"That thing that inspires people-" - On "AKA Jessica Jones", Empowered and Joss Whedon

(Bear with me here, as this is sort of a shaggy dog and I haven't blogged in a VERY long time.)

So, I recently heard that one of my favorite comic book series featuring one of my favorite "superheroines" (retired as she was) is hitting the small screen. Jessica Jones, ex-superheroine, Private Investigator, hard-drinking badass who is so much more awesome than she gives herself credit for getting a TV show? My mind was blown. I found it it was going to be called "AKA Jessica Jones" which is fine, as it can't be called "Alias" of course, due to there already being a show called that. I then heard who was making it - the gal who wrote "Twilight" and did some work with the "Birds of Prey" TV Series (and, marginally to her credit, the TV Show Dexter). And it was going to be on ABC rather than a cable network. As another blogger put it "no F-bombs for Jessica [...] is like Batman without his Batarangs". My enthusiasm kinda curdled after hearing all of that.

It's not that Jessica Jones has to be crude to be great. She just has to be herself - refreshingly human, swears and all. This is a character that responds to being saved from drowning by a Norse God with vomiting and swearing, not wonder and alliteration. I hold some slight hope that she'll make the transition intact. There have been great, troubled female characters who fight crime on TV - Sarah Shahi's Detective Dani Reese on "Life" comes to mind just a for example (if you liked the comic book series 52, I highly recommend that show). I just care so much about Jessica Jones' character that she's actually one of my favorite superheroines. She makes my Top 5, easy, both as the messy character she was and as the loving, confident and fierce heroine she has become. And all this thought of "Can they adapt her successfully to a mainstream TV show?" led me to other two other big thoughts.

Thought One: Why do I care so damn much if this show sucks?

Thought Two: What TV Show with a Superheroine would really work the best on Cable?

The answer to the first one was sort of obvious - Jessica Jones is not a cipher. She's portrayed as a human being, one I can empathize with because she not only makes mistakes, she makes mistakes KNOWING that they're mistakes. She drinks, she has self-worth issues, she does the right thing but rarely gives herself enough credit. I see a lot of myself in her and every triumph she painstakingly makes in the course of her series, the redemptive arc she travels, all of it feels celebratory in a personal way I don't get reading Superman or Batman*. She makes an impression and she gets over her worst fear on her own terms. That's important. And when I thought about who else I wanted to get a TV show, one of my other Top 3 Superheroines came to mind - Empowered. And a light went off in my head.

There was a poet who said "the only ones for me are the mad ones". For me, in many ways, the only ones are the struggling ones.**

Jessica Jones and Empowered might not seem to have a lot in common. Jessica Jones is an embittered PI who quits the Superhero gig after a nightmarish experience. Empowered - Elissa Megan Powers - is a superheroine whose often tetchy supersuit leaves her with a D-list reputation but is fanatically determined to rise above it and become an A-lister. One wears street clothes, the other is forced to wear what is essentially a meta-commentary on slutty superheroine outfits. One's full of bitterness that butts against her inner optimism and heroism, while the other's optimism and heroism fights against bitterness that would stop any sane person from trying to do good at all.

Both of them have one thing happen in their first volumes - men don't take them seriously. Their lives are unsavory and unhappy at the start. But later, the same people who dismiss them are much worse off for it.

Jessica Jones gets dismissed by two male cops, grilled by a vindictive police detective, attacked by a man who practically has "manhandle" in his name. Empowered gets trussed up, captured, dismissed as a worthless excuse for a superheroine and damn near believes the hype. At the end of their first arcs, however, Jessica's tracked down the men who thought they could use her to their own ends while Emp has effortlessly saved her new boyfriend from death. Neither win is a clean win done on their own . . . but on the same token neither one of them realizes just how much better, noble and good they are, how much more awesome than they give themselves credit for at the end of their stories. And with each story after that, these women become more self-aware, self-assured and do more good for themselves and others. Best of all? Love, a BFF girlfriend and slow, gradual increases of self-esteem help them along the way. There are obvious differences but I still love them both for putting the "Human" into "Superhuman".

I love characters who both show realistic flaws and grow as people. Women who are complex and have more power than they realize illustrate to people who aren't perfect that they don't have to be Wonder Woman to make the world and themselves better. I would kill for a Jessica Jones show on cable but I'll settle for a show with her on ABC if it's done right. If she's still flawed, human, gutsy, brave and full of bite and strength. But you know who else I'd love to see get the TV series treatment? Empowered. And I would want it to be done by Joss Whedon.

So, why him?

While I know the upcoming Avengers film is his current focus, I think Empowered would be the perfect vehicle for Joss Whedon - one way or the other. I disliked Dollhouse but was never sure if the distasteful premise would have been better if, as Whedon claimed, he got to use it to say things he wanted to say about women being seen and used as sex objects (he has been quoted as saying Fox backed away from the sex and demanded generic action, much to his chagrin). That's the thing about Joss Whedon, tho'. For every complex, contradictory and awesome Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg or River Tam, there's the punishment of damn near every character who seems to have sex or a happy adult relationship. All his fine speeches seem to butt up against a strange cruelty to his characters and an odd streak of tawdriness. Call them Companions, call them Dolls - I call it kinda fishy and off-putting. Even Buffy Season 8 has Dawn being punished for sex across several issues, has Buffy and Angel's frantic coupling result in demons pouring forth to wreak havoc and inflict death. While I have loved Firefly/Serenity, Angel, Astonishing X-Men and many other of his works I honestly want to see Joss Whedon's "Empowered" on a cable network . . . just so he'd have absolutely no excuses and nowhere to hide how he really feels about sex and the women who have it.

Much like Jessica Jones, Empowered is a character who has sex when she feels bad about herself but unlike Jessica, the sex is never demeaning or nihilistic (although one could argue they both use it as "comfort food"). Her boyfriend loves and respects the hell out of her. He was a bad guy, a minion and worse, but meeting Empowered on the job and seeing her genuine earnestness, her heart and determination turned him over to the side of good. Another of her best friends is Ninjette, former Ninja-for-hire also turned to the side of the angels after talking to her. Even a Demonic Galactic Overlord of Kirby-esque dimensions she captures in a belt-shaped device becomes a dear friend via Stockholm Syndrome and teary bonding over DVDs . . . of Buffy Season 5 (among other shows but, well, there you are).

Sure, there's problematic things about Empowered. Unlike Jessica Jones, Empowered is forced to endure being dismissed as sexualized ideal, a blonde in a skimpy superheroine outfit. She has to fight to be taken seriously every time she goes out to try and make the world better. Every woman who's been dismissed as just a face, an ass, a set of breasts, ect while striving to do a job better than her male coworkers can empathize with her. And for all of Joss Whedon's flaws, Buffy Summers was his angry response to the idea that the blonde who has sex and is fun and funny deserves to be murdered for it in the most gruesome way possible. Buffy Summers was a beautiful blonde girl who was also human, heartbreaking and complex. Buffy came from one man seeing the blonde girl who was just a sexy prop designed to be murdered and his getting angry, his saying "No more." Empowered came from Adam Warren being told to draw a prop, a supergirl tied up, bound and helpless, and demanding instead that people see a beautiful, heroic human being with a heart. Jessica Jones' worst nightmare, the thing that drove her away from embracing her power, was being reduced to a servant and prop for a controlling madman. Alias was the story of her coming back from that experience stronger than before, with a raw, angry voice that would not be denied. That was the story Brian Michael Bendis set out to tell with her and it was a necessary story that I felt was amazingly told.

There's a reason I love all of these characters, problems be damned. They're heroines who were created in order to stand up and refuse to be labeled as "just the sexy girl".

This is why I'd love to see Whedon write Empowered. Just to see what would happen. Could Whedon finally write a character who saves the day and still has sex as part of a happy couple? Could he do it without strange, unsavory undercurrents? Lord knows, I think it would be revealing as all hell to find out.

But back to the matter that started all these thoughts - will AKA Jessica Jones be an amazing tour de force or another bland Birds of Prey? I'm hopeful that she'll be every inch as vibrant, as damaged and as wonderful as we know she has been. I'm hopeful that we, as viewers, will be able to be taken on a similar journey where she learns just how powerful she can be and just how much strength she has inside. I don't even need to know she'll be swearing - I just need to trust that she'll still have her own voice - loud, brassy and refusing to be silenced. And every time she wins, we win by proxy.

Whether it's Buffy Summers, Elissa Megan Powers or Jessica Jones, I want to hear a woman stand up and say that it's okay to be human, that you can be imperfect and strong at the same time - even if we need a superheroine vehicle for her to do it.

I want to watch a heroine on that TV screen I can identify with again.


Footnotes:

*This is not to say that Batman or Superman are bad characters. I love them both. It's just that they are almost never allowed to be seen as vulnerable, as emotionally open to change.

Superman's the best of us and that's great - that's the way he should be. His relationship with Lois is wonderful and inspiring because it feels like they are equals. Even so, he's almost never portrayed as vulnerable in a way that feels honest or compelling - this nonsense with him walking around the USA, for instance, misses the forest for the trees. He doesn't have to walk amongst humanity - he is humanity. But that's another post entirely.

And as for Batman? I love him to death but decades later and Batman's only let a handful of people into his heart and almost never says "I love you" romantically.

These are things I want to see and to my irritation, outside of Cyclops and a handful of others, I can almost never find a superhero that makes me nod as I watch them open their hearts and figure out what really makes them tick. Just my opinion, of course. Feel free to disagree with me or, even better, list superheroes I may not know about in the comments.

**This isn't to say that I only love damaged characters, just that I find them the most compelling. Taken to the most extreme example, members of the Secret Six or Emma Frost are characters so profoundly broken, for instance, that I exult in every act they make on the side of the angels and love them to pieces. I see my messiness in their messiness and either learn lessons from their strides towards being whole or guiltily relish that I'm not quite as broken.

But on the other side of the coin, I absolutely adore characters that are fully committed to their ethics, themselves and their mission. These men and women who know who they are and make no apologies for it? I love them because they inspire me to be better. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Steve Rogers - they are superheroes I love because I want to learn from their example. I want to be able to stand up tall and proud, knowing that who I am has value, that I should not apologize for who I am. And if you feel that I'm contradicting myself here, I'll just pretentiously quote another poet and say that "I contain multitudes". But don't we all?

For Crying Out Loud

Maybe some of you already know that comic book writer Gail Simone has a forum where she and her fans chat about things. She's a very funny, forthright author who loves to interact with her fans online. So, when somebody posted this page from the new, poorly-received Cry For Justice mini-series from James Robinson, she naturally had something to say about it.



"I could see Lady Blackhawk, actually. Two pilots having some sexy fun, okay, I get that.

But I hate to see Huntress get branded as a slut again. The whole point of the Josh story was for her to realize she deserved better.

And I can't see them doing a threesome, that affects their friendship, and the Birds were ALREADY one of the very few books about female friendship which is so fucking rare in comics it might as well be moonbeans captured in mason jars. Not that friends can't have sex, but once again, this is all about the man, and "Well played, sir" is just, ugh.

I love James Robinson. But I really feel like most writers of mainstream comics get the sex thing all wrong over and over. It's all wink wink nudge nudge and women as trophies and thumbs up and it seems so weird and off-character to me.

But I haven't read it in context and I'm just the dumb girl anyway.

But James Robinson is a great writer, he's never written anything I didn't enjoy in comics and I still think Silver Age is an underrated classic. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. But it does feel weird that people can read bop and still come away with the impression that THAT Huntress and THAT Lady Blackhawk would get drunk and be someone's sad Penthouse fantasy.

It just shows again that Bop was an important book for a lot of reasons and its absence is keenly felt in the portrayal of female characters in the DCU. Not my bop specifically, just the book overall."

She comments further on why this page is more than a little sexist and disappointing in the link, if you dig through the comments. I could say a few choice things myself but I'm trying to keep my blood pressure down lately.

. . . oh, what the hell. I'll say them anyways.

First off, I decided against collecting this series since I read the agonizingly boring and annoyingly self-righteous 5-page preview shoehorned into the back of my fun, entertaining issue of Power Girl. Yes, Hal, let's do lecture Wonder Woman about justice. You know, the woman who unflinchingly killed Max Lord and got whined at for two years about it? And hey, while, we're on the subject of smacking down villains, remember Parallax? I sure wish somebody had taken that power-hungry murdering maniac down permanently right about now.

You know, I really wish I could like Green Arrow and Hal Jordan. I like Black Canary, I like Guy Gardner, I like Kyle Rayner, hell, I like Arsenal and Kilowog. I know a lot of great fans that I respect who love Hal Jordan to death, so I keep trying to see what's so awesome about him and, to a lesser degree, Green Arrow. Still, I just can't get into these two characters because half the time I read about them, they're being portrayed as, well . . . how to put this politely? Asshats.

When Hal Jordan's quoting John McCain about bravery and Green Arrow's electrocuting his wife to end an argument, I just can't find much to like about either one of them. And "hey, ain't we studly manly men?" banter like this isn't helping my general disdain for their characters much.

Anyways, I know I'm probably being unfair to both characters by judging them only by the recent stuff I've read but, hey, you know what? Fuck it. If the Powers That Be at DC want to portray two of their most iconic heroes as self-righteous frat boys, then that's clearly how I'm supposed to approach the characters. And I really, really don't like frat boys.

Ahem. Anyways, since I try to be more of a "light a candle" than "curse the darkness" kind of guy, let me recommend some good comics with female protagonists in lieu of Snivel For Peace, Whine for Justice.*



Echo is about a woman on the run with powers given to her by accident via the death of another woman, a fighter pilot in an experimental flight bodysuit. Julie, the protagonist, is being tracked by another woman who is more than just a femme fatale. Julie has to try and reconcile the memories of the fighter pilot whose dangerous experimental flight suit has now become partially bonded to her, all the while avoiding the government, a deadly lunatic and more. Echo is one helluva read, a complex, interesting and smart sci-fi thriller.



The Sword is, to quote the creators website, "a modern-day fantasy series that follows Dara Brighton, a young woman whose life is destroyed by three powerful strangers. Her journey begins when she discovers a unique sword." I've been tradewaiting on this one due to poor finances and haven't yet gotten the new trade but this series has been consistently interesting, suspenseful and surprising. If you don't mind gore (the titular sword sure ain't used for slicing yams), it's a really great read.



And speaking of female sexuality in comics, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the smart, funny and frankly adult Empowered. While James Robinson turns two established heroines into a tasteless threesome punchline, Adam Warren writes about mature, adult superheroines whose sex lives are yes, funny, but also hot, heartfelt and occasionally awkward - i.e., "real". Hell, there's more honest, heartbreaking interaction between lesbian superheroes in volume five of Empowered than in all of Greg Rucka's Detective Comics thus far - and that's saying something, given how much I'm loving Rucka's run on Detective Comics**. It's both funny and kind of sad that Empowered, the series that is supposedly "exploitative" enough to get slapped in shrink wrap and labeled with a "Mature Readers" sticker, treats it's female characters with more respect than a book that says "Justice League" on the cover.

Anyways, feel free to share your thoughts on the above page and Simone's response, 'natch but . . . you know what? I'd like this to be a positive post. Feel free to kvetch with me but I'd rather you go ahead and tell me what comic books you're really enjoying lately in the comments. I'm always looking for comic books that make me happy rather than make that tiny vein in my neck twitch.


*Bonus Points to all of you who know what I'm referencing with that joke.

**Oh, and Detective Comics is kicking all sorts of ass and looking amazing, but I'm sure you knew that already.

Not Dead, Just Thinking

So, first off, a quick but sincere apology to you, all my long-suffering followers. After my tech disaster, I had a pretty life-changing week that really made me stop and think about my priorities. I saw Obama live in person and it was pretty damn amazing. Made me stop and reconsider what I wanted to do with my life. I'm probably going to start blogging less and writing more, if that makes sense.

. . . none of which excuses the fact that I've been a terrible host and haven't written what I said I would write days/months ago. So, please forgive me and bear with me as I get that finally taken care of for you all this week.

In the meantime, there's quite a few good links for you to check out.

The Nerdy Bird needs your help to fly high and raise money to fight Muscular Dystrophy. Go forth and donate what you can.

4thLetter! has put up a heartbreaking post connected to Empowered, showing yet again that the series has more heart and more brains than half the damn mainstream stuff getting put out on the stands. My thanks to Kalinara for pointing the way.

Speaking of awesome links, My Bottomless Cup was kind enough to expound on this excellent post on Secret Six, which discusses some of the many reasons why I love this series so damn much. If you aren't reading Secret Six, you are currently suffering from an awesome deficiency.

There's quite a bit else going on in the comics blogosphere right now, not least of which is a huge kerfuffle over the implosion of Scans Daily. I could discuss my interactions with the community at length but I try to save the drama for my mama, as a general rule. On the other hand, Kevin Church - that cool blogger with a heart of brass - has had the huevos to kick the hornet's nest on his blog. Peter David, the author who was rather rudely told to "die in a fire" on Scans Daily, is also predictably not shedding any tears about this turn of events. Favorite writer of mine Gail Simone has a radically different and more positive view, while mad genius Warren Ellis predictably uses his fine, analytical mind to apply stark realism and basic facts to the situation. Absolutely none of which changes the fact, love them or hate them, they're just going to get the community up and running again in five minutes somewhere else (psst, it's already happened).

ETA: The inimitable MightyGodKing is also doling out the harshness to all involved on his blog, if you're in the mood to read some serious snark.

And what do I think about all of this? I'd like to live by the immortal words of Mr. T - "I don't start no trouble. I mind my own business." I've got enough on my mind as it is. Still, I'll just say that, while my heart is certainly in one camp more than the other, there are a lot of valid points on the table from people I respect on both sides of the issue. So there you go.



Phew!

Drama aside, how are all of you doing today?

Coming June 3rd!

Because, as you all know by now, I love Empowered more than Robocop loves Fried Chicken . . .






(Yes, yes, that did need glitter text. Shut up, that's why.)

Uh-oh! Rampaging Sistah Spooky? Naked BFF and Boyfriend in close proximity? Yeesh. To quote Angelus, things do not look good for our heroine.

It'll be nice to have another volume so soon; it felt like the wait between 3 and 4 was interminable.

Thoughts on Empowered, Vol. 4

So, I've been a trifle remiss in my reviews (I know, nary a Haiku in sight for months now), but I can't let Empowered, Vol. 4 come out without giving it a glowing, mildly in-depth review. While others have stated the obvious - that Empowered is, as ever, a solidly wonderful series - I feel like I must add a bit to what others (okay, just Chris Sims so far) have said, given my previous opus on the series.

Empowered, Vol. 4 is decidedly the least titillating of all the volumes and this is not a bad thing. Adam Warren forgoes a great deal of playful sex jokes (but not all of them, don't worry) in order to expand Emp's universe into a uniquely Warren-esque world of giant alien organ transplants, Make-A-Wish supervillains and most undeniably, the Goddamn Maid Man. The Gleeful Mad Scientist Adam Warren of The Dirty Pair, Iron Man: Hypervelocity and the tragically unappreciated Livewires is back and in full effect here. The man who brought us the Proust Bomb, Schroedinger's Wankerboy and Hyperintelligent Killer Whales throws out several new bits of Sci-Fi crazy that, while not as immediately geektastic as the volumes listed above, fit as comfortably and organically into Emp's universe as the Caged Demonwulf lays upon her coffee table. He even leavens the fun and games with a few downright gruesome moments but to describe them would take away from the shock of seeing them for yourself. We'll just say that the oft-foreshadowed Willy Pete finally appears in the context of a particularly nasty "Supervillain Team-Up" and leave it at that.

Along with those darker moments mentioned above, there's several surprising character developments that pave the way to a verrrrry interesting Vol. 5 but I'll save that for a later date (or if anyone asks for spoilers in the comments section). I will say that this entire book was beautifully done and the ending made me genuinely grin. Adam Warren gives Empowered and a plethora of her supporting cast character beats that more than make up for any flaws or missteps that he may have made in Vol. 3, adding even greater depth and humanity to the most interesting cast of characters I've read in a superhero comic in years (which reminds me - pre-order the end of Hero Squared). Additionally, never has the reappearance of customized booty shorts been made into a moment deserving of a heroic rock montage.

In short, Volume 4 of Empowered made want to do this:



Thank you and good night!

(Additional videos from Mr. Galifianakis can be found here and here, if you're so inclined.)

BONUS BONUS VIDEO CONTENT:

From Mr. Warren's Deviant Art Page, I must present an amusingly apropos Rock Band video of Empowered and friends responding to their critics:

Grrrr, Arrgh

Newer EXALTED cover colors by *AdamWarren on deviantART

So, apologies for Teh Interweb Silence, gang. Things have been a trifle less than rosy in the House of The Lookout and it is you, my loyal readers, whom have suffered as a result. Don't worry, I am not dead from some horrible fate. Just not blogging overmuch.

As way of apology, please enjoy this brief preview of Empowered, Vol. 4.

More to come as time allows . . .

A Question of Empowerment

While taking a break from trying to hammer out a decent Scott and/or Emma post, I found David P. Morgan's thoughts on Vol. 3 of Empowered at this link, over at the Precocious Curmudgeon (via the always awesome When Fangirls Attack). I generally try to keep things light and breezy here at The LookOut but I did get into a discussion with David P. Morgan on his critique of a portion of the book that he felt took away from his overall enjoyment of the volume. My thoughts in response to his are here.

Here's the thing about Empowered - it's one of my favorite books on the stands. Adam Warren's always been one of my favorite writers (he once created a "Proust Bomb" that stuck people in an extended flashback for God's sake). I'm not alone in my love of this series, by any means. Empowered is hilarious, romantic and filled with wonderful character vignettes.

The problem is that the series itself can often be misinterpreted or flat-out problematic due to it's origins and recurring themes. Defending the series can get a person into tricky waters because not many people realize how smart, self-aware and thoughtful it is. The major trouble with Empowered stems from the fact that Adam Warren was paying the bills by doing commissions of the "Damsel in Distress" variety - a fact he flat-out admits in the 4th-wall breaking early chapter ilios of Empowered itself. Understandably, a great many people have a problem with enjoying any superheroine whose origin is so steeped in bondage tropes, despite the high quality of the story.


(more on Mr. William Moulton Marston can be found here)

Being a ferociously intelligent, creative writer/artist whose previous works have (with only two exceptions) all been focused on powerful female leads, Mr. Warren inevitably found himself transforming these commissions into a full-fledged character study. He began to explore and turn the unpleasant trope on it's head by flip-flopping the power dynamic. One assumes that people who are entertained by the distasteful notion of superheroines in distress (and Ami Angelwings discusses that unpleasant kink at considerable length here) are seeking out a negation of the most powerful woman they can find.



But instead of a stalwart, uber-powerful Amazon Princess being tied up by her own lariat, Empowered is a neurotic, unhappy C-list superheroine whose capture is often the result of her own lack of faith in herself. Empowered becomes a real, hurting human being and the reader is called not to revel in her failures but to feel for her defeats and enjoy her personal and all-too-rare professional triumphs. This is a character whose problems seem very real because she has her feet planted so firmly on the ground.



In another "real world" touch, Empowered is extremely self-conscious about her body and how it is shown in her supersuit - a suit which embarrasses her because it is mercilessly revealing and not at all the sort of thing she dreamed of wearing growing up. In one of the ilios, she flat out begs the reader not to stare at her butt, which is the part of her body she's most self-conscious about.



Empowered has an equally fleshed-out supporting cast, full of characters I love. There's her best friend, former superninja for hire Ninjette, The Caged Demonwolf, who is an amusingly verbose world-destroying demon trapped in a belt on her coffee table, and her loving boyfriend and former minion, Thugboy. As an interesting aside, the trope of a "bad girl gone good for the love of Superhero X" is prevalent - i. e., Catwoman - but I can't think of any other bad guys gone good besides Thugboy. I digress but it's an interesting note to make that Warren's turning yet another trope on it's head here. Not only is Thugboy redeemed by Empowered's genuineness and sweetness, her best friend and even a would-be world destroyer are all mellowed and intrigued by her honesty and openness. People closest to her love her for who she is and she loves them back in kind.



The dynamic between Empowered and Thugboy remains one of the most surprisingly sweet romances I've read in a long time. When Warren writes something as simple as how to comfort the person you're sleeping with when they have nightmares, I get a little gooey inside. This is a relationship I can believe in because it is a relationship of equals. Empowered is a real person with real problems, much like her boyfriend's own negative and unhappy past. He is amazed by her and her bravery - fighting in an unreliable supersuit with teammates that either hate or dismiss her, all because she feels compelled to do that which is right - and woos her on her own terms. He may have been a thug once but now he's her thug and trying to make amends, for both their sakes.



I know I'm taking some fairly cheap shots at Wonder Woman here, which is another title I actually adore (well, under Simone or Rucka's hand at least). It's not entirely a fair comparison but it is one I thought I'd bring to people's attention. The real failure, if we want to throw stones, is that I can't find Supergirl or Batgirl even remotely as interesting, real or emotionally affecting as I do Empowered. When Empowered puts on a costume, she's a scared young woman trying to do right. When Supergirl puts on a costume, she's a blow-up doll no real emotional center for the reader to latch onto. She's a walking torso nobody's bothered to give a personality yet.



The tragedy is that, as a wit on Scans_Daily (and yes, I know Scans_Daily can be more than a little abrasive sometimes) put it, "Define Irony:
A) When DC and Marvel try to create "deep," "meaningful," "realistic" stories, they produce sexist, fascist, retarded exploitation pseudo-porn.
B) When Adam Warren tries to create exploitation pesudo-porn, he produces adorable, relatable characters who manage to reveal hidden depths."

DC responds to criticisms of Batgirl's character assassination by offering a new mini-series to explain the changes . . . written by the very writer who mutilated her in the first place. Brian Michael Bendis responds to having Tigra be repeatedly beaten and threatened in her own bedroom with a snarky Fish Man allegory. Supergirl gets writer after writer and none of them succeed at making her interesting or creating a core to the character people can relate to. Adam Warren, on the other hand, has responded to criticism of the series on his Deviant Art page with apologies and a promise that future reprintings will ship with a clarified and redrawn page of a scene that troubled some people (and the person I link to here admitted in the same enraged thread that the ending was so touching, she cried). His series has several problematic aspects but, shock of shocks, he actually admits they exist and tries to address them.

So my major problem here isn't that Empowered, vol. 3 has taken a misstep because an intelligent, thoughtful writer tried to deepen the series - taking the comedy out of the equation in two of the chapters to provide contrast between how she is treated and the true potential she wields. No, my real problem is that so many more well-known superheroines aren't being given the same basic consideration as Empowered.

How many of them are treated like human beings with hearts, minds and feelings? Batgirl and Supergirl are unrelatable girls who either turn evil or fly around aimlessly from alternate reality adventure to future adventure. When Wonder Woman seeks out a romance, fans decry her for trying to step off a pedestal and act like a human being. Diana's swung away so hard from her unsavory beginnings as a bondage trope, Simone's facing scathing criticism for daring to suggest she's lonely and willing to date somebody (incredibly) less than perfect. And poor Tigra's probably never going to be seen again. If Bendis actually makes her a New Avenger like he should (considering she sacrificed the safety of her own family to help them), I'll be flat-out stunned.

With all that said, here is where Empowered's story is going in the next volume:



I think that speaks for itself, really. Now the question becomes "Where are any of the more famous Superheroines' stories going?"

Okay, so I have to add one last thing - the guy in the French Maid costume in the back? That's going to be the Empverse version of Batman. I told you all it was hilarious.

News in Brief

VERY SAD NEWS: Dave Stevens, creator of The Rocketeer and the man who is credited with revitalizing Bettie Page's career and the pin-up aesthetic, has passed away from a battle with Leukemia. Smarter people than I have put up their tributes here, here and here.



I think it's safe to say that seeing The Rocketeer movie at a formative age is what got me so interested in the 1930's, the 1940's and the overall pulp aesthetic. Without him and his work, I might have never discovered Film Noir and pulp serials, among so many other things.



Rest In Peace, Mr. Stevens.

MUCH HAPPIER NEWS: That new Spectacular Spider-Man Cartoon done by the dude who did Gargoyles? Pretty good so far, actually.

Robert Englund is The Vulture, Keith David and Clancy Brown are also doing voices and hey, how about that theme song? "Spec-TAC-u-LAR, Spec-TAC-u-LAR, SPIDER-MAN!"



Why, it's so catchy I can even accept Nerd Gwen Stacey and Hispanic Cheerleader Liz Allen without blinking. Much.

REAL LIFE NEWS! Insomnia's not fun, especially when it randomizes your sleep schedule. And a beautiful 6 in the morning to all of you, btw.

ITEM! A new Serenity/Firefly mini-series starts today, with Wash, Book and covers by Adam Hughes. Makes a fella feel right shiny, it gorram does.

FLASH! He'll save every one of us!

ITEM! Empowered, Vol. 3 comes out today! I'm throwing personal finances to the wind to purchase it today! Are YOU?



And if you've no idea, what I'm talking about, there's a nifty, full-color 8-page Empowered story up here for your enjoyment.

ITEM! I need a price check on Register Nine!

Actually, what ARE any of you buying this beautiful Wednesday? What's on your pull list today? We here at The LookOut need to know!

Look Out! He's slowly coming back!

Still hammering out some personal problems but I hope to get this party re-started again soon and, as Mo'Nique might say, leave the drama for yo' Mama. This is a Comics Blog after all, not a "Emo K. D. Whines About His Life Blog" (there's way fewer YouTube links on that blog).

In that can-do spirit, please enjoy the following delightful comic links I've found and my general ramblings:

Enjoy the entire 1st issue of the slightly Buffy-esque Suburban Glamour, which appears to be a trade I'll have to buy at some point. The art alone is gorgeous enough in it's own right to make this a must-look and the story certainly intrigues as well.

There's a new, expanded Iron Man trailer up that shows how the villain of the piece comes into being. I'm not sure if I prefer this trailer or the first one that had the "Merchant of Death" line and the Black Sabbath theme going on. In any case, we get more sassy, drunk Tony Stark, which is delightful. I usually hate the character but you know, I think I already love this movie more than a little bit:



Now if only people would give Adam Warren a decidedly more extended crack at the character. *sigh* If you haven't read his mini Iron Man: Hypervelocity yet, I'd suggest enjoying it post haste for all the delicious science crack it contains. Case in point:



At least Fraction's getting to put out his take on Iron Man, which promises to be delightful.

Speaking of Adam Warren, Empowered Vol. 3 is coming out soon, so that should certainly cheer me up. I might proceed to concoct a whole post about why I love this OEL Superhero Manga so dang much - despite it's rather squicky origins - in order to celebrate it's glorious return.



. . . you know - once I finally find my damned copy of Astonishing X-Men #14 and proceed to write the insanely delayed Scott & Emma Post I've been promising all of you for half a month now. Sorry again, all.

Anyways, the guy screaming "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" outside my apartment complex has finally stopped/died/fell down drunk, so I think I'll try to get back to sleep.

And in seriousness, thanks again to you all for your patience during this difficult time.

The 3 Biggest Rules of Comics Blogging

DEEP PRETENTIOUS POST FOLLOWS:

I was thinking today and I realized that my OMD song post might have come off as snide and dismissive towards fandom in general. Given that I'm writing a comics blog, I think that's sort of unforgivable in terms of hypocrisy. I'm a huge, unapologetic fan of comics. I wrote my Senior Thesis on "The Growing Acceptance of Comic Books/Graphic Novels as an Art Form". If it weren't for comic books, I wouldn't be here and, dorky as it may sound, I mean that in every sense of the word.

So, the blogging? My major criticism of online blogging about comics isn't about the devotion of the fans, which can be beautiful and is always sincere in it's passion. It's about the basic realizations most people who blog about comics for any reason seem to miss.

A lot.

I thought I'd lay out what I think are essential rules of comics blogging, if only to help people understand where I'm coming from.




1. The comic book you're seeing previews of online that has you furious or sad is always a part of a larger story - one that's already in progress.

The problem is twofold.

First, you're not reading the whole issue, which may or may not explain the part that's upsetting you in a reasonable manner. Which, let's face it, rarely happens - Batman & The Outsiders anyone? - but still.

Second, by the time you've seen the preview pages for "Aunt May Vs. Ted Kord's Corpse Special - Final Intercrossover Crisis Day #1 (of 7)", the comic book writers and artists have already written #2 and probably most, if not all, of parts 3 and 4 - while having plotted out the whole thing beforehand.

This isn't Jason Todd in the 80's. Your Internet complaints about the story can't really change that much of the story or direction. Unless the internet presents a unified hiss of loathing or a really concise, intelligent argument, the writers will not change the ending they've been building to with a serial narrative.

Does this mean you shouldn't complain? No, but it means you should complain constructively and be realistic about the chances of your complaints changing the story. The only writer/artist I've ever seen apologize and change a scene that offended his readers was Adam Warren. When somebody wrote a post entitled "Actually, Empowered Sucks Now"*, crossposted it to Scans Daily and sent a letter to him. Warren responded in this way, saying in part - "In any event, in the second printing of EMPOWERED vol. 2, I’m going to redraw those three panels."

Now, Adam Warren isn't writing strictly mainstream stuff - in fact, it's naughty stuff that's likely to offend some people (you can read a typical 8-page short for free somewhere on Dark Horse's Torturous Myspace Page). I love his work, personally, but I can see how many might misinterpret it and how he has more freedom than say, J. Michael Straczynski. The thing is, even if you like Warren's work or not, you should respect him for doing this.

Brian Michael Bendis took a lot of heat recently for a sequence in New Avengers, in which Tigra is viciously attacked in her own bedroom and offers minimal defense. He didn't respond with a promise to rewrite the entire scene in future trade form and an apology. Instead, he responded with the thinking that violence against Tigra was just as acceptable as violence against Namor the Sub-Mariner, in a "Fish Man" allegory that rankled some people. Now, would it take away the original, unintentional insult to fans of Tigra and many comic book reading feminists? No, but it would show a degree of class and appreciation of the opinions of fandom, rabid as they often are, that would impress me. But there's a reason this doesn't tend to happen, which leads me to Rule 2 . . .

*Side note - even though I got her to agree that the ending of Empowered, Vol. 2 actually moved her to the point of tears, she refused to believe the work had any merit or, heavens forbid, that she might be overreacting. *facepalm*



2. You do NOT own your favorite Superhero. The writers and artists you hate rarely, if ever, own their favorite Superhero. A Superhero character is almost always a money-making property owned by an evil corporation.

We don't own them but we love them. We can influence their directions only minimally unless we somehow become their writer and even then, they're still owned by a giant corporation who sees them just as a brand name. It's a frustrating quandary for any fan.

My friend Kay, a former exotic dancer, points out that believing that Marvel or DC is writing just for you, the fan, is like thinking the stripper really loves you. I prefer her other metaphor that reading superhero comics is like marrying a junkie who has no plans to go clean. You have wonderful times, you have faith things are going well and suddenly he's vanished with your TV Set and left your Uncle stabbed in the stomach on the floor. You can never, ever fully trust them to do right by you.

Listen - if novelist Greg Rucka can't even write a back-up story where he jokingly implies Batman is gay for DC Comics while he's employed as the writer of Detective Comics because the editors say no, who were in turn told by the corporation who owns Batman to say no . . . your blog demands that So-And-So stop writing Captain Awesome out of character or that Superb Girl's new costume gets changed aren't gonna hold a lot of water.

The trick to acceptance is this - comics are a fluid medium and superhero comics even more so. The writer and/or artist you hate and all their story arcs can be replaced with one you love at any time or vice versa. This is the rule that is hardest for me to remember and accept because it seems like this is the rule we can violate the most.

If we stop buying the comic when a certain writer starts ruining the character *COUGH*JodiPICOULT!*cough*, the megacorporation that owns the character will notice the loss and fire that person. Such universal revilement is rare, however, in the world of fandom and people will often chug along until the writer, editor or artist feel that they've reached a natural stopping point. Controversy sells a book - always remember that - so sometimes a debate gives the megacorporation more excitement and more press, which means more money.

The junkie knows we still love them and will always come back to them. DC and Marvel keep taking our televisions and selling them for smack every time we hope it's going to get better instead of locking them out. We can prove them wrong but I don't see it happen very often.

Me? I just leave my junkie girlfriend comics until they look like they've cleaned up and gotten into rehab, if only for a little while. I'm still waiting on you Exiles, darlin'.



3. Blog smarter, not louder.

I never fully understood the phrase "'Tis better to light a candle instead of curse the darkness." until I read Internet Message Boards.

Think about this: if the sheer volume of fanpeople who bitched about a random comic book problem donated just one nickel a piece towards taking out an ad in Variety or a billboard in NY, could you imagine the impact that would make? Can you imagine all the money people would get raised?

Alas, that doesn't happen often, if at all. It's just a lot of sound and fury most of the time with very little logical critique or positive suggestions. A lot of fans just assume internet criticisms will translate into bad sales as if by magic. Sad to say, it's rarely so. The sheer volume can - and has - made positive impact on a few people but it's still noise.

(BTW - "Write your own book" is not a positive suggestion. If you asked me to help you solve a math problem and I told you "Write your own math test instead.", I wouldn't be helping you. I'd be an asshole. You see how that works now?)

So, please, blog constructively. Think before you post. Realize that the characters you love are both yours and not yours at the same time. And lastly, try to think of a way to convince people who've never even read a comic before why this particular bit of story/art or decision is a bad idea, based on basic story principles.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. Hope this helps any people I may have alienated with my tongue-in-cheek bitter loathing of all fandom (including my own dorky self).