DC’s Super Feminine Mystique

My post Men are From Marvel and Women Are From DC, generated some interesting comments and fun discussion, imagine that. I came to one big conclusion about the femaleness of DC and the Maleness of Marvel… it all goes back to Wonder Women… …Duh. Think about it. Having a major female superhero thrive in and more importantly, survive the golden age of comics speaks volumes. Marvel/Timely, in truth, never had interesting women characters to begin with but the break between their 1940s supers and the 1960s Marvel Age cements my point.

The fact that Wonder Woman had her own successful title for decades gives the DC universe a possible womanish vibe even if her stories didn’t always depict females in the best light. The Amazon is a headliner. This fact combined with numerous other characters like Catwoman, Power Girl, Super-Girl, and Black Canary make a for a solid foundation that echoes down the years through the DC Universe. It seems obvious when you think about it but then I’m a man bred on Marvel Comics… 80’s Marvel Comics.

D0nnaT0ry had a good point in that a person’s universe of choice comes down to their gateway comic. The appeal of Wonder Woman and other DC heroines is obvious, so this must be the reason why girls have flocked to DC Comics. They have the female supers, so they have the female readers. Now this makes sense and could end the gender question right there but… the gateway comic doesn’t ring true for me personally as a man. If it did, I’d have been a DC Comics fan for most of my life. The first comic book I ever read was an issue of Green Lantern/Green Arrow, bought by my sister no less, and while I generally liked the characters it didn’t really fire my imagination. I also read some Justice League of America too and again it didn’t do much for me and these were male character dominated titles. Consequently, I didn’t really read comics extensively until years later. One day, out of boredom, I convinced my mother to buy me three, bagged together; marvel comics… and my addiction began. I’ve often wondered what would’ve happened if I had encountered an issue of Amazing Spiderman or The Avengers instead of Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Justice League. So I tend to think there is something a little more feminine to the DC Universe…

Now a thought experiment to test if DC is more female-like than Marvel would be to pick a masculine heavy genre that women generally don’t enjoy, like War Comics. If you do a little compare and contrast, I believe women would come down on the side of Sgt Rock rather than Nick Fury. I’m not discounting the fact that Rock was better written and drawn than Fury, which would make it more appealing to most folks including me, it's just that I have a feeling that women would be better entertained by DC's WWII comic over Marvel's version. Besides, which title had Mademoiselle Marie?

Wonder Woman gets to the heart of the matter to me. Having her front and center made DC unconsciously more diffused with a female ethos. But, and here is where we get to the Feminine Mystique aspect, DC super-heroines are saddled with pre-women’s lib baggage. Wonder Woman and friends were still struggling against the sexist themes of the golden age long after the successes of the sexual revolution at least that’s how I perceive it. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t attracted to DC Comics as much. Not because their comics were more feminine but because they were more 1950s feminine. Case in point, She-Hulk. I’ve always liked Shulkie and as I’ve said before, she’s a modern woman. I like female superheroes a lot, I think I just prefer ‘em post second-wave feminism. This is not say that Marvel was doing a great job with their female characters, far from it as the Wasp’s annoying prattle in the 1960s Avengers attests, but rather that Marvel simply had a more male centered universe even though, paradoxically, it was a more modern universe.

By the 1990s a lot of the gender issues I’m proposing about DC and Marvel had changed. Through retcons, modern storytelling, and the X-men Splitting into a plethora of titles with strong female characterizations the view has been blurred. Many younger readers have more choice to jump back and forth between the big 2 without much regard to gender or gender legacy. In other words, they’ve grown up with comics that are less defined by such issues. Again, I’m not necessarily saying the big 2 are doing a good job, I’m just saying they seem to have more freedom when it comes to expressing a masculine or a progressive feminine ethos rather than sticking to what was par for the course in the past. Whether they use this freedom, responsibly or creatively is a different issue.

What are your thoughts?

I ended the “Men are From Marvel” post with a Hillary and Obama political cartoon. So with that in mind I’ll end this post with them. Maybe the struggle in the Democratic Party is a fight between the Wonder Woman Generation (Hillary) and the She-Hulk Generation (Obama). It’s looking more and more like the She-Hulk generation is gonna win.

-Swinebread

With Great Power...?

I assume that you have seen the new trailer for Indiana Jones 4 because it's been posted everywhere so I'll offer something else:


Crave Online: Funny Videos, Sexy Videos, Music Videos, Movie Trailers, and More!

Parodies have been overplayed recently but Superhero Movie might just buck the trend and actually be funny.


-Swinebread

Presidents Day

A few of my favorite Fictional Presidents:




President Tom Beck
"Life will go on, we will prevail." -Deep Impact



President Steve Rodgers
Captain America as President? What could be more American than that!
-What If, vol. 1 #26



President Thomas J. Whitmore
“Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” - Independence Day. Want to know what fantasy land the republicans are living in? This is it!



President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho
“Shit. I know shit's bad right now, with all that starving bullshit, and the dust storms, and we are running out of french fries and burrito coverings. But I got a solution.” -Idiocracy



Unnamed President played by Donald Pleasance
“You’re the Duke of New York! You’re “A” Number One!”-Escape From New York



President Travis Morgan
A former Pilot and sword & Sorcery champion from a Pelucidar-like world travels to a post-apocalyptic future and overthrows what’s left of corrupt US government. He frees slaves, becomes President, and then travels back in time to stop the nuclear war from happening in the first place. Now that’s what I’d call a proactive executive. -Warlord #84



President Merkin Muffley
“Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.” – Dr. Strangelove



President Margaret Valentine
“…I’m President of the United States and I said Drop You’re Goddam Weapons” -Y that Last Man



President Kenneth Yamaoka
“That’s a Dangerous thought. A powerful few could crush the dreams of the majority” –Eagle: the Making of an Asian American President.

-Swinebread

Marvel Zombies Fan Trailer

Crave Online: Funny Videos, Sexy Videos, Music Videos, Movie Trailers, and More!

My New Comics

This week’s best cover is Fantastic Comics #24.


Dead of Night Featuring Man-Thing #1, Marvel Comics.

Doctor Who Classics #3, IDW.

Fantastic Comics #24, Image. Part of Image Comics Next Issue Project. Retro comics at their best. Hmmmm… funny how this coincides with Project Superpowers.

Bat Lash #3, DC Comics.

The Evil Dead #2, Dark Horse Comics.

Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure Marvel Comics. Jack Kirby’s 103rd issue of the FF comes to light at last.

Walking Dead #46, Image.

Trade Paperbacks:
Showcase Presents: Enemy Ace Vol 1, DC Comics. One of the greatest war comics of all time and now I finally get to read it. Who cares if it's only in black and white… all the better to enjoy Joe Kubert’s line work!

Fall of Cthulthu: The Fugue Vol 1, Boom Studios. Reprints Fall of Chtulhu #0-5.


-Swinebread

Stumptown Comics In April

The date for this Fifth Annual Stumptown Comics Fest is set for April 26th & 27th. If you think that seems a little soon you’re right because instead of a Fall ’08 show the gang has moved it to Spring… Love is in the air?

Anyway, Scott McCloud (who I’ve wanted to meet for a long time), Tara McPherson and Craig Thompson are just some of the talent that will be attending. See here for a current list of guests.

No info on the workshops and presentations at this point but they were fantastic last year so I’m sure they will be again.

Mark your calendars! It might not even rain this time. ☺

-Swinewbread

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Invasion of the Love Robots indeed!

-Swinebread

For the sake of the party, I know the two of them can come together.

This is why MadTV is better than SNL.

Paraody of Rihanna's Umbrella.

Jericho Season 2... Tonight!

It’s been a strange ride for Jericho fans but the second season is finally here. Hell Yeah! In addition to being resurrected from cancellation by crazed fans, Jericho is in the unique position of being one of very few scripted shows on television due to the writers strike. In fact, the truncated seven-episode season which CBS authorized last spring turned out to be a blessing in disguise because if there had been an eighth episode the WGA walkout would have stopped production on the finale. I wanted more and now I’m glad I didn’t get it. There seems to be positive unintended consequences when it comes to jericho.

If the show’s second season proves to be popular (and the reviews have been good) there might be another season on the horizon and critics tout the premiere as a good jumping on point. Also, being on a 10 o’clock means there will be no completion from American Idol, so the network learned their lesson this time around.

I’m just glad Jericho beat the long odds and that we’ll have something entertaining to watch.

Next stop The Allied States of America…



-Swinebread

Goodbye Steve Gerber

Sadly, Steve Gerber has died. See Mark Evanier’s post here.

Most famous as the creator of Howard the Duck (the comic), Steve is fondly remembered by me for his work on The Defenders, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and the best cartoon of all time: Thundarr the Barbarian.

Thanks Steve for so many great times while growing up. You will be missed by this old fanboy…



-Swinebread

The Aussies Keep It Simple

Our fine friends down under explain the process by which we elect a president in the United States. See here

The whole thing sounds so much better with that wonderful accent. Of course they don't mention those pesky Super Delegates on the Dems side... Heh heh A brokered convention? Now that couldn't happen could it?

My New Comics

This week’s best cover is The Twelve #2.


Omega The Unknown #5, Marvel Comics.

Army of Darkness #6, Dynamite Entertainment.

Jungle Girl #4, Dynamite Entertainment.

The Phantom #21, Moonstone.

Jonah Hex #28, DC Comics.

The Twelve #2, Marvel Comics. I'm Lovin' it!

Countdown Special: OMAC #1, DC Comics.

Northlanders #3, DC Comic/Vertigo.

North Wind #2, Boom Studios.

Omega The Unknown #5, Marvel Comics.

Army of Darkness #6, Dynamite Entertainment.

Battlestar Galatica: Origins #2, Dynamite Entertainment.

Previously Published Trades:
Loveless Vol 1, DC Comics. I’ve been groovin’ on Westerns, so why not get the one that’s generating the most buzz.


-Swinebread

Men Are From Marvel, Women Are From DC? Not Really But…

The perfect couple?

One of the things that really surprised me when I started blogging was the amount of women out there that read comics, superhero comics. I’ve met women that enjoyed the indie stuff over the years but never the superhero fare. Well, OK, maybe one of my older siblings liked sneaking my X-Men comics, but she was practically in the closet about it and she didn’t actually buy them, so obviously she can’t count. Plus, she’s my sister and sisters NEVER count when considering these types of things. Anyway, The second thing that surprised me was the amount passion females had for DC characters. When I was a kid nobody read DC let alone girls reading DC. There might have been some fan love for Batman but in general DC was considered lame on the playground. Marvel had all the cool and fun characters, like Spiderman, X-Men, Avengers, Hulk and ROM. That changed somewhat after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dark Night, and Watchmen. A comics company couldn’t be too lame if they published those types of stories. So after that, it was OK to pick up a few issues of say Green Lantern, or the Byrne Superman.

Come to think of it, after seriously strip-mining my memory I do remember one girl from high school that read comics. She was in the closet about it though, and I only discovered her spandex-love after I knew her a couple of years. When she finally opened up to me, I was really surprised and thought, “Cool, a girl that reads comic books” but… she was a diehard Teen Titans fan… I didn’t really know that much about the teen titans other than their appearances in Crisis. She really wanted to discuss the characters with me especially the females like Raven, Wonder Girl, and Starfire however my lack of DC knowledge simply made me made a listener. I didn’t bother discussing my comic tastes, as she didn’t know anything about the Marvel Universe. Our one-sided comics talk was tinged with a certain sadness because her father couldn’t stand the fact that she read comic books and so she had to be very careful by hiding her collection or at least keeping it out of sight.

So, the seed was planted someplace in my subconscious, that girls preferred DC to Marvel. Now besides the obvious answer of DC having more prominent female characters, I get the feeling that something else is going on here like maybe DC is more, dare I say it, womanly? I dunno, like maybe a female vibe/energy permeates the DC universe somehow? Even going so far as to say that DC’s male characters have more of an appeal to women than Marvel’s male characters? …And perhaps that’s why, as a kid, I wasn’t attracted to DC very much?

Now, obviously guys read DC and gals read Marvel so there is no hard and fast gender rule, but I wonder on some symbolic level if there isn’t something to this including concepts like sexual attraction, hero identification and role models. Comprehensive knowledge (which I don’t have) of Joseph Campbell and classic myths would be very helpful in wrangling this out…

I’ve opened the door here for a weighty essay about the Yin and Yang of the big two but actually, I’m kinda stumped on how to proceed. I just don’t have the background to do this topic justice. What do you think?

I would note that if DC does have that goddess energy, so to speak, this might explain why women feel they’ve been punched in the gut by many of Dan Didio’s editorial decisions while Joe Quesada’s are “merely” the standard, sexist slog.


I must be thinking like this because of the Democratic Primary that’s going on.


“My plan for America is DC….”

“In contrast to my opponent, mine is Marvel….”

Hey, wait aren’t they both talking about comic books….



-Swinebread

Happy Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Way of the Rat? …Year of the Rat!


-Swinebread

Cartoons Are Evil!

part 2

part 3

part 4

Phased-Plasma Rifle In the Forty Watt Range

We’ve been enjoying the Sarah Conner Chronicles here at Casa de Swinebread, but my SO was having some trouble with the context of the show. She couldn’t really remember the movies and to make matters worse, FX had been showing Terminator 3 over and over again, which is totally ignored by the TV show, so she was confused even more. It’s been a while for me too for that matter.

Freddy’s was having a DVD sale so I picked up the first Terminator movie for seven bucks and we watched it this last weekend. I gotta’ say, Man, what a great piece of Sci-fi fun! I’m really getting CG’ed and kungfu-ed out, so it was nice to watch something made on a smaller budget with straightforward action. In fact, by today’s standards the look of movie seems almost grindhouse, but that's part of the appeal IMO. After all these years, I still enjoy the performances and I also realized I prefer Arnie as a robotic killing machine rather then a sympathetic hero (or Governor?). My SO really enjoyed the film too and the whole Sarah Conner and Son thing was finally cleared up for her.

Since we’ve gotten some chorological distance from ‘80s, I’ve noticed another aspect of the film I don’t think I could have recognized when I was younger. The Terminator is also a horror film of sorts. Think about it. A mindless killer, that can’t die, keeps coming back over and over. Sounds like any number of slasher flicks from the 80s and 70s to me. But this film works much better than any Slasher flick because it actually has a plot and an inventive use (for the time) of sci-fi tropes. Who, isn’t bored by the dumb ingénue that’s alone in the dark, but with Terminator, it could be night or day with lots of people around and the killer is still there chasing you. I feel the film also taps into fears of gun violence, which is much more of a real concern than a guy cutting you up in your dreams.

So, after all this time and all the special effects that have come down the pike, I like the first one the best. The Terminator is an excellent science fiction film and maybe that’s because the one-liners are actually delivered by a “robot.” This picture is also different too, because motherhood is seen as a strength and the brief romance between Sarah and Kyle is must if humanity is to survive. In fact, the only thing I don’t like about this film is Sarah Conner’s hairstyle… that’s one part of the eighties that didn’t age every well.

Trailer:




On a side note, Dynamite Entertainment is currently doing a 4-issue crossover between their Painkiller Jane and Terminator 2 Infinity comics and it's surprisingly entertaining. We get a strike team invading Skynet, John Conner in command, and another Terminator randomly sent into the past. The first two issues are out now with last two next month.

-Swinebread

What Book Are You?

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're
actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd
be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Maybe it's all those Captain Carrot, Bugs Bunny, and Usagi Yojimbo stories I've been into.

Thanks to BAC at Yikes! here

A long time ago, kids were supposed to have a favorite football team. Now, I’ve never been into sports of any kind except for some mild enthusiasm for basketball and soccer (playing it, not watching it as it’s one of the most boring games in the world to watch) consequently, I was in big trouble in grade school. I got really tired of other kids pestering me about my lack of a favorite team, so figured I better pick one. As a kind of protest vote I decided to choose the lamest one I could find. Knowing nothing about Football at all, I asked around and got a few names from some the other kids. I studied the logos and decided that the design I liked the best was from some team called the Patriots.

Well, that choice was inspired because when I proudly told the other sports mongers that my favorite team was the Patriots; people looked at me like I was crazy and left me alone. But years later, a funny thing happened, the Patriots started wining games, and became quite popular. Instead of the usual “you’re crazy" look I’d get from folks, I started getting animated responses and engagement for long winded conversations about a team I knew nothing about and games I cared little for. When I couldn’t name any of the players, they would get suspicious and I’d end up having to explain why the patriots were my favorite team, because they “used to suck.” At that point of the conversation, I’d finally get the familiar “you’re Crazy” look.

Now all this sounds like a lot of work, so why don’t I just switch to a new team that sucks? There are two reasons: one, I’m old enough that folks can talk about other things besides Football, so I can steer the conversion to something else; and two, I’ve hardly ever stuck with something and seen it through, so why not stay with the Patriots.

So the Patriots are my favorite NFL team but not because they are any good. I don’t know the members, I don’t know any of their statistics and I don’t really give a rat's ass if they win today. They are my team because they were losers a long time ago and they had a dude in revolutionary costume on their helmets.


-Swinebread

My New Comics

This week’s best cover is Narcopolis #1.


Project Superpowers #0, Dynamite Entertainment.

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters #1, Dynamite Entertainment.

Black Summer #5, Avatar.

Narcopolis #0, Avatar.

Salem: Queen of Thorns #0, Boom Studios.

Badger Saves the World #2, IDW.

Terminator 2 #6, Dynamite Entertainment.


Back Issue:
Painkiller Jane #4, Dynamite Entertainment. Apparently this is part one of a crossover with Terminator 2. So I bought this issue of PJ so I’d know what was going on in issue 6 of Terminator 2.

Trades:
What Were They Thinking Boom Studios.

Previously Published Trades:
Wasteland Book 2, Oni Press.

Marvel Legacy: The 1960s-1990s Handbook Marvel Comics.

Scary Book Vol 1, Dark Horse Comics.


-Swinebread

Happy Groundhog Day!

Here issue #1 of Guerilla Groundhog! It's one of a plethora of TMNT rip-offs/parodies that came out during the Black and White boom of the mid-80s.

-Swinebread

Why I like Women Reason #352

EDIT See Hughes' Ambush Bug Post post (here) with images from issue three.

Because it took a Woman, Jann Jones, to bring back Ambush Bug (see here). First Captain Carrot now my favorite wacko Green teleporter! DC has just pulled ahead of Marvel in my book. (Which wasn’t hard to do mind you)

Ambush Bug is reemerging this summer and all the stupid, comic book events we’ve all been complaining about are gonna’ get skewered. And Yes, Giffen and Fleming (the original creators) are crafting these latter-day Loony Toons. Finally…! Thank you Jann.

If this new Ambush Bug is a hit, then maybe we might see his adventures collected. One can only hope.

Nods to Occasional Superheroine for hipping me to the info (here)

A smile has appeared on this old fanboy's face because it's time to laugh again.

-Swinebread

"The Gun Is Good..."

It’s pure carnage with your “Singing Connery” Dean. I'm sure glad that I haven’t seen the Seagulls. But yes, I'm willing to call it a draw, although not in the way you think. The only answer is MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) so yeah, a draw, but I've gotta’ blow myself up in the process. I know Lady Bug thinks she brought it up, but I’ve had this doozey on the back burner a long time. Sean Connery in Diapers is the only way of ensuring nobody wins.

Show Me… Zardoz!




Maybe "Walken" would make a first-rate epitaph?

-Swinebread