Fantastic Fangirls: Comics and Culture

In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments. But this week we are making a very special announcement in lieu of the Q&A: the winners of the first ever Fantastic Comic Book Awards!

[Simon Williams, Wonder Man] Hello everyone, and welcome to the first annual Fantastic Comic Book Awards.

[Michael Jon Carter, Booster Gold] It’s the Fannies! And the Fannies are magic.

[Simon] One month ago the Fantastic Fangirls [He gestures to the Fangirls in the audience, they smile and wave.] invited their fellow fangirls and fanboys –

[Michael] And fan related fellows!

[Simon] To vote on our nominees.

[Michael] We got voters from all over — international! Marvel fans, DC fans, Indie fans, probably Indy fans, people who like to vote randomly, people who — [Simon frowns.] I’m just saying all types of people. Like a wide voting spread! Of… people who read this blog. [Simon rolls his eyes.] Well. [He grins at the cameras and holds out two thumbs up.] All’s fair in fun!

[Simon] Right then — on with the show! From the pages of Batgirl, here to present the award for Best Character in Supporting Role, Male, Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown — both nominees themselves!

[Stephanie bounds on stage, dressed in a darling and age-appropriate purple frock, and grabs the microphone] Hi everybody! I’m really pleased to be here, you know that thing about it’s an honor to be nominated? Totally true! I got awesome swag and I’m sitting next to Luke Cage!! Sweet!! [Camera cuts to a surprised Luke Cage, beside him proud wife Jessica Jones punches his arm and he waves at the stage as Barbara takes her place next to Stephanie.]

[Barbara] Stephanie.

[Stephanie] Oh, right. The nominees are: Colonel Kane in Detective Comics, Ken Hale/Gorilla Man in Agents of Atlas, Luke Cage in New Avengers [Stephanie waves to Luke] Woo!

[Barbara] Stephanie.

[Stephanie shrugs, her smile still huge] Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Ms. Marvel and Ragdoll in Secret Six.

[Barbara] And the Fanny goes to: Peter Parker in Ms. Marvel!

[Peter is stunned, various New Avengers pull him out of his seat and push him toward the stage. Barbara hands him his award and pulls Stephanie away from the microphone so Peter may make his speech. The applause dies down.] Um. Cool! [He runs a hand through his hair.] Aunt May said I should prepare a speech but … you guys have read Detective Comics, right? I mean. Well, yeah, I’ll say that — it is a real privilege to be considered alongside all these other great characters. [The camera pans to each of other nominees as Peter lists them.] I mean this a serious category — Gorilla Man! Ragdoll! Colonel Kane, seriously, I thought he had it sewn up. [Kane nods thanks.] And Luke, that is the definition of support right there, folks. [Jessica beams as Luke gives Peter a thumbs up.]

Uh. So right, I thank Brian Reed for giving me such great scenes. And all the artists who worked with me, you guys are awesome. And Marvel for believing in me and in the title, uh at least til now … Um. [He looks at the award in his hand.] And most of all to Aunt May for standing by me even when I don’t take her advice about acceptance speeches. And Uncle Ben for … being Uncle Ben. [Camera shows May, blinking tears, Carol Danvers leans over an empty chair to touch her arm and smile.] And most most of all to Carol for letting me be in her story. [Now May touches Carol's arm, she shrugs at Peter, looking pleased if also uncomfortable.] And also for getting me this suit. [He strikes a pose to show off his dapper attire and raises his award.] I look like a winner!

[The orchestra plays the Spider-Man theme as Peter, Stephanie and Barbara make their way off stage.]

[Simon] How come I wasn’t nominated for that?

[Michael] You weren’t in that comic last year.

[Simon] Yeah, but…

[Michael] Or any comic last year. [Simon pouts] Now, a supporting character for as long as anyone can remember, from the pages of Superman, intrepid reporter —

[Simon] And foxy lady, if I may say so!

[Michael winks] You may! Ladies and gentlemen, Lois Lane.

[Lois takes the stage, nodding thanks to the hosts.] Thank you, Simon, Michael. I am honored to be announcing the winner in the category Best Character in a Supporting Role, Female. Every one of these ladies is worthy. In the nominating round there was a tie so there are six nominees: Barbara Gordon/Oracle in Batgirl, Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel in New Avengers, Jessica Jones/Jewel in New Avengers, Karla Sofen/Ms. Marvel in Dark Avengers, Layla Miller in X-Factor, and Pepper Potts in Invincible Iron Man.

I raise my glass to you all. And the winner is: Pepper Potts, Invincible Iron Man!

[Pepper Potts blinks and makes her way to the stage, nearly taking a wrong turn. Finally, she accepts the award from Lois and turns to the audience.] Wow, I can’t — can’t believe — Just give me a minute, sorry. I wasn’t going to do this. I — [Pepper wipes her eyes, then, mumbling] Get it together, Potts. What’s Tony gonna say? [She looks up, composed.] Sorry about that. It’s just a little hard to believe. A couple years ago, when Matt and Barry — that’s, ahh, Matt Fraction and Barry Kitson. I’m biased, but I’d say they’re some talented guys with pretty great taste. [Laughs awkwardly.] Sorry. When Matt and Barry wanted me to be in The Order, I know a lot of people were saying — “Her? She’s still a character? I thought they wrote her out in the Silver Age!” So I can’t say how much I appreciate their taking a chance on me. That was a pretty hard time in my life, and [wipes away another tear] Sorry. That didn’t work out quite the way we all wanted it to. But, thanks to the Order — Henry. Kate. Maggie. Everybody. Thanks, guys. — I started to get my life back. And then –

Of course, I’ve got to mention the movie. Gwyneth. I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Gwyneth. I’ve never been that put-together. That well pressed. I sure as hell never ran in heels like that. [This gets a laugh, Pepper is encouraged.] And for a while, once I was back working with Tony in Invincible Iron Man, I thought everybody expected me to be that Pepper. But then, this wonderful thing happened. I . . .well, first I got blown up by terrorists, after Tony was a jerk and I had to throw a drink on him and storm out of the party, which, weirdly enough, probably saved my life. Then Tony saved me and [points to her chest] he put this machine in me, so I was more like him. I know Tony did it to save me, but first I was angry — because I’ve known Tony Stark for a damn long time and being more like Tony isn’t necessarily something you aspire to. And besides, when Tony gives you something, there’s always the possibility he’s going to want to [in a low voice] take it back?

[Pepper shakes her head.] I’m talking about Tony a lot. He made me a superhero. He trusted me to rescue him. He’s my best friend. He’s my — . I think I ought to thank him. Thank you, Tony? And thanks to all of you. Good night.

[Pepper and Lois walk off stage, Simon watches them leave] Now that’s a class act. Two class acts.

[Michael] To present our next award, a woman who needs no introduction, you know her on sight — the one, the only, She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters.

[Jennifer sweeps on stage in a stunningly beautiful gown] Hello everyone. I get to announce the category Best Character in a Leading Role, Male. There are five wonderful — well, there are four wonderful — well, some of these men are deserving — Oh, never mind. The nominees are: Conner Kent/Kon-El/Superboy in Adventure Comics, James Barnes/Captain America in Captain America, Jimmy Woo in Agents of Atlas, [She purses her lips] Norman Osborn/Iron Patriot in Dark Avengers and Tony Stark/Iron Man in Invincible Iron Man. [Jennifer takes a moment to compose herself.] And the award goes to — [She reads the envelope and sighs.] Of course he wins a Fanny. [She looks up] Tony Stark in Iron Man.

[Tony Stark takes his time walking up to the stage, strutting a bit and mugging for the cameras when he sees them. He bows as he takes the award from She-Hulk, who doesn't look too happy about handing it over. Tony makes a show of staring at the statue, then the audience, then back at the statue. Finally, he looks up, clears his throat and says, disbelief in his voice:] Seriously?? [Silence and some mumbling in the audience until Tony repeats] I mean, seriously? Look, guys. I am the last person, literally the very last person to argue with anyone who wants to tell me how great I am, so — well — thanks. [Tony shrugs and start to walk offstage. The presenters look at each other in puzzlement, but before anyone else can get to the mike, Tony walks back]. It’s just — see — I’ve been in a coma the last few months. And before that, I was getting dumber and dumber every month. And when I was myself, I was doing things like, ahh, stealing top secret files and getting my AA sponsor arrested. [looks out in the crowd, and points] Good man, Henry. Thanks for taking that one for the team.

But most of the time I wasn’t even running things in my own book half the time — I left that to Maria Hill and Rhodey and Widow and — [touches his forehead like he's trying to remember, then points into the wings at Pepper] Just kidding, Pepper. Love ya, Pepper. This lady, friends. She’s the one you ought to be honoring. Which, I realize, you just did. So.

[Tony lifts a statue, takes another bow, and steps away from the mike. The music starts, and the hosts start to come back on stage. Tony darts back and grabs the mike again.]

I just gotta know. Is it Downey? The guy played me in a movie and all of a sudden. . .well, I could tell you some stories about that guy. Or is it. . .is it Fraction? You’ll eat up anything the guy writes because he [makes air quotes] won an Eisner, and he’s so [more air quotes] indie? Those, by the way, were ironic air quotes intended to make fun of people who unironically use air quotes to express irony. [Clears throat.] Obviously. Now. The only thing I want to say is — two, three years ago? I know it pays to have a short memory in this business, but three years ago, I was really on to something. I was revolutionizing the way the public thinks about supeheroes. And you all hated it. I couldn’t buy a vote in a popularity contest then. But I spend a year losing my intelligence, my wealth, my technology, all the resources I’d built up over the years, forcing me to confront the hollowness at the core of what Tony Stark had become, to overcome my compulsion to solve all the world’s problems on my own and finally admit my need for my friends to help build me back up into a complete human being and — you know what? I do deserve this. You’ve talked me into it.

Thank you. Be excellent to each other. Good night. [The orchestra play him off]

[Michael, as the applause dies down] Is that the theme to Bill and Ted? Whoever is directing this is on top of things!

[Simon] You can recognize the theme to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures?

[Michael] You can’t? [Simon rolls his eyes, Michael clears his throat] Presenting our final individual award is Ken Hale.

[Simon] Who?

[Michael, still grinning, to the camera] Ken Hale, a double nominee tonight, also known as Gorilla Man.

[Simon starts laughing] Gorilla Man? Really? What, did he win a banana eating contest?

[Michael frowns] No, he’s a gorilla.

[Simon laughs harder] Oh, man, I love you DC guys.

[Michael shakes his head and starts to explain, but Ken, the gorilla man, answers from behind Simon] I am a member of the Agents of Atlas. We are published by Marvel.

[Simon stops laughing] Oh. Sorry, man. I never heard of that.

[Ken nods] It is meant to be a covert operation. However, we were nominated in the ensemble category.

[Simon scratches his head] Oh. Uh. You know, I’ve been real busy with… [His voice trails off] Uh. My own covert operation.

[Michael looks directly in the camera] So covert no one’s writing it! [Simon scowls] Ken! The nominees!

[Ken takes his place at the podium and speaks with distinct gravitas.] In the category, Best Character in a Leading Role, Female the nominees are: Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird in New Avengers: Reunion, Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman in Spider-Woman, Kate Kane/Batwoman in Detective Comics, Rikki Barnes/Nomad in Nomad: Girl Without a World, and Stephanie Brown/Batgirl in Batgirl.

And the winner is . . . . Kate Kane, for Detective Comics!

[Kate rises from her seat, squeezing her father's shoulder and smiling at him as she does so. She wears a flattering, classic, tuxedo. She walks to the stage and steps forward to the microphone, smiling and saying thank you to Ken, who gives her a half-bow.]

Thank you, everyone, and my special thanks and gratitude to the nominating committee for thinking of me. I know that there was a lot of doubt, and real questions, as to whether a Batwoman could headline Detective Comics. I’d like to thank Greg Rucka, for giving me the best lines. And, for making me work so hard! [pause for appreciative laughter] Thanks also to J.H. Williams, who — [pause for audience applause] Yes, J. H. Williams, who makes everything look completely fantastic. I know I am never going to look as good as he makes me! Thanks to everyone in the Batfamily who have created this world and legacy in which I work — Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl, plus my co-feature star, The Question, and everyone I’m forgetting.

My most heartfelt thanks are last, though. [audience quiets] Thank you to my father, Colonel Kane, for believing that I would eventually find a way home. Thanks, sir. And a deep thank you to my sister. [Kate looks at the camera.] Without you, none of this would be happening.

[Music swells as Kate backs away from the microphone.]

[Kate dodges back to the mic for one last comment.]

Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”!

[Michael] We’ve come to the end, all, our final award.

[Simon] Before we bring out our final presenter, a final round of applause for all our nominees [The audience applauds.] and a thank you to everyone involved.

[Michael] Thank you! [The applause swells.]

[Simon] Now, you know him as The Flash —

[Michael] Wally?

[Simon] No —

[Michael] Jay?

[Simon] No — [Michael opens his mouth, Simon rushes on] Barry Allen!

[Barry is already there; no one saw his entrance.] Thank you. I hope to see my team up here next year. The final category honors ensembles and we have eight top vote getters. In the category of Best Ensemble, the nominees are:Agents of Atlas, Dark Avengers, Green Lantern Corps, Invincible Iron Man, New Avengers, New Mutants, Secret Six, and X-Factor.

And the Fantastic Comic Book award goes to: the New Avengers!

[The New Avengers of the past year take to the stage in a raucous jumble: Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Jessica Drew, Danny Rand, Clint Barton, Bobbi Morse, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker (masked), and Carol Danvers. Wolverine is not present because he's starring in one of his fifteen million other books right now, but he's there in spirit. No one knows where Echo is. Clint grabs the award and takes the microphone.]

[Clint] Wow. What a great honor (not that we didn’t, you know, expect it). It’s nice to know the Academy recognizes the TRUE Avengers, and not Norman Osborn’s merry band of psychopaths. [Bobbi surreptitiously kicks Clint in the shin.] So, (ow) thanks!

[Carol grabs the microphone.] It hasn’t been an easy road for us, working through our rifts and our trust issues to become a team, and we’re grateful that the effort we’ve put in has shown.

[Luke Cage nods in agreement, leaning in.] These guys are family. The best family my kid could have. [He slings one arm around Danny and another around Jessica Jones.] And no crazy-ass white guy with orange cornrows can change that.

[Carol] We love each other, and we’re always there for each other–

[Bucky, from the back] Even if no one ever does the dishes…

[Carol, unfazed] So we want to thank everyone who’s helped us to get where we are today: Tony Stark and the Super-Human Registration Act, the Skrull Armada [Bobbi and Jessica Drew glare], Osborn’s Fauxvengers, the cavalcade of artists who’ve made us look so good, and of course, our driving force and inspiration, Steve Rogers.

[Carol and Bucky both salute.]

[Jessica Jones takes the microphone.] Finally, we’d like to thank Brian Michael Bendis, without whom we (literally, in my case) wouldn’t be here. Thanks, Bendis!

[Peter Parker cuts in as music begins to play them off the stage.] Yeah, man, and keep this in mind when you renumber us!

[Music swells as the New Avengers smile and wave. Michael and Simon bow to the camera.] That’s all folks! Thank you! Good night!

This post is a collaboration between all four Fantastic Fangirls — and everyone who participated in the Fantastic Comic Book Awards. Thank you all!

Posted by Caroline

Ever since December, when Marvel announced the publication of Girl Comics, the anthology series has been the subject of intense debate and speculation. (You can see what Sigrid said about it here; my thoughts are in the comment section).

Since then, the (all-female) list of writer and artist contributors has trickled out, along with some intriguing pages of sample art, and it was quite an event — even a relief –when Girl Comics #1 finally hit the stands this week, so that we actually have a comic to review! Now that I finally have it in my hand, I’m happy to report that, exactly as I hoped, Girl Comics #1 is a treat from beginning to end.

One of the things I wondered going into this review was, “Will this be a comic that I would want to buy, and read, if I came in without knowing anything about it?” Of course I wanted to support some of the top female talents in the industry, but I also wanted this to be a book I could proudly pass on to others as worth reading in its own right. That question was answered almost immediately when I saw this intro page by Colleen Coover:

Now I always buy Coover’s work, when I can, and besides, I’m the target market for this book. I love comic book heroines; I love their spirit, their energy, and the ways that each of them is unique. This piece captures that in so many wonderful ways. I’m not even sure who all of these women are (and I’m a Marvel fiend), but look at all the subtle differences in their facial expressions. Each of these panels looks like it comes out of a larger story, and I’m having fun imagining what’s going on with each of them.

In the spirit of that introduction, the anthology goes on to include six stories of strikingly different looks and tones. The opener, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Ming Doyle, shows the X-Man Nightcrawler in a German cabaret. There’s no exposition and little context to the 7-page story; it’s almost entirely a mood piece, accented by the lyrics to an eerie ballad being sung onstage — shades of V for Vendetta – as Nightcrawler is drawn into a sinister fight — or is it a planned rescue? We never find out what the X-Man is doing there, or who the woman is that he (sort of) saves, but the sense of unease evoked by Wilson’s words and Doyle’s lines continues to linger, and dispels any thought that the title “Girl Comics” means the pieces will be lightweight or twee.

The spooky mode prevails in several of these pieces, most memorably in Robin Furth & Agnes Garbowska’s “Clockwork Nightmare”. This is a version of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, starring the children Franklin and Valeria Richards, from The Fantastic Four. While you might at first be deceived into thinking this is a simple children’s story, it’s worth remembering that Furth is a longtime collaborator of Stephen King (she co-writes Marvel’s version of The Dark Tower), and this memorably-designed story brings out the horror lurking beneath this fanciful tale. Equally creepy in its own right is a Valerie D’Orazio/Nikki Cook story about that least-girly of Marvel heroes, the Punisher.

That’s not to say there’s no light to be found in this anthology. Independent comics legend Trina Robbins collaborates with Stephanie Buscema on a throwback-y story about an early incarnation of the Marvel character Venus. These days, V kicks ass along with the superhero team Agents of Atlas. But once she worked at a fashion magazine, and this story visits those days. Buscema is a painter, and I love the look of this story, from its Mad Men-esque fashion designs to the eye-popping colors. (Can I take a moment to say how fantastic all the colors in this book look? Considering that dull, muddy colors are one of the most consistent complaints I hear about Marvel’s mainstream books, I hope some editors take a good look at this gorgeous production and make sure these colorists get a ton of work!)

Another really fun story is a two-pager, written and drawn by Lucy Knisley, about a day in the life of the villain Doc Ock. He just wants to go to the store and get groceries — but everything he sees reminds him of Spider-Man, and he encounters octopus-phobia everywhere he goes! This is classic humorous cartooning in the spirit of the backup stories Coover has done in many of Marvel’s All-Ages books, or Chris Giarrusso’s Mini-Marvels. It also reminded me that I’ve been wanting to read Knisley’s travelogue comic French Milk, and now I have even more motivation to do that.

While I enjoyed all of these stories, I’ve been saving the best for last — though in some ways, “best” is defined as “the story I personally loved the most and am thus least able to talk about coherently.” That would be “Head Space,” written by Devin Grayson, with art by Emma Rios.

This story features Jean Grey and Cyclops and Wolverine, and it’s been good long time since I got to read a new story about the those three characters that wasn’t X-Men Forever. It’s six pages of minimal dialogue but there are so many layers of action and movement, of dream and reality, that I’ve read these half dozen pages a few dozen times and keep finding new facets to them. I would dearly love to read the script and find out how this was all communicated to the artist. I’d also be happy if Emma Rios — who draws dynamic, realistic figures, and expressive faces — was drawing a book that I read every month.

Overall, the first installment of Girl Comics was everything I wanted it to be. It showed me work by some of my favorite creators and introduced me to others I’d like to learn more about. It gave me a book that I could show to my friends when they ask about women who are working in mainstream comics. As a bonus, it had features about women who were important in the history of Marvel — Flo Steinberg and Marie Severin — and I hope we get more next month! Most of all, it gave me great art and memorable stories, like every good comic should.

Any way you look at it, Girl Comics is just plain good comics.

By Caroline Pruett
Email: Caroline@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: madmarvelgirl

In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments:

What is a favorite story arc you think is under-appreciated?

Anika

Long, long ago in 2003, there were no New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Young Avengers, Secret Avengers or To-Be-Announced Avengers. There was just (Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) The Avengers. And long, long ago in 2003, I wasn’t reading comics regularly. Or really at all. But Geoff Johns’ Avengers’ arc Red Zone changed that. I do not think I would be here, writing this answer for this blog with these people, if I had not started reading that comic. It made me want to read the next one. And I haven’t stopped. I think I forget to appreciate that sometimes.

Caroline

The Dark Phoenix Saga, contained in issues 129-138 of Uncanny X-Men is usually considered to be the classic X-Men story, and I’ve always had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, it’s the story of the rise and fall of Jean Grey, who is my favorite comic book character. Jean is awesome and powerful in this story — she eats a sun! But she also dies at the end of the story, she’s insane for a lot of it, and let’s not forget the part where the insanity is largely induced by an evil plot to psychically rape her.

It’s not that I want to de-canonize Dark Phoenix; it’s a story I love on a lot of levels. I just wish that the definition of this arc could be expanded a little to include the earlier issues 105, and 107-8. Why are those comics so important? They show that Jean is able to control the Phoenix power and use it for good. She saves the whole universe and she does it by holding hands with her best friend and her boyfriend’s dad and thinking about how awesome she is. That’s girl power.

Jennifer

I don’t make any secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of the writing of Craig Kyle and Chris Yost. I find their work to be distastefully brutal and bloody, and their character preferences a bit too far on the Millar-esque side of the scale (i.e. hardcore jerks). But, ultimately, my distaste has less to do with my feelings about their current writing and more to do with my lingering sadness over their abrupt substitution as the writers of one of the first comics I ever read: Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir’s New X-Men.

New X-Men — which, in a demonstration of how shaky the book’s survival chances always were, had once been titled New X-Men: Academy X and before that New Mutants — was about the newest generation of young mutants, some of whom had been introduced during Grant Morrison’s run or earlier and others of whom were created for the book itself. Current young X-Men like Sooraya, Anole, Surge, Mercury, Rockslide, Hellion, and Pixie all came to prominence in this book, as did a whole bunch of other awesome characters, like Laurie Collins (Wallflower), Sofia Mantega (Wind Dancer), and Jay Guthrie, who have mostly faded into obscurity in the years since. The premise of the book was simple, but unprecedented — the first generation of New Mutants returned to the Xavier Institute as adults, prepared to teach the next generation and help them discover their potential. The characterization of the older characters — Rahne Sinclair in particular — was sometimes a bit shaky, but this was the book that taught me to love Dani Moonstar and Xi’an Coy Mahn, and to appreciate the long, multi-generational history of the X-Men franchise. And these NEW New Mutants were fantastic creations, multicultural and multi-dimensional, brimming with life and ready to take on challenges lighthearted and serious alike. They battled addictions, destructive mutant powers, love woes, and the Blob with equal verve, all while surviving the trials and tribulations of life as students at a not-so-usual high school.

Then Kyle and Yost came and weeded out half the characters on M-Day (including almost everyone who could be called cheerful or sweet) and killed off half of the ones who remained. But until that point, the book was a wonderful look at the kind of inter-generational interaction rarely seen in Marvel Comics, and a wonderful look at how the Xavier Institute might actually function as a school. DeFillipis and Weir only managed to complete a handful of arcs before they were replaced, but their overall contribution to the book will always be one of my favorite little-remembered and underappreciated Marvel stories.

Sigrid

When I proposed this question, I was pretty sure we’d be delving into the deep canon of the ongoing superhero titles of Marvel and DC. Not only because that’s largely what we at Fantastic Fangirls read, but because in the last sixty years, there have been a LOT of stories told with those characters. Only a fool, or a fan, knows and remembers them all. I plead guilty to both. I thought for a bit about what I would pick. The original Thunderbolts arc? The Birds of Prey/Nightwing crossover? The Demon Bear story from the original New Mutants? But I had to, ultimately, go with my heart.

X-Men: Asgardian Wars.

This story has everything an X-fan could ask for. Scott being a good leader and being emo and uncertain. Logan being gruff and mean yet sensitive. The witticisms of Kurt. Rogue’s attitude. Kitty getting all the really awesome lines as written by Claremont. This was the storyline that cemented the character of Rachel Summers — brash, impulsive, damaged, but attempting with all her might to be as heroic as her mother. This storyline features Madelyne Pryor as a lead in the first half. The second half of the story gives us all the New Mutants, with story arcs for each of them. And the villains . . . Loki pulls the classic trickster ploy of giving people exactly what they want. And the Enchantress, well, what she does to Illyana is creepy as hell.

The Asgardian Wars story is nestled in the richness of Marvel continuity. Thor is away from Asgard, and Odin is, I dunno, dead or something? I never read the Thor titles, ever, but when I first read this I knew the story could only take place because of what was happening in those other books. Scott takes the X-men to Asgard using, I dunno, thunderbolts he got from some guy? It does’t matter that I’ve never heard of the fellow, because everything you need to know to follow this story is explained to you in “As You Know, Bob,”-style captions and monologues.

The whole thing is a delight. The art is stunning, first by Paul Smith and then by Art Adams. The story is one of grand adventure, fate-of-the-world stakes, with the potential for personal tragedy. Lives and worlds are on the line, as well as love, power, personal despair, and the future of the human race. In this story the X-Men save not one, but two worlds. All the while remaining true to the witty, angsty, relationship-centered characters that they are.

So what about you? What is a favorite story arc you think is under-appreciated?

Posted by Anika

The last issue of Brian Reed’s Ms. Marvel landed this past Wednesday and I braved the rain to buy it the day it was out. The two men in front of me in line at the comic book store spent $124 (on a huge stack of mixed titles) and just over $80 (on every Siege tie-in out this week and a couple miscellaneous titles, including Ms. Marvel) respectively. I spent $7.30 (on Ms. Marvel 50, New Avengers 62, and a candy bar). Then I went to Starbucks and spent $3.65 on a Grande Green Tea Latte. I relate this story, if you can call it that, not to call out comic books as too pricey a habit (a comic is the same price as a coffee) or to call out comic book fans as silly for spending the money (hey, if I had an extra $125, I’d certainly buy a few more titles) but to give the following statement a little bit more weight.

I own every issue of Brian Reed’s Ms. Marvel.

And the last panels of its ultimate issue clinched why. It doesn’t end with a bang. The fight with Mystique, while “messed up“, is not that important to either the overarcing Marvel plot (Siege) or the overarcing Ms. Marvel plot. It’s just another day in the (admittedly extraordinary) life of Carol Danvers. But that is exactly why I love it: what happens, throughout the run, is secondary to how it affects Carol. Even, notably, when it isn’t actually Carol who is the title character. Moonstone’s turn as the main Ms. Marvel is a lesson, and a turning point, for Carol just as much as — honestly, I think more than — it is for Karla. I go to movies, watch television, and read comic books for character. Not the story, not the plot, not the action, not the pretty — though all of these contribute to character — but for character arcs, character interactions, and character integration. Arguably, any individual character title should put character first, but it is not at all always the case. This one does. The whole of Ms. Marvel is not perfectly perfect and spectacular, it’s not ground-breaking, it’s not the Best Comic Ever Written. But it is my favorite comic book and if it isn’t clear (and I don’t know how it can’t be), Carol Danvers is unequivocally my favorite comic book character.

Here is how Reed’s story begins.

Here is how it ends.

Ms. Marvel is a coming of age story about an adult woman. With super powers.

It’s Amazing, Jem
Patience, now, frustration’s in the air and people who don’t care
Well it’s gonna get you down
And you’ll fall, yes you will hit a wall but get back on your feet and you’ll be stronger and smarter
And I know ’cause I’ve been there before, knockin’ down the doors, won’t take “No” for an answer
And you’ll see, ’cause if it’s meant to be nothing can compare to deserving your dream

Best of the Best
Circus, Britney Spears
There’s only two types of people in the world
The ones that entertain and the ones that observe
Well baby, I’m a put-on-a-show kind of girl
Don’t like the backseat, gotta be first

Ms. Marvel started with Carol going back to full time superheroing and hiring a publicist to build her reputation. She is a show-off, and a thrill-seeker, she loves the spotlight, and she doesn’t like to lose. Ever.

Civil War
All These Things That I’ve Done, The Killers
Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone’s lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I’ve done
All these things that I’ve done

Operation Lightning Storm
One Headlight, The Wallflowers
Well, it smells of cheap wine and cigarettes
This place is always such a mess
Sometimes I think I’d like to watch it burn
I’m so alone, and I feel just like somebody else
Man, I ain’t changed, but I know I ain’t the same

Carol was one of Tony Stark’s strongest and most visible supporters during the battle over the Super Human Registration Act and she is rewarded with her own command. It’s a good fit, and in many ways, everything she’d wanted. But the Civil War and its aftermath took a toll and despite soldiering on, she remained uncomfortable in her own skin. I do especially like her interaction with Arana. Carol wanted very much to be a mentor but she never had a proper one herself and she tripped up rather spectacularly.

Monster Smash
Supergirl, Krystal
I’m supergirl and I’m here to save the world
And I wanna know
Who’s gonna save me?

I’m going to take this moment to talk about Chewie, Carol’s cat. She is a holdover from the House of M, and her very existence says so much about Carol’s character. The idea of the House of M is that Wanda’s magic gave everyone what they want most. Carol was made Captain Marvel, the most famous, most popular, most powerful, most special, most loved superhero in the land. And she was given a cat. Because Carol’s greatest wish is not only to be the very best of superheroes. She also wants someone to love.

Secret Invasion
Avalanche, Thea Gilmore
Well they sold you back your outrage
In a neat little shrink-wrap and a beautiful face
And you think that you’ve found your purpose
While they’ve been trailing the breadcrumbs of a watertight case
So you’re shouting but you’re shouting softly
So no-one can hear you and get the wrong idea

Carol is a company girl. She likes structure, she likes rules and regulation, she likes the chain of command. She’s worked for a number of organizations, mostly military and paramilitary — the Air Force, the CIA, NASA, Homeland Security, SHIELD — and she has been burned. In each instance, she was better to the job than it was to her. Think of Clarice Starling’s treatment in Hannibal; she’s drummed out the FBI because she’s not willing to compromise her own morals, the same ones that drove her to join in the first place. Hannibal asks “(If you turned me in)…would they have you back, you think? The FBI? Those people you despise almost as much as they despise you. Would they give you a medal, Clarice, do you think? Would you have it professionally framed and hang it on your wall to look at and remind you of your courage and incorruptibility? All you would need for that, Clarice, is a mirror.” The same could be said of Carol Danvers.

Ascension
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Mat Kearney
We push and pull and I fall down sometimes,
I’m not letting go,
You hold the other line
Cause there is a light in your eyes, in your eyes

I think the “Ascension” trade is my favorite of the series. It delves into Carol’s past, including her childhood, the Air Force, her first meeting with Tony Stark and how it led to her time with the CIA. She visits her family and meets up with Michael Rossi again. And it even includes the happenstance encounter with Spider-Man that eventually leads to their (adorable) rooftop friendship.

Fun fact: I named my iPhone Essential.

Dark Reign
Don’t Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds), The Cardigans
And the song you sing today wasn’t always in your head
The words you try to say are the ones you should’ve said
They’re glistening like diamonds, go out and find them
The world is full of diamonds, go out and find them

Karla Sofen is a fascinating character in her own right. This song is for both Carol and Karla in that neither has a good relationship with their family (understatement), and that both struggle to understand how to not let the emotional fallout from that reality rule them. Family is supposed to be the foundation, without that they’ve had to dig deep to stand tall. It has left both with difficulties relating to other people on a personal level.

War of the Marvels
Sometimes I Feel Like Alice, Lisa Mitchell
Because it feels like I have just woke up in a world where down is up
And up is a long way from here
In the big wheels where they keep on turning
They don’t slow down, you just keep on learning
Well my name’s not Alice but I know how she felt when her world started turning into something else

Catherine Donovan is almost my favorite part of the series. I’ve read a lot of criticism about the Storyteller/Catherine plot-line; asking why would Carol, the woman with the quest to be the best superheroine ever, secretly want to live a “normal” life? Well, I think they just don’t get it. No real person is only strong or only vulnerable, why should our fictional people be? It is absolutely believable, and in character, for Carol to want to be both: the best of the best (Captain Marvel), and the best of the rest (Catherine Donovan). Catherine doesn’t carry with her any of the baggage, or history (please note her Corona in the picture), that Carol lives with, and none of the superhuman expectations Carol places on herself. She is free to be only as complicated as any woman. Which is, of course, inexplicably complicated.

Best You Can Be
Happy, Leona Lewis
So what if it hurts me? So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge, my feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don’t care about all the pain in front of me, ’cause I’m just trying to be happy

The most notable difference between her determination to become “the best of the best” and her determination to become “the best she can be” is right here: “Guess I’m just feeling good and I want to tell someone about it.” She was feeling good enough when she began her quest to be the very best. But she was also alone. Here, she goes to find her friend, bribe him with a chili dog, and speechify. It’s no longer about proving herself to everyone. It’s about sharing herself with someone.

The Story, Brandi Carlile
You see the smile that’s on my mouth, it’s hiding the words that don’t come out
And all of my friends who think that I’m blessed, they don’t know my head is a mess

All of these lines across my face tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been and how I got to where I am
But these stories don’t mean anything when you’ve got no one to tell them to
It’s true…I was made for you

Hidden Track: The Real Slim Shady, Eminem

Posted by Anika
email: anika@fantasticfangirls.org
twitter: magnetgirl

Here at Fantastic Fangirls, each of us spends a lot of time talking about the comics that each of us likes. It isn’t that often, though, that we all get to talk about the same book at the same time. The four of us have different tastes and different schedules, and there are so many comics out there, that — especially when we add you, our readers, to the equation — we can’t always be on the same page.

That’s why we’re introducing the Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club. Once a month (or so), we’ll pick a book for all four of us to read, or re-read. Once we’re done, we’ll post a roundtable discussion about the chosen book, and invite our readers to contribute their comments as well.

Sounds easy, right? Since this is a new idea, we want to give lots of lead time. The discussion will start, on this site, on Monday, April 5. The book we’ve chosen is. . .

Strangers in Paradise, Pocket Book 1, written and drawn by Terry Moore. This book collects the first sixteen issues of Moore’s groundbreaking independent comic, which began in the ’90s and wrapped up in 2007. Why Strangers? Lots of reasons. It was one of the most successful independent comics of recent years. It’s loved by many, hated by some, and for a lot of readers — including more than one of the Fantastic Fangirls — it’s one of those books you’re always meaning to read, but never get started because there’s just so much of it.

Whichever of those categories you fall into, we hope you’ll read along with us, and come back to discuss!

The book is available for purchase directly from the author for $17.95, and should be easily available online, at most comics retailers and bookstores, or (if you’re town’s cooler than mine) the public library.

In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments:

What comic book character do you want to compete at the Olympics

Anika

I hate to be predictable but Carol Danvers embodies the Olympic spirit more than any other character I can think of: the fiery flame of passion, determination, achievement, and global idealism by way of patriotism.

She could be competitive in many events but there is one she’d love.

Have you ever watched Ski Jump? Skiers zoom down a ramp at up to 60 miles per hour and launch themselves into the air in what can only be described as an attempt to fly. It is not for the fainthearted, but the fearless. And Carol has always, always wanted to fly. Fast, and far, and free.

Just one problem. Women don’t jump at the Olympics. Is that archaic or what? There was a proposal to get Women’s Ski Jumping into the Vancouver Olympics and it was rejected on the grounds that there aren’t enough women ski jumpers. Well, obviously if they aren’t allowed to compete! Then, proving they exist, 15 international women ski-jumpers sued to be allowed in. They lost. Twice. So Carol is ineligible for her event even if she weren’t a superhuman.

I’m submitting a protest. Ginny Weasley deserves her Olympic moment, too.

Caroline

Two-man bobsled obviously calls for a Green Lantern. Read this description: “Pilots must have the skill, timing and finesse to drive the sleigh along the best possible line to achieve the greatest possible speed.” Sounds like a job for Hal Jordan, right?

Why two-man bobsled? Because no superhero is better at the one-on-one team up than Hal. So. . what superhero is best suited to be Hal Jordan’s brakeman?

The brakeman is the guy who lends direction and control to the race, who makes sure that the sled gets to the bottom in one piece. The obvious answer is Hal’s old Brave-and-the-Bold buddy, the great-and-no-longer late Barry Allen. He fits the bill in every possible way including, of course, speed. But using super speed in the Olympics would violate Barry’s straight-laced sense of ethics. Hal could (and would) take off his Green Lantern ring, the way he does when he flies jets for the Air Force. Among other factors, there’s no daredevil thrill in facing off against gravity if you can make yourself a flying horse anytime you want and pull out of a tailspin. But Flashes can’t turn off their superspeed. Also, Barry would show up late and get the duo disqualified.

Kyle Rayner would do it if Hal asked him to, but that’s not how he’d prefer to spend his time off. He’d rather work on his art. Ditto John Stewart in his career as an architect. And as entertaining as a Hal Jordan/Guy Gardner teamup would be, you couldn’t really trust Guy not to crash the sled just for fun. As for Oliver Queen, he’d probably be keen to take on another challenge — use some of his fortune to fund the team, too. But Hal would never ask him, because he’d be suspicious that Ollie would find a political cause to protest and end up chaining himself to the bobsled track instead of competing. Hal would probably have a point.

So which Justice League A-lister fits the bill? I’m thinking of a guy who has the money to spend on equipment and training, the daredevil reputation to maintain, no metahuman powers to get in the way, and the amazing physical and mental control that a great brakeman needs. Plus, the guy needs to learn how to have a little fun. Meet Bruce Wayne, America’s newest bobsledding superstar.

Jennifer

This is the first year I’ve watched the Olympics, and I can’t seem to stop comparing the athletes to comic book characters. It’s understandable — Olympic-caliber athletes are pretty much the closest thing to superheroes we have in the real world. In some cases, my comparisons have been more about physical casting than personality — snowboarder Shaun White as Shatterstar, speed skater Apolo Ohno as Daken — and some have been based on a few more factors, like the fact that flamboyant ice skater Johnny Weir pretty much IS the human incarnation of Northstar, costume and all.

But there’s one comparison, one that came to mind almost accidentally, that has me really intrigued. On the surface, Scott Summers, X-Men leader Cyclops, doesn’t strike me much as the figure skater type — he doesn’t really have a performer’s personality, or the body type you’d expect of a skater. But I changed my mind when I saw this guy win the gold medal:

That’s Evan Lysacek, the first American man to win ice skating gold since 1988. He’s tall and skinny, deceptively gangly, with dark floppy hair (when it’s not slicked back) and a serious face that makes him look older than his 24 years. In interviews, he comes across as awkward but serious, standoffish and almost (admittedly) obsessive-compulsive in his determination to do everything exactly right. And did I mention his first childhood skating costume was a superhero costume he designed for himself?

In short, Evan Lysacek is who Scott Summers would be if he were an ice skater. And I’d love to see that collusion come to life.

Sigrid

I want to see Katina Choovanski of Strangers in Paradise compete in biathalon.

That’s right, Katchoo. Think about it. Gruesomely stubborn, hates to lose, likes to compete in things other people think are important just to piss them off. She’s in reasonably good shape, and could easily get into competitive condition with a year or so of working at it. She keeps her head in high-pressure situations, as long as her heart isn’t on the line. She’d be a fantastic interview pre- and post- competing, as long as she wasn’t in the middle of a fight with Francine, David, or Casey. Her antics, on and off the course, would make for great publicity.

And she’s an amazing shot.

The only thing is, she’d have to quit smoking. I’m not sure Katchoo would commit to that.

So what about you? What comic book character do you want to compete at the Olympics

Posted by Jennifer

This past year, I discovered a line of comics I’d never really given much consideration in the past: DC’s Wildstorm imprint. I caught up on Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina (which, granted, isn’t really part of the Wildstorm Universe), read all of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Sleeper and the Point Blank miniseries that preceded it, and finally investigated The Authority for the first time. While I enjoyed the first two items on that list without much conflict, and found myself intrigued by Warren Ellis’ 12-issue introductory run on The Authority, the Mark Millar run that followed caused me considerable consternation, primarily in its treatment of women and gay characters.

The Authority is pretty seminal as far as comics history goes. It was the first major ongoing superhero series to take the superhero concept and apply it to a less idealized world, a world where superheroes might decide to exert their will over humanity to forcibly make the world a better place. Everything about the comic was more graphic and more adult — not to mention more “widescreen” and “high octane” — than had been the norm for comics at the time, and it also featured one of the first — and still the best-developed, longest-lasting — gay superhero relationships in mainstream comics, between Superman and Batman analogues Apollo and Midnighter. I knew all of these things going into the comic, and they were largely the things that attracted me to the series in the first place.

I’ve notoriously had trouble with the comics of Mark Millar; their over-the-top ultra-violence is often too much for me, and I find many of his jokes and developments juvenile and tasteless. But I had enjoyed Ellis’ work and wanted to continue following the characters, and so I went into Millar’s run on The Authority with as open a mind as possible, vowing not to pre-judge the book on the basis of Civil War and The Ultimates and trying instead to remember his Superman: Red Son miniseries, which I’d enjoyed much more. Unfortunately, Millar’s run on The Authority reminded me more of the former two series than the latter, featuring as it did some of the worst excesses of his writing, including a reliance on an inbred hillbilly stereotype as a villain and cheap shots at other mainstream comics (like the Stan Lee analogue who creates awful superheroes to destroy the Authority). But worst of all was the gratuitous and problematic presence of misogyny and homophobia.

(Spoilers for ten-year-old comics follow; read at your own risk.)

Read the rest of this entry »

In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments. This week, we’re participating in Alert Nerd’s newest mega-blog crossover event, posing a question about our most unpopular, hidden geeky opinions:

What is your True Geek Confession?

Anika

I write fanfiction.

Lots of people do, but the majority I have come across do so behind closed doors, so to speak. Some post stories to closed communities, some post only under pseudonyms like JeanScott4Ever or Kirkisit16 (I have used many handles but not to hide my identity), some will publicly admit to maybe sometimes reading fanfiction, but they claim to be Serious Writers who would never author one. As if Serious Writers never write fanfiction. Or more to the point, as if writing fanfiction is not really writing.

And that isn’t even the only stigma associated with it. I say “I write fanfiction.” and twenty people read “I write porn about Captain America.” Twenty other people read “I write porn about Captain America and Iron Man.” and twenty more people read “I write porn about Captain America getting pregnant with Iron Man’s baby.” Rather than confirming or denying any of that (either seems pointless to me, honestly), I’m going to let my work speak for itself. To protect the identity of anyone who may have read or discussed these previously, I have reposted them to Google from wherever they were first shared with the world (Fanfiction.net, LiveJournal, various Shipper communities, etc.). All of the following stories were written by me over the last ten years, the most recent just last week.

Canon Confirmed: scene inserts or stories that hold to canon. Plot, characterization, and details are all in line with the original fiction. Ex. Carol Danvers and Jessica Drew compare notes about Peter Parker’s bumbling attempts to flirt.
The Darkness Has No Armor (Star Trek: Voyager; Kathryn Janeway, Tom Paris)
Falling Into Place (Justice League Unlimited; Shayera Hol, Batman)
Farewell to Naboo’s Angel (Star Wars)
It’s Not Easy (Avengers; Carol Danvers, Tony Stark, Peter Parker)

Canon Plausible: scene speculation or stories that play with, and can contradict, canon. Similar to Marvel’s What If? line of comics. Ex. Carol Danvers is dating Tony Stark.
Covert Ops (Avengers; Carol Danvers, Peter Parker)
Remembering a Hero (Avengers; Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff, Carol Danvers, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers)
Wilted Flowers (Harry Potter; Barty Crouch Jr., Lily Evans)

Canon Busted: crossovers, “crack”, or stories that cannot be canon. Not because the characterization is different, but because the circumstances are too different. Ex. Carol Danvers is dating Oliver Queen.
Doubt (Justice League Unlimited;X-Men)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (Avengers; Batman; Green Arrow; Teen Titans; Young Justice; includes original characters)
That’s What You Get for Being a Bad Child (Avengers; Green Arrow; Young Justice)

Caroline

I unironically love Cable. Nathan Dayspring Askani’son (Priscilla?) Summers — the time-travelling, glowy-eyed, metal-armed, significantly-older-than-his-dad-Cyclops, gun-toting supersoldier who frequently gets himself confused with Jesus — is one of my favorite characters in comics.

All right, maybe I let a little irony sneak into that description. I am infinite, I contain multitudes (which, I’m pretty sure, is also one of Cable’s powers.)

I’m not laboring under the illusion that I’m the only person who likes Cable, or even the only person who likes him without irony. In fact, I suspect some of the character’s most ardent fans are the type of people who wouldn’t recognize irony if it painted itself purple and danced naked on a harpsichord, singing, “Irony is here again.” (And yes, I stole that like from Black Adder, which I also love unironically, but I doubt I have to file that among shameful geek confessions).

What I don’t think I’ve ever run across is a fellow loves Cable in quite the way or for quite the reasons I do. I don’t have any interest in his early-90s origin with its aura of Rob Liefeld. I’ve never read X-Cutioner’s Song, supposedly the definitive Cable story, and I’m not in any real hurry to. As a Marvel fan who was fortunate enough to miss most of the ’90s, I first ran across the character in the crossover X-Men Dream’s End, a collection I bought because it was marketed as explaining Colossus’s backstory for Astonishing X-Men. The Colossus story (and most of the rest of the book) turned out to be pretty mediocre, but I was struck by one, now mostly forgotten, storyline. Cable had been assigned to work undercover as a bodyguard for Robert Kelly, the anti-mutant Senator who was introduced in Days of Future Past. Kelly was having conflicted feelings about his former prejudiced views.

The politics of the story really didn’t make any sense, but it did feature a moment of unlikely bonding between the Senator and the mutant soldier. As Cable’s backstory had it, he had been created and sent back from the future in order to defeat Apocalypse. At this point, Cable believed that Apocalypse had died — and Cable’s father Cyclops along with him — and the mutant was completely at sea about what to do with his future. For all the not-so-great storytelling that was involved, that scene got me hooked on Cable. I was fascinated by the situation of a guy whose life’s mission had been accomplished, leaving him with no idea what to do next. Subsequently I read the Search for Cyclops miniseries (which I might think is another thing that only I love, if I didn’t know TheOtherJeff), the David Tischmann/ Igor Kordey series where Cable hangs out in the Amazon and fights Peruvian radicals (yeah, that one’s just me), and even a little of Soldier X (before I couldn’t take it anymore; Blaquesmith is not a good character, y’all, even I have my limits).

I eventually discovered Cable & Deadpool, which really does (deservedly) have an active and passionate fanbase. I feel like those are mostly in it because they love Deadpool. Or homoeroticism. Or Fabian Nicieza’s writing. Or complete insanity. As much as I enjoy all those things, I came (and stayed) mostly for Cable’s Messianic arrogance, his determination to behave like the lovechild of Professor X and Magneto, and his devotion to an agenda that I affectionately call “exploding things for peace.” I could never entirely shake the feeling that Cable’s approach made about as much sense as anything else in the Marvel Universe. Sometimes, the guy with the metal arm, the glowy eye, and the ridiculously large gun just might have a point.

Jennifer

What is there left to confess? I’ve already admitted my love of Marvel’s swimsuit specials, giant company-wide crossover events, Bernie Rosenthal, Cat Beast, and Daken, not to mention Cyclops. Since adolescence, I’ve always been the weird kid in the corner who openly likes things everyone else would consider a guilty pleasure, from Hanson to YA literature to Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to comics themselves, and I’ve even liked some things that all of nerddom seems to hate, like Star Trek: Voyager and Jar Jar Binks. (Granted, I had only just turned 13 when The Phantom Menace came out, so I lacked the full understanding at the time of why he was so problematic). At this point it’s hard to find something contrary I enjoy that I haven’t already shouted from the rooftops. I don’t want to talk about things I dislike — I always prefer gushing about things I love to ranting about things I hate — so I can’t go to the opposite end of the spectrum. What’s a proud misfit to do?

Then a few days ago, like a mystical omen, I passed by the Daredevil movie while flipping channels, and I realized what my answer had to be: I like the Daredevil movie more than any Daredevil comics I’ve read.

It’s not that I think Daredevil is a good movie. Even in its superior director’s cut form, it’s a mediocre movie at best. But I find it incredibly entertaining. I love Jon Favreau’s take on Foggy Nelson, my favorite Daredevil character; I love the special effects used for Matt’s powers; I love the haunting portrait of Matt’s childhood origin. The little shout-outs to comics creators (not to mention the cameos from Stan Lee, Frank Miller, and Kevin Smith) make me grin, and I think Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan are a suitably terrifying Bullseye and Kingpin. I also really enjoy Ben Affleck (which I guess is a geek confession in and of itself), and I think he does a pretty good job with the material he’s given, as does Jennifer Garner. The actors’ real-life chemistry saves scenes that would have been unwatchable otherwise. And I love, in the director’s cut, the glimpses of Matt as a lawyer, a role I find much more interesting than his role as Daredevil. Sure, the soundtrack is overwrought, the plot meandering, and the dialogue abysmal, but I always seem to watch the movie when it pops up on TV, and I enjoy it every time.

I’ve read Daredevil comics before, but none of them have ever stuck with me in quite the same way. I enjoyed Kevin Smith’s run well enough, picked up an issue or two of the Bendis and Brubaker runs. I can acknowledge that the character has been blessed with some fantastic writing and art. But for the most part, I couldn’t care less. He’s just too brooding and crazy and relentlessly dismal for me. Without the charm of Ben Affleck and the insanity of Colin Farrell, it seems, Daredevil isn’t a character who particularly pings for me, and thus I remain an odd little duck.

Sigrid

I really dislike Captain Kirk. Really dislike, an unreasonable amount for a fictional character. But it galls me to no freaking end that he is lauded and idolized as some sort of male role model. Kirk exemplifies almost all of the traits I find utterly tiresome in guys. The arrogance, the combative competitiveness, the ego, the oozing smarm. He also embodies traits I dislike in people in general — the over-reliance on intuition to the exclusion of rationality, the lack of orderliness, the thinking he’s the center of the universe. Juvenile ego-drenched masturbatory wish-fulfillment of sociopathic selfishness.

Now, because he’s the hero of the stories, his irritating methods and traits are rewarded, giving viewers the impression that being like Kirk is a good thing. Ugh.

So what about you? What is your True Geek Confession?

Posted by Jennifer

The short version, for those who don’t know:

Last month, Captain America #602 was published. In the comic, Cap (still Bucky, not Steve Rogers) and the Falcon encountered a group of anti-tax protesters in Boise, Idaho. The images of these protesters included this panel:

Apparently, this upset people in the Tea Party Movement, who felt that their portrayal in the comic was unfair, particularly the Falcon’s assertion that black men like him wouldn’t be welcome there. They complained and, consequently, Marvel yesterday blamed the specific Tea Party reference on a rushed letterer and promised to remove the sign from future editions of the comic, including the inevitable trade paperback. You can read the Fox News coverage here, the New York Times coverage here, and Joe Quesada’s response here.

I’m not here to debate whether or not the Teabaggers are racist, though evidence points to the conclusion that racism is an element for some members of the Tea Party movement. I’m also not here to dispute Joe Quesada’s claim that the words were a mistake. I have no reason to doubt that his explanation, about a letterer adding the words at the last minute in a rush, is the truth. I believe writer Ed Brubaker when he says he didn’t write the words, and didn’t expect them to appear.

But what troubles me – what angers me, if I’m being honest – is the fact that Joe Quesada and other Marvel bigwigs are willing to be bullied by an anti-government fringe group into changing and publicly apologizing for a product that was, “mistake” or no mistake, not in need of change or apology.

Let’s consider a few facts:

1.) Whether or not these words belong to Ed Brubaker himself, they did not appear on the page by magic. The letterer (who I won’t mention by name as I’m not sure if it was the regular series letterer or another individual) is part of the creative process. Therefore, intent WAS involved.

2.) The letterer would not have put those words there if they did not fit the scene. If someone can name me another major anti-tax, anti-government movement in the country right now that the characters in this scene were meant to represent, I’ll give them a cookie. Specific words or not, those people were Teabaggers, and it’s cowardice to claim otherwise, because, most importantly:

3.) Captain America comics have always been political.

When a character dresses up in a flag, controversy is bound to follow. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby knew that when, in 1940, they robed their new creation in red, white, and blue, and set him on the cover of a comic book to punch Hitler across the jaw. And you know what? Some people got mad about this! Americans — specifically, the German American Bund – got mad about this, because we had not yet entered World War II and some still believed Hitler was of unimpeachable character. But did Timely Comics apologize and grovel and pull the issue from the stands? No. They stuck to their guns, and New York even sent a police detail over to protect the Timely building.

In his essay “Retconning America: Captain America in the Wake of World War II and the McCarthy Hearings,” scholar Jason Dittmer notes that “since 1940, Captain America has served as a bellwether for changing attitudes about the values and policies of the United States.” This was the premise for the entire first chapter of my senior thesis, and even a cursory look at Cap’s history proves it to be true. In the 1960s, both Vietnam and its protesters were addressed in Cap comics. Once Cap met the Falcon in the 1970s, race and racism became major topics as Cap learned to grapple with the country’s racist legacy, a grappling that continued into the new millennium with the Truth: Red, White, and Black miniseries, about a black soldier who was used as a guinea pig for the super-soldier formula before Steve Rogers. Years later, Cap helped clean up after 9/11 and fought terrorists overseas. And after Watergate, Cap comics even had an entire analogue story called “Secret Empire,” in which a high government official – implicitly Richard Nixon – is discovered to be the leader of a terrorist organization.

Let me repeat that: in the 1970s, Captain America comics implied that the PRESIDENT was a TERRORIST. And now we’re worried about Teabaggers?

Cap comics have frequently walked a tightrope, producing stories that can be read favorably by either side of a political argument. But they have always been political in nature, always complicated and often heavily-disputed. If you look at letter columns from Captain America comics from the 1960s, it seems like the Vietnam War itself was being fought in the Cap mail bag. But that didn’t stop the writers from writing their stories, or defending their work. Nor have recent events stopped Marvel writers from creating politically-charged stories (about Cap or otherwise), from the Patriot Act allegory in Civil War to the straight up Glen Beck parody in the currently-running Siege: Embedded miniseries. And yet now, when the fringe right is upset, Marvel is groveling.

What makes me angriest about this whole situation, however, is how starkly it contrasts with the list of all the things Joe Quesada and Marvel writers have REFUSED to apologize for in recent years – all the people whose legitimate complaints have been brushed aside derisively in the name of art or the almighty dollar. Let’s start with Jonathan Hickman’s use of the offensive slur “retard” in a recent issue of Fantastic Four, defended in the letter column as necessary to his art because “that’s what a three-year-old would say.” Let’s talk about how editors spent months defending the Chameleon raping Peter Parker’s roommate in Spider-Man without repercussions or even acknowledgment that it had been rape. What about all the times people have brought up the sexism or racism in certain comics and been brushed aside as crazy entitled fans, as if they were banging on the doors of the Marvel offices demanding the return of Deathlok? Marvel does not make a habit of apologizing, even when it probably should.

But when Fox News starts whining, it’s time to bend over backwards to apologize and excise the material that offended a few ultra-conservative white people. Because, as we all know, it’s a FAR bigger crime to accuse someone of racism than to be racist oneself. And while offensive slurs MUST be used to preserve the realism of a preschooler’s portrayal, it’s unacceptable for a black character to call the Tea Party Movement racist. Right?

This move on Marvel’s part is offensive on two different levels. On one hand, it’s a weasely attempt to deny the obvious political content of the comic, content that is completely in keeping with the comic’s and character’s history. But on the other hand, it’s yet another example of the company bowing to the desires of the rich, powerful, and bigoted, as they do when they refuse to engage with the aforementioned fans and instead give attention and satisfaction to the people at Fox News.

I love Marvel Comics, and I expect better.

By Jennifer Smith
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: throughthebrush

In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

Who is your favorite legacy character?

Anika

Um. I don’t really like legacies. Generally. Tim Drake is one of my favorite characters, but not as Robin so much as a member of Young Justice/Teen Titans or on his own. Which are legacies, but not. Carol Danvers is my most favorite character but the idea that she’s Mar-Vell’s legacy is probably last on my list of why. But I do have one favorite whose legacy status is a significant part of what I love. Cassie Sandsmark, the second Wonder Girl.

Cassie was introduced as the girl who wanted to be Wonder Woman. Meeting that goal, taking on that legacy, is the platform for her character. And she holds herself to it, often at a detriment. Cassie can be unforgiving, especially of herself. But she also lives as if becoming Wonder Girl and then Wonder Woman is her right, her duty and her purpose. To Cassie, it is who she is already. She just has to prove it.

Caroline

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, and won’t be the last, but I love Renee Montoya as The Question, in DC comics. The storyline in 52, in which the original Question, Vic Sage, passed his identity on to Renee, is the best exploration of legacy I’ve ever read: respectful to the history and spirit of the original character, while allowing the new one to grow and change.

There haven’t been nearly as many stories with Renee as I’d like — the post-52 and Final Crisis tie-ins were scattered, and the current backup series in Detective Comics is a bit too short to allow much depth. But I’ll take whatever Question stories I can get, and the recent Blackest Night tie-in — featuring Renee and Lady Shiva, Tot Rodor and the ghost of Vic — brought the classic creative team of Denny O’Neil, Denys Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz back to the book with great effect. Special hats-off to Greg Rucka (who writes Detective and co-wrote the Blackest Night issue) for his devotion to the character making this all happen.

Jennifer

Everyone seems to be campaigning for Clint Barton to return to the role of Hawkeye. I’ll admit that I, too, would love to see Clint wield a bow and show his full face on the battlefield once again (the better for quipping!). But I am not at all eager to see Kate Bishop, my favorite legacy character, lose the mantle.

Kate is a special legacy case for Marvel, even among the Young Avengers of which she’s a part. Other than the Vision, all the other characters have invented new names for themselves, and many — like Hulkling and “Asgardian,” now Wiccan — are not actually legacies of the characters they first appeared to be.

But Kate is Hawkeye. The purple costume, the sassy attitude, the tendency to jump into a fight without thinking — these are all part of the Hawkeye legacy. So, perhaps even more importantly, is the determination to be a hero with no superpowers at all. And when Captain America gave her the name, and Clint’s bow, it wasn’t a patronizing action — it was a sign of respect for a teenage girl who was just as willing as Clint was to challenge heroic icons like Cap.

Kate didn’t know Clint. She only met him when he returned from the dead, after she’d already held his name for quite awhile. But even Clint himself was unwilling to take back the name, once he learned how much she’d earned and deserved it. I have no interest in seeing that taken away from her.

Besides, can’t they both be Hawkeye? My name is Jennifer Smith; I promise, you can still make an impact in the world without a unique name!

Sigrid

Batgirl. I not only like all four women who’ve worn the name of Batgirl, I like how DC and the writers of the comics have handled the transitions over time.

During the “No Man’s Land” story we see two of the Batgirls rise up, attempting to fill the void left by Bruce Wayne’s cowardly and ill-considered flight from Gotham. (Yes, I have issues with Batman in this story.) It’s Batman and Oracle’s rejection of Helena in the role of Batgirl that drives her to stand alone against the Joker — nearly recreating the fate of the first Batgirl. The legacy in this instance wasn’t handed down, wasn’t passed along. Barbara Gordon still clung to the name even though she knew she couldn’t be Batgirl any more. And she resented the hell out of this cocky young woman who tried to fill her shoes.

This wasn’t the case with Cassandra Cain, though. Cassandra’s competence in the face of some obvious handicaps won Barbara over. Babs let the name of Batgirl go with some reluctance, but ultimately with grace. Yet I think that in some way she could only bear to do it because Cassandra was dependent. Even as Barbara taught Cass and tried to encourage her to be a whole person, I think that Cass’s damage made her somehow less threatening to the first Batgirl. Barbara never seemed to stop thinking of Cassandra as a child, however brave and capable.

At the moment, though, we have the current Batgirl. Stephanie Brown has tried to be Robin, she’s been Spoiler, she’s paid her dues, lost everything, and come back to try again. If ever there was a woman ready to be Batgirl, it’s Steph. And Barbara has changed, too. She’s successfully run a superhero team, she’s lost her base of operations, she’s traveled the world — Babs has grown since her early Oracle days in the Clocktower. She’s grown since No Man’s Land. Barbara Gordon no longer has to defensively guard against accusations that she might not be pulling her weight, that she might not be good enough for the job. She’s ready to take on a mentoree as a partner. Working from a position of strength and confidence gained during her Birds of Prey years.

I’m enjoying the heck out of Batgirl. I like watching this legacy continue to change as the women who bear its name grow and change themselves.

So what about you? Who is your favorite legacy character?