Keith Giffen wants you to know what he hates about mainstream comics:
‘HOLY SPIT!’
If I never have to read this one again, it’ll be too soon. It sucked when Luke Cage said it way back when, it sucks now.
The word, ladies and gentlemen, is sh–. Holy sh–. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry, Keith. We can’t print the word here either, so we had to censor that last line. Sorta ironic, eh?—RM]
If, due to publisher constraints, you can’t use the word, then write around the fact that you can’t use the word! How, exactly, does “Holy spit!” make a character appear tougher or more street-smart? And why is it most often heard coming from black characters? Really, does anyone believe that the reader is reading “Holy spit” and not mentally processing it into “Holy sh–”?
Many more at the link.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Spit happens.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I’m really sorry for that.
October 11th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Welcome back, Graeme!
October 11th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
“Sweet Christmas” is not a cordial yuletide wish?
October 11th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I’ve decided to incorporate “Holy spit” into my vernacular. Like Randal in “Clerks 2,” I’m “taking it back.”
October 11th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
As if I need more reason to love Giffen. He summed up many of my thoughts on comic writing and then some. Darkseid in particular.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
The power levels problem will always be there. I’ve always had issues with the Flash because of stuff like what Giffen mentions. But there’s just no way around it, because if they ever wrote Flash completely sensibly then every fight would be boring.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
That’s the reason I never liked the Flash…
Wait, I did like the first Wally West issues, when they limited his speed!
Best,
Hunter (Pedro Bouça)
October 11th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
My absolute least favorite fake comics swear/dodge is when a character is being attacked by a female character, or surprised by them, and goes “Son of a–” and the female character rejoinders “More like ‘Daughter of a–!’” It’s awful on all the levels. I think I’ve seen Chuck Dixon use this one a couple of times with the Huntress (when he decided that she was a psycho), but I know I’ve seen others do it too.
October 14th, 2007 at 8:41 am
“If, due to publisher constraints, you can’t use the word, then write around the fact that you can’t use the word!”
Yes sir. I’ve actually dropped Daredevil because every month Brubaker tries to look edgy by having at least one person say &%^#$, and it just looks dumb and cartoony, and makes me embarassed to read it.