This week, DC released the all Spanish issue of Blue Beetle which led to some interesting reactions and discussion.
J. Caleb Mozzocco really liked the issue:
It’s the work of guest-creators Jai Nitz and Mike Norton, and it was the sort of rare book I read a few times in a row. The first time through, I read it in Spanish, which is essentially the way Traci, who doesn’t speak Spanish*, would have experienced the story. It proved a good test of Mike Norton’s abilities, as he was called on to draw a story that could be told solely by his work, if the reader didn’t speak Spanish either. He passed the test with flying colors, as I made it through on my few years of high school Spanish just fine, with the exception of the part where the scarab somehow defeats Superman villain The Parasite. (Norton also provides two beautiful images of Blue Beetle in flight with a friend; a two-page splash at the beginning, and a one-page splash at the end).
Nitz’ story emphasizes one of the elements of Rogers’ run on the book that made it so unlike all other super-comics, and therefore so refreshing to read—the positive role the lead’s family plays in both his life and his superhero career.
Greg Burgas didn’t think the Spanish was a complete success:
The use of Spanish was not a complete success, either, for a couple of reasons. I don’t know Spanish, so I’m going to trust people if they want to come here and tear me a new one. First, the fact that DC gave us a translation disappointed me. I was hoping they wouldn’t, and that Norton’s storytelling skills would be able to carry the book if you didn’t understand what was going on. For a great deal of the book, the art helps immensely, and I was able to follow along fairly well. But Nitz’s story demanded too much exposition, especially when he was explaining the Posse’s powers (another reason not to use them). I thought it would be neat to see if we ignorant Anglos could follow what was happening without the translation. I got the family reunion stuff almost perfectly, and that’s a tribute to Norton’s art, I think. (Of course, on the splash page, he screws up because Traci’s hair is perfect even though she’s flying upside-down, but I’ll let that slide.)
Second, and this is something that I’m just putting out there as a discussion point, is the Spanish that Jaime and his younger relatives speak. Let me explain. When I taught in the rougher part of Phoenix, the student population was about 60% Hispanic. Most of them spoke Spanish in some capacity or another. Some spoke very poor English, and they took English classes, obviously. The woman who taught them spoke very good Spanish, but they accused her of not speaking Spanish well. Why did they accuse her of this? Because, like many teenagers, they spoke an atrocious version of their native language - poor grammar, slang, lots of cursing, you know the drill. The teens who spoke English as a native language often butchered the language! So my question is: does Jaime speak perfect Spanish? Or is it “teen” Spanish? I’m not necessarily criticizing it if he does speak perfect Spanish, but I would find it interesting if he does, as characters in comics often don’t speak grammatically perfect English. Yes, I know I’m bringing up grammar again, but I’d like to know about Jaime’s Spanish and how “perfect” it is. Does anyone know?
Maxo had some issues with the translation:
It turns out Kevin’s customer was right; the Spanish isn’t very good. Like a lot of media going from English into Spanish, the problem’s with the translation. It’s technically correct, but as my wife put it, “It’s clunky. It’s almost a literal translation, like it was done by someone whose native language is English but who also knows some Spanish. You can ‘hear’ that the phrase was in English first.”
In other words, people who speak Spanish wouldn’t talk like that. The thing that jumped out at my wife was the scene (page 9, panel 2) where Jaime’s abuelita tells him to “make us proud,” but the way the line is phrased in Spanish actually comes across as (roughly), “make us prideful.” There’s a subtle but important difference there. Someone who speaks English and Spanish would probably understand what was meant, but someone who primarily speaks Spanish might be confused by that wording.
For my part, I had a problem with inaccuracies in the text. There are parts here and there that just made me say, “But that’s not what he said!” once I read the script provided in English. None of it is really anything that impacts the story, but I don’t feel it’s fair to readers who don’t speak a language to get sloppy with the translation.
So what do you think?
I think it’s a great idea but it sounds like they should have had a native speaker give it a look over. I’m all for these kind of story based educational stunts.
Last weekend during the Stumptown festivities I drunkenly suggested to Brian Micheal Bendis that he write an all American Sign Language issue of New Avengers with Echo. I don’t think I convinced him and honestly I don’t know how it could work.
Comment by Jason McNamara — May 4, 2008 @ 2:59 am
I keep wanting to write about this issue, but I’ve been so crazed the last week. My first reaction is that I loved the issue because, being afraid of how the writing would be without John Rogers, I was pleasantly surprised with Nitz’s representation of Jaime, Traci and Jaime’s family. I also enjoyed Mike Norton’s art. And, I really like the idea of being able to reach out to the Latino community by presenting an issue in Spanish.
That said, I have to agree with Maxo (or Maxo’s wife) about the Spanish being “clunky.” I’m not a native speaker, but I do know enough to know that the Spanish was awkward at times. There were times where I cringed and thought, “I have never, ever heard anybody say that phrase like that.” This is no offense to Jai Nitz’s writing, but I wish that it had been written in Spanish rather than being translated from English. And, Spanish is different from country to country — Mexican Spanish is different than Castillian Spanish than from Argentine Spanish. Slang is all different and it would have been good to see Jaime and his family use common slang and phrases from Mexico.
And, that’s my $.02 for now.
Comment by Loren Javier — May 4, 2008 @ 4:18 am
Needed less (as in zero) meaningless Parasite fighting and more (and as in whole issue) Jaime and Traci at the reunion…
Comment by LurkerWithout — May 4, 2008 @ 6:07 am
I loved Norton’s art, as is usual with his other work, and I’ve been in Jaime’s position before, well more like Traci’s since I have relatives who only speak spanish and my knowledge of the language decreases with each year. The reunion scenes were easy to follow, but the superhero bits were a lot harder.
I can imagine that reading spanish written by someone non-fluent is about as painful to some as reading urban slang written by John Q Suburbanite is to me.
Comment by Bishop — May 4, 2008 @ 9:00 am
I loved it, and it gave my old High School Spanish a bit of a workout. Did anyone notice at the end, that Mr. Nitz gives a special thanks to Sergio Aragones for keeping it “verdadero”? I thought that was neat.
Comment by Sallyp — May 4, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Sergio Aragones checked the Spanish, but he’s a Castillian Spanish speaker, and not a Mexican-American Spanish speaker.
My Spanish is lousy, but I found the Spanish sections cringe-worthy.
Comment by Old Timey Usenet Hack — May 4, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
(Edit: turns out that Sergio moved to Mexico as a kid. Go figure.)
Comment by Old Timey Usenet Hack — May 4, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
I thought it was the first ever comic that bordered on racism. DC: Now forcing its readers to read Spanish.
And for the matter - point me in the direction of one immigrant kid who has 3 quid fifty, to spend on a comic book.
Comment by Dave — May 4, 2008 @ 5:35 pm
“Forcing” readers to read Spanish is “racist”? Do you have brain damage?
Comment by Ed — May 4, 2008 @ 7:58 pm
>”I thought it was the first ever comic that bordered on racism. DC: Now forcing its readers to read Spanish.
And for the matter - point me in the direction of one immigrant kid who has 3 quid fifty, to spend on a comic book.”
Wow, and you’re the one throwing racism accusations around?
You’re not forced to read Spanish. Don’t buy the issue if you don’t like it. Also, god forbid that a comic, starring a Mexican American character, has a language other than English in it!
Comment by evisruc — May 5, 2008 @ 3:48 am
Fine, Fine - DC is now forcing its readers to speak Mexican - make up your minds.
You know, we have this exact same problem in our country - a flood of immigrants coming over, refusing to speak English, trying to force us to learn their language. It’s ridiculous. I can’t wait to see the sales figures on this one - because obviously its going to outsell New Avengers, right???
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 6:03 am
Obviously Dave didn’t get the memo.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 7:56 am
Obviously you’re ok with your kids being forced to speak a foreign language to read a comic book aimed at, you know, kids
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 8:01 am
Something interesting I learned last month—
Which country in the world has the largest English speaking population?
China.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 8:10 am
Wow - don’t mention China, you’ll set off that idiot who starts ranting about Tibet. And hey, do you know whats great about Chinese people? A great many Chinese students come over to my country, and they learn MY LANGUAGE. They have their own culture, and their own little Chinatown, and Chinese Rshops and so on, but, at the end of the day, they say “Hello”. It goes a long way towards helping people intergrate.
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 8:15 am
Dave,
You’re really coming off here as a bigot. Is that how you want your children to think of you?
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 8:16 am
Why am I a bigot? Because I want foreign people coming to an English speaking country to learn, I don’t know, ENGLISH???? I assume in your perfect world, everyone will speak Mexican and we’ll all be happy when illegal immigration causes the economy to collapse. Now, generally, when I go on holiday, I’ve only really vacationed in places that speak English (USA, and Australia) - but, if I go to a foreign country, I use THEIR language. Now, there’s a cultural thing - in Amsterdam, for instance, I was with a Dutch family member, and everyone spoke pretty good English. In France, however, everyone assumes you speak French, and, if you don’t - tough titties.
I digress, however. There is a larger issue here - DC are saying “illegal immigration is ok”, “lack of community intergration is ok”. This book could have been used to examine these issues - but obviously the creators have their heads in the sand.
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 8:33 am
You are really sick, Dave. I feel sorry for you.
It’s only one comic out of well over 300 that was published last month. Get over it.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 8:40 am
And obviously, the legions of illegal immigrant kids who’ve finally been waiting for a Mexican language comic will rush out in their droves to buy it. The reality is, this book is circling the drain in terms of cancellation, and a stupid stunt like this will only push it nearer. If DC really wanted to do something like this, they could have printed it as a special, and published the correct language version aswell.
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 8:46 am
And they should have printed it as a Special Education Edition especially for you.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 8:57 am
Acknowledging other languages exist = DC is being racist.
Recent immigrants speaking Spanish among each other = DC is anti-community integration.
Guys, don’t bother. Dave is a bastion of well-reasoned insight, and you will not breach his fortress walls of logic.
Incidentally, did I mention today is opposite day?
Comment by Ken Lowery — May 5, 2008 @ 9:24 am
Dave is a twit.
By the way, Dave, Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 9:40 am
Guys, discussion is okay, but I have to ask that everyone refrain from name-calling or personal attacks in the thread.
Thanks.
Comment by Melissa Krause — May 5, 2008 @ 10:12 am
>>And they should have printed it as a Special Education Edition especially for you.
They don’t have to. I speak decent enough French as a second language anyway.
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 11:42 am
Which country in the world has the largest English speaking population? China.
That’s really cool. Where’d you learn that?
Comment by Steven — May 5, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
Actually, due to the sheer size of the Chinatowns in most major population centers, a lot of Chinese immigrants don’t bother to learn English now. They don’t need it to get by, since most official documents are required to have a Chinese translation. So they make their kids learn English, and then always speak Cantonese or Mandarin at home.
Comment by Beppo the Super-Chimp — May 5, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
I’d like to just say that Dave doesn’t speak for all Daves. As a Dave, I don’t think that DC is trying to say “illegal immigration is OK” with this comic and don’t see this as a move on their part to force kids to read “Mexican.” I wasn’t even aware that Mexican was a language, but clearly some Daves are more enlightened than others.
Comment by Dave Campbell — May 5, 2008 @ 3:25 pm
China is requiring all of its students to learn English. That is why they have the largest number of English speaking citizens.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
C’mon, Dave, you can say it here. Nobody will see. You know you desperately want to say it, so go right ahead. Say it. Okay, maybe if I help you along, then you can do it. Repeat after me:
“Some of my best friends are Mexican.”
We all know you can do it. We have confidence you can get the words out. Go ahead. Give it a try. You’ll feel so much better after you do.
Comment by Alan Coil — May 5, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
Some of my best friends are legal, immigrant coworkers of mine who have made an effort to learn my language to communicate with me.
Comment by Dave — May 5, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
So, your thoughts on Telemundo?
Comment by Evan Waters — May 5, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
1) Mexican is not a language. The language is called Spanish.
2) Saying someone speaks “good English” is incredibly ironic.
3) Anyone who thinks this is the first comic to border on racism CLEARLY has never read a single comic book in his life, as there have been HUNDREDS of comics bordering on racism in the psat, if not thousands. Pretty much any portraysl of American Indians, African-Americans, Japanese or any other non-White-Anglo-Saxon ethnicity published before the ’90s did far more than border.
4) Having ONE comic out of thousands published in Spanish is so far from being racist that it officially expels the word “racism” from the English language.
5) Two Star Trek comics, to date, have been published entirely in Klingon. Does that mean Marvel and IDW, respectively, are pushing a pro-Klingon agenda, and that non-Klingon children are in danger of being forced to learn Klingon? Or is the real problem that no Klingon immignrant kid has three Klingon quid fifty to spend on comic books?
6) Apparently, Dave’s last name is “Duke.”
Comment by Rich Handley — May 5, 2008 @ 8:51 pm
Why are you guys even engaging with Dave? He’s pretty clearly a troll who is just looking to get a rise out of people.
Comment by david brothers — May 6, 2008 @ 12:11 am
5) Two Star Trek comics, to date, have been published entirely in Klingon. Does that mean Marvel and IDW, respectively, are pushing a pro-Klingon agenda, and that non-Klingon children are in danger of being forced to learn Klingon? Or is the real problem that no Klingon immignrant kid has three Klingon quid fifty to spend on comic books?
>>> Don’t be stupid. Massive illegal Klingon immigration isn’t a threat to the American economy.
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 12:53 am
Hi, John Rogers, previous writer of BLUE BEETLE here.
Just to point out — this commenter’s problem is even more insane than first appears, because the issue in question ACTUALLY OCCURS IN MEXICO, where our born-in-the-USA teen superhero who is the son of two legal immigrants — one of whom is written to have served his country in the 101st Airborne — has gone to visit his grandmother.
This guy and people like him are one of the reasons comics are dying.
Comment by John Rogers — May 6, 2008 @ 1:35 am
And yet, I spend nearly fifty dollars a week on comics and trades. Marvel comics, I should point out, where they just released a seperate, spanish language edition of the first few Ultimate Spider-Man trades. Thats how you access a wider community, Johnny, not by forcing the issue on right thinking people
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 5:51 am
Why are you guys even engaging with Dave? He’s pretty clearly a troll who is just looking to get a rise out of people.
>>The name calling is pretty rude and unfair, and I won’t stoop to your level. For someone banging on about free speech and DC’s “right” to force this issue on people, you’d do well to keep that in mind
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 6:07 am
Apparently, Dave doesn’t believe the word “stupid” is an insult. That mindset explains his original post–he doesn’t understand racism any more than he understands stupidity.
Comment by Rich Handley — May 6, 2008 @ 7:34 am
Oh Dave, mate, what are you doing?
You’re really not making us Brits look particularly good here.
You stated that when you go to a foreign country you’d speak their language, and then immediately followed it up by saying you spoke English in Holland? Way to show the example.
While we do have some immigrants over here who don’t learn the language, as they rarely go out of their own communities, the vast majority speak at least some English. Are we to ban them from speaking their native language amongst themselves?
I’m not a fan of uncontrolled immigration, but I still believe immigration in general is a positive thing, you only need to look at the Afro-Caribbean immigrations in the sixties and seventies to show how positively that affected the UK, both economically and culturally.
There are huge swathes of Spanish-speakers in the US, yes, many illegally, but a vast majority perfectly legally, so why shouldn’t one comic book out of thousands in a year be mainly in Spanish?
It did have a translation in the back, y’know?
I’m kinda guessing you voted BNP last week…
Comment by Chris Midweeker — May 6, 2008 @ 7:46 am
Loren: “This is no offense to Jai Nitz’s writing, but I wish that it had been written in Spanish rather than being translated from English. And, Spanish is different from country to country — Mexican Spanish is different than Castillian Spanish than from Argentine Spanish. Slang is all different and it would have been good to see Jaime and his family use common slang and phrases from Mexico.”
Yus. Just yus. That’s EXACTLY how I feel about this issue too and what I wish they did with it
My sister’s fluent in Spanish and is rly annoyed about the translation also :\
Comment by Ami Angelwings — May 6, 2008 @ 8:06 am
>>> Don’t be stupid. Massive illegal Klingon immigration isn’t a threat to the American economy.
It’s this kind of complacency that allows Klingons to abuse our welfare systems and steal our jobs.
Comment by Andy G — May 6, 2008 @ 8:30 am
Hey, Dave. This is an American message board. Write in American, and drop the British stuff like “quid” and “go on holiday”.
;)
I liked the opportunity to practice my Spanish reading skills, which are rather rusty, I’m afraid. But I did find it odd that they turned to a Spaniard* to check the translation… which is a bit like asking Dave to check the dialog in a scene set in Kansas or LA.
*I’m curious: does Sergio speak Castellano or Aragones?
Comment by Todd VerBeek — May 6, 2008 @ 8:55 am
Oh Dave, mate, what are you doing?
You’re really not making us Brits look particularly good here.
You stated that when you go to a foreign country you’d speak their language, and then immediately followed it up by saying you spoke English in Holland? Way to show the example.
While we do have some immigrants over here who don’t learn the language, as they rarely go out of their own communities, the vast majority speak at least some English. Are we to ban them from speaking their native language amongst themselves?
I’m not a fan of uncontrolled immigration, but I still believe immigration in general is a positive thing, you only need to look at the Afro-Caribbean immigrations in the sixties and seventies to show how positively that affected the UK, both economically and culturally.
There are huge swathes of Spanish-speakers in the US, yes, many illegally, but a vast majority perfectly legally, so why shouldn’t one comic book out of thousands in a year be mainly in Spanish?
It did have a translation in the back, y’know?
I’m kinda guessing you voted BNP last week…
>>>> I’m Irish
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 9:58 am
“correct language version”?
“right thinking people”
This guy is sad and funny at the same time.
Oh, and a racist.
Comment by Mike Thompson — May 6, 2008 @ 11:36 am
*I’m curious: does Sergio speak Castellano or Aragones
Not one hundred percent sure, but Sergio Aragones grew up in Mexico, even if he was born in Spain, so he does know the Mexican dialect.
Comment by Steven — May 6, 2008 @ 11:44 am
Wow. I thought that most comic book readers were bastions of fair-mindedness and liberalism.
Dave, you make me sad. I learned about tolerance and acceptance through my reading of comic books, especially the X-Men, where the characters could be found to speak German and Russian at times. I think it was a brilliant move for DC to promote this book since there are few TRULY ethnic superheroes.
Not only does this comic portray Americans of Mexican origin with respect and relative dignity, but they also GET THE LANGUAGE RIGHT. That says a lot.
In any case, if this really offends you, Dave, you have a choice to vote with your dollars. Don’t buy Blue Beetle, and if you feel strongly enough, stop buying comics. I’m sure that DC will miss your $3.50.
Comment by Keith — May 6, 2008 @ 12:53 pm
Wow. I thought that most comic book readers were bastions of fair-mindedness and liberalism.
Dave, you make me sad. I learned about tolerance and acceptance through my reading of comic books, especially the X-Men, where the characters could be found to speak German and Russian at times. I think it was a brilliant move for DC to promote this book since there are few TRULY ethnic superheroes.
Not only does this comic portray Americans of Mexican origin with respect and relative dignity, but they also GET THE LANGUAGE RIGHT. That says a lot.
In any case, if this really offends you, Dave, you have a choice to vote with your dollars. Don’t buy Blue Beetle, and if you feel strongly enough, stop buying comics. I’m sure that DC will miss your $3.50.
Comment by Keith — May 6, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Are we actually sure that massive Klingon immigration isn’t a threat to the US economy? I mean, really, really sure?
Comment by Evan Waters — May 6, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
This is the latest in a long line of steps DC have devised to keep my cash in my pocket. The ONLY, Only thing positive I can think of is that this pathetic excuse of a book can’t get any worse.
–Sess new writer is Will Pfiefer. Oh look. You hit the bottom of the well, and kept digging. I think I’ll buy two copies of Amazing Spider-Man when I’m in my store this week. Or another Wolverine comic. Something I know won’t get cancelled.
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
“Sess new writer is Will Pfiefer. Oh look. You hit the bottom of the well, and kept digging. I think I’ll buy two copies of Amazing Spider-Man when I’m in my store this week. Or another Wolverine comic. Something I know won’t get cancelled.”
People like this are almost the DEFINITION of why comics are dying.
Comment by Dane — May 6, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
Let’s review the facts:
1) Anglo Dave hates Mexicans.
2) Anglo Dave thinks that Blue Beetle is a pathetic series.
3) He buys extra copies of certain books because he knows they won’t be cancelled.
So it’s a pretty safe bet that Anglo Dave is either a) not reading Blue Beetle, or b) a nutcase buying a book he hates full of people he hates. In either case, DC has no reason to give a damn what Anglo Dave thinks, because he’s obviously either ignorant of the series, or just plain ignorant in general. Among other things.
Comment by Todd VerBeek — May 6, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
DC … coercion … too … strong …
Carumba! Ai Papi! No es Bueno!
Comment by Eric Grant — May 6, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
1) Anglo Dave hates Mexicans.
2) Anglo Dave thinks that Blue Beetle is a pathetic series.
3) He buys extra copies of certain books because he knows they won’t be cancelled.
1. I hate illegal immigration.
2. I originally passed on Blue Beetle because it was written by Keith Giffen - a writer who once told artists who miss deadlines to “die in a fire”. So I pass on his stuff.Later, once Giffen had gone off to offend someone else, My store was having a sale, and being a fan of Rafael’s art, I picked up a few copies, thinking that if they were the childish nonsense I expected it to be (as per usual with DC/AOL Comics), I could turf them onto my nephew and never think about them again. And I read them.
Here’s the thing. Ted Kord, is a truly great character. And the stories, and creators who are being wasted by DC who have decided no one’s ever going to read a Ted Kord series. I would. Instead, he got killed. And, instead of say, the Question, where there was a link, albeit a tenuous once, between Vic Sage and the idiot girl - Dan Garrett’s scarab, literally falls from the sky and lands on some immigrant kids head. Thats the legacy of the Blue Beetle?? Hero-Hero-Border Jumper? So I returned the issues to the store, got my fully deserved miniscule store credit and bought an issue of Wolverine Origins.
There is no reason for Jamie Reyes to be Blue Beetle. DC have no right to foist a foreign language comic book on a predominantly English speaking public. Thats racist.
You might not like my political opinions - but here’s a fact - this book is circling the drain. And the next writer has already managed to bludgeon Catwoman…friggin’ CATWOMAN into cancellation. So enjoy it while it lasts. And meanwhile - I might pick up a copy of the Spanish Language Ultimate Spider-Man trade, published seperatley from the English Language version, and send it as a gift to my second cousin, who lives in Spain. Thats sharing. Thats opening a new audience to comics. Blue Beetle is not.
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 5:06 pm
“Dan Garrett’s scarab, literally falls from the sky and lands on some immigrant kids head. Thats the legacy of the Blue Beetle?? Hero-Hero-Border Jumper?”
Although I’m sure I’ll later wonder why I bothered, I’ll point out that Jaime Reyes is an American, not “some immigrant kid,” or (sigh) a “border jumper.”
Comment by Kevin Melrose — May 6, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Doesn’t matter. Read the most recent solicitations (where the book is being written by Matt Sturges, so Pfeifer is possibly more moronic than I thought to get turfed that quick) - the book is dealing with illegal immigration. And if you think that belongs in a children’s comic book - you’re clearly functionally retarded, or insanely liberal. You teach kids that illegal immigration is wrong - you dont glamourize it.
Again, I apologize for railroading this discussion with my political opinions, but hey, thats the free speech you’re so eager to defend. You can speak up for all the border jumpers you want, and I’ll speak for the millions losing their jobs to immigrants.
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
“Doesn’t matter.”
Actually, yes it does. If you’re going to try and claim that there’s some sort of deliberate politically-backed theme in the book, then you better friggin’ make sure you have your facts straight about the book that you’re attempting to put down.
Jaime Reyes is the son of legal immigrants to the US, whose primary language isn’t English. The story doesn’t take place in the US, it takes place where Spanish is the primary spoken language. So for ONE FRIGGIN’ ISSUE, the writers decided to try something new.
If anyone should have the NOT WELCOME sign thrown at them in this country, it’s you.
Comment by cjk — May 6, 2008 @ 6:07 pm
I’ve visited America several times - twice in the last year, actually. Next year, I even hope to visit Texas. I love America - but when its time for me to go home, I go.
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
Millions of God-fearing, English-speaking white folk are out of work because Jaime Reyes found the Blue Beetle scarab!
Say no to scarab labor!
Comment by Kevin Melrose — May 6, 2008 @ 6:16 pm
I’d have cared even less if the scarab had landed on some other white guy. My inital issue with the entire concept of the book was the sheer, inherent awfulness of the scarb simply falling from the sky and landing on some kid’s head. Again - at least when they killed Vic Sage - he was connected to Renee. The Atom has tried, but failed, to build on a connection between Ray Palmer and whatever the Asian guy’s name is. But respecting Ted Kord? Yeah, seems out of reach of Dan DiDio’s fat hands
Comment by Dave — May 6, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Well, thank god they put this Spanish issue in a book you’re not reading anyway, huh? Otherwise you might be angry.
Comment by Rob S. — May 6, 2008 @ 8:08 pm
“DC have no right to foist a foreign language comic book on a predominantly English speaking public. Thats racist.”
Rubbish. They have every right–it’s their character. And they’re not “foisting” a foreign-language comic on anyone, Adolf. There’s a HUGE difference between racism and cultural tolerance. The latter is what DC has written. The former is what you have written.
Comment by Rich Handley — May 6, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
Dave regurgitated:
“And if you think that belongs in a children’s comic book - you’re clearly functionally retarded,”
Aren’t you the guy who said there’s no reason to insult anyone? So you’re not just a racist, you’re also a hypocrite–got it. Look, you have every right to voice your opinions, Nazi-esque though they may be, and I would vehemently defend your right to free speech. But know this: Your words are only making YOU look bad–not DC, and not the writer of Blue Beetle. Comments like the one above, as well as your other comment about no other comic ever bordering on racism, make you look embarrassingly ignorant of the comics world, and your racist, insensitive and hategul comments speak for themselves. But hey, that’s your choice–it’s a free country…even for racist hypocrites who have no clue what they’re talking about.
Comment by Bob T. — May 6, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
“I’ve visited America several times - twice in the last year, actually. Next year, I even hope to visit Texas. I love America - but when its time for me to go home, I go.”
And we’re all very happy when you leave. Oh, and you’ll love Texas–it’s filled with racists looking to pin the evils of the world on illegal immigration instead of looking at the real problems of world.
Comment by Bob T. — May 6, 2008 @ 8:42 pm
Anglo Dave, where - aside from your knee-jerk racist assumptions - do you get the notion that Jaime is an illegal immigrant? He was raised in Texas, and and his family there all know English (just like you demand), and use it. When he goes to Mexico to visit his extended family who live there, he speaks Spanish. Do you have a legitimate complaint, or are you just venting because… you’re a nationalist bigot who hates immigrants?
Comment by Todd VerBeek — May 6, 2008 @ 10:07 pm
All right, I think this has pretty much run its course.
Comment by Kevin Melrose — May 6, 2008 @ 10:28 pm