Blog 16: What happened to comics?

*WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS A HARSH CRITIQUE ON CURRENT POLITICS, WOKE MOVEMENT, AND CANCEL CULTURE! READER’S DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

Do you know what I see in that pic above? I see works of art. I see the characters I grew up reading about, characters with amazing stories that shaped me into the very person I am today. Sure I may be a total wacko who relates to an insufferable mercenary, but I’m pretty damn proud of that.

Comic books, movies, video games, they all acted as a temporary escape from the boredom of ordinary life. It provided a chance for people like me to get sucked into unimaginable adventures. Adventures that taught us lessons about what it means to be human, and the people who taught us those lessons became role models us fans desired to become. Now I can go on and on about how comic books are the backbone of nerd culture, but unfortunately this is a PSA on a current crisis within the nerd world (and not the fun crisis like Infinite Crisis or The Secret Wars). I’m talking about a group of people who are out to destroy well-established character arcs for the sake of pushing a political agenda and making easy money. The ones who are toxifying the internet because they get cranky if something they see or read is not “PC” enough. I’m talking about the Woke Puritans from Twitter who have breached into the nerd world!

“And if you don’t like my politics, don’t buy my book” is a direct quote from Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer for Captain Marvel and creator of comic series Bitch Planet, as a response to claiming that comics have always been about politics. She said this during her interview at Syfy Wire back in 2017, but it seems that her words are quickly becoming relevant again if you look at today’s best selling adult graphic novels.

AUGUST 2021 NPD BOOKSCAN – TOP 20 ADULT GRAPHIC NOVELS: https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/49206/august-2021-npd-bookscan-top-20-adult-graphic-novels

For the past year, and most of 2020, manga has been dominating sales within the graphic novels, seemingly leaving Marvel and DC comics in the dust. You may be wondering how this is possible, and the answer lies within one the biggest issues ravaging social media.

Politics….but not just any politics. The problem is the forceful inclusion of “woke” politics.

“Woke” was defined as a concept for becoming self-aware of the racial injustices that occur in today’s society, but now it’s used to describe angry people who bitch and moan about things that hurt their feelings. These people, “Puritans” as some people would refer to them as, have taken over the internet and entertainment outlets to jam their political opinions right down our throats, and more people need to start taking notice! It’s because of them why we get stuff like this in our comics:

These panels are simply horrid. It’s like Deviantart had an orgy with Tumblr and the cringe side of Reddit! You have a new Marvel Boy introducing himself like a deviantart OC, Hellcat checking a depressed Tony Stark’s white privilege for some reason, and then you have the dumpster fire that is I Am Not Starfire as notable examples of woke politics forcing its way into comics. It makes no fucking sense!

Comic books were meant to filled with fun stories, emphaisis on the word FUN, but now they have turned into fucking polticial agenda PSAs! Manga on the other hand doesn’t give a shit about those kinds of politics, with their main goal being to write entertaining stories! Sure the Puritans when nuts when certain manga titles like Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out and Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro were getting anime adaptations because they found those titles “offensive”, hell they find a lot of manga titles to be offensive, but Japan just doesn’t care!

All these different manga titles are rocking the sale charts because they don’t pander to the woke crowd, but rather they focus on making their stories fun and entertaining, which is something Marvel and DC used to do. I want to reinforce that diversity with different racial groups and LGBTQA groups is NOT a bad thing, but what is bad is making diversity the main focus of your story.

I like looking back at this moment from an old Spider-Man issue where Miles talks about the struggle with creating his own identity as a superhero. To me it feels like Miles was breaking the fourth wall here when he said “This is–I don’t want to be the black Spider-Man. I want to be Spider-Man”, and he is outright stating that he wants to be known as Spider-Man and nothing else. The problem with diversity in comics today is that the writers make a person’s race, gender, or sexual identity their main character trait without giving them any more substance. What I love the most about Miles Morales is that he is the symbol that anybody can be a hero if they are brave enough to be one. What you are should not be the main focus, but what is important is what you fight for. He is Spider-Man, and his race/nationality should not be the main focus of his character.

There is still good content here in the West, such as these notable shows, movies and comics:

Most of these shows were adapted from indie comics, so I would say that the future looks bright for manga and western indie comics. It just hurts my heart to see the comic groups I grew up reading start failing because they feel that pandering to the masses is the best way to make a quick buck.

I dream of one day writing my own comic book series, and my stories would be told like the comics I used to read. My stories will be filled with so much gore, dark humor, and characters that will give the Puritans a nightmare, but my stories will also have great storytelling. I want to give the real fans a story they can enjoy, something that will get them sucked into a fantasy world of my own design, something that they will go to bed dreaming about. I want to make people happy when they look at the comic book section and find my books there, because that’s what comics are all about.

HAPPINESS!

If you are still interested in learning more about how woke politics and the Puritans are ruining comics, I’ll leave a link to some entertaining videos at the end. Thank you everyone for reaching the end, and I’ll see you all next time. This is your friendly neighborhood merc with a mouth wishing you to not have a good day but to have a great day!

MARVEL COMICS ANNOUNCES BRAND NEW CHARACTER MARVEL BOY! IT’S LIKE THEY WANT THESE BOOKS TO FAIL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfSQyhv6Fh4&t=8s

They FINALLY admit it! Comics media FREAKING out over the future of DC Comics and Marvel!?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lt6n7HEm4o

DC Comics DOUBLES DOWN! Superman confirmed as NON-BINARY and will explore men with Robin?!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmKr_j8PZ6A