San Francisco, 4:48 PM
Tue Dec 1
30 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |
News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |
Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |
Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |
Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |
Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |
Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |
Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |
Ever since the War on Terror and finally reading Baroness' profile (A college social justice activist?! Really?!), I've started to think that Cobra is much more interesting as a liberal organization. Destro sells arms to oppressed freedom fighters, Major Bludd sells his services, Dr. Mindbender is working to undo media brainwashing, Storm Shadow is a Japanese patriot who lost family in Hiroshima, and Cobra Commander is still a guy so screwed over by the "American Dream" that he chose to fight back. Meanwhile, G.I.Joe becomes a lot more ominous when you consider that Snake-Eyes' main duties would be assassinating foreign heads of state.
@Cory Gross: I think the best commentary on G.I. Joe has been the O.S.I. theme song in that episode of The Venture Bros. about Billy Quizboy's origin. Try and find it on YouTube if you haven't seen it.
@Strangebomb: I think talent trumps personality. Just because he's a douche doesn't mean he isn't a great writer. Is Mark Twain less brilliant because he was prone to temper tantrums? Is Picasso less brilliant because he was a womanizer? So what if Moore is asshole, he has the talent to back it up.
The relative conservatism of the Fable community (which, given that they're hundreds of years old, makes perfect sense) is prevalent throughout the series.
Besides, that comment isn't about the origins of the state of Israel, but about its current status in the world.
@RobinSure: How was it "in character?" It sounded like Bill Willingham had transcribed his journal entry from an evening of writing after a particularly rousing episode of Hannity and Colmes.
And forever after, when they kill goblins, I'm going, "Awesome! Bulldoze the little fuckers' hundred-year-old olive groves, while you're at it! Build walls between the goblins and their Goblin Church! Kick them out of their homes and pretend they don't even have a goblin government! Tell everyone who disagrees with you that your Fairy Godmother told you to do it!"
@Perhaps Not: Big bad wolf. His whole purpose for years was carnage, and he was very good at it. While he's changing for the better, he still has considerable experience of all things martial. He recognised something as an excellent survival tactic. Argue about the ethics all you like, but Bigby was looking solely at the practicalities. Which is what he does.
And technically the olive grove was used to produce unkillable soldiers which were used to create armies which could conquer worlds. I think that counts as provocation.
@RobinSure: Right, but the real-life olive groves to which I refer were just used to produce olives.
I mean, Willingham could have used any number of historical examples to make the exact same point and it would have come off as badass, but the example he picked really minimizes the suffering of a very real group of people.
From the Comics Journal:
"If there's any underdog in this world, Israel's it. So I think I just absorbed my mother's love of Israel. Politically, I'm just rabidly pro-Israel and so that, as a metaphor, was intended from the beginning. As a matter of fact, since this interview will be coming out after issue #50, there's a scene in which it's actually stated as fact that Fabletown's battle against the vast Empire, the Adversary, is very much like Israel against the Arab nations." [www.tcj.com]
@Perhaps Not: Then learn to separate your feelings about fiction from your feelings about reality. You might not agree with his thoughts on the matter, but he still writes a bloody good story. And if that story requires for him to be pro-Israel, fine with me. He believe that killing kittens is a fun hobby for penguins, but as long as the story is compelling, I don't mind. (Assuming the usual stuff about actions not being intentions etc.)
Just as an aside, I should point out I'm neither pro or anti Israel, as I don't know enough about the situation to have any feelings about it. I always intend to rectify my knowledge of current events, but it's amazing what gets in the way.
@RobinSure: I wish I had seen this troll bullshit before abandoning the thread.
You can do whatever you want with your feelings, but fuck you very much for having the presumption for telling me what to do with mine. I'm thrilled that political content in art has no meaning to you; enjoy your D.W. Griffith festival. If an artist has an ill-considered opinion (Neal Adams thinks the earth is hollow, for instance. No shit. Look it up), it's fine as long as it doesn't interfere with his work. Willingham uses his position as a writer of fantasy comics as a bully pulpit for some very objectionable, shallow political ideas and I reserve the right to call him out on it. I won't read any more Ayn Rand novels, either. Why? Because she was wrong and she was strident about everyone hearing her wrong ideas. See also "Triumph of the Will" by Leni Riefenstahl and, to a lesser extent, "Empire" by Orson Scott Card. Does Card being an ultraconservative moron make "Ender's Game" a bad novel? Absolutely not, because he keeps his ideology to himself. Willingham does not, so I don't read Fables anymore.
has anyone had a look at Absolute Promethea? Is it a decent value for the money with some substantial extra material, or is it LOEG: The Black Dossier all over again, where they just reprinted the books, blew 'em up, and charged a hundred bucks for the slipcase?
Interesting juxtapositioning going on there. If you place them side-by-side, it's like a good-vs-evil mirror, with Snake Eyes opposing Storm Shadow, Flint (who has "in Cobra disguise" action figures) against Zartan, Duke on top of Scarlett, and Cobra Commander above the Baroness.
@Hamslicer: Samurai Jack would surely have been a GI. Dexter is a toss up. I think at first he'd be for Cobra, if not for the thought of ridding the world of his incessant sister DeeDee. But then he'd turn GI.
@acrobatic rabbit: You would think Dexter would be all about world domination, but Mandark would surely side with Cobra Commander and Dr. Mindbender. Dexter would create a giant accelerator suit to destroy Cobra.
As with all G.I. Joe toys, the only proper way to use these shoes is to keep them in their original packaging and threaten bodily harm to anyone who tries to wear them.
09/29/09
09/29/09
09/29/09
09/29/09
09/29/09
09/29/09
The relative conservatism of the Fable community (which, given that they're hundreds of years old, makes perfect sense) is prevalent throughout the series.
Besides, that comment isn't about the origins of the state of Israel, but about its current status in the world.
09/29/09
Seriously, if you're not reading this, there is something wrong with you.
09/29/09
09/29/09
09/29/09
And forever after, when they kill goblins, I'm going, "Awesome! Bulldoze the little fuckers' hundred-year-old olive groves, while you're at it! Build walls between the goblins and their Goblin Church! Kick them out of their homes and pretend they don't even have a goblin government! Tell everyone who disagrees with you that your Fairy Godmother told you to do it!"
Talk about dehumanizing your enemies.
09/29/09
And technically the olive grove was used to produce unkillable soldiers which were used to create armies which could conquer worlds. I think that counts as provocation.
09/29/09
I mean, Willingham could have used any number of historical examples to make the exact same point and it would have come off as badass, but the example he picked really minimizes the suffering of a very real group of people.
From the Comics Journal:
"If there's any underdog in this world, Israel's it. So I think I just absorbed my mother's love of Israel. Politically, I'm just rabidly pro-Israel and so that, as a metaphor, was intended from the beginning. As a matter of fact, since this interview will be coming out after issue #50, there's a scene in which it's actually stated as fact that Fabletown's battle against the vast Empire, the Adversary, is very much like Israel against the Arab nations."
[www.tcj.com]
09/29/09
Just as an aside, I should point out I'm neither pro or anti Israel, as I don't know enough about the situation to have any feelings about it. I always intend to rectify my knowledge of current events, but it's amazing what gets in the way.
10/08/09
You can do whatever you want with your feelings, but fuck you very much for having the presumption for telling me what to do with mine. I'm thrilled that political content in art has no meaning to you; enjoy your D.W. Griffith festival. If an artist has an ill-considered opinion (Neal Adams thinks the earth is hollow, for instance. No shit. Look it up), it's fine as long as it doesn't interfere with his work. Willingham uses his position as a writer of fantasy comics as a bully pulpit for some very objectionable, shallow political ideas and I reserve the right to call him out on it. I won't read any more Ayn Rand novels, either. Why? Because she was wrong and she was strident about everyone hearing her wrong ideas. See also "Triumph of the Will" by Leni Riefenstahl and, to a lesser extent, "Empire" by Orson Scott Card. Does Card being an ultraconservative moron make "Ender's Game" a bad novel? Absolutely not, because he keeps his ideology to himself. Willingham does not, so I don't read Fables anymore.
09/29/09
09/16/09
09/15/09
Also, I thought the style was more in line with those old animation serials like Rocky & Bullwinkle. Yes, I know of Dexter's Lab.
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
Yes. Yes, I did.
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
DeeDee would make a great Saboteur for G.I. Joe.
09/15/09
09/15/09
09/15/09
Clone High is like the Duke Nukem Forever of TV series.
09/15/09
It's just resting. I swear.
08/10/09