Meesha's Pull Box/Read More Comics

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:20 am

Sometimes I just gotta talk about comics. And I have to talk about this while its fresh in my head.

There's a new series out by Vertigo called American Virgin, written by Steven T. Seagle and illustrated by Becky Cloonan. And lets just stop right there. The perfect book (in my opinion) has to have, well, A.) a good story line and B.) attractive art. And the American Virgin team is a match made in heaven, it meets both requirements and then some, executing seemlessly a perfect book. And then add covers by [url=http://www.celiacalle.com]Celia Calle[/ur] it just doesn't get any better than this. Calle's unique, alluring and undeniably powerful. She redfines fine art while transcending the genre.

Don't get me wrong, I love science-fiction and I love my Marvel Universe. But I love stories involving the human condition and self discovery; they often yield the stranger stories. So what is American Virgin about, you ask? Well just as the title alludes to...

Adam Chamberlain is a 21 year old young man, preacher and abstinence advocate. He sets example talking to those he preaches to about his girlfriend Cassie, who is in Africa working in the peace corp. He is a virgin in many regards, including self gratification, lustful thoughts and alcohol. He says God has spoken to him and has told him Cassie is the only woman he is meant to be with. (You can see where this is going, right?)

Yes, well, Adam's world comes skidding to a hault when he learns (via television broadcast) that his one and only has been beheaded by terrorists. Thusly we've set the stage for a lot of questioning and figuring out of "What next, God?"

His questioning leads him on a world tour of education by exploring different cultures and trying to do away with the Western notion sexuality.

If you haven't picked it up yet, you should. There only 18 issues into, with the first ten out in trade form. You could read it in a night.

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:26 pm

Learn something new everyday...

Apparently there's a term coined by comic book writer Gail Simon (best known for her work on Birds of Prey, but she wrote for Deadpool and Agent X) called "Women in Refrigerators." Which comes from an issue of Green Lantern where the Green Lantern comes home to find his girlfriend dead and stuffed in the refrigerator.

Women in Refrigerators Syndrome describes the use of the death or injury of a female comic book character as a plot device in a story starring a male comic book character. It is also used to note the depowerment or elimination of a female comic book character within a comic book universe.

I'm not sure if I buy into it just yet.

The WiR website is here: http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/index.html

And the list is indeed staggering. But there's nothing to compare it to. I guess my question is, IS there anything to compare it to? Are there any instances when the reverse happens? I think I'm going to write a comic book and get people all invested in a secondary male character only to kill him off to hurt the female character.

Simone has been quoted to say "... simple point had always been: if you demolish most of the characters girls like, then girls won't read comics. That's it!"

Which again I'm not totally sure I believe. A quick glance over my comic book collection reveals most the heroes I read about are guys anyways. So won't that just mean they'll be a lot of super heroes running around with blue balls?

ETA: I can sort of think of one example. Between Gambit and Rogue...Gambit goes off and joins Apocalypse of his own free will, for his quote unquote love for the X-Men. Gets turned into a horseman and tries to kill Rogue. He then takes off not to be seen for about twenty issues. Meh. I couldn't say I really cared though. They're relationship was unstable for a LONG time, since X-Treme X-Men when they're powers were deactivated and reactivated. Rogue then subsequently accidentally blinds him. That's an iffy example though.

Galvatron · Post by **Galvatron** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:02 pm

comics are a completly different world for me.
I am still trying to read the transformers G1 comics from the 80's.
I am waaaaay behind the times

Deszaras · Post by **Deszaras** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:04 pm

Comics that I still read. nothing but GW monthy inferno mag (Basically warhammer comics) and the Tf comics i have. On that note anyone know a site with all of the G2 scans?

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:27 pm

For the Gambit thing..I'll put it in terms you might be able to understand:

Its like sacraficing yourself going to Unicron being cause you have some faternal love for your comrades and then being surprised when you get the raw end of the deal. Its like, what what what? That doesn't even make sense.

Comics are GREAT.

And there are a ton of wonderful things happening right now in the Marvel Universe. I'll have to bring you up to speed. Remember to ask me about

House of M (which lead to the decimation of mutant-kind)
Civil War (Captain America v. Iron Man)
World War Hulk (holy crap The Hulk is back from space and he's pissed.)

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:36 am

I had a follow up question:

Is there any instance of WiR Syndrome that is apparent in Transformers?

Sixshot · Post by **Sixshot** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:46 am

meeshabot wrote:I had a follow up question:

Is there any instance of WiR Syndrome that is apparent in Transformers?

I don't think so! Not 2 many female characters to begin with! Comics or Toons,

!

Delita-1 · Post by **Delita-1** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:55 am

Maybe, kind of, sort of. There are a few stories that involve human females with male Transformers as the main characters. The women don't actually die, but they are in danger and maybe even a little hurt. Like that girl (can't remember her name) that gets caught in some kind of forest fire & Ultra Magnus seem infatuated with her for some weird reason & just has to go save her.

I know that's not exactly a WIR situation, but it's the closest I can think of off the top of my head.

Sixshot · Post by **Sixshot** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:02 pm

If your talkin' about Women in Distress, there's that relationship Skids has with that girl in the South! She held her one, tho, as much as a human could against a Transformer,

Deszaras · Post by **Deszaras** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:06 pm

I laughed at the comic way of introducing arceee as the autobots were called 'Sexist' repeatedly by soem gathered humans.

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:03 pm

I'm not going to say Arcee is sexist, but I will say there is a bit of a Smurfette thing going on if you get my drift. And she is also very, very pink.

Its kind of like woman in distress, but my understanding of it is that they're injury/death is only a plot device. The death or injury of the female character then helps cement the hatred between the hero and the villain responsible.

A really good example of this is when Gwen Stacy gets killed by the Green Goblin.

I just want to take a moment to say how ultra creepy Ultra Magnus sounds. And there's a little bit of that in Jazz in the Dreamwave comics (re: M. Faireborn.) What's the deal with robots and girls? It kind of perverted. I do not accept interspecies love.

Deszaras · Post by **Deszaras** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:05 pm

[quote=meeshabot]interspecies love[/quote]

Is that why bumblee was always with spike and then later why wheelie was always with daniel?

Delita-1 · Post by **Delita-1** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:08 pm

The creepiest one I can remember is the Skids relationship that Sixshot mentioned. There's a part in there where she's washing him, and it seemed, uh - very wrong.

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:16 pm

Wouldn't you call it interspecies love?

Are transformers a species?

I guess...

Deszaras · Post by **Deszaras** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:18 pm

yeah that skids thing is very dodgy especially when he keeps asking her to wax him.

Found another in the cartoon. ironhide and carly.

Galvatron · Post by **Galvatron** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:19 pm

can any of you post some pics?

Please!!

Commander Megatron · Post by **Commander Megatron** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 4:25 am

Delita-1 wrote:Maybe, kind of, sort of. There are a few stories that involve human females with male Transformers as the main characters. The women don't actually die, but they are in danger and maybe even a little hurt. Like that girl (can't remember her name) that gets caught in some kind of forest fire & Ultra Magnus seem infatuated with her for some weird reason & just has to go save her. I know that's not exactly a WIR situation, but it's the closest I can think of off the top of my head.

The girls name was Cindy, she then shafted Ultra Magnus when she pointed Galvatron in his direction. Galvatron kicked his ass but good!! The story was called "Fire on High" it ends in the TF UK annual when......

Sorry Delita-1, nearly did it again!

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:07 am

Today, class, I want to talk to you about House of M aka the Decimation.

Where to start..where to start. I suppose the beginning would be most appropriate. And that has to do with the Scarlet Retcon..er..I mean Scarlet Witch. Do you all know who Magneto is? He's kind of like the X-Men's Megatron. He is the biggest and baddest of antagonists, and the X-Men's main nemesis. He has two illegitimate children with a homosapien (as opposed to homo-superior aka mutant.) They were abandoned and raised by gypsies in Eastern Europe, (Lets lose sight that Erik "Magneto" Lensherr is an Aushwitz survivor...)

Magneto doesn't particularly care for his children, Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff. Especially poor ol' Pietro whose power is super speed, which results in Magneto emasculating his son. Wanda's powers are a little bit more cool, but highly unstable. She possess reality warping abilities.

Okay, lets get to the meat and potatoes of this. Basically Wanda (who was an on again off again villian) was with the Avengers. After a conversation with a drunken teammates who brings up Wanda's lost children she has a mental collapse. Ends up killing her husband and two teammates (circa Avengers Disassembled) Cue in the insanity.

House of M starts with the birth of Wanda's children. She's really grasping at straws here, because everyone knows that this isn't real. She's obviously not with it, her powers are out of control and she won't listen to reason. A council is called with all super heroes in attendance (Prof X, Wolverine, Spiderman, Captain American, just everone..) They're only conclusion is to kill the Scarlet Witch. Wanda doesn't let them get the chance though. As they arrive to do the deed they are all engulfed into a white light.

They wake up the next morning in a strange world..a world where everyone is happy. For Spiderman that means being married to Gwen Stacy even though she's dead. Scott Summers and Emma Frost are happily married, Dr. Strange is a psychologist' Carol Danvers -- known usually as Ms. Marvel -- is now Captain Marvel, America's most beloved superhero' Gambit is a criminal' and Steve Rogers is an aged veteran. As we follow vignettes of their lives, it becomes readily apparent that none of them remember the change. Meanwhile, Wolverine is now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s House of Magnus Red Guard, and wakes up onboard a helicarrier sleeping next to Mystique. Unlike his comrades, Wolverine remembers.

House of M refers to the kingdom Magneto built on the island nation of Genosha House of M being Magnus' royal dynasty.

I'm going to gloss over a lot right here, but basically it all comes undone, one by one everyone starts to remember what was. They go to confront the Scarlet witch, but again she gets the last say. Turning to her father, Magneto, Wanda lashes out, "The arrogance of you. You think because we're mutants we're better than them. That we deserve to rule. That's what you wanted and I gave it to you. But look... Look what it becomes. Even when you get what you want, you're still this horrible man. We're not the next step. We're not gods. We're freaks! Look at us, daddy! We're freaks! Mutants! You chose this over us and you ruined us! Daddy... No more mutants." And then disappears.

Everything returns the way it should, accept for that now instead of hundreds of thousands of mutants running around, the population has been reduced to a scant 198. Most notably affected by the decimation are Magneto, Quicksilver, Iceman, Jubilee, Chamber, Blob, and a whole slew of students at the Xavier Institute.

Here is a list of depowered/reactivated/unaffected mutants:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_%28comics%29

It was a really good story arc, I liked it a lot, they just didn't handle the aftermath well. Now X-Men are constantly have to tip-toe around this notion of 198, so you see little by little people regaining their powers.

That concludes today's lesson.

Commander Megatron · Post by **Commander Megatron** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:17 am

God love her she is in bits!!

meeshabot · Post by **meeshabot** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:19 am

Quite literally!