Diseased #Comicsgate - The Culture Wars Hit The Funny Books!

[Krokodil Overdose]

Oh boy, could I sperg about X-Treme X-Men. It had some pretty rough spots (what the fuck was that Khan the Conqueror arc?),

If I had to guess, it was editorial saying, "Chris, this Vargas/Destiny's diaries thing is getting a bit too... you. Wrap it up and move on to something else," so he went "uh... OK, magic rocks, alien invastion, the power was in you all along, the end. (P.S. fuck telepaths.)"

and it never really lived up to its potential, but even on his bad days Claremont could tell an X-Men story. It was less about "look at the oppressed minority" (which just doesn't bloody work, as y'all have pointed out) and more about "these are people who are born into a really weird, awkward position, how are they going to use these insane powers they have?" Some of the mutants were reluctant heroes. Some loved it. Some got a power boost from Sage and then PTSD'd like a mofo after seeing what being a superhero actually entailed.

Hell, it even did itself one better with the Valle Soleda side-story which turned the tables and had the mutants being the assholes, albeit in a more day-to-day way than taking over the world or destroying all humans. And it led to uncomfortable questions like "what jobs can humans get when there are mutants out there who are preternaturally better than them at everyhting?

Still, decent book overall, especially considering the tripe that Marvel is producing these days. (Remember when we laughed at the Dark Age of Comics? Lord forgive us, we knew not what we did.)

For all their sperginess and occasional bouts of cringe, that's something I think CGers have grasped. Story first, message second. Give me a story, not a sermon.

"If I want to send a message, I call Western Union." -Cecil B. DeMille, who apparently knew a thing or two about entertainment.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Never, ever try your case on social media. If Meyer says nothing about this case from now till final verdict, it'll suit me just fine.

The people who are trying to run their cases in both the courts and Twitter are invariably morons.

Win first, brag later.

 

[Mola Ram]

Never, ever try your case on social media. If Meyer says nothing about this case from now till final verdict, it'll suit me just fine.

The people who are trying to run their cases in both the courts and Twitter are invariably morons.

Win first, brag later.

So very much this. Some cousins of mine who were in an extremely nasty probate fight saw the whole thing go tits-up because a whole succession of lawyers either dropped them as clients or refused to take them on in the first place because they would not shut the fuck up about the case on Facebook.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

So very much this. Some cousins of mine who were in an extremely nasty probate fight saw the whole thing go tits-up because a whole succession of lawyers either dropped them as clients or refused to take them on in the first place because they would not shut the fuck up about the case on Facebook.

Bets on Waid have to have his internet and 4g cut off? Or we instead going to watch that lawyer keep changing because we know how much of a screaming tosser he is?

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

Bets on Waid have to have his internet and 4g cut off? Or we instead going to watch that lawyer keep changing because we know how much of a screaming tosser he is?

If Waid is really worth a bit over $1m, as was cited on stream, I see a lot of billable hours in Mr. Zaid's future.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I think the part that might be difficult for Meyer is proving that Waid specifically was to blame for the deal going sour. If there really were several other pros also berating Antarctic's staff over this, can Meyer really make the case that Antarctic wouldn't have pulled out if Waid in particular hadn't also contacted them?

My only legal expertise comes from watching way too much Judge Judy, but that show often has people who think they can get away with a crime because of reasoning like that. Like keying someones car with a group of friends so they can point the finger at each other and no one can prove exactly who keyed the car. It will suffice to say that the judge sees through that bullshit immediately and rules against them anyway.

Obviously this lawsuit is different than keying a car or trashing an apartment, but I assume the principle remains the same. The fact Waid bragged about and is treating this case as laughable makes me think he's operating on CSI logic where a case will be thrown out unless they have fingerprints, DNA, a signed confession, and the victims neighbours cat hair on his jacket.

If Meyer has any sense, he's going to walk in there with every relevant tweet, podcast, talk, and facebook post. At that point, even Antarctic's denial doesn't matter as it has all the sincerity of someone being forced to read a statement at gunpoint.

 

[Slowboat to China]

If I had to guess, it was editorial saying, "Chris, this Vargas/Destiny's diaries thing is getting a bit too... you. Wrap it up and move on to something else," so he went "uh... OK, magic rocks, alien invastion, the power was in you all along, the end. (P.S. fuck telepaths.)"

Which is a shame, honestly. I remember reading those when they came out, and I really wanted to know more about Vargas. Was he really a human version of homo superior, or just a weird mutant with a sense of grandeur? Did someone make him? Creating this egomaniac knight character to hunt down the diaries for him seems like a Mister Sinister ploy. I mean, it was all ridiculous and OTT, but young Slowboat was invested.

Then the whole arc kinda ended with a "meh" and Vargas never appeared again. Honestly, just killing off a Claremont villain offscreen is such a waste.

"If I want to send a message, I call Western Union." -Cecil B. DeMille, who apparently knew a thing or two about entertainment.

Love that quote, and yep. Messages can arise organically from a well-told story--just look at Casablanca--but if you try to force it, you're gonna end up with a mess. Again, with the X-Treme X-Men (hate that name) example, the ultimate message of the Destiny's Diaries arc was that we are masters of our own fates, goddammit. But if you see the story as nothing but a vehicle for a message, then you're not storytelling, you're preaching. And how many people go to church for the entertainment value of the sermon?

As for Mark Waid--good on Our Boi Zack. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out, especially since Waid et al have been slandering him up and down the Internet for months.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

Which is a shame, honestly. I remember reading those when they came out, and I really wanted to know more about Vargas. Was he really a human version of homo superior, or just a weird mutant with a sense of grandeur? Did someone make him? Creating this egomaniac knight character to hunt down the diaries for him seems like a Mister Sinister ploy.

They even kicked around a bunch of theories in-universe, but I liked the straightest one the best: simply another divergent strand of humanity, competing with mutants for the ecological niche of "the future." If expounded upon, it would have led to a lot of interesting more quandaries. But much like the E-gene thing, it threatened to actually move the setting forward, so it quietly went down the memory hole.

Also, I re-read the first X-treme TPB last night. I hadn't remembered just how there were pages and pages of people actually expounding competing viewpoints w/r/t mutants and not being presented as strawmen or villains.

I mean, it was all ridiculous and OTT, but young Slowboat was invested.

It's superhero comics. If it's not somewhat ridiculous and OTT, you're not doing it right.

Love that quote, and yep. Messages can arise organically from a well-told story--just look at Casablanca--but if you try to force it, you're gonna end up with a mess.

The message of Casablanca is "bribing the cops is good way to get what you want," right?

Again, with the X-Treme X-Men (hate that name) example, the ultimate message of the Destiny's Diaries arc was that we are masters of our own fates, goddammit.

Right, but I can't help but wonder if it was intended to be strung out for a lot longer than that. Rogue was against gathering the diaries from the beginning, but only went along with it because Storm was a friend. Most of the volumes were never accounted for, and writing the whole thing off with "oops, Rogue was right all along. Womp womp" felt like a real anti-climax. I'm a big fan of the "no fate" message, but the temptation that comes with knowing the future makes for an interesting moral quandary. (Though I did like the fact that, in the backstory, Destiny and Mystique could achieve personal success with ease, but social engineering proved impossible despite precognitive powers. Hayek was right.)

 

[Jaimas]

You know, it's funny, I've been looking over my old comic sets, and I realized something interesting.

Mark Waid tacitly seems to be the herald of the apocalypse as far as quality Marvel comics go.

His arrival (and subsequent being labeled the best thing evar by the powers that be) began what I can only describe as a fucking gold rush of bad ideas to break out: Fraction, DeConnick, Rivera, Spencer, and the other big names that we've come to know and mock in this thread all had their odious starts at around the same time, and the sudden push to abandon continuity of any kind seems to have begun around the same.

The sudden infusion of blatant political horse-shit? Ditto.

Seriously, you can go look for yourself: These all had the same things in common, which was that they got pushed hard by the usual suspects, and that they each sold well for exactly 1-3 issues before fucking tabling harder than my grandfather on his 12th Vodka Screwdriver. Seriously, the same problem we have now where Marvel comics just aren't selling? That seems to have started with the mass-hiring of these fucksticks, and while correlation is not causation, the fact that Waid's been the ardent supporter of this horse-shit and was involved with the hiring of so many Anti-CG lolcows speaks volumes.

Hell, you can make a compelling agument that the entire affair was the fucking writing on the wall that Comicsgate was coming after GG, with IGN pushing Waid's shit hardcore less than a year into the Autism Holy War, and many of GG's biggest lolcows going on to attach themselves to CG in turn. In a lot of ways, Waid was the Autistic Canary in the Gold Mine.

 

[damian]

I think the more exceptional thing is he’s implying a story titled Black and White has to have 2 protagonist (1 White, 1 Black):

He’s talking about this IGG:

Promo vid:

Seems to be a remaster of an indie from the ‘90s:

I wonder if CG is secretly paying comic pros to sperg about their projects? I keep finding new stuff to back whenever they open their mouths, here’s the link:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-and-white-remastered/x/18673996#/

 

[Adamska]

I wonder if CG is secretly paying comic pros to sperg about their projects? I keep finding new stuff to back whenever they open their mouths, here’s the link:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-and-white-remastered/x/18673996#/

No, they're just really fucking stupid and autistic due to being manchildren hired on to a company for peanuts and exposure. They would've gotten browbeaten out of the original bullpen for this autism; not due to bigotry, but because they can't fucking keep up or act like adults.

 

[Flexo]

You know, it's funny, I've been looking over my old comic sets, and I realized something interesting.

Mark Waid tacitly seems to be the herald of the apocalypse as far as quality Marvel comics go.

His arrival (and subsequent being labeled the best thing evar by the powers that be) began what I can only describe as a fucking gold rush of bad ideas to break out: Fraction, DeConnick, Rivera, Spencer, and the other big names that we've come to know and mock in this thread all had their odious starts at around the same time, and the sudden push to abandon continuity of any kind seems to have begun around the same.

The sudden infusion of blatant political horse-shit? Ditto.

Seriously, you can go look for yourself: These all had the same things in common, which was that they got pushed hard by the usual suspects, and that they each sold well for exactly 1-3 issues before fucking tabling harder than my grandfather on his 12th Vodka Screwdriver. Seriously, the same problem we have now where Marvel comics just aren't selling? That seems to have started with the mass-hiring of these fucksticks, and while correlation is not causation, the fact that Waid's been the ardent supporter of this horse-shit and was involved with the hiring of so many Anti-CG lolcows speaks volumes.

Hell, you can make a compelling agument that the entire affair was the fucking writing on the wall that Comicsgate was coming after GG, with IGN pushing Waid's shit hardcore less than a year into the Autism Holy War, and many of GG's biggest lolcows going on to attach themselves to CG in turn. In a lot of ways, Waid was the Autistic Canary in the Gold Mine.

Funny, you're not alone. Raz0rfist has a similar theory.

I do think we can sum it up with: Inbreeding leads to retardation.

 

[ᴍᴀᴅᴜᴋᴇ]

What the fuck?!! Disappear for a couple of days only to find out after putting Mark Waid put his foot in his mouth with the Antarctica Wordpress situation, Zachary's gonna put his foot up Waid's ass in court?!! Can't wait. Also, if WB is looking for someone to play the part of Joker in a new film, Get that Nick Rieketa guy cause that laugh 4:00 minutes into his video discussing the lawsuit, was fucking spot on.

 

[Oh Long Johnson]

View attachment 555530

I think the more exceptional thing is he’s implying a story titled Black and White has to have 2 protagonist (1 White, 1 Black):View attachment 555531
He’s talking about this IGG:
View attachment 555536
Promo vid:

Seems to be a remaster of an indie from the ‘90s:
View attachment 555535

I wonder if CG is secretly paying comic pros to sperg about their projects? I keep finding new stuff to back whenever they open their mouths, here’s the link:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-and-white-remastered/x/18673996#/

Expecting the word "black" to refer to a person of color? That's one shameful lack of wokeness.

 

[Adamska]

It's also creatively bankrupt given that's the legitimately the scheme of Cloak and Dagger (Black man with shadow powers, white chick with light powers) but even lazier and genuinely racist.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

It's also creatively bankrupt given that's the legitimately the scheme of Cloak and Dagger (Black man with shadow powers, white chick with light powers) but even lazier and genuinely racist.

If we can get them to sperg out about Black Adam and Black Canary, my life will be complete.

 

[damian]

If we can get them to sperg out about Black Adam and Black Canary, my life will be complete.

Funny you mentioned that:
'Birds of Prey': Jurnee Smollett-Bell Cast as Black Canary
Jenna Anderson 09/26/2018

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

Funny you mentioned that:
'Birds of Prey': Jurnee Smollett-Bell Cast as Black Canary
Jenna Anderson 09/26/2018
View attachment 555609

In the immortal words of David Mamet, "I dreamt I was ahead of the curve, only to discover I was scarcely abreast of it."

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

Funny you mentioned that:
'Birds of Prey': Jurnee Smollett-Bell Cast as Black Canary
Jenna Anderson 09/26/2018
View attachment 555609

So what is it with this "muh representation" nonsense anyway?

I mean, white people are still the majority in the U.S., so I would presume "accurate representation" would still mean the majority of characters should be white.

Also, what is the appeal of changing a character's race and/or sex? Is it right to, say, make Cyborg white?

 

[Jaimas]

So what is it with this "muh representation" nonsense anyway?

I mean, white people are still the majority in the U.S., so I would presume "accurate representation" would still mean the majority of characters should be white.

Also, what is the appeal of changing a character's race and/or sex? Is it right to, say, make Cyborg white?

I can answer that if you want.

Short Answer: The marketing department tells them it's a good idea.

Longer Answer: The marketing department pushes this shit hardcore. There's two general reasons for it; one is that there is a belief that white people will be a minority in the not-so-distant future and that if they can just tap into that emergent market, it will translate to all of the money. The other, far stupider reason is that Marketing departments are now completely occupied by the same ideologues.