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Webcomics veteran Michael Poe hospitalized for renal failure

wednesday — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:48:11 -0500

Webcomics veteran Michael Poe hospitalized for renal failure: bigbigtruck: “Now, back to the part...

All right. One more. Because it's time for compare and contrast, five man band style

demiurgent — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:35:32 -0500

A couple of (cool) people have pointed out that TVTropes has the “Five Man Band” page,...

Forging Five-Teams: mixing up the Justice League

demiurgent — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:14:00 -0500

One more post, before I sink back into torpor, because this crossed my radar and it’s...

"Assuming that we’re not just going to go with a bunch of characters that I like — which..."

demiurgent — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:06:00 -0500

“Assuming that we’re not just going to go with a bunch of characters that I like —...

I’m breaking my… well, let’s call it...

demiurgent — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:36:00 -0500

I’m breaking my… well, let’s call it retirement though this isn’t any kind of announcement. It just sounds better to be retired or semi-retired and occasionally pop up than to call the sometimes months between six or seven posts ‘hiatus.’ But I digress.

I’m breaking said retirement because this Something Positive strip highlights something I think the best writers know, but often times the best readers don’t. Kharisma, who’s currently going by ‘Nancy,’ has gone through tremendous character development since her first appearance. In her time of being disinherited, working at soul crushing jobs, becoming a phone sex worker specializing in being an ex-cheerleader being demeaned by the geeks she once demeaned, attempting to marry creepers for their money, being set on fire, attempting to kill horrible people as a part of a game (for their money), being wrongfully convicted of murder, being broken out of prison and ultimately going on the run accompanied by… by… a thing that may or may not be real… Kharisma has developed and grown. She’s gained depth and emotions and empathy. She’s learned many things, not the least of which is how to use Robert’s Rules of Order properly in a sentence.

What she hasn’t done, at her heart, is stop being a completely terrible person. She’s grown enough of a soul to feel badly about it, though she can get used to it.

That’s a good thing. Character evolution doesn’t have to mean evolving to the better. Sometimes, it’s just just a new kind of terrible.

Defining Roleplaying, from Tabletop through Solo 'M'MOs.

demiurgent — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:42:30 -0500

grognardpedant: I am, by nature, a roleplayer. This perhaps isn’t a shock given the existence of...

"This is webcomics — my own entertainment is paramount."

demiurgent — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:37:45 -0500

““This is webcomics — my own entertainment is paramount.”” - John...

On coding, writing, structure and cottage-cheese hating Ninjas

demiurgent — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:48:00 -0400

The start of the school year — or “f’ing September,” as we tend to call it...

Man, it's been a while since I burbled for half of forever about crit theory.

demiurgent — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:09:00 -0400

Sometimes, even at this late date, people ask me why I’m so fast to disregard Authorial Intent...

“Yeah, alcoholism sure is a hoot!”—Crow T....

demiurgent — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:02:39 -0400

“Yeah, alcoholism sure is a hoot!”
—Crow T. Robot,Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Gila Monster

The thing that bugs me is without the drinking? I was actually regaining my appreciation of Hazel. There was poignancy involved, and a sense of growth, however slow. She was still essentially selfish and afraid of anything resembling change, but that was beginning to add to her character arc again.

Plus the fish thing was fun.

But, from zero to Kegstand. The joke’s good, but my interest in Hazel’s continued story took a fast nosedive. Here’s hoping this is just a one-off and not an excuse to have Hazel’s alcohol-fueled hijinks return.

Man, I should just dedicate this thing to Girls with Slingshots and be done with it.

I would like to decry Hazel for her dismissive attitude at the...

demiurgent — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 10:33:00 -0400

I would like to decry Hazel for her dismissive attitude at the end of this, but… honestly, it’s way less horrifying than the practice of awarding children living animals as prizes at carnivals in the first place. Sprinkles is just acting according her nature as a cat, and I have to imagine the goldfish had a better and faster end than most of these fish get at the hands of 5 year olds who get bored with them after a week.

Readercon Redux: The Resolution and Fallout

demiurgent — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:52:55 -0400

Readercon Redux: The Resolution and Fallout: Readercon’s Convention Committee, after taking...

Yeah, I enjoyed this one. Well, maybe Luke Cage didn’t...

demiurgent — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 10:45:00 -0400

Yeah, I enjoyed this one. Well, maybe Luke Cage didn’t need to channel his inner Rayne Summers, but what can you do?

Not that. But I digress.

The whole marriage between Storm and the Black Panther seemed… just wrong to me in the first place. Maybe because the apparently predestined marriage of a Kenyan woman from what was likely a Kikuya, Ameru or Maasai tribe that was actually still organized around traditional lines (save that they abandoned the rich religious spirituality that each tribe developed individually from common roots so they could worship a mutant who could make it rain — a function normally ascribed to a sangoma)to the tribal leader of a rival tribe that was actually the ruling clan of the most technologically advanced nation on Earth managed to completely ignore the incredibly complicated multi-ethnic and multi-national situation spread across the African continent in favor of simply making them “African.” Or, let’s be blunt, “black.”

Or maybe it was because they made an admitted editorial decision to target African American women with their comics — itself a good goal — and felt the best way to do that was to ramrod and retcon a relationship between their two African characters, ignoring decades of history for the characters, an incredible and diverse backstory and web of relationships for Storm, and pretty much all of the byzantine and politically nuanced development of the Black Panther in favor of popping a rating.

Or maybe it was because in 1980 a backstory was established where a 12 year old Ororo saves the Black Panther from racists, but in the run-up to this spontaneous marriage the Black Panther saves her from them instead, because… um… I guess because otherwise it wouldn’t appeal to their target market? Heh? Oh, and then they had sex.

Stop and be skeeved, my friends. Stop and be skeeved.

Or maybe it was the fact that all of the above is racist, sexist, and reductionist when put together.

So I don’t mind this development, and I dearly hope the plan is to spend the next thirty years not mentioning this marriage ever again.

On the other hand, I have to applaud the strange groundbreaking concept of annulment for the dissolving of a comic book marriage instead of a universal cosmic retcon/reboot, one of the two being horribly killed, or the pair making some kind of pact with the devil. It’s a shocking, risky move, I know.

DC Women Kicking Ass: Renee Montoya Continues her Adventures as the Question in Fan Created Comic

demiurgent — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:23:42 -0400

DC Women Kicking Ass: Renee Montoya Continues her Adventures as the Question in Fan Created Comic:...

A simple, honest statement about Young Justice, Bill Mantlo, and the New 52.

demiurgent — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:29:00 -0400

The latest run of Young Justice is called “Invasion,” and while it is not in any way the...

After years of enduring Rayne’s sense of humor,...

demiurgent — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 10:49:01 -0400

After years of enduring Rayne’s sense of humor, self-centered demands, lack of attention span, and willingness to buy the two of them a house—

Hey, it’s not all bad.

—John’s heart has slowly ossified until all that remains is a calcified valve that barely allows blood to pass through. In asking John to listen to a heart that no longer speaks to him, he has reaped what he has sown. Sad eyes, Rayne. Sad eyes in-deed.

Requiescat in Pace: Gore Vidal

demiurgent — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:48:00 -0400

Upon hearing of the death of Gore Vidal, I had an immediate, almost visceral reaction, which I...

On depicting those you disagree with

demiurgent — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:51:00 -0400

I am not a Christian. I am also not a Conservative. I have opinions which are not held by neither...

I’m actually building up a longer article about Sinfest,...

demiurgent — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:32:00 -0400

I’m actually building up a longer article about Sinfest, because it’s doing some really interesting stuff with a lot of nuance, and it deserves deeper analysis.

But, sometimes, things don’t wait for the 5000 word essay.

In this case… there’s really nothing that says “we’re a 30+ year old submovement within the basic struggle for equal and civil rights for women that has debated and discussed the meanings of sexual identity and the reclamation of personal sexuality and sexual decisions as the ineffable right of the individual versus their political and cultural overtones” like a man telling you that you’re all wrong.

Losing Readerconfidence: or how napalm doesn't make for an effective fire retardant.

demiurgent — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:53:00 -0400

Let’s open with a link, shall we? http://blog.bcholmes.org/the-readercon-thing/#more-169 So....