Dear Catwoman: When Did You Become a Sleaze Bag?

On October 16, 2011November 23, 2014 By UncannyDerekIn Comic Blogging, Discussion5 Comments

When the movie The Dark Knight came out, sure people were going to get hurt. Sure, maybe no one expected the “gore” that was with Two-Face, but it was still somewhat age-appropriate. A ten-year-old could watch the movie and grasp what happened in it. He could tell Two Face was burned badly and – although scary – would know he became a bad guy.

What I mean by that is people can tell the difference between right and wrong. If Batman hurts the Joker, it’s because the Joker hurt others. Although I don’t necessarily agree with that theory, it’s understood and is considered acceptable to a good majority of people. Bad people are bad.

A young person can watch that film, see what is happening, understand why it’s happening, and then do whatever they want with that knowledge.

Catwoman: Superheroine or Sleaze Bag?

So enter DC’s newest animated flick, Batman: Year One. It too, is rated PG-13 for the same reasons The Dark Knight was. But for the most part, arguably, parents will see an animated Batman flick and figure that it’s safe for kids.

As I watched Batman: The Animated Series as a child, I knew the difference between right and wrong. Violence was bad, bad guys get punished, Catwoman liked Batman (ew, cooties), etc.

But despite my understanding of right and wrong, or that Catwoman had a crush on Batman, as a child, I would not have known what to think of this:

Not too long ago, I mentioned the ridiculously over-sexualized characters in Superman/Batman Apocalypse movie – which was also rated PG-13. Evidently, who cares what our youth are watching, eh?

While I haven’t seen the movie (because it hasn’t been released yet), I have to ask: What the HELL is DC doing to Catwoman?

Here is Catwoman in Batman: Arkham City

Well that’s unnecessary.

And let us not forget the bondage concept art for the game!

So what we’re getting here is something entirely different from what I grew up with.

So She’s A Sleaze Bag Now?

Oh, Catwoman. What has happened to you? You were so innocent-looking (for a villain) and you were so. . . clothed. What made you turn into such a sleaze bag? I wish I could narrow down the time where DC decided, “Marvel has the Black Cat, so we need Catwoman to mimic her.” I’m not saying Black Cat is any better than Catwoman, either. I’m just picking on Catwoman now because, unlike the Black Cat, Catwoman is a lot more popular and has gone under such a radical change in very little time. Why is that? When did she become such a sex-fiend? Since when did she start wearing sexy lingerie under her costume?

. . .

Time for Some Major Damage Control

What I’m trying to get at is, as a child, I could understand right and wrong. It was given to me in the stories. Batman was a good guy fighting the bad guys. He wore a suit to protect him and had weapons to fight the bad guys.

As Catwoman – I have nothing. She’s unnaturally clothed for NO explanation, and is treated solely as a sex object. There is no purpose to why she dresses the way she does, nor is it explained.

So as a child, I can tell right from wrong, but here, the “issue” is not addressed. Therefore, naturally, I would have to assume Catwoman dressed as the way she is would be acceptable, right?

This is me, as a man speaking. I have problems with this because I just think it’s inappropriate to degrade any human to this level.

If I were a woman – if I had a daughter – what sort of implications would this have on me? As a boy, I know right from wrong. I would see Batman as a bad-ass and not know what to think of Catwoman. As a girl, I would know right from wrong, would see Batman as a bad-ass, then see Catwoman as what? A model? A skank? A villain? A good girl? A body? A pair of breasts? Is it acceptable then to dress as her? No one else seems to have a problem with it, right?

When the conversations about this are not being had, it is more damaging than just watching the cartoon and assuming it doesn’t affect anyone.

So now we have Catwoman in our cartoons, video games, movies and comics looking like this. If it’s acceptable for her in all of those mediums, surely it must be acceptable for other women in other mediums to be degraded too, right?

See?

This is conversation which needs to be had.

What do you all think?

Holy Crap, DC! One Million?

On October 15, 2011 By UncannyDerekIn Comic BloggingLeave a comment

First things first: Despite being all-settled and moved in, my internet has been ridiculously jittery for the past week. I’m going to have it looked at. It just means delays in updates. How exciting is that? Ughughughughughugh.

Meanwhile. . .

Over One Million Sold

Way to go DC.

Over one million comics were sold by DC alone in the month of September. This number includes preorders, and second and third printings too. Isn’t that incredible? For the first time since 2006, DC also won in dollar shares. DC was at 35.74% versus Marvel at 35.37%.

Now while that’s a miniscule margin, that is also because most of DC’s titles are at $2.99, meaning volume doesn’t necessarily mean more dollars.

But Batman #1 and Action Comics #1 have both sold over 200,000 issues each thus far, while many comics, like Green Lantern, Flash and Superman have all sold over the 100,000 mark.

For the top 10 comics in the month of September, Marvel held 8th and 9th place, while DC ate up the rest of the slots!

I really hope this momentum keeps up because it would ultimately mean that comics are not a dying breed.

The Avengers Teaser Trailer

Now where are the Skrulls?

This is why I hate teaser trailers.

Keep on Space Truckin’!

Return of the Blog: X-Men Regenesis

On October 13, 2011 By UncannyDerekIn Comic Blogging, Comic Reviews1 Comment

I’ve finally settled with moving in! There was a lot of hiccups along the way, but it’s pretty much all sorted out now. Result!

But what has changed since the last post?

Oh yeah: THE X-MEN BROKE UP!

Both X-Men Schism and X-Men Regenesis were released which sets up the status quo of the new X-Men world.

It is no surprise that the split was caused because Cyclops and Wolverine had a disagreement about children fighting mutant-killing sentinels – as shown in the Schism event. But the ending of Schism felt too abrupt. We saw who sided with whom, but did not understand why. Enter: X-Men Regenesis #1

X-Men: Regenesis #1 (One-Shot)
Kieron Gillen (writer), Billy Tan (pencils, inks), Andres Mossa (colours), Rob Steen (letters), Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend (cover). $3.99

I haven’t felt someone hold a grasp over the X-Men this well since Claremont’s recent run in Uncanny X-Men. With Gillen, he successfully impresses me with individual voices for the massive cast of characters in this book. In fact, this over-sized X-Men issue not only has massive cast characters, but an excellent battle metaphor performing as a side story – mimicking what happens in the main plot. The two stories intertwine, adding incredible depth and emotion to an already touchy subject within the X-Men.

Gillen makes a lot of surprises with the dialogue choices, too. And there’s A LOT of dialogue in this book. Initially, the story could have easily been panels saying “Yes, I’ll go with you” or “No, I’m good here,” but Gillen doesn’t allow that. No, he fully fleshes out characters like Psylocke, Cannonball and Prodigy to give depth on why the decisions for choosing a side are made. And not all of them are, “I hate Cyclops, so let’s go Wolverine.” And I must say that the scenes with Emma Frost – despite knowing her allegiance going into the book – still had me on the edge of my seat. In doing the story this way, it also sets up what to expect in the new Uncanny and Wolverine comics.

But every character’s decision is reinforced with Tan’s battle metaphor. For Tan, he really does shine in conveying the tension from the Schism fallout. Between the metaphorical battle, to watching the faces on some people after making their decision – emotion is flawlessly executed. Little qualms do have to be pointed out, like the stiffness in a few panels which involve simple movements – like walking. However, his fast-paced action scenes and facial expressions definitely do stand out. His scene with Transonic and Hope – which is also in Generation Hope #12 this week – was also an incredibly shining moment.

That takes me to Andres Mossa’s colours which, in my opinion, are flawless. Moods and shadows are lit properly and nothing is overdone. Darks are not too deep, and lights are not too bright. Scenes with Beast are vibrant and moody, while with the metaphor story, the change in colouring styles are noticed. Although I’m not a pro in colouring, nor do I understand how its done with the whole “digital” age, these colours are really, really impressive.

Regenesis is definitely a strong, emotional book to pick up. If you’re an X-Fan like myself, you’ll become giddy when you see characters you haven’t seen in a long while. If you’re new to X-Men, pick this story up to see what the new status quo is. But most importantly, either type of reader needs to pick this book up for simply excellent storytelling and wonderful art.

Grade: 9/10

Side note: Wasn’t it weird to see Polaris, Havok and Rachel back on Earth? X-Men Legacy was released the same day as Regenesis and they’re still in space in Legacy. Regardless, the continuity is all catching up with itself.

So keep on Space Truckin’!