“It’s a movement in which males and females more or less equally participate. It’s a movement that is racially inclusive. It’s a movement in which consumer participation and customization is essential. It’s a movement not about collecting but experiencing. It’s a movement complete with a whimsical aesthetic that I am only beginning to understand.
“And whether Peter Parker is married or not or Batman is Bruce Wayne or not makes not the single whit of difference to them.”
– blogger Valerie D’Orazio, on the “youth movement” vibe at the New York Anime Festival
“I had a dream last night that the creator of Aqualad (who I think is Robert Bernstein, or a tag-team effort between Robert and Ramona Fradon) was struggling to stand up amid a crowd of angry people. I looked at him helplessly and noticed that he was visibly very similar to Aqualad himself, in that he had black, curly hair and a red shirt, and I suddenly felt very guilty about redesigning his beloved character to look like an awkward fish boy.
“Not that I’d change anything, but I felt really, really bad about it for a minute.”
– artist Karl Kerschl, who redesigned Aqualad for the Teen Titans: Year One miniseries
“It’s good to know that if [Batman] ever fought Osama bin Laden he’d hit him with a Batarang and drop him off at Arkham Asylum. The Joker has killed a lot more people than al Qaeda, and it’s good to know the Justice League is OK with that. Because God knows the thing that matters is that they keep their hands sparkly-clean. You know, if I were President of DC-Earth, I’d make a point of telling Superman that he could crush the Joker’s head. Not, you know, to go out of his way or anything, just, if it ever came up, please feel free.”
– blogger Tim O’Neil, annoyed by The Joker
“Just because someone carries a gun doesn’t make him a bad person.”
– writer Ed Brubaker, on the new, gun-toting Captain America
“As writers and creators continue to pour into our industry (taking jobs from the writers who have been doing it for years, mind you), the amount of content the publishers are producing is skyrocketing, which means two things: They’re spending more and taking more risks, AND, with more books in the marketplace, less units of each title are being sold, forcing us to rely on the licensing as opposed to making it an additional income source. With all eggs being put into the Hollywood basket, what happens when Hollywood stops calling?”
– writer Jason M. Burns, worried about a souring of the relationship between comics and Hollywood
December 16th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
D’Orazio on Anime:
“It’s a movement that is racially inclusive.”
The fans or the actual Anime material? I’m far from an expert (or even a fan) of Anime, but judging by what I’ve seen, I don’t see too much racial diversity in Anime characters. Lots of big-eyed white girls and white boys….and not much else beyond that.
If she’s talking about fans, I see a ton of diversity in the superhero comics fan base as well. One visit to the San Diego Con (which, I know, also has components of Anime crossover) should make it obvious that superhero comic fans are more than just bearded white fat guys.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Isn’t it more of a trend than a movement? Doesn’t a movement have, like, leaders and objectives?
December 16th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
“Lots of big-eyed white girls and white boys”?
December 16th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
While I perhaps would not have phrased it the way that Mr. Engblom did, anime is no more racially diverse than mainstream comic culture. Black characters still occupy the role of misc. thugs, or good but dumb (ie. Final Fantasy) side kicks. If you include the way that many anime characters are designed to look caucasian, then the lines are blurred even more.
I would agree that the movement itself is more racially inclusive. The cons here in Toronto are very diverse (like the city itself). Because anime is ‘foreign’, whether you are white or black you approach it as someone else’s cultural product. Which is a little different from Superman or Spiderman, if you see what I mean. In that way, I think anime is racially very inclusive while not itself expressing much diversity of character representation.
I’m not convinced that it SHOULD be racially or culturally diverse. Anime is Japanese, I can’t really see why it should be anything else. Cultural representation is and will always be the responsibility of the culture in question. Persepolis is a good example of the power individuals have to represent themselves. If you are waiting for Anime or Marvel to do it, well….I wouldn’t hold my breath.
But that’s just how I see it.
AE.
December 16th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Perhaps Val should be careful she doesn’t use up her 15 minutes too quickly.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:22 am
I always figured that anime fans were pretty much the same as comics fans… but with more women.
Although I do hear that anime/manga tends to break down some gender barriers. Women will read stories aimed at men and vice versa. You’d almost think that efforts to include one group didn’t have to be done at the expense of all other groups.