I can understand how it could be considered a little racist, but like Tex said, Grodd is and has been based in Africa forever. It just makes sense that he would take over the closest territory.
If it's shown that, I dunno, Aquaman and Wonder Woman rule all of North America, and the Great Ten have all of Asia, etc. it'll kind of make sense, and show that the superhumans have divided the world up by continents.
Nevertheless, one person ruling all of Africa, a huge continent composed of many diverse cultures, is kind of silly. It'd be like again, the Great Ten ruling all of Asia, including India, Kazakhstan, China, South Korea, Iraq, Turkey, and Japan.
And I'm sure the issue will be mostly glossed over, showing Grodd as the ruler of an ill-defined jungle-land populated by primitives, so why not just say, "Gorilla City belongs to him!" That's really just as shocking, at least for DCU aficionados, who I assume are the target market for Flashpoint.
That said, it's one line of solicitation text, and the content of the actual story may differ. I'm not even going to touch the implications of having a giant, evil gorilla take over Africa, though.
It looks like we're getting Bendis on Moon Knight, Fraction on Punisher, Brubaker on Daredevil and Aaron on Ghost Rider.
Not bad, if kinda uninspired choices. I'll definitely get Moon Knight and Ghost Rider, but I need to see if Fraction is gonna be keeping up the insanity he did on War Journal before I get Punisher, and Brubaker's has written some great Daredevil but I'm afraid it'll just be more of "MATT MURDOCK'S LIFE SUCKS".
It's not to say it's bad, Bendis' run is a masterpiece, and Brubaker's Matt-in-Prison arc was amazing.
It's just that Brubaker pretty much only writes dark depressing gritty books, and that's not really what I want.
Personal preference, really.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Bendis' run is definitive for the character, even more than Miller's, but you've got to do something else with him. Nocenti accomplished this years ago and for a few brief years, DD was a fun book during the Karl Kesel/Joe Kelly years. It's not as hard as Marvel make it seem.
God, if Alan Davis would actually draw the next DD book like in that teaser a month ago I would love it.
But.....Grodd's secret gorilla society is based in Africa. World domination doesn't happen overnight.
I think Brothers is overreacting on this one, at least going by the one-line blurb in the solicit.
Part of it is that there's a history attached to portraying Africa in this sort of primitive jungle-centric sort of way. The other part is that writers in comics have a track record of not giving enough of a shit to treat Africa as anything other than a big blank homogenous Savannah. You know how the common person keeps accidentally referring to Africa as a country instead of a continent? It's like that.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Right, but, there's the unfortunate and unintended link to historical imagery linking Africans to monkeys. It's not racism so much as it is not thinking through the consequences of their plot point. As in, it's easy to imagine that their planning meeting didn't go far beyond, "You know what would be cool? Grodd." "He should take over something." "Africa!" "Yeah! Get someone on it."
As the article said, it kinda makes them look dumb.
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Well, substitute the word towel for berets in your post, and it's actually the truth of the real world.
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Right, but, there's the unfortunate and unintended link to historical imagery linking Africans to monkeys. It's not racism so much as it is not thinking through the consequences of their plot point. As in, it's easy to imagine that their planning meeting didn't go far beyond, "You know what would be cool? Grodd." "He should take over something." "Africa!" "Yeah! Get someone on it."
As the article said, it kinda makes them look dumb.
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Well, substitute the word towel for berets in your post, and it's actually the truth of the real world.
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
Well, it's not just Africa that gets treated that way. The Middle East in DC and Marvel is nothing but dudes with berets on their heads, and made up Eastern European nations that pop up out of the woodwork are all a dime a dozen ex soviet countries still using ox and cart to carry their traveling gypsy shows, most recently in Venom #1.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
Well, substitute the word towel for berets in your post, and it's actually the truth of the real world.
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
Well, continuity in terms of character consistency.
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
Seriously, Grodd could be a good guy, noble leader of Gorilla City, selflessly fighting against whatever retcon monster is responsible for yet another event, unaware that he is actually a brains eating monster or whatever. It could have pathos.
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
Well, continuity in terms of character consistency.
Batman's a casino pit boss in Flashpoint - character consistency isn't really crucial in alternate-history events either.
Poor comic companies, you stray from comic continuity and you fail. However, if in sticking to said continuity it stears your story toward something un-PC, you fail.
Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
Well, continuity in terms of character consistency.
Batman's a casino pit boss in Flashpoint - character consistency isn't really crucial in alternate-history events either.
This is true. But he's still called Bruce Wayne right? Casinos in Gotham? These are genuine questions btw, I have very little idea about whats going on with Flashpoint and I'm not super-savvy with DC characters, just found it funny how bent outta shape poeple were over a fictional gorilla, who's lived in Africa forever, having a story based in Africa.
Seriously, I don't want to derail the thread or be an asshole, but saying The Middle East in the real world is nothing but dudes with "towels" on their heads, is a pretty ignorant thing to say.
Edit: And on the topic of Grodd, dude's totally rocking the three Brainiac dots on his helmet. It probably doesn't mean anything, but it got me thinking about how it'd be neat to see Grodd hijack Brainiac's tech, in order to expand his influence past Gorilla City.
Well, you're right about derailing the thread, so I'll just apologize and admit that was a pretty ignorant thing to say. The women have towels around their entire bodies, and I should have pointed that instead of being sexist. But my views are just reflective of what I saw from deployments in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, not the entire Middle East. I'm sorry to any non-towel wearing hadji's on here who I offended. Now back to discussing men in bat pajamas and magic mind-controlling gorillas.
Well, you're right about derailing the thread, so I'll just apologize and admit that was a pretty ignorant thing to say. The women have towels around their entire bodies, and I should have pointed that instead of being sexist. But my views are just reflective of what I saw from deployments in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, not the entire Middle East. I'm sorry to any non-towel wearing hadji's on here who I offended. Now back to discussing men in bat pajamas and magic mind-controlling gorillas.
are you seriously using the term hadji in a nonironic sense
That artist is someone who doesn't seem like he can do a monthly book, but if the writer makes the series upbeat for a change, I'll pick up the first issue.
I wouldn't be so quick to jump to that conclusion. He can go either way.
Fair enough, but still. I just can't associate Waid with the kind of depressing shit that has filled so much of DD for the last twenty-five (Jesus ...) years.
I won't bother with Punisher, because I don't think Rucka's ever written anything that I enjoyed reading, outside of Wonder Woman, but Waid and Rivera on Daredevil sounds awesome.
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Nevertheless, one person ruling all of Africa, a huge continent composed of many diverse cultures, is kind of silly. It'd be like again, the Great Ten ruling all of Asia, including India, Kazakhstan, China, South Korea, Iraq, Turkey, and Japan.
And I'm sure the issue will be mostly glossed over, showing Grodd as the ruler of an ill-defined jungle-land populated by primitives, so why not just say, "Gorilla City belongs to him!" That's really just as shocking, at least for DCU aficionados, who I assume are the target market for Flashpoint.
That said, it's one line of solicitation text, and the content of the actual story may differ. I'm not even going to touch the implications of having a giant, evil gorilla take over Africa, though.
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Fraction, almost certainly.
It looks like we're getting Bendis on Moon Knight, Fraction on Punisher, Brubaker on Daredevil and Aaron on Ghost Rider.
Not bad, if kinda uninspired choices. I'll definitely get Moon Knight and Ghost Rider, but I need to see if Fraction is gonna be keeping up the insanity he did on War Journal before I get Punisher, and Brubaker's has written some great Daredevil but I'm afraid it'll just be more of "MATT MURDOCK'S LIFE SUCKS".
There's really no way to break the cycle. It's become the character's signature trait.
It's not to say it's bad, Bendis' run is a masterpiece, and Brubaker's Matt-in-Prison arc was amazing.
It's just that Brubaker pretty much only writes dark depressing gritty books, and that's not really what I want.
Personal preference, really.
God, if Alan Davis would actually draw the next DD book like in that teaser a month ago I would love it.
Maybe it's just me but it rubs me the wrong way to call it a tribute issue and do that
Part of it is that there's a history attached to portraying Africa in this sort of primitive jungle-centric sort of way. The other part is that writers in comics have a track record of not giving enough of a shit to treat Africa as anything other than a big blank homogenous Savannah. You know how the common person keeps accidentally referring to Africa as a country instead of a continent? It's like that.
Hell, even in America any place not LA or NYC is desert, redneck, or snow.
And in the comics, too!
I'm so sorry, I absolutely could not resist.
Right, but, there's the unfortunate and unintended link to historical imagery linking Africans to monkeys. It's not racism so much as it is not thinking through the consequences of their plot point. As in, it's easy to imagine that their planning meeting didn't go far beyond, "You know what would be cool? Grodd." "He should take over something." "Africa!" "Yeah! Get someone on it."
As the article said, it kinda makes them look dumb.
Well, substitute the word towel for berets in your post, and it's actually the truth of the real world.
Yes. Exactly.
But isn't Gorilla City in Africa?
It's complicated!
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Continuity isn't really a concern in an alternate-history event.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
Why you gotta label me, Munch?
Well, continuity in terms of character consistency.
Seriously, Grodd could be a good guy, noble leader of Gorilla City, selflessly fighting against whatever retcon monster is responsible for yet another event, unaware that he is actually a brains eating monster or whatever. It could have pathos.
Batman's a casino pit boss in Flashpoint - character consistency isn't really crucial in alternate-history events either.
This is true. But he's still called Bruce Wayne right? Casinos in Gotham? These are genuine questions btw, I have very little idea about whats going on with Flashpoint and I'm not super-savvy with DC characters, just found it funny how bent outta shape poeple were over a fictional gorilla, who's lived in Africa forever, having a story based in Africa.
Seriously, I don't want to derail the thread or be an asshole, but saying The Middle East in the real world is nothing but dudes with "towels" on their heads, is a pretty ignorant thing to say.
Edit: And on the topic of Grodd, dude's totally rocking the three Brainiac dots on his helmet. It probably doesn't mean anything, but it got me thinking about how it'd be neat to see Grodd hijack Brainiac's tech, in order to expand his influence past Gorilla City.
Tumblr Twitter
Well, you're right about derailing the thread, so I'll just apologize and admit that was a pretty ignorant thing to say. The women have towels around their entire bodies, and I should have pointed that instead of being sexist. But my views are just reflective of what I saw from deployments in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, not the entire Middle East. I'm sorry to any non-towel wearing hadji's on here who I offended. Now back to discussing men in bat pajamas and magic mind-controlling gorillas.
Groddiac
This. Now. Space-gorillas conquering the stars and trapping miniature civilizations inside of Grodd's brain. Get on it.
Do I need to spoil? Just in case
I wonder if Punisher will now get a strong female sidekick to kill more baddies, Punisheress?
are you seriously using the term hadji in a nonironic sense
That artist is someone who doesn't seem like he can do a monthly book, but if the writer makes the series upbeat for a change, I'll pick up the first issue.
Fair enough, but still. I just can't associate Waid with the kind of depressing shit that has filled so much of DD for the last twenty-five (Jesus ...) years.
I will be picking both of those up for sure
I won't bother with Punisher, because I don't think Rucka's ever written anything that I enjoyed reading, outside of Wonder Woman, but Waid and Rivera on Daredevil sounds awesome.
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