WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Supergods

Grant Morrison’s book on superheroes and their place in our culture is:

1. Schizophrenic, sometimes swinging from memoir to analysis in the space of a paragraph.
   
2. Bereft of any footnotes that would help solidify some of his more dubious points.
   
3. Full of his usual crazy-man jibber-jabber about his hallucinogenetic* past, further fueling the sort of people who like to say “he’s on drugs” when they can’t offer up any real analysis of his works.
   
4. Utterly addictive reading. It could have been twice as long and I’d have enjoyed it five times as much.

*You can use that one. It’s on me.

THE RACK: The Trouble With Girls

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century (1969)

WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING: Lolita

Since today was Stanley Kubrick’s birthday — he would have been 83 — I decided to watch Lolita for the first time since I was closer to Humbert’s age than Lolita’s. It was just as good as I remember, but there’s a few things that I appreciate more now that I have a few more brain cells to scrape together.

1.
James Mason was a wonder, wasn’t he? Alternately pugnacious and charming, he really occupied his role perfectly. It’s remarkable how sympathetic I found myself, really, because he’s more than a bit of a bastard.

2.
Sue Lyon. Golly, is that uncomfortable or what? Even with her having 2 years on the novel’s version of the character, she’s so very charming and sweet and real and boy I feel creepy just typing that.

3.
Oswald Morris’s photography takes all the cinematic tropes of the time and uses all of its tricks to his advantage. I love how subversive this film feels in this aspect, something that reminds me very much of the much-more-modern Burn After Reading.

4.
I genuinely forgot how funny the movie was, and not just in the uncomfortable, black manner. The scene with the cot builds to a comedic crescendo that rivals Some Like It Hot for slapstick comedy, even as it reinforced our protagonist’s predicament.

5.
Every year I get closer to inevitable death, I appreciate Peter Sellers more. Can we retroactively give him all the Oscars? Please?

6.
Let’s not ever discuss the Adrian Lyne version. Ever.

The New DC and Women (Other People Have Said It Better, But I Wanted To Type.)

From Comics Alliance’s coverage of an SDCC panel:

The same Batgirl-clad fan who made appearances at many DC panels over the weekend asked why there aren’t more female creators on DC titles. DiDio said that DC Comics hires the best writers and artists they can, to much applause from the audience. Morrison quipped that he looks great in a dress, to which the questioner responded, “I appreciate you trying to brush me off.” Morrison then encouraged women in the audience to submit their work to DC.

I legitimately believe that DC isn’t looking for male or female creators: they are looking for people that are willing to churn out the exact work that Dan Didio’s editorial reign seems to demand. This means sticking to the people that have already proven themselves valuable to the company in one capacity or another. Look at the lineup of creators in the “New 52″ and you’ll see many, many familiar names from the last two decades.

DC’s retrenching is not nearly as radical as they want you to believe. Yes, they’re retooling characters and concepts a bit, but they’re not bringing in new voices. There is there simply no good business reason for them to do so; the linchpin of their strategy is digital distribution and not a creative renaissance. Do I wish it were the latter? Yes, I do, but it can’t be because their business isn’t strong enough at this time to be able to take the occasional flyer that allows real growth for the genre.

None of this excuses the hiring imbalance, but it does show that to the top brass, it’s not as simple as “hire some women, please.”

(Also, if you want your questions about gender and hiring policies at DC to be taken seriously, perhaps asking them when dressed as one of the company’s iconic characters isn’t the best way to go about it. You should hold your convictions strongly enough to put your name and face on them.)

Tonight.

Tonight, instead of giving two tugs of a dead dog’s cock about Andrew Garfield (who seems very nice, yes) appearing at Comic-Con and delivering a (quite good) piece of nerd polemic at the panel for Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man, I saw two women that mean (and will always, hopefully) the world to me, Sarah and Cathy. We talked about our mutual obsessions and interests, our highs and lows, our ins and our outs and most of all, we talked about real connections between people that weren’t based entirely on corporate-owned properties that we’ll never touch.

I am sure Garfield is a very nice young man; I’m sure the people who are making new movies on the things that you liked when you were 9 are decent enough, and I am sure that you don’t care about the stuff that I make, but I just want to say, to reiterate, how very lucky I am to have amazing friends who help me make things that are my own.

No offense, Andrew Garfield or Sony Pictures or director(…wait, who directed this one?) but I am happiest doing what I do, with people that push me and inspire me in ways that I can’t quantify. I just wish all creatives could feel the same way.

(Yes, I’ve been drinking. Suck it.)

THE RACK: A Real Hero

In which havoc is wreaked.

THE RACK: The Move, Conclusion

GUEST STRIP: Awesome Hospital

Agreeable Auxiliary Art Corps Member 003 Sloane Leong and myself did a guest strip over at Awesome Hospital, which you should be reading if you’re not already.

THE LINE: The Social Nightmare, Part 5

Linda records a message. It goes as well as you’d think.

THE RACK: The Move, Part 13

There’s your obligatory reference to Harry Potter as a backdrop to a conversation and revelation.

BOLDLY GONE: Arlynn D’Resh

Get to know Starfleet commander Arlynn D’resh in this week’s update to Boldly Gone, written by me and drawn by Ming Doyle. Haven’t started yet? Read the first strip here!

THE RACK: The Move, Part 12

Aaron and Rick discuss the situation.

OUT TODAY: Space Warped #2

Good Comics For Kids has a preview of the second issue of the title that I’m providing “Americanization” for. (That means I made it funnier to American audiences, or tried to, anyway.)

THE LONELIEST ASTRONAUTS: Forever Voyaging, Part Fifteen

THE LINE: The Social Nightmare, Part 05

Linda uses her people skills.

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If you somehow missed it…

THE RACK: The Move, Part 11

We discover what’s in the box.

Womanthology: A Good Thing You Should Support

BOLDLY GONE: A Mini Update