I’m gonna jump on this “freshman year/senior year” bandwagon. 4 years later I’ve still got it.

newyorker:

In the spirit of openheartedness and what life is really all about, I’ll go so far as to say that the fear of others may mask some deep-seated desire to understand, and maybe even to love. Because really, what is there to be afraid of? Few people today don’t know—or have in their families—at least one loving couple who are raising children, same-sex or not. And it’s really just the loving part that matters. That same-sex marriage could go from its preliminary draft of “diagnosable” to the final edit of “so what?” must indicate some positive evolution on the part of the larger human consciousness. My wife, being a biology teacher, puts it even more succinctly: “Why are all these people so worried about who everybody else is sleeping with, anyway?” (Score two for Moms.)

—Chris Ware on his cover of the May 13, 2013 issue, “Mother’s Day.” Get the story behind the cover: http://nyr.kr/10d7TyC

upnorthtrips:

Keith Haring would’ve turned 55 today. Happy Birthday

yeah I realize that, I just felt her response made it sound like there was a RIGHT way to create “good” female characters. I don’t think she believes that, I just felt how the discussion was being framed left it a bit confusing.

gingerhaze:

From a message:

I don’t think you can really say that there’s no such thing as a bad female character. And the way you’re approaching this is (possibly unintentionally) indicating that you believe that. We very much do have a problem in fiction works where some writers over-sexualize female characters instead of developing their personalities -This is a problem because in same works, the men are often far more dynamic. To me, this means we still need more females in stories and more females creating stories

Right. I’m sorry if it looked like I was saying that there’s no such thing as a bad female character - there obviously is. In debates like this it tends to polarize the two sides of the argument, pushing each party to extremes, so let me clarify my stance. I’m not saying that we should blindly love ANY character simply for being female while heaping praise upon the creators for creating a female character. I absolutely think that we should be pushing for better, more well-rounded, more diverse female characters, and that we should hold the writers accountable for their shortcomings. However, my problem with the initial post that started all this is that it displays an attitude I see all too often: “because sexism exists, it would be better if there were no female characters rather than ‘bad’ female characters.”

(Watch out, it’s a long one under the cut!)

Read More

I think part of the issue here stems from how the conversation is being framed. When you ask for examples of “bad” female characters, it suggests there are “good” female characters, and when you start looking at things in these black and white terms ideals and stereotypes are bound to show up. The fact is there is no right way to create “good” female characters. For that matter, there is not right way to create “good” characters of any sort. More than anything, its formula and standards that are the problem.
I’m thinking about the whole Starfire dabacle from way back. When you think about it, there’s nothing inherently “bad” about her being openly sexual and flirtatious. The problem was not so much her character as it was the persistence of the formula used on her. The superhero genre is rife with pointlessly sexualized women. Heck, our entire culture is filled with it! Starfire only got so much attention because it was such an exaggerated and overt display of this formula. The only reason it’s bad is that it’s so god-damn persistent. Anyone would be well within reason to be annoyed with it, especially women, because you’d simply like to see something else!
A “bad” character isn’t necessarily flat, uncomplex, stupid, sexualized, prudish, or whatever. A bad character is a boring one, and in terms of female characters there are many that are so boring its offensive.

sinfest

If you don’t have a massive alternative universe in your head with developed people and stories you’re lying

(Source: chandelaire)

ajohnny:

tomewing:

minimoonstar:

hungryforstrays:

HE CALLED TONY OVER TO UNTANGLE SOME WIRES

HE CALLED TONY STARK OVER TO UNTANGLE WIRES

oh my god clint you BABY :’)

To be fair Clint’s AV setup must be from the 90s or early 00s (he still owns movies on actual laserdiscs), if these boxes had wi-fi their wires would, like, detangle out of fear as Tony walks in the room.

Anyway! I got hold of issues 3-6 of this! On a Saturday afternoon! I have literally never seen any part of this comic actually in the comic book store. I think dude put in a massive order for the third printing (nb I have no idea what a massive order actually consists of. 50 copies per store? 500 copies per store?).

I want to make a special mention of Hawkeye Purple (the floorboards, in the scan above), which is subtly not the same purple you see in the “classic Hawkeye outfit.”  It’s been updated! To a deep lilac! This struck me as so on-trend that when I got home I hit up the Pantone Colour Report web site, and sure enough. It’s a bluer take on their “African Violet,” but no one really uses the Pantone trend palette as-is (while greens and blues and corals are massively dominant in the shops this year, it seems to me they’re generally paler, though not less intense. Ice cream shades: pistachio and mint and orange creamsicle, all on a sea-background of International Klein Blue). Let’s say Marvel is hewing as close as your typical fashion designer, whether because it’s the business of the colourist to know these things or it all happened subconsciously.

This is not trivial. XD I don’t work as a designer/decorator and don’t go out of my way to learn about Pantone trends; I barely read fashion blogs — but I will almost always develop an attraction toward one of the season’s dominant colours a few months in advance (around when the report comes out; also, if we’re talking the Spring 2013 colours, around when this particular comic started publishing). I’ve been carrying a pistachio mint-coloured purse since last fall. It was on sale, it was the only item of that colour in the store, there was no particular indication that it would become trendy, and for some reason I had to have it. I honestly can’t explain how this works, but it happens far too consistently for it to be a coincidence. There’s a very strong subliminal message in that Hawkeye Deep Lilac cover for some (I assume not all) viewers: this is the book you want to be reading exactly right now.

Excellent fashion / colour / comics crit.

I don’t read comic books, but for just a little while this got me excited about them — partially because of this everything’s-an-art-form realization that’s starting to give me a greater respect for cultural products I’ve tended to overlook (I guess that’s not news to comic book fans but like I said, that’s never been my purview). But it’s also exciting because even the most seemingly-trivial things (color palettes in a comic book!) can be massaged into exciting commentary. Aughh, I want to be this thoughtful.

(Source: sailormisandrist)

neil-gaiman:

wwnorton:

Happy birthday to Will Eisner, who was born in 1917 and died in 2005;  he would have been 96 today. Neil Gaiman called him “an American storyteller, like Ray Bradbury, like O. Henry,” and Wizard magazine named Eisner “the most influential comic artist of all time.”

Visit the Will Eisner Week website for listings of celebrations across the country.

Happy Birthday, Will. I miss you.