#changethecover

[tachyonblu]

@silverwolfcc weighs in on the video game censorship wars during GamerGate, including ChangeTheCover, the Pillars of Eternity tombstone controversy and the Tracer Overwatch controversy.

An excerpt: "Oh, I’m 100% in favor of like giant titties, always, one billion percent. I also think, like I said, sexy is not inherently sexist. Sexy is good. Sexy sells. I also don’t like the idea that we should be trying to cover up. So, my fiancé loves really classic book covers, and he likes to get his books secondhand just because he likes antique books, you know, and he’s into the classics. His favorite author is Edgar Allan Poe, and he has the really nice leather-bound collection kind of things.

The one thing that gets him every time is he will fly into a giant rant whenever they change the cover, and that’s just on books—they’re not doing it for any reason other than to sell more. He gets so mad, like, 'Why would you do that? It already has a cover! What are you doing? Why are you changing it? Stop changing things for the sake of changing it!' And I’m like, 'Probably because it sells more with the new ones,' and he’s like, 'No, they’re just changing it to make it look new,' kind of like the way they do with cars. Which is a real thing, they change cars to make them look more like they’re changing and novel.

He gets very mad about that, and when it comes to comic books, I’m stronger on that opinion than with classic books because I don’t think it’s just to sell more. If anything, I think it has the opposite effect. It does not sell more. They keep thinking, 'Aha, if we have like, you know, four—' Like, okay, so I have a huge amount of Doctor Who comic books. When I went to the hospital like two, three, four years ago, I brought like five Doctor Who comic books with me, and my best friend and I just sat there reading Doctor Who comics while I was coughing up blood. Good stuff; that’s actually a fond memory for me." -CC

[jjorbles]

(Repost) How The Killing Joke ruined Batgirl

Note: This article was originally posted March 20th, 2015 on the Agony Booth, which I used to write for. Since that site is sadly no longer with us, I’m reposting my old articles here.

Alan Moore’s iconic graphic novel The Killing Joke is probably his most controversial work to date, and that’s saying something. It’s a great read, with some fantastic artwork that continues to influence and inspire the Batman franchise to this day. But along with the praise, over the years it’s attracted quite a bit of criticism from many sources (including its own author) for its callous maiming of the character of Barbara Gordon. The Killing Joke is one of comics’ most famous examples of “women in refrigerators”, a decade before the term was even coined.

The subject of The Killing Joke has again been raised recently by a controversial variant cover for Batgirl #41, which features the Joker menacing a petrified looking Batgirl while smearing a smile of what is presumably blood on her face. It was created, without the input or consent of the actual comic’s creative team, mind you, to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Joker’s first published appearance in 1940’s Batman #1.

The cover drew immediate criticism, spawning the twitter hashtag #CHANGETHECOVER, and as of now, DC has officially pulled it, and will not be including it as one of the final published covers of the comic. Beyond the misogynistic undertones it conveys, the cover just plain doesn’t fit with the tone of the comic itself, which has been leaning in a much more fun, lighthearted direction under its new creative team, who all protested the cover immediately. Unfortunately, this wasn’t in time to stop a small army of angry readers online from making the cover’s cancellation their new pet cause, raising it up as a martyr to “self-censorship”.

I shouldn’t even have to explain this, but “self-censorship” is an oxymoron and doesn’t exist. You cannot, by definition, censor yourself, as censorship is something imposed on you by an outside party (such as, but not always, the government). A privately-owned company commissioning a work of art and then choosing not to sell it is called self-control.

On its own, the cover may seem relatively harmless. There’s certainly nothing wrong with celebrating the character of the Joker. He’s arguably the most popular character DC has right now, even more so than Batman. And the fact that they chose to reference The Killing Joke isn’t surprising—it’s probably the most famous Joker story ever written. However, while it may seem harmless out of context, in context, it comes across as rather disturbing.

When Alan Moore first made the decision to have the Joker cripple and sexually humiliate Barbara Gordon, DC was rather alarmingly unconcerned about it. You’d think they would be hesitant to take a character who was mainly known for being the colorful, fun sidekick created for the ‘60s TV show and do something that dark and mean-spirited to her. Instead, Moore’s editor Len Wein famously responded, “Yeah, okay, cripple the bitch.�� Moore has made no secret of his regret over ever writing the scene and wishing in retrospect that they had said no.

Fortunately, the character of Barbara Gordon did not end with The Killing Joke. Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, she returned to crime-fighting under the identity of “Oracle”, a secretive master hacker who provides tech support and intel to other heroes in the DC universe. In this capacity, she became a popular and important hero in her own right, free from Batman’s shadow, and even formed and led her own superhero team, the Birds of Prey.

Barbara continued on as Oracle for a few decades. Then came the New 52. When DC decided to reboot their entire universe of characters, they decided to make Barbara Gordon into Batgirl once more, bringing her back to her more iconic roots. That’s not a bad idea in theory. I enjoy the young, spunky, purple-suited Batgirl just as much as I like her as mysterious, badass Oracle.

However, they made a horrible miscalculation when they elected to keep The Killing Joke as part of her new continuity. She still got shot, molested, and possibly raped by the Joker; she just wasn’t crippled afterwards, and continued being Batgirl.

It’s understandable that DC wouldn’t want to write one of their most popular stories out of continuity (even though they had no problem writing out Alan Moore’s actual best DC story, “For the Man Who Has Everything”, thirty years ago during Crisis on Infinite Earths). However, keeping Killing Joke in continuity while removing Barbara’s rebirth as Oracle* trivializes the entire event as a part of her character. The idea that she could just bounce back like it never happened, without being profoundly changed by the experience, is at best childish and simpleminded.

[*By the way, I read somewhere that her history as Oracle is still supposed to be in continuity, but since she’s essentially back to square one regardless of what came in between, it hardly matters.]

That’s not to say Barbara isn’t still affected by The Killing Joke; quite the opposite. I only read the first few issues, but in those stories, New 52 Batgirl couldn’t stop talking about how not-over-it she was. Barbara was constantly suffering from PTSD, cowering at anything that even reminded her of the Joker. It’s a rather infantilizing step back from the Barbara who remade herself stronger than ever as Oracle.

Plus, on a personal note, the major appeal of Barbara as Batgirl, to me, was that she was the only Batman sidekick that wasn’t defined or motivated by some past tragedy. She became Batgirl because she wanted to, not because some random criminal killed her parents. Now she’s just as messed up as the rest of them.

By continually focusing on the lowest point in Barbara’s history, DC is refusing to let her move on, forever keeping her the scared little victim. They’re defining her by The Killing Joke, and The Killing Joke isn’t even her story. She has almost no dialogue in that comic, and her only role is to be maimed and degraded in order to traumatize her father, Commissioner Gordon.

Likewise, this cover is also not about Batgirl, not really, despite being a cover for her comic. It’s intended to be a celebration of the Joker. And choosing such a horrifying image as a celebration is in incredibly poor taste. It comes across as a glorification of Batgirl’s humiliation and degradation. It’s not like they couldn’t have given her a more empowering or even fun Joker-themed cover: The variant cover for Action Comics features Superman threatening the Clown Prince of Crime with heat vision. The Catwoman cover shows a Catwoman-branded giant boxing glove punching the Joker out. Even the covers that do show the Joker seemingly triumphant don’t show the heroes in such a infantilized, compromising position.

Defenders of the Batgirl variant cover are quick to point out that Batgirl is far from the Joker’s only famous victim, and there are plenty of times comics show male heroes in moments of defeat or weakness. This is true, but it’s almost never done this way. Male heroes, even in defeat, are almost always drawn to still look defiant and “cool”, keeping their dignity intact. You’d never see the same image with Batman in Batgirl’s place, with that same teary-eyed look of childlike horror. Case in point: the image below, with the Joker and Batgirl replaced by Doomsday and Superman:

This parody drawing by comic artist Ray Dillon perfectly illustrates the comics industry’s double standard. Male heroes are never allowed to seem this weak. The same image with a male hero instead of a female hero becomes laughably comical. Even if it weren’t, it still wouldn’t have the same impact, because The Death of Superman was nothing like The Killing Joke. Superman wasn’t fridged in one scene halfway through to further some other character’s story, and he wasn’t humiliated or violated. He was the central character, and he went out it a bloody blaze of glory, and took his assailant with him to the grave.

For a better example, let’s look at the Joker’s other most famous victim: Jason Todd, the second Robin. Famously beaten to death with a crowbar by the Joker in the storyline A Death in the Family, Jason eventually returned from the dead. Despite having arguably more reason than Barbara to fear the Joker and experience PTSD over his encounter, there mysteriously seems to be little in the way of art or storylines to that effect. Nothing comparable to this variant cover featuring Jason Todd with the Joker exists, that I’ve seen.

Jason Todd’s post-resurrection stories haven’t been about fear: they’ve been about anger. Jason’s been out for revenge ever since he rose from the dead. His stories are all about how badass and vengeful he is now. He doesn’t cower in fear every time someone pulls out a crowbar—he turned around and beat the Joker half to death with a crowbar. (Not that I want to see Batgirl shoot the Joker through the spine, but at least it’d be better than having her live in constant fear.)

And even putting that aside, Jason didn’t get nearly the short end of the stick in A Death in the Family that Barbara did in The Killing Joke. Once again, Death in the Family was Jason’s story. He had agency, and his actions drove the plot. Even in his final moments, he had more control than Barbara did, with his last act being throwing his body in the way of an explosion in a futile attempt to save his mom.

Showing a female character as scared or victimized doesn’t have to be a bad thing. For example, there’s one comic book all about a woman being brutalized by the Joker that I absolutely love and would have no problem with DC revisiting: Paul Dini’s Mad Love. Why? Because Mad Love is 100% Harley Quinn’s story. She drives the plot, she has the arc. And her victimization isn’t just there for its own sake, or for the sake of Batman or the Joker; it informs her character and the story and it teaches something. That’s the difference between the Joker defenestrating Harley and crippling Barbara. One is all about the victim, while the other is all about the victimizer.

[hchewittauthor]

Guess what????? Something new is happening!!! I can’t to share with you all the details but here’s a little hint: this book is getting a facelift!!! ❤️❤️❤️Stay tuned!! ‭#jacobofabbingtonpickets #facelift #abbingtonpicketsseries #bookcover #newcover #cover #changethecover #quilterbydayauthorbynight #christian #historical ‬ https://www.instagram.com/p/CEne9-TAHKb/?igshid=etropc62wv1r

[fantastic-nonsense]

tbh, the freakout about Hydra!Steve Rogers reminds me of the Batgirl #41 variant cover controversy

not in the ‘this doesn’t deserve the controversy it’s creating’ way like the Batgirl cover (because it does; believe me, I’m outraged as any of you at this whole nonsense), but more in the ‘people who don’t read comics, don’t know comics history, don’t understand how comics work, and don’t understand that it is absolutely vital to get CONTEXT are freaking out and inserting their uninformed opinions into the fray’ way 

[historyofthebatman]

"Madness is the Emergency Exit: A History of The Killing Joke" - A Picture Raises 1,000 Petitions: Joker shooting and paralyzingly Barbara Gordon in Moore's 1988 graphic novel changed the life of not only Gordon but the entire Batman Family and many figures within the DC Universe. As many see this as a masterpiece, others strongly note the violence against Barbara and the fact she was used as a plot device. Controversy still swirls around this moment in Batman history, even rising today as people are petitioning to kill the animated film adaptation of "Batman: The Killing Joke" set to be released by Warner Bros. Animation some time in 2016, claiming it sends a bad message. Earlier this year, "The Killing Joke" went under the microscope once again during DC Comics celebration of the 75th anniversary of The Joker of 25 variant covers with the Clown Prince of Crime featured. When this original variant photo was released to the public for Batman 41 by 'American Vampire' artist Rafael Albuquerque, a clear homage to this moment when Joker meets Barbara with his gun, it was met with immediate protest. This dark time, involving tragic physical violence and possible sexual assault, in Babs history juxtaposed to the new lighter and optimistic adventures by the creative team of co-writers Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr had many critics wanting DC to change the cover completely, going to social media platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr using the hashtag #ChangeTheCover and giving "threats of violence and harassment". After this outcry, both Albuquerque and DC Entertainment officially responded with the cancellation of this June cover. Albuquerque said "For me, it was just a creepy cover that brought up something from the character’s past that I was able to interpret artistically. But it has become clear, that for others, it touched a very important nerve." Although this image brings to light one of the most violent acts The Joker has ever committed in DC Comics, 2015 marks 75 years of this celebrated mayhem and chaos. [Article Source: bit.ly/1FsOG4B ; History of the Batman is releasing this content under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107]

[theinternetaccordingtokori]

Cheshire Cat Studios returns with an amazing video on the #CHANGETHECOVER controversy and the authoritarian left! Watch it today!

[tachyonblu]

Michael Koretzky weighs in on artistic freedom. An excerpt: "I think what's happening in the gaming industry since GamerGate, and some of the gaming people I talked to who lament the recent changes in gaming, is that it's the Campbell Soup-ization of games. Games are, I mean– they all run the same engines. What makes a better game is infinitesimally smaller than it used to be. So now they're all just chasing the Campbell Soup model until somebody comes along and sells something spicier and creates their own niche." -Koretzky

[two-in-the-belfry]

''Batgirl Joker Variant #41'' by Artcrack Art 

I love this so much.

[lmaverick123]

Finally, Female Allies to Stop Feminist Censorship (A response to Cathy Young)

Finally, Female Allies to Stop Feminist Censorship (A response to Cathy Young)

You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear more and more female voices making themselves heard telling their fellow women who are part of the SJW perpetual-butthurt machine to cool their jets and be reasonable.  Naturally, they don’t take the same confrontational angle that people like myself do, but I’ll take what good news I can get.  And it appears in Timemagazine.  That is just awesome! …

[tachyonblu]

Had a great discussion with Mercoffdaperc, we went over much of the history of GamerGate in detail. We also discuss the more recent Sweet Baby Inc controversy and the ALT+F4 conference. Details over what we go over below!

We discussed Doritosgate, the Cole Nasrallah and Zoe Quinn incident, the Wizardchan incident, online harassment, The Zoe Post , ethics in games journalism, the burgersandfries IRC channel run by Thidran, Gamers Are Dead articles, GameJournoPros, Brianna Wu's involvement with #GamerGate, DeepFreeze, ChangeTheCover & SaveTheCover, the Pillars of Eternity tombstone controversy and the Lionhead Studios cleavage day controversy.

Plus SPJ Airplay with Ashe Short, Cathy Young, Christina Hoff, Michael Koretzky, Ren LaForme, Derek Smart and @libertarianblue. Plus SavePoint at SXSW with @pixelmetalgames, my panels at Arch Anime and Natsucon. The cancellation of my panel at ArchonSTL, the Honey Badgers being banned from @calgaryexpo.

Plus CometCon canceling the debate with Kukuruyo and our thoughts on Brian Martinez's position. Progressive Victory, including Counterpoints and WhickTV embracing disclosure and greater transparency. The ZachAttack incident involving Mombot. My 2018 GamerGate debate in Saint Louis.

We also discussed Vivian James, GamerGate meetups, @timsoret being unfairly attacked, the Alec Holowka incident, the Sweet Baby Inc controversy, Kabrutus misrepresenting Yiyi Zhang's video, how Destiny inspiring me to become a streamer, the Bianca Devon incident, the allegations that Adin Ross's community engaged in harassment against Destiny. Plus the upcoming ALT+F4 conference hosted by LTU.

Watch here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=s0TFuo7m31Y

[gons-dear-friend]

bertmacklin-spartoi yeah I figure it's because of all the #comicgate #killingjoke #savethecovers women hating death threats sending shitbags I interacted with last week. 80's movies are so full of shit there's nothing nice about basement dwelling straight white conservative boys they just gross af I need a shower.

[knightwing19]

Trigger warning to all culture vultures.

[albotas]

SETTING THE (DOUBLE) STANDARD: WHY PULLING THE ‘BATGIRL’ #40 VARIANT IS BAD FOR COMICS

[snakebitcat]

Amen to every word of that.

[tradepaperhacks]

New Episode! We tackle the Joker Batgirl variant cover controversy and @Marvel cancels 33 titles! tinyurl.com/mo9zesj #ChangeTheCover

[megabaker]

Let the games begin