Lately at the comic shop Darrin's been teasing me more than usual. About buying Batgirl. (I just spent two minutes trying to describe our argument regarding Batgirl but I really can't. Suffice to say, he teases me about buying it, and it's not like I can really defend the quality as top notch or anything, but I enjoy it, and he's all "You know it's bad but you don't want to admit it" and well, NO, that is not how I feel at all,,, then I got into it with this guy who always hangs around about Stephanie...he doesn't like her because of War Games, and I tried to explain to him it was bad writing, but he seems to have a hard time realizing a character can be written badly and that they don't actually have a mind of their own- if he even brings it up again I have a list of reasons WHY it's was out of character for Stephanie, so there. I will decimate his argument.)
Also, a few regulars seemed to have pegged that I'm a feminist. And 'Darrin has too. Well, he probably pegged it my first visit, probably, when I complained about the fact that the females in Umbrella Academy ended up being broken and mute while the boys were fine, but now he's mentioning it a lot more. So now whenever Darrin tells me to do stuff, some wiseguy will be like "She's going to tie you up and take over the shop like a strong woman should!" And I just ignore it, though now that I think of it, I should have told the guy that he would be lucky if he ever got tied up by a girl.
I don't mind being teased. I have a sense of humor. But the attitude of "look at that strange feminist comics girl!" annoys me a bit. I mean, I don't really think I'm obnoxious about it, I tend to be pretty quiet irl, so I don't see why it's such a big deal. There are other girls who come to the shop, but I guess I just stand out b/c of my opinions and the fact I work there.
What really annoys me is I got myself pulled into the most INANE discussion- a Wonder Woman vs Superman thing. It was like being on CBR. But it wasn't about WW vs. Supes. I just got derailed.but my issue was the "boys club". Basically, for some stupid reason, the guys were discussing what the "next wave of gods" in the DCU would be. Superman, Batman, Flash...they stalled on who next.
I said, semi incredulously "Wonder Woman". Duh.
The guy who started the discussion: "No, I don't think so"
Me: Whhhhy not?
Guy: Because she's not as powerful as Superman.
Now, rather than asking what the hell that has to do with being a god, pointing out that WW is a cultural icon, that she has power over the force of truth, that she has inspired women in REAL LIFE and has her own anti domestic abuse event, that she was an extremely effective and important superhero and force in the DCU, that she has gifts of the gods (actually, I did point that out. I also pointed out she was Goddess of Truth once. My nemesis blathered about some god saying Superman was a cosmological being and Wonder Woman had to be MADE a Goddess or some crap like that) I got sidetracked by WW vs Superman.
I cited how Wondy and Supes had been shown to be equals in various fights, that Wondy has better martial skill and canonically faster reflexes and she had the lasso of truth ("But she doesn't have heat vision"!) He just would. not. accept. it. It was ridiculous. He was so scared of having a girl in his little boys club of gods. Or maybe he just didn't like Wonder Woman. But anyway, I felt really stupid that I got dragged into a "who can beat who" fight like I was 12 when it was really his stupid boys club mentality that ticked me off. The way he just dismissed me, the sole girl in the shop who was sorting comics while he was geeking out with his special guy friends, saying "hey, maybe this chick could be in your special gods club" right off the bat was just...agh. I felt like we were 12 the whole time, to be honest.
The guy who argued with me about Stephanie agreed with me about Wonder Woman though, and last time I went to work, I had two comics somone had bought for me: Wonder Woman #37 and Superman: Secret Origin #1. I thought it had to have been Dad, but when Dad came byand I asked him about it, the guy (I, uh, really should remember his name) said that he had done it. Isn't that sweet? And kind of weird and surprising.
So, let's review those comics:
Wonder Woman #37:
I loved the Zombie Ares scene. It was well wriitten and just wonderfully creepy. I read it to my Mom and I could feel her shivering beside me. Ares must have way more up his sleeve. I'm thinking the whole thing is a massive Xanatos Gambit. I knew he couldn't go down so easily!
I really liked the scene between Donna and Diana too. It's cool to see the depth of their relationship and Diana's utter selflessness and love for her sister. And Artemis returns! Yay! She'll whip everyone into shape.
On the other hand, it seems really out of character for Hippolyta to submit to her island being controlled by crazy Alkyone. She's willing to be chained up to "protect" her island- by leaving it to utterly unstable gods and violent rulers? Wha? I hope there's more to this.
Chang's art didn't do much for me here. His Zombie Ares was good but the other figures seemed sticklike and just not that detailed. It seemed worse than usual, maybe he rushed this issue.
4/5
Superman: Secret Origin #1:
I actually kind of enjoyed this. not enough to get the sequel, I don't care about Superman having another origin story, but I really liked how utterly a kid Clark is, bouncy about using his powers to help people, reluctant about wearing a silly outfit, upset to find out he's so different and has another set of parents to contend with when he just wants to be Ma and Pa's son, worrying that Krypton might be a bad place- and I really liked the moments between him and Pa.
I also liked the art for the most part, especially the scene where Clark is tearing through a cornfield crying and Pa hugs him. Awww. I always enjoy Gary Frank, even if Clark looked like a demented chipmunk in a few panels.
4/5
The Unwritten #6
Back to the story of Tom Taylor! This was another really good issue of the series, and it's really fun to see the story's exploration of how fiction can affect reality. The hysterical parents and captivated little girls are hilariously on point, and it's deep shit for Tommy being in jail and starting to be changed for the worst by his experiences and the stories in his prison walls- and zombies and flying cats aren't going to make him feel better. Both a smart examination of truth and fiction and a really captivating read.
It's fun to compare and contrast "Tommy Taylor" with "Harry Potter". "Sue" seems to be way less cool than Hermione (she doesn't have crazy hair, and the little text experts haven't shown that she has any bossy or kickass tendencies and does anything besides focus on Tommy) but seems to have the worrywart aspect down, Tommy meanwhile, is probably more badass than Harry, since I imagine Harry's reaction to "You will fall for 1000 years'" would be less "At least I'll have some time to myself" and more "OH SHIT!" but I like that Harry's a little squirrely. Oh, and Tommy's school condemns people who run from a fight or steal stuff to dust, so I can't see how they'd toterate Slytherin.
...what? I like to think about these things!
5/5
Detective Comics
Okay, I lied, I can't resist this comic. The art is just amazing, and the story is really picking up. I actually like the twin angle, and the glimpse into Kate's childhood was nice. The military brat thing is fun too, and oh, I just love how JH Williams changes his art for the flashback, and the page where Kate is shut in her cave, slumped but determinedly testing her blood, was great. I'm genuninely looking forward to seeing the origin unfold.
Question was blah again. Hopefully the next arc will be more exciting. Hey, there'll be Huntress at least!
4/5
World's Finest #1
I flip flopped on reading the first two issues of the mini, but decided I might as well.This was a servicable story, nothing special. Tim is still a broody dick, but at least he helped out. I was entertained while I read it, but it was forgettable. Still can't wait for Steph and Kara's team up, though.
3/5
That's all for tonight!
- Mood:
tired
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Comments
Uhg, that is sad that they were so resistant to the idea of Wonder Woman being "one of the gods". Heh, I would've followed up with "and Oracle, too!" (Which, from the sounds of it, might've led to even more dumb arguments.)
And WRT Stephanie, I maintain that she usually only "screws up" when she's trying to follow Batman or someone else's orders or live up to their expectations. So there's that. After all, all Bruce had to do was tell her who Matches Malone was and War Games wouldn't have happened at all. (I don't think I'm ever going to let that bit go.)
Edited at 2009-11-06 05:20 am (UTC)
Sorry they're giving you a hard time. In my experience, it gets a bit better once the regulars get used to you? But the "obnoxious fanboy who doesn't know how to talk to girls" stereotype seems truer than it should be.
Yeah, honestly, if a character's actually been a god before, it's hard to argue she doesn't have the chops.
Honestly, that's what the discussion felt like to me. I think I did manage to say something like "If FLASH can be a god, okay...and Batman doesn't even have..." but that got lost in the conversation somehow.
God, I want to tear those guys a verbal new one by pointing out their blatant grasping for straws and goalpost moving.
It's not just about citing information to disprove them, ya gotta also point out blatantly obvious stupidity when you come across it.
I wish I was there, I'd feel the need to do a Dynamic Entry to your benifit.
I guess I should be glad that the comic shop I frequent is sevearly lacking in such mental deficiencies.
I imagine you saying this in a scary Bat-voice.
I got sidetracked by WW vs Superman.
You pass the nerd test.
And kind of weird and surprising.
How old is he? CAUSE I THINK HE'S GOT IT BAD, GOT IT BAD, GOT IT BAD
Yeah, I'm feeling kind of disappointed by Warkiller. I hope you're right and that it's just some big elaborate plot by Polly. And Huntress in the next arc has me really, really excited.
Oh! And guess what? I saw The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde!
I'm not even really a fan of Wonder Woman, but it's obvious that she has more business being a god than anyone else on that list. Certainly more so than Batman, who's a shadowy figure who doesn't publicly inspire the masses. And if not being stronger than Superman disqualifies one, than what are Batman and Flash doing on that list?
Yeah, it really does feel like he's got a mental block on the idea of having a woman doing something awesome.
Isn't that sweet? And kind of weird and surprising.
Oh dear. I think he might have developed a little crush on you.
Seriously though --- how anyone can expect to be taken seriously when they try to make an argument against a character after the list they initially compiled ... I'd say unbelievable, but stupidity knows no bounds so it isn't really possible to be surprised by such an example of it.