Reflection on X-Men the motion picture

While looking forward to what is coming in the world of comic is a big part of San Diego, it is also a time to reflect back on where comics have been best exemplified by Eisners Awards. It is in this same spirit that I want to take a look back and examine a certain event that had a monumental effect on the whole of comics, that while acknowledged as a major event still not viewed as shift in both the industry and community. I am referring to the X-Men motion picture which was released just over ten years ago. The major change brought upon X-Men was that comics more or less stopped being about publishing stories and moved towards becoming intellectual property farms. How this has effected comics is staggering so much that there was no time to react to the change causing us just to accept this new paradigm.

First I would address the nature of creator-owned titles because it is easiest to see the effects here. Basically almost no creator-owned title outside the edges of the indie book scene are created now without some expectation of a multimedia being possible. I admit this may be hyperbole but you would hard pressed to find a significant number of titles that prove otherwise. At the base of this is that story is no longer the chief concern, which contrasts with past where people ventured out to do this these books because they had a story they wanted to tell but couldn't through any of the major publishers. Now we have screen-writers churning out revamped failed pitches in comic form so they take advantage of this new dynamic. Entire imprints and publishers overtly claiming their sole intent for their books are to turn them into multimedia projects. Actors lending their name and likeness to comics which are little more than thinly disguised pitches. But at least here there are still new ideas and concepts being presented.

Perhaps one of the more subtle changes that came about is the dearth of new characters and concepts in the major publishers. The editorial heads try to pass it off as simply the fans not wanting new characters, which is just short of an outright lie. While it is true fans are not inclined to all new characters, if they are well written and foster a sense of connection they can succeed just look at Marvel's Runaways. The issue here, harking back to my first point, most creators don't want to give away a possible character that could makes them a sizable amount of money if optioned. This also leads into quagmire that is the royalties and creator rights conflicts. Still when we get a character through we are usually treated with something wonderful that sadly contrasts with it's surroundings.

In the wake of the X-Men motion two words have become more or less the motto of modern comics, "iconic" and "cinematic". I will address "iconic" first. This attitude basically fosters the idea that at a certain point a character will come to it's apex in terms of image and story, and anything after this point is more or less "damaging" to the character. For example Spider-Man is "iconic" when he is single meaning him being married is actively harming the his basic concept. The best why to put is borrow from an oft-quoted statement by Stan Lee after he learned Marvel surpassed DC in sales, "we no longer need to present change just the illusion of change." We can no longer have certain characters move beyond certain fixed points, and when they do they need to be reset. There is way around this though, you may not be able to change the character their environment is another matter. This points leads into the notion of "cinematic" comics. It use to be, after Marvel revolutionized the landscape of comics, stories were character driven. While the plots usually were gripping and dynamic what carried you through issue to issue was the development of cast of characters. Now with the notion of "iconic" characters a problem arose, it is impossible to change the characters to much less risk "ruining" them added to that a lack of new characters something needed to be done. The answer was to be honest quite sublime.

Since comics had become fodder for the cinema why not just tailor to mimic their new targets. Thus we had a move away from the traditional cartooning influence towards a more "cinematic". Thought balloons were phased out since movie characters don't speak to themselves. The tight depictions of exaggerated actions to give the impression of movement from panel to panel replaced with sweeping views filled static figures mimicking a still from a film. Those coupled with a slowed progression of the narrative to let the characters and the tension settle between the dramatic scenes, decompress if you will. With these base changes to structure of comics an answer was found to offset the issue of "iconic" characters, the event book. Basically the comic version of summer blockbuster, which was now seen as the height of what a comic could become.

Now while my views on these changes are negative to certain extent, it does mean they are necessarily bad for the comics. I did this bring attention to this important event in comic's history and now that we are ten years we can start to examine it and it's outcomes. From this discussion I hope that we can identify and address the genuine issues. So that comics can continue for a long time to come and after a future San Diego Comic Con we can look back and reflect on that. Thank you for your time.

Society

Close to where I live a major route is Interstate 75 or simply I-75. To be honest it is one of the most wonderful drives I can think of, not due to the scenery rather for the truth it reveals about. Florida has one of the most distorted views in the general conscious. If pressed everyone will say that Florida is a wondrous landscape of beaches and theme parks, a destination for young and old alike. The think is that I-75 shows you the truth, it is a landscape of thick undergrowth, gnarled trees, and dank swamps. But no one sane would want to purposely visit let alone move to such a locale. As a result the idle rich set about tricking American into belief that Florida was the Garden of Eden for the new world. To be fair it has been met with success, one just has to look towards Cinderella’s castle for proof of that. But this lie has presented a problem because it was not just one lie rather an untold amount cut from the same cloth. In the haste to build these new Edens those brilliant few holding the purse strings began to tailor them to the multitude. While one would offer an Imperial air their neighbor would counter with a Venetian atmosphere. This absurd architectural arms race has lead to perhaps a fascinating snapshot of the current American psyche. This seemingly random hodgepodge of tastes and desire has left us with a severely schizophrenic society.

To take this to another level let us compare these developments to Florida’s most famous location: the Walt Disney World Resort. Although called a theme park by many this is actual not true in the slightest due to the fact the there is no constant theme between any one park much less the entire resort. The same can be said for Disneyland. Now this isn’t a damning statement against the parks at all, it is merely a statement of fact. I bring this up since Disney World is a great symbol of Florida and also the general American psyche. This mixture of themes, whose solely commonality is that fact Disney owns them, does not seem to us since we forget to look at the whole anymore. The societal trend is one of instant gratification. Be it In regards to eating, sexual stimulation, entertainment, or even housing. Because there is another aspect that is packaged with these modern Edens: community.

To be exact forced community. Now this is quite jarring when you put it bluntly like that but that is what is being done. A byproduct of the making these niche Edens is that you get a large congregation of people with similar tastes, attitudes, and social-economic status. Follow this up with the standard add-ons of home owners association with dues, member only facilities, and a gate, you are basically forced into interaction with everyone else. Again not a slight, this also happens in classrooms, prisons, and Congress. But also due to this it restricts the view of the people to just their immediate area which disconnects them from what is happening right next to them. Which may not seem like much but the same is happening there and next to them as well. This just continues right down the line. Now you may just be saying well Florida has always been fucked why else build on hurricane ravaged swampland, which I will give, but the issue here is that Florida did not build itself the rest of America did. Just look at the rest of America and the various neighborhoods found in the cities, there is not continuity either. People have clustered themselves there too. This same thing happens even in our great halls of government with the political parties and coalitions. The old trite notion of America as a melting pot is a bit lofty. Rather we are more like a buffet and any mixing that happens is due to someone tipping their plate.

Now it is due to this isolationist attitude that we find ourselves in a fractured society, but there is another element that forces it into the madness. Remember those brilliant few that I mentioned earlier that designed all of these to fit a certain market, why did they do it? The whole venture was done to exploit that market for profit, which is more or else the American way. The problem for them is eventually you can not exploit your market anymore so you are left with the choice of abandoning it all or simply to retool for a different market. This retooling is what drives our society off kilter. Take for example a local restaurant, The Olde World Restaurant and Lounge. At one point it had a medieval English theme going, the Robin Hood mythos mainly, which was later partly retooled with a general coastal theme and the less said about the names of the special the better. To top this all off at the entrance of parking lot is a Statue of Liberty statue with a giant light in place of the torch. Just as Lady Liberty once welcomed the huddled masses she now greets the befuddled ones.

Superhero Political Theory - Punisher Politics

One of more favorite past times is immersing myself in various forms of media... I have hobbies that are geeky in nature, to say it without sounding like a total jackass. My chief passion has to be American comic book, in particular Marvel Superheroes. In part due to how Jack Kirby helped shape the tone of the universe. For Kirby the superhero was the myth for the modern age, but instead of trying to explain the natural world they examine human nature. This aspect of superheroes is usually overlooked due in part to combination of colorful costumes, gravity defying mammary glands, and good ole' page filling fights. But even with all these excesses the essence of humanity that the superheroes are culled from remain. In their own way one can find the issues that have been with humanity since the time of Ancient Greeks. My personal favorite among these is politics. In part it is due to the fact I see the world in a political light, with notions of advantage, influence, and secrecy in the forefront. This rather limiting view has led me to develop an aversion to the political system. I will admit that I am probably mistake in evaluation, but as I can see nothing else I am left to the conclusions I have drawn. Now you most surely be wondering how all this connects since it certainly seems disjointed, to be fair it is. But due to my rather eschewed vision I see it all flowing into one another. This has led me to develop political theory based off of superheroes. While I make no claim that these are in any way reasonable or even well formed, I find them interesting and amusement is a worthy goal.

The theory: Punisher Politics.
Just for the sake of clarity I think a little background on the Punisher is needed. The Punisher is one Frank Castle whose family was killed by the mob, leaving Castle alone and angry. He turned his angry outward becoming an one man army against crime, using lethal as needed. A key aspect to his characterization is his intense focus and drive concerning his personal crusade. Castle has shunned all other aspects of life to further his goal, any and all effort he exerts is directed to this end as well. Castle is in some twisted way a being of purity.

While that may seem an odd piece of inspiration for a political theory, but can we be honest and admit that the political sphere is corrupt. And it is this for that reason this is a perfect fit for politics. The basic form of this is an individual with minimal personal ties and interests. From here they concern themselves solely with their political agenda. The basic tactic would be to identify the various elected officials that are in opposition to your piece of legislation and then destroy them. This can be done by uncovering their various indiscretions and watch as the public vilifies them. Of course if they do not have any major indiscretions you could always manufacture one. An example would be to donate money to them from 501which you then fabricate to make it seem like it is has connections to some hate group. This is nature of Punisher Politics, your goal is all that matters and compromise means defeat. This is why it is only possible with disconnected individuals, so that there is no leverage to put against them. You use vice (ambition included) against your enemy and you certainly do not want it to be turned on yourself. But the ultimate reason for these attacks is so you are eventually feared enough that officials will go along with your agenda.

The unique attitude of America

The current happenings in Iran are rather interesting to me, and it has nothing to do with all that crap about joy of seeing a nation suddenly bursting with democratic spirit. To be honest these usually never turn out well, either the assembled masses are suppressed or the factions consume each other. But that is neither here nor there. Rather I am amazed by the nature of the assembled masses themselves, their fearless attitudes. They are facing violent suppression by the entity that should be, nominally, protecting them. It is from this that I believe I finally understand something, the key that inspires change in not people but whole societies: fear. Fear is in my view the polar opposite of logic, and as such it one of the two primal aspects of thought. It from fear that all the other emotions spring, that has to do with that fear in the mental expression of the unknown. Since emotional responses are more or less our reactions to an unknown event, an event for which we lack enough knowledge to properly apply logic. And this is what I am seeing in Iran now, the masses are being swept up by this wave of unknown acts by their government. As it stands now this a massive emotional reaction by the masses, as the events begin to settle and information is finally obtained it will be quite fascinating to see how this all progresses.

But getting back to their fearless attitudes. From what I have just said it may seem like I am saying that they are not reacting due to fear. This is not what I mean, rather I am saying they are acting in spite of their fear. The fear is still present or else their would not be such a response by either side. And it is this action in spite of fear that I believe is the greatest aspect for change. It is this same notion for why the the United States is so resistant to meaningful change. We are not a nation that is capable of being fearless anymore, since we have nothing to truly fear despite the various tactics employed to coerce the populace to believe otherwise. Rather we could be said to have an unfearful attitude.

For whom it may concern...

I figure it would be best to start this little exercise with a few basic points. First I have and never will claim to hold any insight on any topic, everything is here is just going to be pointless ramblings about topics I find interesting. I am in no way an authority, not that such ideas will ever be entertained. The purpose of this web log is just so I have a medium so that I can work out ideas, as such I have no concern if anyone else actually ever reads these postings. That does mean I am admitting this is all for the sake of Vaniity. Moving on to the second point I feel I should give a basic rundown of the topic that may appear. They may include but are not limited to comics, cartoons, pornography, Japanese pornography, Japanese comic pornography, Japanese cartoon pornography, weird Japanese comic pornography, weird Japanese cartoon pornography, weird American pornography, politics, the works Spinoza, the works of Baudrillard, and international relations. I stress that some of these may not get covered right away if ever and frankly what ever does show up will depend on what I am actually thinking about. The final point is that there is no real point. I expect nothing from this, as should you.