A Sense of Doubt blog post #2996 - Ask Me About My %$^$##@ Feminist Agenda
This post was supposed to just be a share of the Wonder Woman image above.
Opinion Online bullying may have cost the comic-book industry its next great female voice
By David Betancourthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/10/27/online-bullying-may-have-cost-the-comic-book-industry-its-next-great-female-voice/
On Wednesday, Cain removed herself from Twitter, citing the reaction to the cover of her final issue of “Mockingbird,” a Marvel Comics series that represented her first foray into writing superheroes at a mainstream comic-book publisher.
The cover, illustrated by Joelle Jones and featuring series star Barbara “Bobbie” Morse, a.k.a. Mockingbird, became the target of online trolls who didn’t like the shirt Mockingbird was wearing, which read, “Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda.”
As soon as the cover hit, Cain began receiving a slew of online harassment.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many of these “gentlemen” who thought they were big macho studs by tweeting their displeasure of the f-word even knew this series existed. Unfortunately, the very well-written “Mockingbird” has been cancelled by Marvel. (The company rolls out new series multiple times a year, and if the sales aren’t there, they usually move on. It’s a good way to see what works and what doesn’t, but at times, great series such as “Mockingbird” are casualties.) The character was most recently portrayed by actress Adrianne Palicki on ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” and was known for fighting alongside Avenger archer Hawkeye in the ’80s. I roam the comic book-loving section of Twitter daily, and up until Wednesday’s release of “Mockingbird” No. 8, I wasn’t seeing tweets to “make comics great again” by getting the book off of shelves.
Certain comics aren’t for certain folks. If you don’t like a comic, or what it represents, or the artwork, or just aren’t a fan of the character featured, you’re more than welcome to not buy it. That doesn’t give you the right to harass an author online to the point that they feel it’s necessary to delete their social-media account because of a new lack of faith in humanity.
The comic-book industry as a whole isn’t completely innocent, either. For a very long time, comic books only catered to and were created by men — mostly middle-aged and white — who gave us tales of female heroines wearing next to nothing with certain exaggerated body parts. To this day, there are artists that remain famous not because of their visual storytelling, but because of their ability to draw sexy women.
There has been change since those “Mad Men” days of comics in the form of more diverse hires. Twitter, for all its faults, has also helped give a voice to women and fans of color, and the industry has responded.
But the trolls are still out there, and apparently an empowering book about a confident female superhero that does things on her own terms — who isn’t Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel — is just too much to bear.
Many within the comic-book industry came to the defense of Cain, including Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, as well as writers Brian Michael Bendis and Gail Simone.
If all those offended by Cain’s “Mockingbird” series would have taken time to actually read the comic instead of just reacting to the cover, they would have found a series that was sexy, packed superhero punch, was beautifully drawn (seven issues were by artist Kate Niemczyk, and one issue by Ibrahim Moustafa), and humorous (at one point, Mockingbird claims to be allergic to Axe body spray, and another story finds her awaiting a S.H.I.E.L.D. physical, sitting near Tony Stark, who is reading a pamphlet entitled “Gonorrhea? Don’t panic!”).
The biggest tragedy in this is that comic books may have lost someone who could have given a lot more. Many will now flock to “Mockingbird” because of the headlines it has made after this Twitter scuffle, read it, and wonder what Cain could have done as the voice behind one of their other favorite female superheroes. We may never know, as it’s hard to see why someone would once again subject themselves to a readership that treats them poorly.
Cain is an established author; she can take her talents to other mediums. Many will hope she returns to comics, but can you blame her if she doesn’t?
Diversity in comics remains an ongoing fight. Battles have been won, but the war will rage on until some folks decide to grow up.
Read more:
https://650centplague.wordpress.com/2016/11/26/what-about-that-feminist-agenda-review-of-mockingbird-8/
The 650-Cent Plague
comics & scholarship
What about that feminist agenda? Review of Mockingbird #8
Posted: November 26, 2016 Filed under: review | Tags: Chelsea Cain, comics, feminism, Kate Niemczyk, Marvel, Mockingbird, superheroes, US Leave a comment
Mockingbird #8
Language: English
Authors: Chelsea Cain (writer), Kate Niemczyk (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (colourist)
Publisher: Marvel
Publication Date: October 2016
Pages: 20
Price: $ 3.99
Website: http://marvel.com/comics/series/21245/mockingbird_2016_-_present
I don’t usually review single comic book issues, but Mockingbird #8 merits an exception for two reasons:
- This eighth issue is already the last one of this series, and when it came out, writer Chelsea Cain tweeted: “Please buy Mockingbird #8 this Wed. Send a message to @marvel that there’s room in comics for super hero stories about grown-up women.”
Furthermore, there was some scandal about Cain being harassed on twitter, leading to more pleas for solidarity with Cain. So far, this campaign hasn’t had any effect on the sales of Mockingbird #8, but sales figures are based on retailers’ purchase decisions made months ago, so who knows, maybe this solidarity campaign will make an impact after all. Plus, many people seem to buy the first trade paperback instead. - And then there’s the cover. Comic book covers are always made to be eye-catchers, but this one stands out as one of the most iconic covers of at least this year. In contrast to many other covers, it even reflects the contents of the comic, as Mockingbird is shown wearing this t-shirt on 5 panels on the penultimate page.
“ASK ME ABOUT MY FEMINIST AGENDA”? That’s just what we’re going to do now: does Bobbi Morse a.k.a. Mockingbird have a feminist agenda? The short answer is, there would be no reason to wear that t-shirt if she didn’t. For the long answer, there are four key scenes with regard to feminism that merit a closer look:
- p. 5: “I’m the law on this boat, Slade”, Mockingbird says to the Phantom Rider when he comes to haunt her on a boat cruise. Superheroes often take the law into their own hands and act as ad hoc commanders of civilian groups (as in this case, the cruise passengers). Here, a woman assumes leadership over a group of both women and men. The fundamental possibility to do so is a classic feminist claim. On the other hand, this gender perspective is not made explicit.
- p. 16: “He divorced me because I cheated on him. He told himself that you had drugged me, taken advantage of me, but he never truly believed it. It’s too ridiculous. He knows that I’ve always made my own decisions. And that I’ll live with the consequences.” Divorce is a traditional feminist device for sexual self-determination, but here it’s Bobbi’s husband who divorced her, not the other way round. However, there is also a discussion (at least from what I gather online – not sure about serious feminist theory) whether cheating can be considered a feminist practice to achieve sexual self-determination. In this case, though, it looks as if Mockingbird regrets her extramarital affair. (For more information on this piece of backstory, see e.g. this review on xmenxpert.)
- p. 19: “This doesn’t count as a rescue”, Bobbi says to Hunter when he comes in a helicopter to rescue her from some beach to which she was swept after she had gone overboard the cruise ship. What could have easily turned into a ‘damsel in distress’ scene is put into perspective by Bobbi’s lines of dialogue and the beach resort setting: she clearly didn’t suffer hardship alone on that beach. Then again, the action in this scene remains the same: when the man comes to take her away from the lonely island / family resort, she lets him. Or is this just an instance of the controversial opinion that feminism and male ‘chivalry’ are reconcilable?
- p. 20: “We’re here because I need a foot rub.” The comic ends with a scene that Chelsea Cain describes in the epilogue as an “alpine threesome”. A male-male-female threesome in which the woman is clearly dominant? That surely is a feminist sexual practice if there ever was one.
In that same epilogue text, Cain describes Bobbi as “separate from the male gaze, but still not afraid to bask in it” – and there is indeed some basking going on in this comic, though not as much as in others. All things considered, while Bobbi may not have an explicit, discernible feminist agenda in Mockingbird #8, there are much more subtle and not-so-subtle feminist undertones in this comic than in most other mainstream superhero comics.
That alone makes Mockingbird #8 an outstanding comic book, but it’s also beautifully drawn (and coloured), has some genuinely funny moments, and many fresh and wacky ideas. Ultimately Mockingbird proved too over-the-top for either the readers or the editorial management of Marvel, but I hope this won’t be the last we get to see of Cain and Niemczyk.
No rating today because the reviewed item is so short, but here are two other reviews I found interesting: Major Spoilers Podcast #702 and The Marvel Report.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2305.02 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2860 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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