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Just sat and reread all of Morrison's 'The Filth' and 'Animal Man' back to back (which definitely had a solid, tactile effect, yes), and there isn't one thing not critiqued between them, that isn't contained in the whole Countdown to Prelude to Post Ultimasturbatory Identinfinity Crises and also, just plain wrongheaded. I've got no problem with rape in fiction, no problem without outright degradation and horrible bodily decimation and corruption in fiction - the 'Ichi, the Killer' manga makes me smile as it turns my stomach - but really, what use is the rape and murder of Sue Dibny? Was it entertaining? Not to me. Did it have some significant, well-thought-out thematic relevance that had to be told? Can't find one. Was it mature? Well, it stomped its feet and whined loudly about its maturity, so...
What's with the growing likelihood that every woman - except Black Canary - must be raped? Other than the gay sungod of 'The Authority', no guys seem to get raped. It's my biggest irritation in comics at the moment, and mostly I'm eyeing a certain beardy Moore, here, who - even though the Pollyanna bit in LoEG makes me laugh - does seem to fall back on this idea that being raped is a character trait. Is being kicked in the head a character trait?
And it's always done in the most salacious manner, with a thin overcoat of apologetic sympathy. That's just annoying, every time I crack a book and there's that sexual menace and punishment meme going on.
But, really, the thing that bugs me is this: In the scale of things, surely there's so much worse the villainy scoundrels could be doing, yeah? Peeling people, dropping laundry detergent in their eyes and stuffing penny nails down throats, disintegration rays or even the old razorblade-dildo. Raping random character X and stuffing her in a fridge just doesn't cut it after it's used, oh, the billionth time in fiction this decade. Turn her blue, give her an elephant head, and threaten to throw her into the sun.
I'm talking pretty much purely long underwear comics, here. Something more *ground level* isn't going to operate necessarily on that kind of villainesque one-upmanship. Ellis managed to combine them nicely in the 'Authority/Planetary' oneshot. 'Someone to have sex with while I murder the world,' and such. One or the other isn't entirely impressive, but the combination sets it apart.
And that's not even getting to the 'by committee' atmosphere of 'Countdown...' I don't get Bat-Asshole as anything but an affected persona to impress the rubes, I don't think everybody's favorite Oreo addict is so bad at the interpersonal relations stuff, and how on earth is the best thing can be done with Blue - still got the girdle - Beetle to shoot him in the head?
Seriously, they should have just raped and murdered Elastic Man. The Atom's ex should have raped and murdered Elastic Man. In front of Batman, who seeks out the JLA to have them wipe it from his memory. Painted by Alex Ross. With a series of lithos and alternate covers and tangential cross-overs all through the publishing line. And everyone who paid for it, and kept paying for it, would get exactly what they deserve.
I'm going to have to finish Countdown, at some point in life, for my sins. I just know it. |
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