Geek Girls Rule! #50 – Comic Review: Ayre Force

Ok, so when they asked me to review this, my hopes were not high. One writer (Adam Slutsky) lists rags like Maxim and Stuff as his notable writing credits. The other writer (Joseph Phillip Illidge) has worked for DC, his bio says on some Batman titles, but I’m having trouble turning up which runs specifically. The artist, (Shawn Martinbrough), has worked for both DC and Marvel, most notably on Batman Evolution with Greg Rucka.

The resulting comic is notable only for it’s lack of marked sexism and its decent art. Considering it appears to be mostly a wish-fulfillment platform for a rich guy and his friends/employees, not a bad accomplishment. Seriously, I expected it to stink on ice, and it didn’t.

The premise of Ayre Force is that Calvin Ayre, the president and founder of Bodog Poker, Fights and Music (collectively Bodog Entertainment Group), is actually a mercenary fighting the good fight against animal cruelty, child abuse and the abuse of the environment, predominantly against the evil Wintercorp.

It is not as awful as that synopsis makes it sound. Really.

In fact it isn’t offensively bad at all. It’s ok. I’m sure 12 year old boys will love it, and complain about the lack of TEH BEWBIES. But it’s not bad, and it’s not hugely sexist. I was neither offended by it, nor thrilled by it. Apart from being surprisingly not sexist, the dialogue is pretty lackluster. There’s one or two good zings, and a fairly entertaining “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die” moment. But by and large, there was nothing stellar. And apart from one or two tiny pieces of dialogue and the dubious utility of Bif Naked’s outfit, it never once made me want to throw it across the room in disgust. I’m actually kind of pleased by the lack of sexist bullshit, and may have to take back any nasty comments I have made about Slutsky’s work with Maxim and Stuff… Ok, not really. But I was really happy with how not sexist it is.

The art, not a style of which I am overly fond, is good. For the style it is well executed and fairly dramatic. Martinbrough did a good job of conveying emotion, movement and action. Ayre should be well pleased with his artist on this. He did a good enough job that when you compare the pictures of the actual people the characters are based on with the drawings, they’re recognizable.

Yes, you heard, er read, the other mercenaries are all based on actual people involved with the public face of Bodog.

Again, I say, it is not that bad.

The villians were a bit over the top. At one point I kind of sighed and asked, “Ok, so when does he freebase a kitten?” after the son of the lead villain killed a henchman, apparently for shits and giggles. The lead villain, Janus Winter, is a murderous, evil scientist who apparently is for science uber alles, except for money. But then again I guess since the NIH is not in the business of funding grants for “build a race of evil super-beings and take over the world,” that’s understandable. He is actually NOT Janus Winter, but killed the man to take over his money and do his experiments which include shooting up his kids with animal DNA to build a better mousetra… um, mantrap. After it successfully makes his children “Man plus” he injects himself. We’re talking Father of the Year here. But, they are comic book villains, so what are you gonna do?

Honestly, I don’t know that I would have picked this comic up on my own. I mean, the fact that the profits from it are going to combat animal cruelty, most notably bear bile-farming, might have induced me to pick it up in spite of it not being anything special. But they would need to more broadly advertise that fact. I didn’t realize that was the case until Ayre’s bio at the back of the comic. It is not offensive either in content or badness. It’s actually pretty middle of road for comics of it’s type.

The Geek Girls What Rules Greatest Hits – #12 Girls and Comics

(Originally posted on Media Gauntlet)

Yup, it’s comics again. Well, my gaming life has been going pretty well. I like all my games, haven’t had to fire any players, finally got my all-girl game scheduled for this month. But, DAMN, the comics thing keeps getting my knickers in a wad.

The WSJ on girls reading comics

The above is a link to an article about how comics companies are planning on attracting more women to the media. DC is planning an imprint called Minx that will focus on girl things, apparently. And Marvel and others are looking to manga for ways to attract women.

First, let me start by saying that if I felt like reading things about “girl things” I’d read fucking chick lit. Seriously. Or several of the indie comics already out there. Not that I’m knocking those comics, but they just aren’t for me.  Nor am I saying that the Minx imprint stuff will be bad, again, just not for me.

I like superhero comics. I do. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be so god damned loud about what bugs me about them. See, there’s this thing called “not really liking something” and when that happens what I usually do is avoid, ignore or snub that thing which I do not like.

Now, liking something does not preclude one from recognizing its flaws. Not in the least. I like my car, but it’s a piece of shit that eats starters. I like my cats, but they throw up on my shoes if I stay out too late. I like my roommates, but occasionally I do want to smother them in their sleep. I love my husband, but he’s a dick, a funny dick, but a dick all the same.

Got it? You can like something and recognize flaws. It is possible. Blind acceptance is not necessary, nor really desireable in my opinion.

So just what exactly IS wrong with taking the existing comics and doing away with some of the more egregious tropes having to do with female superheroes? What’s wrong with having women have as many different body types as the male characters? What’s wrong with practical (yet still sexy) clothing?

Apparently these concepts are so anathema to the comics establishment that attracting women is going to require an entirely new genre: “girl comics.”

This saddens and disgusts me. And I want to point out that I am in no way comparing the “sexism in comics” issue to racism, but “separate but equal” didn’t work with that, it won’t work with this. Largely because I seriously doubt that the Big Two are going to bring their “A game” to the imprint. It’ll be a lame, half-assed attempt, and when it fails what we’ll get is a whole lot of, “See? We gave you what you wanted and it didn’t sell?”

Which brings me to a response from someone who found my women_n_comics LJ community. First off, he cited Mystique as a title aimed at girls and women, which made me laugh until milk came out my nose (and I haven’t had any milk all day). He listed Mystique along with Venom, Namor, and Runaways also as comics aimed at girls. He said that their poor numbers meant something, I’m not entirely sure what. But anyway, said that Runaways was the only title that was doing well, and THAT was because it had attracted a lot of men.

Well, yeah, Runaways attracted a lot of readers of both genders. It’s a damn fine comic book, with excellent writing and minimal T&A, and it proves that if you write comics like that they will sell.

The Geek Girl What Rules’ Greatest Hits – #11 How to Piss off a Geek

(Originally posted at Media Gauntlet)

Get their obsession wrong.

It’s a joke I first heard from a stand-up comedian. He was talking about driving by the lines for Star Wars: Episode I and yelling “Star Trek sucks!” just to watch the fans’ heads explode.

I laughed. Because it’s true. And just recently I demonstrated to myself once again how very true it is.

I read a lot. Everything. Okay, not everything, but close. My true literary loves (apart from comics) are Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, and Mystery. I adore mysteries. The more hard-boiled the better, although I will read the more genteel, Agatha Christie sort as well.

Glen Cook, the mastermind behind the Black Company books, has a series of very light-hearted noir mysteries set in a fantasy world, the Garrett, P.I. books. The Boy and I have a theory that he wrote these to keep from succumbing to suicidal or psycopathic urges while writing the more grim Black Company books. These books are a blast and are a blatant and loving homage to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books. The interactions between Garrett and the Dead Man brilliantly echo Stout’s bickering between Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. I mean, it’s screamingly obvious that the books are a riff on Nero Wolfe and much of Stout’s humor is echoed in Cook’s writing.

So, why then does the blurb on the covers of most of the Garrett books compare him with Chandler? Who never wrote anything approximating the Garrett/Dead Man relationship. Who had very little, if anything, funny in his books.

Yup, there I am outside the movie theatre screaming, “Dude!  Its STAR WARS! GET IT RIGHT!”  Except actually I’m in the bookstore muttering, “Stout, you moron. Stout, not Chandler. These are NOTHING like Chandler, you idiot.”

In closing, I’d like to apologize for my absence. I had every intention of updating this while I was home recuperating from surgery, but Percocet had other ideas. Seriously, be thankful that I didn’t even try to do anything more taxing than laying on the couch and watching “Full Metal Alchemist” and “The Venture Bros.”

The Geek Girl What Rules’ Greatest Hits – #10 Comic Book Obsessions

(Originally posted at Media Gauntlet)

Why, yes, I am a masochist, thank you for noticing.

After the resultant foo-for-all that came up after my “women in comics” post, which in turn resulted in my forming my own damn Livejournal community to discuss comics (women_n_comics at livejournal.com ), I’m almost afraid to keep discussing them. Even my bitchy, sarcastic ass can only take so much “ZOMG! YOU HATE COMEEEEEKS!!! YOU ARE TEH EVUL!!!1ELEVENTY-ONE-THOUSAND!!!!!!” Or my other favorite response, that I’m a prudish, frigid bitch. Those of you who have seen my burlesque act can just keep that snickering to yourselves, all right? But here I am, opening my yap to talk comics and bring gender identification into it again. I am a sucker for punishment.

So, those of you who come here from LJ know I posted a link to pictures of the new Mary Jane maquette being done by Sideshow Toys. For those of you too lazy or impatient to click the link and wait for it to load, I’ll describe it here: Mary Jane is wearing tight, ripped jeans, a seriously boobie-licious shirt, and a pearl necklace; she is bent over at the waist like she’s waiting for an enterprising young man and doing laundry by hand, barefoot. Now if I have to dissect why this is offensive to those of us who own both breasts and a brain, I am going to respectfully request that you put down your copy of Maxim, Stuff or whatever almost-porn* idiot fodder you read and back away from me slowly. Running only triggers the beat-down instinct.

Seriously… BAREFOOT? DOING LAUNDRY? PEARL NECKLACE?

Okay, give me a minute to let the aneurysm pass.

All right. Are you seriously telling me they couldn’t have found a less “OOO, Do me NOW!” pose to put her in or have her doing something that’s not “women’s work?”

And, again, I feel like I have to defend my views. I am not opposed to cheesecake. I am not opposed to the display of breasts, thighs, asses or anything else. Hell, I display mine often enough. And I LIKE girls. I like them a lot, dating them whenever I get the chance. I object to, well, this blatant objectification. I object to their being depicted as passive, weak, servile and sexually available to anyone. These women, some of whom are serious ass-kickers, get depicted as disposable T&A and that bothers me. And I’ll tell you why. (You there, in the back, quit rolling your eyes.)

Men and women are not so different as the pop psychologists and advice columnists would have us believe. Women are not from Venus, Men are not from Mars. We pretty much have the same motivations and goals out of life. Now, how we feel “allowed” to achieve them by societal conditioning is another thing entirely, but the underlying motivations are pretty much the same for the species. But I digress. And believe it or not, there is a point that makes sense coming up.

Can you, as male or female comic fans, tell me what attracts you to one comic superhero/character over another? I mean, the women are all busty, tiny-waisted babes and the men are all musclebound He-Men, so what makes you like one more than another, even to the point where you’ll stay loyal through periods of shitty writing and art?

It’s the characterization of that hero, the way their personality is created and comes out through the art and writing. Maybe you lucked into discovering them during a particularly good run. Maybe they were peripheral to another favorite and then they got good writing. But, yeah, it’s the characterization that gets you, hooks you, and makes them someone you identify with. Otherwise, why not just collect bikini-beer-babe posters?

I have a massive crush on Nightcrawler. I’ve had a massive crush on Nightcrawler for years now. But, why Nightcrawler? Why not Cyclops? Or given my sexual orientation (or lack thereof), why not Kitty, Rachel or Emma Frost? Why not Wolverine? Why not Storm? Why Nightcrawler?

Because there is something in the way his character is written that appeals directly to me. I LIKE Nightcrawler. I don’t just lust after the drawing, I really like the personality and character that come through the writing and drawing. And I daresay its the same for the guys. Why do some guys really like Mary Jane Watson, while other prefer Emma Frost or the Black Cat? It’s not differences in body type, because there are none. It’s because there are facets of their characters and personalities that come through with good art and writing that appeal to them.  It’s not all about boobs and butts, no matter how hard people work to convince you otherwise. And doing so demeans men as well as the women it objectifies.

Basically, guys, what the comics industry is saying to you (and what a lot of male and female comic fans are bleating like the sheep they are) is that you are animals who think entirely with the little head. Plot, art style, characterization, it all means nothing because you will salivate like Pavlov’s dogs at the sight of TEH BEWBIES! ZOMG!! regardless of any other aspect of the comic. And, while I am tempted to agree with that sentiment in my more cynical moments, I know it’s not true the majority of the time. Or else Kitty Pryde wouldn’t be as popular as she is. Or someone would try to convince me that Greg Land really is a good artist (not gonna happen).

I’m not out to destroy comics or even to take away your birthdays. I just want an art and media form I love and have loved for decades to quit ignoring a major part of their fanbase. There’s more of us Comic Geek Girls out there than you realize and we’re really getting sick of being dismissed, ignored, and condescended to.

*If you’re going to read porn, then read porn for fuck’s sake. Own it. I love Hustler. Its my favorite porn mag and, when I buy my copies at the newstand, I march in like Germany invading Poland, get my magazine, smile broadly at the clerk while paying (hell, if s/he’s cute, I’ll even flirt), and then saunter down the street whistling with my sack of porn.

Geek Girls Rule! #49 – My New Obsession and My Angry Feminist Rant

Yes, I know. I SAID I didn’t need another hobby. I SAID I wasn’t going to get all excited about anything else until I’d finished a few more projects. I know what I SAID.

What I did is pick up Voluptuous Panic: The erotic world of Weimar Berlin by Mel Gordon and become utterly enraptured with the sex and cabaret culture of a place and era that was called the most wicked on earth and a rival to the decadence of ancient Rome. I am so psyched. What I intend to do is find out what the color code of the “boot girls” was, and have myself an appropriate pair of boots made. No one else in the free world will get the joke, and I’ll get to be all smugly subversive. Voluptuous Panic is one hell of a good read and I highly recommend it to all of you who might be interested in sex work and the history thereof.

THAT said, I need a minute to go off on something that isn’t quite geeky, but has come up in my podcasts, in response to my podcasts and it’s something I say about myself fairly frequently that is not, in fact, true.

I am not a bad Feminist.

That’s right, you heard me. I’m not. I say it about myself jokingly and a little bitterly in podcast #3, which coincidentally enough, just happens to be the one at which the most criticisms have been aimed. Apparently being concerned with how women’s bodies are depicted in popular media is not a “hard” Feminist issue.

I really need a straight faced emoticon here.

Not only is that not a hard Feminist issue, but it’s also less deserving of discussion than the clothes worn by women in media or their hair and make up.

Now I need a “head-desk” emoticon.

Can I get an “infuriatingly homicidal” emoticon to go with those?

Nevermind that a large part of the discussion on breasts concerned itself with how those breasts are covered and what would actually work to cover, support and protect those breasts. No, apparently we should just be playing “What Not to Wear” with Supergirl and Powergirl. And, apparently stating that there are just some things that are not possible around those giganto-melons that comic artists keep drawing is anti-Feminist.

Insert “setting people on fire and eating the done bits” emoticon here.

Yes, we spent a lot of time talking about our boobs, because well, those are the boobs we have experience with. Each of us who happens to possess a pair of breasts knows intimately what can and cannot be done around, near or because of them.

We also know what they look like. For reals and everything. Something an awful lot of comic artists just don’t seem to get. Although I think I’ve unravelled the mystery of that one. Why they all draw these perfect globes of flesh that are smushed together like no bra ever has done. Even Wonderbras lift and separate.*

Back to Feminism.

People telling me I’m a bad Feminist really frost my cookies. Seriously. Because it’s bullshit, and that sort of divisive crap is what has women today saying crap like “Well, I’m all for equal rights, but I’m not a Feminist.”

Sweetie, if you vote and have a job, you’re a fucking Feminist. Get over it.

If you work in a male-dominated, or previously male-dominated career, you’re a Feminist.

Feminism is not a dirty word, and I refuse to let the Andrea Dworkin’s, Catherine MacKinnon’s, Rush Limbaughs and Chris Matthews of the world make it one and take it away from me.

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” -– Cheris Kramerae

That’s it. That’s all. That we are human beings deserving of the same respect as other human beings, and I don’t care who tells you otherwise, they’re full of shit. And yes, I’m an angry Feminist. How can I not be? Look at the fact that women still make less than men on the average. Look at the rape rates.

And look at how we’re depicted in media, and yes, I’m talking to you comic books artists and writers.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I bitch about how women are depicted in comics, because I CARE. I don’t want to break up with comics. I like comics. I like superhero comics. I like them a lot. I’ve been reading them for a very long time now, and I just want them to quit being so fucking egregiously sexist and misogynist. That’s all, and how women’s bodies are depicted is part and parcel of that sexism. And us talking about our boobs and how they work is a perfectly acceptable means of expressing our concerns. See, the girls in the podcast KNOW how those really large breasts would be a hinderance because, well, they HAVE those really large breasts and can tell you first hand how they affect their ability to do even simple tasks.

So, yeah, the depictions of women’s bodies – a Feminist issue. Me, not a bad Feminist. And comic book artists, try to observe some actual women engaged in actual activities and in relaxed and casual poses. I for one do not sit with my biceps snugging my boobs up when sitting in a chair and reading a book.

Thank you, and good night.

*The answer: Porn mags. Start with the lack of natural boobs in those magazines, and then add the poses. Yup, arms positioned to most prominently display said breasts, to push them forward and up and make them squish together and, well, look sort of globe-like. Honestly guys, we don’t all walk around with our biceps held in to push our breasts up and out all the time. And looking at some of the comics made me realize just how many artists depict the majority of their female characters in that stance. And it’s not just porn mags, popular advertising does it, too. So I can’t say that every comic artist uses porn as a reference point, they may actually just be using print advertisements. But the pose is the same.

Ok, that mystery solved.

Geek Girls Rule! Podcast #5 – I drink too much vodka and talk about geeky stuff

It’s not as incoherent as I’m making it out to be.  I did drink too much vodka.  Who would have thought Kagome made such a great mixer?

Go to the Podcast.

Anyway, I talk about GoPlayNW and all the fun I had there, including the most awesome game of Don’t Rest Your Head I’ve played to date.  I talk about my plans for the Alternate Lifestyles track at NorWesCon next year, and LGBT fandom.  Also, I answer a listener question from Podcast #3, the boob episode.  I also discuss why HorrorFest is kind of a crapshoot, and just how freaking awesome Glen Cook is.

Ok, I need to go get ready for a knitting party.  Have fun, ya’ll.

Geek Girls Rule! #48 – 9 Chickweed Lane, again

In spite of the fact that my last little temper tantrum about 9 Chickweed Lane may have cost me a friendship, here I go again. 

I feel I need to state again, that I actually enjoyed 9 Chickweed Lane until very recently, a lot.  That’s why I read it.  I generally don’t continue to subject myself to things I don’t like unless offered no choice in the matter, and well, that’s not really ME subjecting myself to it, then, is it?  However, I don’t think I’m going to keep reading it for much longer. 

Today’s 9 Chickweed Lane: 

Ok, so I have been willing to overlook the fact that Mark and Seth are pretty much embodiments of Gay Stereotype, because I have known Gay men who do fit the stereotypes, and some who openly embrace them, particularly for comedic effect.  Yes, I have friends who live their entire lives sarcastically. 

That said, two things about this comic just about made me scream.  The first is the assumption that the loneliness and devastation of a break up is something only monogamous people feel.  Does Mr. McEldowney seriously think that people who do not view themselves as monogamous don’t feel those emotions when a relationship breaks up?  What kind of ignorant bullshit is that?  Just because people feel themselves able to love more than one partner at a time, it really doesn’t make it any less devastating when those relationships end.  Granted, frequently your other partner(s) will be there to comfort you (ideally), but the end of a relationship hurts regardless of other emotional ties.  If you have more than one child, would it hurt you any less to lose one because you may have several?  No?  There you go.   

And what the hell is up with the perpetuation of the whole “Gay men are promiscuous” bullshit.  “In theory” my ass.  The one relationship that started around the time that Ogre and I got together that is still going strong is the one between my friends Robbie and Kerry.  They’ve been together for nearly 16 years now, and have been monogamous the entire time.  The majority of my LGBT friends are monogamous, and are just as baffled by my open relationship as my straight monogamous friends.  “Everyone thinks we don’t understand”?  What the hell?  Yeah, only if they’ve never known anyone Gay who went through a bad break up.  Seriously, I just keep getting more and more disgusted. 

I don’t get it.  I used to really enjoy this comic, but more and more I’m finding that it’s making me crazy to read it.  Seriously.  I’ve already talked about his depictions of women’s sexuality.  Now I have to add his antedeluvian attitude towards Gay relationships and this apparent belief that only the monogamous know true emotional pain.  I’m half tempted to send him a copy of this cd:  Grand Slam:  Best of the National Poetry Slam just so he can listen to track 8 “My Pain Keeps Me Regular” by Edward Thomas Herrera.

Was it always this bad, or am I just more aware now?

 

Geek Girls Rule Podcast #4 – The Kids’ Game (aka Hope for the Future)

I feel like I need to apologize in advance for the sheer chaos of this podcast.  But it was a lot of fun to record, although maddening to edit.  And believe it or not, I DID edit.  I hope you guys enjoy it!!!

http://sirriamnicast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=346323

Geek Girls Rule! #47 – Why all the Geek Grrling?

So, in response to a meme I got this question from a friend, and I thought of two ways to take this question:
1. Why are you a Geek Girl (Grrl)?
2. Why are you so aggressive about being a Geek Grrl (Girl)?

I thought about it for awhile, and could not decide which way the person meant it, so I answered it both ways.

For number one, “Why are you a Geek Girl?” I do not remember a time when I wasn’t. I mean, I was pretty jocky growing up, I played a lot of sports, but at the same time I read constantly, everything I could get my hands on. I was in a special class for the “academically talented” in my elementary school, where they bussed all the smart kids they didn’t know what else to do with to another school one day a week so we might actually learn something. This class started my lifelong love with mythology and folktales. I was the girl who blew the grading curve in every class. I’d rather spend my money on books than just about anything else. I honestly do not remember, from the time I started reading, a time when I didn’t read voraciously. I frequently had teachers who didn’t know what to do with me. My dad raised me with comic books. I loved marine biology and books about sharks and monsters.

Honestly, I do not know that I could be anything but a Geek. It’s so ingrained in my personality.

As for number two, “Why are you a Geek Grrl?” Why am I so aggressive about women in comics and gaming and things that piss me off about that?  Because I love my hobbies. I love comics and I love gaming and I love computers and I love SF/F. And when my beloved hobbies do things that are hurtful or stupid and easily avoided with just a little bit of thought, I speak up.

Granted, I don’t get it as much as I used to, but it drives me nuts when guys won’t take me seriously when I talk about comics or games. Particularly when it’s something I’m really into. Or even better, when they decide to “explain” things to me that not only do I already know and get, but “UR DOIN’ IT WRONG.”

I don’t want a separate “girls imprint” that focuses on “quirky, arty teen girls!” I want superhero comics with women with different body types and realistic boobs. Or at least for them to have as many body types as the male superheroes. When I see good writing and art sacrificed on the altar of TEH BEWBIES!!! ZOMG!! It makes me angry. As I’ve said before, the popularity of titles like Runaways demonstrates that you don’t need TEH BEWBIES to have a successful title.

Just once I want to see a female character drawn in a solid fighting stance, instead of contorted to show off her ass and tits at the same time, or with a hip cocked out in a come hither stance aimed at her enemy. I also hate inappropriately sexual poses, expressions and costumes in relation to the character’s concept and personality. Emma Frost, I totally understand her costume, the physics of it elude me, but I can see that character, with that personality, looking all tarty. Supergirl is SIXTEEN FREAKING YEARS OLD, for Gods’ sake put some clothes on that CHILD!

And gaming has it’s problems as well.  From the gendered language of most gaming books, to the battle lingerie clad female characters alongside male characters covered from head to toe, to the biggest problem of all, the exclusion of women from the hobby of gaming.  Granted, it is getting better all the time.  Almost every gamer woman of my generation or older has a story about being told that “girls don’t game” or that “girls just ruin games.”  From speaking with younger women, I am pleased to find out that fewer and fewer of them are getting that crap.  And I’ve found a much more female-friendly gaming scene with the Indie Gaming folks.

But seriously… if I hated comics and gaming, it wouldn’t drive me so crazy. Just like the people you love the most are capable of making you madder than anyone else on the planet.  And just like, when you’re in a relationship and that person can make you crazier than anyone else, you have to communicate with them to explain why you’re seething at them.  That’s what girls and women are doing now.  We’re communicating our discontent.  And while we are angry, you still shouldn’t take what we write as anything less than a love letter to industries we don’t want to break up with.  Because the opposite of love isn’t hate or anger, it’s indifference.