- Avatar with @steevbishop & G1 was excellent fun. Oh yes indeed. #
- @SamShepherd @Sulman Yup, and yup. #
- Anyone following the nonsense over at Nixsight last night/today will be glad to know that I'm not going to engage the guy any more… #
- …at the point when he deleted his original comment, & now claims that there is some kind of code required on my site to leave new ones… #
- …well, it's become obvious that he's either actually mental, or else intelligent enough to be utterly manipulative. #
- BUT if I CHOSE to worry about rape risk I'd say the guy who idealises & politicises women to the extent that they are no longer individuals, #
- …& feels some vocational right to protect women from all other men MIGHT be one worth steering clear of. #
- @Al_Ewing FLASH! I love you! But we only have fourteen hours to save the earth! (God, love Frank Sidebottom!) in reply to Al_Ewing #
- Might sound odd, but could somebody please jump onto this post: http://is.gd/6pPbK – & see if it'll let you comment. "Test" will do. #
- …Somebody is claiming that it won't let them comment, & tho I think that they are an unreliable source, I'd rather know for sure. #
- @davidwynne Huh. So it isn't specifically an anti-feminist thing, then.
Thanks, David. in reply to davidwynne # - @davidwynne Huh. My site decided for some reason that the chap commenting was Spam. Retroactively. Must know something I don't. in reply to davidwynne #
- @davidwynne It's okay – in the absence of the ability to post on my site, he's just continued talking over at his. Have you been following? in reply to davidwynne #
- Reading comments over at this blog post, am starting to remember that sometimes the disturbed can appear to be almost sane… #
- @davidwynne …did you get as far as the bit about "child molestation being as normal as rape"? As bad as that sounds, it's misleading… in reply to davidwynne #
- @davidwynne …the actual context is MUCH more telling than the initial statement suggests. See, NOW I feel guilty for being angry with him. in reply to davidwynne #
- @davidwynne …I had assumed I was being attacked by the relatively able-minded. in reply to davidwynne #
- @steevbishop Oh, I am. I just got a message that the comments weren't working, & that's a genuine issue. It turns out they weren't! Sort of. in reply to steevbishop #
- @steevbishop I'm glad I took the time to actually read his last couple of replies on his site, though. Puts a helpful perspective on it. in reply to steevbishop #
- Right, it's definitely time for bed. So much for masturbating, then. Sigh. Stupid internet. #
- @steevbishop I know! It's stupid, really – I must be an atypical man, because all that talk of rape really turned me off! in reply to steevbishop #
- @davidwynne I was getting that vibe from him from early on, but rather worried that I was having a knee-jerk reaction to him… in reply to davidwynne #
- @davidwynne …Pretty glad my instinct turned out right. I'm sure you're right about the head-off neck-shittery! in reply to davidwynne #
- @acheverton You're right, of course. The plus side is I now think I could write a potential serial-killer on the turn with more confidence. in reply to acheverton #
- Right. Walking the dog with G1. Should be fun! It's a lovely, sunny day. #
- @acheverton Lols… you're naughty! in reply to acheverton #
- @SorenLorensen What's… going on? Are you ill? in reply to SorenLorensen #
- @jhewlett Oh, wow… Modern Family is REALLY good, isn't it? I have @acheverton to thank for that long-shot. in reply to jhewlett #
- Thankfully, the dude has decided that he's done with speaking to people who don't agree with him. So that should be an end to it. #
- He decided that, incidentally, soon after I'd already told him I wouldn't be engaging in conversation with him any more. So impotent, then. #
- You know, if anything, I think this whole distraction has made me MORE sex-positive. And YAY! I like women! Even more than before! #
- @belledejour_uk Out of interest, did you read the "Why Men Use Prostitutes" article at the Guardian? http://is.gd/6rHPY... #
- @belledejour_uk …I ask because I ended up in a bit of an odd discussion about it. I apparently have a Happy Hooker delusion. #
- …Actually… Happy Hooker Delusion. Ha! I like that. If I ever write about a band… #
- @sulman I'm assuming you'll see the funny side that I do in the response to your comment? It's a bit abusive, tho, so happy to delete. #
- @SamShepherd You surprise me. I'd have thought all woman would appreciate being wrapped in plastic to protect them from all of the rapists. in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd (Or in other words – oh yes. We're down the rabbit hole now, people…) in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd @davidwynne put it best when he said the guy is a "fascist & a sex-phobic anti-queer bigot"… in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd What I got throughout reading his words was that old piece of wisdom: "Never trust someone who tells you you can trust them." in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd … Or in other words, the only guys women need to worry about are the ones like him. in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd The whitemale who raped him as a manchild was sex-positive, 'cos he wanted sex & was positive he was going to get it… in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd …see? Clever! in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd Ha! Super glad. I believe what I said in it now even more than I did when I said it… in reply to SamShepherd #
- @SamShepherd If people who think that any lie is acceptable to make their point, we should CERTAINLY speak up about it!
in reply to SamShepherd # - @Chris_TOMP Are you saying I'm gay? in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @Chris_TOMP (Teehee!) in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @Chris_TOMP Heh. Being gay would be the worst thing in the world for me. I don't even like my OWN penis. I'd be self-hating. in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @Chris_TOMP MORE self-hating, I mean. Women SHOULD love each other. They have those lovely curvy bodies. & VAGINAS! in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @Chris_TOMP I think that's what I like the most about women's. They are hidden away, like all sex apparatus should be. Sex is bad. in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @Chris_TOMP It's insisted on in our house. Only @JamesMOMB forces me to touch him without protection. in reply to Chris_TOMP #
- @rolhirst Oh, god, it hasn't for bloody ages. I think Twitter thinks it's spam. I should get on that. in reply to rolhirst #
- Does anybody know whether there are other utility companies than Southern Water in Hampshire? Is water still Government run? #
- @rolhirst Or arguing with collection agencies on the phone? in reply to rolhirst #
- I have just told a collection agency that if they want to take me to court, or send collection agents round, that's up to them. Not paying. #
- …It was not the sort of conversation I am used to having. I am normally polite TO A FAULT with these fuckers. But I don't owe the money. #
- Worse, I put this matter to rest with Southern Water with a payment last year. The arrangement was that my name be taken off the bill… #
- …But because they have changed collection agencies, records of that deal have been lost. #
- Rather than acknowledge their mistake, they are digging in, like a parasitic tick. #
- @SorenLorensen Onwards and upwards, eh? in reply to SorenLorensen #
- @davidwynne Done already… I spoke to them recently, & need to put my position in writing. in reply to davidwynne #
- What bugs me most is, you don't pay a collection agency to do something that you could do yourself. The guy who ACTUALLY owes them money… #
- …has as uncommon a name as mine, & should be easy as hell to find, but the idiots keep calling me over & over because they have my number. #
- He's even actually got an account with Southern Water himself at his own address, or did have a year ago when this started. #
- @hattiehattie '"Have Your Say" is unavailable for this story.' Idiots. in reply to hattiehattie #
- @davidwynne And they've denied the ability to quickly and painlessly correct them/call them on it! in reply to davidwynne #
-
Found Objects
We need comics. We don’t need the comic mainstream – certainly not as much as it needs us. And we wouldn’t even be having this argument about Watchmen if that book wasn’t part of that industry. It couldn’t have existed without it, it wouldn’t have been relevant without it, and most of us wouldn’t have even had the chance to read it without it.
We don’t have to give a shit about Watchmen, or Before Watchmen. We choose to.
We don’t have to fight about issues that we really have no skin in. We choose to.
We should really grow out of it.
Last Friday I wrote a really long post over at my site about Before Watchmen. It was probably too long, fence-sitting and unstructured to get as much widespread attention as some of the more aggressive pieces out there, but I still feel everything in it.
This is the tiniest part of it - a sentiment that I feel is pretty important - you can read the whole thing here.
I AM IN CONTROL OF MY EMOTIONS!
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
Yup, yup, yup…the fact that people are wasting their time arguing about the merits of Before Watchmen while amazing books like The Interactives go largely ignored is, quite frankly, criminal.
Not least because it means that yet again we’re all having a conversation about Watchmen. I came to Watchmen a little bit late - like, a year after publication - and loved it at the time. It encouraged me to go on and read so many more other books, to read them critically, and work out why they work and don’t work etc etc etc. But the more people hold it to this impossible standard in such a hyperbolic and aggressive way, the more I find reasons to chip away at it.
If you love Watchmen that much, write about how good Watchmen is in it’s own right. Don’t use it as a stick to bash everything that’s come since. Don’t use it as a way to try and win an argument about whatever your pet comic issue is that week. I think Alan Moore’s biggest issue is that his book isn’t regarded enough in it’s own right, and it’s an important enough work to be handled without gossip-context and all the other bollocks that passes for adults-who-read-comics-talking-about-comics.
Show Alan Moore and Watchmen a bit of respect, and don’t try and impose your fucking context on it. It’s a work of art. It genuinely can’t be ruined by any art that follows, but it can be ruined by every third word spoken about it being bleaty, entitled shite.
Sorry, you said something? The Interactives? What’s that? I have never heard of it, therefore it must not be worth bothering with.
Yep, I completely agree with you here. As great as Watchmen was it has been a big part of what has utterly ruined comics (and I know that Moore agrees with this himself) as so many people have spent the years since using it as a template for what comic should be. It was a work of satire! It was never intended to be a “How To” guide for aspiring comic creators.
And The Interactives is this - http://theinteractives.com/
Huh. That looks ace, actually.
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
Yup, yup, yup…the fact that people are wasting their time arguing about the merits of Before Watchmen while amazing books like The Interactives go largely ignored is, quite frankly, criminal.
Not least because it means that yet again we’re all having a conversation about Watchmen. I came to Watchmen a little bit late - like, a year after publication - and loved it at the time. It encouraged me to go on and read so many more other books, to read them critically, and work out why they work and don’t work etc etc etc. But the more people hold it to this impossible standard in such a hyperbolic and aggressive way, the more I find reasons to chip away at it.
If you love Watchmen that much, write about how good Watchmen is in it’s own right. Don’t use it as a stick to bash everything that’s come since. Don’t use it as a way to try and win an argument about whatever your pet comic issue is that week. I think Alan Moore’s biggest issue is that his book isn’t regarded enough in it’s own right, and it’s an important enough work to be handled without gossip-context and all the other bollocks that passes for adults-who-read-comics-talking-about-comics.
Show Alan Moore and Watchmen a bit of respect, and don’t try and impose your fucking context on it. It’s a work of art. It genuinely can’t be ruined by any art that follows, but it can be ruined by every third word spoken about it being bleaty, entitled shite.
Sorry, you said something? The Interactives? What’s that? I have never heard of it, therefore it must not be worth bothering with.
The Newly Announced Before Watchmen Is a Prime Example of What's Killing Mainstream Comics
“I have no idea whether this project will be any good or not. But it sits as a shining example of the fundamental flaw that exists in the comic industry, especially within DC Comics. They spend most of their time chasing the readers that grew up with their iconic characters rather than attempting to attract new readers who are growing up right now.”
Totally agree with this - though I think DC52, being a company-wide initiative, was more indicative of it, and I said as much at the time.
However, that backward looking trait in comics isn’t unique to publishers. Comic readers - many of whom are also comic retailers, which is a bigger issue - run wild with entitlement on either side of any comic-related debate, and stand ready to jump on anything that they perceive as a deviation or affront to comic texts or characters that they feel shouldn’t be touched. It all adds to the stupidly binary way any comic-related issue is handled.
The huge amount of brilliant work that goes un-discussed, unsupported and unbought in-between those two dominant cultures is the only genuine ongoing tragedy in comics today, I reckon. The rest is just semantics and negotiation of contracts.
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