This blog post, in which the writer complains about “gay characters being shoved into my comic books” — I initially thought it was parody, but alas — has generated some interesting, and amusing, responses, including Kate Fitzsimons’ “Queer Comics Controversy Bingo!” card.
One of my favorite remarks comes from Mordicai, in the comments section of the original post: “Dude, his KIDS could READ a COMIC with GAY PEOPLE IN IT. TRY TO PUT YOURSELF IN HIS SHOES!”
So, why did I think it was parody? Oh, there are the repeated, unintentional sexual innuendos (things being thrust and shoved), assertions that the blogger doesn’t care “what you do in the privacy of your own home,” and a couple of detours into quotas and proportionality.
But the winning, completely over-the-top shot is, “I really think it’s all Warren Ellis’s fault.” That, I’m convinced, is an evergreen argument point, perfect for any topic.
Yes, it’s all Warren Ellis’ fault.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Everything is always my fault.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Be proud, sir. Want a sidekick to ‘train’?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:40 am
“It’s all Warren Ellis’s fault” should be the free space in every bingo card on the Internet.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:53 am
“I did it for the lulz” is a legitimate response to pretty much any complaint anyone could ever make, and the best part is that it’s always a valid response.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Since Ellis invented the gay, can we blame him for Will & Grace, too? Man, that show hurt.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I really hate that fucking bingo crap
December 4th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
With respect, Lloyd, and in my defense, in the actual post I used the disclaimer that a bingo card is *not* a valid tool of debate and that I created this one merely for humorous and educational purposes.
“I saw your argument on the bingo card!!!” is just as lame a debating point as anything *on* the bingo card.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
uh… kind of round about side bar… but I always felt it was Millar’s run on Authority that put the gay on display. I always felt Ellis’ run showed Apollo and Midnighter as two guys who had no one but each other for so long that they’d built an endless love together… I still have trouble thinking of them as Leather Daddy and Muscle Twink.
Anyhow… stuff like this, as I’m sure it does to everyone, makes me livid. I don’t get why they ignore things like the heavy hetro sex references in the Titans East special (err, though I guess that was Winnick), so how bout all of the heavy sex references in Supergirl?
And I can’t understand, how comic book readers continue to showcase such a wide range of red necks and backthinkers… I mean, the majority of what I’ve learned about respecting others and human diversity – I kinda learned from comic books.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
uh… kind of round about side bar… but I always felt it was Millar’s run on Authority that put the gay on display. I always felt Ellis’ run showed Apollo and Midnighter as two guys who had no one but each other for so long that they’d built an endless love together… I still have trouble thinking of them as Leather Daddy and Muscle Twink.
Anyhow… stuff like this, as I’m sure it does to everyone, makes me livid. I don’t get why they ignore things like the heavy hetro sex references in the Titans East special (err, though I guess that was Winnick), so how bout all of the heavy sex references in Supergirl?
And I can’t understand, how comic book readers continue to showcase such a wide range of red necks and backward thinkers… I mean, the majority of what I’ve learned about respecting others and human diversity – I kinda learned from comic books.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
doh – sorry, I double posted by accident.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
That’s ok. It was worth reading twice.
December 4th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
It is just…SO HARD TO TAKE SERIOUSLY. I know I should really try, but…then I went to the “Save the Whales” page mentioned in the comments? & THAT WEBSITE WAS RACIST, WITH JAPANESE PEOPLE IN COOLIE HATS. So now I double-trouble can’t take it without a grain of…what is better than salt? Arsenic?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
The one thing that needs replacing is “My Off Topic Political Blog, etc.” There must be something that’s more distinctively a feature of “I’m not really homophobic homophobia” than that. It’s just not unique to or linked to the behavior being mocked enough. Hell, “I have a longer rant on this elsewhere, here’s a link” is a strategy I may well want to use myself one day, and don’t think it should be branded as a technique strictly for righties and homophobes.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I think it’s missing the “percentage” argument… y’know the one that goes ‘Since only x percent of the population is gay, I think its totally out of line that one comic has a greater percentage of gay characters.’
December 6th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Ah, Ed. I didn’t mean *any* link was bad – note the “off topic”.
Also, to be clear for the record, I’m not actually talking about any *particular* flavor of politics, given that I have some lovely gay Republican friends, and I’ve met a number of “liberal” people who think gay people have the right to exist, but heaven forbid we exist in their fiction.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
thanks ray… I love your blog by the by.
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