Fantastic Four 574

[superboyprime]

Not cool, Marvel. Not cool.



And because imageshack's been acting strict lately, a back-up version: http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5091/62833733.jpg

"Retard"? Seriously? And no, nobody chastises Valeria for the word at any point.

Not cool, Marvel.

Tags-- title: fantastic four, publisher: marvel comics, group: fantastic four

Comments

[From: punishermax]

This is possibly the single funniest thing in FF history.

[From: requiem2adream]

... Val seems a little young to even be using that word anyway. Last time I read FF she was barely speaking.

[From: hyperactivator]

Super genius now.

[From: hybrid2]

a lot of artist have problems drawing her as a 2 year old....

[From: nezchan]

That panel at the bottom, she's being drawn as Hillary Clinton.

But its between siblings in that panel?

[From: jazzypom]

I used to even do the little arm movement when I was speaking to my brother, you know, to show him that I was mimicking him (although he wasn't mentally challenged, just a douche). I can understand the >:[ with the fact that the parents didn't take Valarie aside and give her the hardword, but siblings. Man, I've been called (and have called) my siblings worse.

Re: But its between siblings in that panel?

[From: punishermax]

Yeah I did this too to my buddies as a kid. We also used the word gay like it was the word the too.

Before I get jumped, I have grown up and joined the ACLU.

[From: mullon]

Oh yeah? Well, at least Franklin's head doesn't look messed up.

I didn't know that Franklin had any friends. And God, Reed, would it kill you to clean up a little for your son's birthday?

[From: colonel_green]

Yeah, the stubble bugs me too. Just doesn't fit Reed.

[From: colonel_green]

s_d rules aside, "retard" and variations is a very widely used word, particularly among children.

[From: kagome654]

Still would have been nice had someone called her on it.

[From: icon_uk]

Okay, so we have Alex, Jack and Katie (Alex having been de-aged somewhat from his Power Pack days, but his little sister Julie still being in her late teens somehow, over in Excelsior and so is absent).

Nice to see Artie again (and that his head-warts appear to have cleared up) and that Leech is actually alive

But who's the dark haired kid next to Alex (Jack is, I'm assuming, the brown haired kid next to Johnny and... is that Alicia?)

[From: superboyprime]

I thought the head warts were part of Artie's original look?

The remaining kid is the Wizard.

[From: darkknightjrk]

I think they don't chastise her because she seemingly instantly came down with the Downs in that panel.

Seriously, her face in that panel just...doesn't look good at all. It's like it was all scrunched down and moved over to her left.

[From: dorksidefiker]

Honestly? 'Retard' is probably one of the NICER things I called my brother when we were kids. Though Valeria using it, especially in this context, seems... really out of place.

[From: box_in_the_box]

It's also a bit of a disconnect when Quesada is the same guy who clutches his pearls about Wolverine smoking on-panel.

Then again, Quesada's dad died of lung cancer from smoking, so I'm going to assume that nobody in his family has a learning disability, or else he'd presumably be all over that shit too.

[From: neuhallidae]

Dear God, the art. Valeria's head makes me cringe.

[From: hyperactivator]

That word baloon and the weird art aside I really enjoyed this book and I like that Artie and Leech and going to be liveing with the FF along with the little Wizard clone.

[From: daningram.insanejournal.com]

Meh, intelligence and emotional intelligence are two different things. My sister graduated from Yale Business school, and you would not believe some of the things she's said and done to family members.

[From: ulf_boehnke]

Hey, it looks like HERBIE is on fire. :)

[From: cmdr_zoom]

YAY!

[From: iskander]

Yeah, I was watching that Stephen fry show on BBC one over Christmas. David tenant was one and mention "looking for the deals" and one panelist said " Your Scottish we know your looking for the deals" (there is a stereotype that Scotts are cheap). I couldn't believe it was alowed to pass. Stephen fry just winked and gave "ouf" .

[From: icon_uk]

You're seriously suggesting that a comedy show like QI, on after the watershed, is going to get taken to task for one person making a hoary old cliche joke about being cheap, especially when David Tennant, who IS Scottish (as am I) introduced the topic in the first place, and is MORE than capable of batting back a suitable bon mot should he feel the urge? Come ON now....

There's a big difference about a joke about whether you're a stereotypical miser or not and whether you have a learning disability.

[From: joasakura]

art: terrible.

and who wrote this? I get that it's a common thing for siblings to call each other all sorts of things -but I agree, not cool, marvel.

[From: kashmirkong]

I have no problem with Marvel allowing the word "retard" in a comic.

It's just a word that's unfortunately been infused with much more power than it should have since the whole PC movement started in the 90s.

[From: sistermagpie]

Kids definitely would use the word, but how has the word been given more power by the pc movement?

[From: crinos]

Yeah, I mean genius or not, she's a little kid talking to her brother. Kids at that age throw around "retard" and "fag" like there's no tomorrow, not realizing how offensive they are.

I mean look at Barry Ween, that comic is actually fairly close to how me and the kids I knew talked when we were in grade school. They're worse than sailors.

[From: box_in_the_box]

And if Marvel allowed for realistic behavior across the board, regardless of whether it might offend parents, you'd actually have a point.

As it stands, though, Quesada has said that the reason that Wolverine can't smoke and Spidey couldn't just get a divorce was because it wouldn't send a positive message to the children, so I'm going to suggest that Marvel really doesn't give a shit about sending a positive message to the children, and they didn't call Val on using the term "retard" because they themselves are too insensitive to see why it might be offensive.

[From: toasty_fresh]

There are millions of things they could have had her say. Why did they have to use the one that is universally agreed to be offensive? What was the pressing reason to use that word? It's especially random because since when do kids her age say it, anyway? "Stupidhead" or something similar would have worked way better.

Also, how did this artist ever get hired for anything?

[From: kagome654]

Seriously. These aren't 'real' kids. A writer made a choice to use a loaded term. It is something real kids say, but if you're a writer you have the obligation to pay attention to WHAT your characters are saying and what it says about the characters. Okay, so apparently Val is like many kids, she uses derogatory language to insult. Very good, nice humanizing touch, I suppose. Now, if she was a negative character I'd say leave it at that. Jerks raise jerky kids who say jerky things without consequence. She's not though, so why not use a subtle writing trick to indicate that this is a FLAW of her's, not something harmless and cute to be ignored? You wouldn't even have to change the mood of the scene, just have something said or done that quickly reminds 'Ableist language is bad, m'kay?' A throwaway line for a throwaway line.

Maybe the writer does so in the greater context of the story, I dunno.

Oh well, whatever, never mind.

[From: equinox216]

"A DOOM OWES YOU NO EXPLANATIONS, POSTER ON SCANS_DAILY.

... aaaaalso, SHITWEASEL, COCKFUCK, ASSGOBLINRY, AND FUCKCHOP."


(No, I agree, it's unnecessarily off-character, and blatantly lazy fucking writing.)

"THE DOOM FAMILY LINE IS PUSHING FOR ITS OWN MAX TITLE. TESTICLES."

[From: icon_uk]

We've already had Doom referring to Ms Marvel as IIRC a "cow", and "a fat piece of furniture"

Clearly Latverian educational standards have dropped a bit of late.

[From: theanswer]

This is the second post this week where someone complained about something that is perfectly normal. o_o Can we stop reaching into the dark for things to be pissed off about?

[From: kagome654]

No.

[From: leikomgwtfbbq]

I'm going to complain about the art. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH VALERIA'S FACE IN THE LAST PANEL?!

In fact, every human's face in this looks really creepy and weird. The mutant kids and the Thing don't look too bad.

[From: arkyramone]

The coloring is bland enough to make art look stiff

[From: worldwillshout]

I think it's also the art that makes the art look stiff.

[From: lamashtar]

This sounds like Millar. And that double spread makes no sense.

[From: nothingbutcake]

Franklin's eyes are poorly spaced/sized too, not just Valeria's face.  Proportions and perspective in general are poor.

The use of "retard"; people defending its use.

There is nothing in this entry that is not terrible.

[From: golden_orange]

WTF has been up with the art on Fantastic Four the last couple of issues?

The first arc was pretty good; not the greatest, maybe, but pretty good. Now it seems that the artist is constantly trying to channel Bryan Hitch without seeming to realize that they suck mammoth balls and Bryan Hitch, well, doesn't.