(no subject)

[mistygeek]

In the same vein as the Women's Lib in 70s DC post, here is something for Wonder Woman in the same time period.

"Sidekick and Sun gods" by Cat Yronwode I'm posting this on Sunday because it is NSFW.




For the record of full disclosure here, it is the same Cat Yronwode.
I was very interested in Marilyn Bethke after reading her Power Girl review, and I've done some digging. Though I can't seem to find work after 1985, I have found more of her writing from around the same time. I'll be posting some more articles, and maybe parts of her essay, "The Role of Women in Comics" (1978).

Comments

[stubbleupdate]

I got halfway through the first column and my head got stuck with the thought "modern comics writers have read too many comics."

We need better read comics writers, and I don't mean those who have read Detective Comics since issue 160.

[whitesycamore]

And my head was stuck with the thought "that picture is probably supposed to be silly and not sexy, but it kinda is... quite hot. A bit"

[combatsoup]

i may be showing my inexperience here but doesn't tying the legs together cancel out the purpose of the spreader bar?

[whitesycamore]

Idk - I'm not one of those weirdly pedantic bondage enthusiasts, or in fact a fan of real life bondage at all. A lot of time, effort, and self-conscious ridiculousness for limited returns, imo.

[stubbleupdate]

It's a very, very skinny Wonder Woman

[whitesycamore]

Is it? I wasn't really looking at her. ;)

[superboyprime]

Reminds me of something Warren Ellis once said: The Big Two shouldn't hire writers who are big fans, because they'll want to follow in their predecessors' footsteps, and if they do that, at best they'll only equal the previous stuff, never surpass it.

[jlbarnett]

to be honest I'm sick of people trying to equal or surpass the previous stuff. I just want to read a good story today, I don't care if it's remembered in twenty or thirty years by me or anyone else.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

They won't even equal it because they're trying for something almost as good as what they think is the best. F. Scott Fitzgerald said something like (and I'm not even trying to get the exact words right) if all you read is Gone With The Wind-he thought highly of that book-then you'll end up writing mediocre romance novels, but if you read classic literature, you might end up writing Gone With The Wind.

[darrylayo]

I totally agree with you, except that I didn't read any of the text--at this resolution, it's homicide on my eyes, on this screen.

Gettin' old :(

[cleome45]

Be careful what you wish for.

If so much modern fail in comics can be attributed to writers (and artists) absorbing uncritically the various kinds of -identity!fail from the Silver Age and earlier, well...

Looking for writers and artists who go back to "the classics," whether literature or visual art, means that new!fail borne of uncritical absorption of classic!fail is just as likely. You might get people who are technically better at what they do, but content-wise, you're still gonna' have a lot of outdated!fail to deal with.

[jkcarrier]

She makes a lot of good points (which are, sadly, still relevant -- poor Wondy still can't get any lovin'). But calling Steve Trevor "one of DC's most beloved characters" was a bit of a stretch, even back then.

DC sending her letter back in shreds is hilarious, I'd love to know who was responsible for that one.

[shirtless-superheroes.blogspot.com]

That picture... my mind =blown!

[tauruschick12]

Aaaaand this is why I ship Steve/Wonder Woman so hard.

[halloweenjack]

I'm not a big cat yronwode fan; she went from writing long, rambling essays like this and long, rambling letters to various comics (there was one in X-Men where she compared herself to Storm) to writing long, rambling editorials in Eclipse Comics.

[mistygeek]

Yeah, I read those Eclipse Comics editorials...

She got worse over the years. But that part of what made this interesting to me.

[cleome45]

Yeah, but diarrhea of the pen was kind of the CJ house style for much of its history. Probably still is. Just one of many reasons why I never really warmed up to it.

[mistygeek]

Not that it doesn't ever happen, but they really cleaned up in the last 20 years.

[blackruzsa]

If I'd said yes any more times, someone would have mistaken me for a sordid female lead in a love scene, because damn, I couldn't agree more.

I also find it interesting that she used the triad and the old mythology comparisons for the power of the woman and the non-subservient but respectful, loving worship of man.