The depiction of women in comics has received its fair share of criticism in recent years, most notably in Gail Simone's Women in Refrigerators and Valerie D'Orazio's Occasional Superheroine. Comics have likewise sparked some controversy in regard to images of heroic homosexuality. But as the latest documents released in the Jerry Siegel case illustrate, these issues have a long history.
The documents in question: correspondence between Detective Comics and Jerry Siegel from 1939 through 1947, entered into evidence as part of DC's attempt to establish that all the work done by Siegel & Shuster during that time was work for hire. The case still has a while to percolate--the judge has postponed the hearing on unresolved trademark/copyright issues until September 15--but the material itself is a gold mine for folks interested in the comics history.
Even apart from the gender issues there's a lot of amazing stuff here--the recurring savage criticism of Joe Shuster's art; an early critique of Wayne Boring as an artist unsuitable for Superman; the hiring of Winsor McCay, Jr. as Superman ghost-artist-in-training; the insinuation that Superman was not significantly more popular than Zatara, Pep Morgan and Tex Thomson; and the prohibition on depictions of a flying Clark Kent are just a few of the historical moments in the mix.
Yet it is the sex stuff that really stands out, providing a rare insiders' perspective on the comics writing culture of the past. One of the true highlights of the newly released correspondence is the black-and-white sketch of Lois Lane included in this post. The artist was Siegel's and Shuster's editor, Whitney Ellsworth, who was attempting to get the duo to make Lois Lane less curvaceous.
A little backstory is in order. Although we tend to associate comics censorship with the 1950s, in actuality the complaints arose almost as soon as superheroes made comics a ubiquitous pop phenomenon. In a letter dated February 19, 1941, Ellsworth makes clear that this was foremost on his mind when he says to Siegel, "You know as well as I do what sort of censure we are always up against, and how careful we must be."
Which made a curvy Lois a bit of a problem. When drawn in an especially tantalizing way she posed a risk of drawing the attention of the moral watchdogs, a risk that Ellsworth tried to forestall in 1940 by ordering the duo to "de-sex" her.
After Shuster showed no sign of taking this admonition to heart, Ellsworth made an argument that seems shocking even almost seventy years later. Shuster's Lois was so "unpleasantly sexy" that her pulchritude made her seem a bit too heavy--a problem for which Ellsworth and Murray Boltinoff had an easy solution:
[W]hy it is necessary to shade Lois' breasts and the underside of her tummy with vertical pen-lines we can't understand. She looks pregnant. Murray suggests that you arrange for her to have an abortion or the baby and get it over with so that her figure can return to something a little more like the tasty dish she is supposed to be.
And the criticism didn't stop there; editorial also had problems with her hair style and her clothing,
which looked like you have apparently dressed her out of a Montgomery Ward catalogue. [Jack Liebowitz] suggests Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar as likelier spots for dress-research.
A look at Superman's DC Archives shows that these admonitions had their intended effect. The previous two images are from Superman #7, complete with breast shading and vertical lines in her, um, lower tummy. In contrast, here she is a few months later, with a much slimmer waist and bust-reducing lapels:
The criticism did not stop with Lois, however. Another alleged problem with Shuster's artwork is that it made Superman look gay--or in the period slang of Ellsworth's January 22, 1940 letter, "lah-de-dah" with a "nice fat bottom"--
What's worse, the pose in the second panel also reminded Ellsworth of "certain FLIT ads done by a cartoonist who signs himself 'Dr. Seuss.'"
For a cultural historian, documents like these are a treasure trove, providing insight into attitudes toward women, standards of beauty, images of masculinity, censorship and the interplay between comics and other illustrated media.
For Siegel and Shuster, such critiques were serious business. If you want to understand why they took the risk of suing DC in 1947 to regain the rights to Superman, read these letters--time and again the company warns them that their work borders on the "unacceptable"--"the situation is serious enough to warrant your doing some real worrying," as DC might "make other arrangements to have [the work] done." Since DC seemed to be building a case to get rid of them, a lawsuit--no matter how risky--seemed to have better odds than the prospect of winning over the publisher.
"[Schulz's] heavy, black-rimmed glasses, quick smile--and equally quick frown--made him look like a professor. Tracey dreamed of marrying a professor, with summers off to read and write together . . . "
--From David Michaelis, Schulz and Peanuts, 448
This Times of London op-ed by Alice Thomson is dead-on. Her thesis echoes a warning I've given in every speech I've made this past year: virtue is a luxury good, and a bad economy will make it seem too costly to folks who aren't true believers. Yes, there a positive externalities--people buying vintage clothes instead of new ones, f'r instance--but these are more a function of necessity than commitment.
Read the whole thing, not just for its argument but for its instructive examples.
Whatever my tag line may say, the ultimate takeaway should not be that green is doomed, but that we need more compelling reasons to do good.
An instant classic:
20-30 henchmen needed for moderately-sized supervillain organisation with large expansion potential (fortresses built into geological structures, corruption of government officials, possible genesis of 'nemesis' vigilante). Electrical theme.
Applicants must be willing to learn new skills, including but not limited to operation of specialised 'lightning guns'. Applicants will also be required to wear specialised uniform when at work (functional rubber suits with my logo on front), except in cases where deception is required (posing as hostages in order to ambush vigilantes, etc).
Desired (but not necessarily required) in applicants:
-interesting deformations/obsessions/powers(?) giving rise to interesting nicknames (e.g. Claws, Pyro, Buzzsaw, and similar)
-unwavering loyalty
-being a corruptible government official
-ability to work as part of a close-knit team (unless interesting obsession is of the 'lone wolf' variety)
-grudge against any well-known vigilante
-flexible moral code
Equal opportunies employer. Both henchmen and femmes fatales absolutely welcome.
Great promotion opportunities - right-hand-man position constantly being unexpectedly opened. Would look good on any future supervillain resume/CV.
Send an email with details of any prior henchman work, or details of what is driving you to join the ranks of a supervillain organisation. Will reply to all serious applicants. Hope to hear from you, and with luck, welcome you into a rewarding and promising career!
- Jacque (The Zapper) Zerapi
No, not those kind of earmarks--I mean donations made to a charity but designated to benefit an individual. Typically such gifts are not tax-deductible, since the gift is going to serve specified persons rather than an indefinite charitable class. But this law-related fundraiser going around the blogosphere is claiming otherwise. The cause: a blogger alleged by his ex-wife to be an unfit parent because he is bisexual.
I'm not going to state an opinion on the case itself, but I personally would be a bit more cautious re the claims of deductibility in the fundraising. The IRS does not tend to look kindly on deductions for personal earmarks, and if it gets the sense that the charity is little more than a flow-through fundraising for private parties going through divorce and custody battles it could get a bit cranky with the 501(c)(3) as well.
There's at least one way you could structure the distribution so that it that might--no guarantees--survive an audit or appeal, but who wants to go through that? At the very least, I'd omit the second sentence in the following appeal, which is something of a red flag:
Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help us help him and others similarly situated. Contributions earmarked for this case will be disbursed accordingly.
Of course, your legal mileage may differ, as the SFLDEF's apparently does, so do what you feel you can and don't listen to me, because, let's face it, I'm just some dopey blogger. If you want to learn more about the case itself, here's a post that folks are linking back to as a hub for the effort, but you might not want to click there unless your boss is into vividly illustrated online Sex Carnivals.
Brilliant to the last:
Q: Are you afraid of death?
Solzhenitsyn: No. When I was young, the early death of my father cast a shadow over me – and I was afraid to die before all my literary plans came true. But between 30 and 40 years of age my attitude to death became quite calm and balanced. I feel it is a natural, but no means the final, milestone of one's existence.
Q: Anyhow, we wish you many years of creative life.
Solzhenitsyn: No, no. Don't. It's enough.
The Russian graffiti in the picture captures a similar sentiment--literally, "Death is worth it in order to live."
The Texas legal world is interesting, to say the least. For example, a few years back the State Bar argued that Nolo Press legal guides should be banned because educating people in the law constitutes unlicensed practice and is thus illegal.
Now the state's teachers union is taking a similar position vis a vis education nonprofits, arguing that a new government program to curb the dropout rate is illegal because state officials "do not have authority to grant public money to 'nonprofit organizations' to provide direct student services."
I love the quote marks around "nonprofit." They make me feel so dirty.
This cartoon in the latest New Yorker is revealing on a couple levels. One, of course, is that the New Yorker is long past cartoons that locate the humor in adults reading a comic--now comic book characters are stock cultural references.
Beyond that is the implicit reference to current continuity. The friction between Superman and Batman is a relatively recent trope; for decades they were best friends. Superfriends, in fact. Familiarity with the current tension narrative helps the joke work.
For more work by Jack Ziegler, click here. You might also want to check out the whole issue, which besides having more cartoons has useful articles on interest groups & the anticommons as well as a !#@$in' scary one on superbugs.
The words "profound" and "blog" rarely occur together, but "Russia Abandoned" is a distinct exception to the rule. Empty buildings reveal dimensions of the human experience seldom seen in daily life.
Above: table with clock and a portrait of Vladimir Vysotsky, the legendary bard and actor of the Soviet era. The scene reminds me of this classic song, which, mutatis mutandis, might have an application or two in the U.S.:
In pieces the crown has been scattered,
Without authority, not even a throne.
The life of Russia and of law---
Everything's gone to hell.
As for us, it's like we've been chased into holes,
Trapped, like thieves,
With nothing before us except blood and shame.
From an EW interview with the host of Temptation Island and Moment of Truth:
We were helping America one couple at a time on Temptation Island, so I feel like there was a higher calling. With Moment of Truth, I just look at it like this: As a microwave heats bacon quickly, we bring people to where they're headed much faster. In both cases, I'm providing a service.
So I'm listening right now to the NASA news conference on martian perchlorate, and I can't stop thinking . . .
Al Qaeda on Mars!
and
The next step is obvious: lawyers in space.
Back to work
Marshall McLuhan observed that in an era of integrative media, the technological extension of our human senses would extend to our natural scents. This has typically been dismissed as one of his crackpot rabbit trails, but once again, time is bearing him out.
Exhibit A: Fashion V Sport, opening today at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. Staged to coincide with Olympics, this new exhibit does more than just show the latest competitive suit technology and its cultural influences.
To give visitors a complete sporting experience, artist Sissel Tolaas has — using chemicals — re-created the scent of human bodies, which is then piped through the exhibition space. The museum said it hopes the scent will “reinject the human body into the exhibition space.”
To round out this theme, the New York Times--the source of the "crackpot" quote above--features a story on "the emotional might of the nose."
Here's a picture from the July 26, 2008 Ground Zero Independence Ride, "a charity motorcycle motorcade benefiting Tuesday’s Children, a nonprofit organization that provides services and programs to the families of 9/11."
Y'know, if there were more charity events with beer, barbecue and tattoo contests I might not be so cranky.
The latest of Mad Magazine's countless inspired comics parodies, by Jacob Lambert & Gary Hallgren.
Opening to the public this week: the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas. Its mission:
The Museum seeks to bridge the gap between that which is commercial and often misidentified as pornographic, with that which is aesthetic, often identified as folk, pop, and fine art through a common visual language.
Who says colonization of the life world is always a bad thing? Healing takes on a comic flair in these Ouch! Comic Strip Bandages from WishingFish.com. Via Trendhunter.
Furry fans don't just dress up like anthropomorphic animals or draw pictures of 'em; they also do a number of other social activities together, such as supporting charity.
For example, furryne.ws recognizes a Furry Charity of the Month. The choice for August: the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which fights censorship.
And yes, the picture above is of a Russian furry, where the national furry convention, Rusfurrence, has the slogan, "We have to meet more often!"
Racked has posted a comic commemorating the bizarro double break-in at SoHo's Jack Spade store:
If you're familiar with the Protestant/Catholic tensions in Northern Ireland, you've probably heard of the Orange Order, the region's oldest Protestant fraternal organization. Recently it has been working hard to move past its fractious sectarian image by promoting charity and community--in part with the aim of promoting local tourism & marketable merch. One emblem of this effort: the creation of a new Orange Order superhero, Diamond Dan.
Unfortunately for the Lodge Diamond Dan has continued to be a "talking point", just not in the way they expected. As the Belfast Telegraph, Diamond Dan has a not-so-secret origin: as a graphic available for license on iStockphoto.
According to the Telegraph, now that the the Order knows its hero was a rip, it intends to obtain the requisite rights.
