now obviously, if things are that big of a war zone (which, as we saw earlier, they probably aren’t) we aren’t going to want to send in civilian volunteers. But why can’t we have doctors and nurses who want to help outside the city ready to treat the people getting moved out?

7. GOD’S WILL

This sort of goes along with #1, but I’ve heard enough of this it deserves to be mentioned separately. To everyone who is dismissing this tragedy because of New Orleans being a wicked, sinful city: please shut up, for the love of whatever thing you call God.

This may escape your notice since most of our media coverage of Katrina’s aftermath has centered upon New Orleans, but Mississippi and Alabama got hit really hard too. All of downtown Mobile Alabama, not a bastion of permissive behavior by most standards, is completely underwater. As I said before, I am not a religious man but I’d like to think that any god interested in trashing a wicked city would have better aim.

8. PEOPLE TO ADMIRE

Finally, because I have vented my spleen so much this week… let’s end on a happy note and talk about some people who, in the middle of a bad situation, have actually been showing some exemplary behavior.

There’s 18 year old Jabbor Gibson, who took an abandoned school bus in New Orleans and personally drove it and about 100 people out of the city to the evacuation center in Houston. Sadly, with a Vogonish approach to protocol that is proving sadly typical for this disaster, his people were turned away from the Astrodome at first and Gibson himself may be facing criminal charges for stealing a vehicle. To his credit, Gibson said “I dont care if I get blamed for it, as long as I saved my people.” No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.

And I must acknowledge New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who was the first person in power honest enough to say that not enough was being done. Regardless of what he may have done or not done before the disaster, he has earned my respect for being man enough to say that he doesn’t care if he keeps his job or not at this point; so long as the people he was elected to serve are helped.

And thank you everyone around the world who has tried to help deal with this a little bit, even if your help was refused.

Speaking of helping, here’s a list of places you can check out to find out what more you can do. Donate blood. Buy some extra groceries and donate them. Pitch in a dollar to the charity at the supermarket. Even if you’ve already done something to help, it can’t hurt to see if you can do more.

Personally, as far as charities go, I suggest The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. This way you can be sure your donations are going directly to the people in Louisiana who need it.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get going to the grocery store. For some odd reason, I seem to find myself curiously short on canned goods right now.

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.