Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Batman: Interesting Or Merely Distracting?

"Hey, Dad," said the nine-year-old, "Mommy has a Batman comic book! And boy is it stupid!"

I chuckled nervously. Of course they were talking about my Batman comic book, purchased on impulse to see how Grant Morrison was carrying on. "Stupid how?" I asked, almost certain I already knew the answer.

Bingo: "There's girl superheroes, and they've all got underwear that slips right up their bum-cracks. See? Stupid!"

Actually, the girls in question were supervillains, but never mind. I thought I had put the offending book somewhere relatively safe, but my wife had noticed it and picked it up out of curiosity. And yes, the girls were indeed wearing outfits that would have hampered their attempts at hand-to-hand combat.

"Uh ... so what does Mommy think?"

"She can't stop reading it," reported the younger. "I had to say her name three times before she answered."

I heard a giggle in the other room. "It's true," she confirmed. "I haven't read a Batman comic since I was little. It's all very interesting."

Well ... it's getting there. "Very interesting" is a bit of a stretch, unless the last time you read Batman was when Neal Adams was in charge. As with earlier Morrison stories, I thought this month's issue was too short and lacking in continuity to be anything but superficially engaging. But the artwork is zippy, and even if it doesn't contribute what it should to continuity and emotional development, it has an undeniable distraction factor. But I don't think I'll be putting down the money for Morrison's collected works just yet.

5 comments:

DarkoV said...

Seems your wunderkinder has learned early about how The Man is trying to keep her down by making her (future grown up) self confined by the butt-cuffs of male fantasy undergarments.

Soon she will be scoffing (justifiably so) on topics such as rayon, nylon, polyester and any other man-made fabrics specifically designed to keep her mind off of the important things in life. I predict that she will not be wearing (hate to break this word to you, WP) thongs, which is a great future decision on her part.

Just so you know, I'm not inventing this scenario. The Ever-Loving Wife and her chip-off-the-old-noodle daughter have harangued me aplenty anytime we are in a dept store and we pass by the lingerie section. It's almost as if I had designed this discomfortware?!!? Next time I run into a lingerie designer, I will be kicking him in the proverbials and hoisting his thong over his head.
Maybe that will get me in good stead with the 2 females in the house.

How does batman's new costume rate? Seemingly designed by a guy or a gal?

Hmmm...

DarkoV said...

WP,
Don't know how things operate in your household, but when the Ever-Loving Spouse uses the word "interesting" in relation to anything I've done or said, it usually means I'll be getting a metaphorical letter of invitation with no RSVP necessary to a discussion of what is so "interesting".
Maturity, asset acquisition, and time management are usually the prevailing issues.
What are the implications of "interesting" in your abode?

Whisky Prajer said...

Well, "interesting" can mean any number of things. I eventually realized that in this case, "interesting" meant "a welcome distraction" from her daily portion of work.

Does Batman have a new costume? I seem to be developing a serious case of ADD if I can't even focus on the odd comic book.

Joel Swagman said...

Ah, yes, the sexism in comic books issue. As an adult I now find it somewhat juvenile and embarrasing, (not to mention exploitive) but I'd be lying if I said the skimpy outfits and curves on female characters wasn't part of what got me into comics in the first place as a young lad.

Recently I've been enjoying this blog. Have you checked it out before?

http://occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com/

Whisky Prajer said...

Ooh, I'll be bookmarking that one alright.

As for girls in panties in comic books, it's not quite as embarrassing being "caught" with such material when you're an adolescent, as it is when you're an adult and your daughter is nearly adolescent.