PSA: Comics Gate is a publicity stunt. Both “sides” are manipulating their followers for money and the ring leaders are probably all going to hang out and have some beers when it’s all over.
On the one hand you’ve got industry insiders led by a certain long-time comic book writer. I won’t say who, because to say anything negative about her at all is automatically considered harassment and will immediately get you banned from several social media sites. These comic book insiders pretend to be liberal. And some of them are, but most of them are lying for money. To prove this point, you have the case of Chuck Wendig, who got pissed after Kavanaugh’s confirmation and started cussing out Trump supporters on Twitter. Marvel fired him.
Why was what Chuck Wendig worse than what several other Marvel writers do every day? Beats the hell out of me. The point is, did you see a certain celebrated Wonder Woman writer defending him? Have you ever seen her post anything political at all that did not directly reference ComicsGate and, by extension, the products she’s selling? No, she’s a fake. She and her allies use this to deflect criticism. Out of ten polite, insightful comments, they pick out the one or two that hurls a racial slur. They then try to say that this person represents every single person who has anything at all negative to say about their work or their arguments.
Then you’ve got the other guy. I won’t get banned for bashing him, but I’ll go ahead and leave his name out of it just to be fair. Something terrible happened to him, he got chased out of mainstream comics for being a Trump supporter. I’m very far left, Trump supporters tried to get me fired from my job at a local newspaper because of things I wrote, and even I think it’s bullshit that he lost his job just for being a Trump supporter. That said, I don’t like this dude one bit. I am not a fan of his.
Criticism against the comicbook industry is much more complex, and often accurate, than any of these social media “leaders” pretend it is. Marvel Comics has always been liberal: pro woman, pro LGBT+, pro people of color. But quality has declined in recent years. Critics accuse the company of cronyism in its hiring practices.
If that’s the case, why do most of those on the ComicsGate side keep bringing up liberal agendas? Because that’s what their leaders are saying.
ComicsGate could have been a very productive discussion about gate keeping and whether or not it’s a good idea to insult one’s own audience. But instead of making it anti gatekeeping, the ComicsGate ringleaders chose to make this movement anti liberal, thus blocking out a huge chunk of liberals who might have otherwise sided with them. They did exactly the same thing that the comics insiders are doing right now. And, just like their supposed opponents, this entire made up controversy sold a hell of a lot of comic books for them.
ComicsGate or Anti-ComicsGate, it’s the same sh*t in different toilets. And it’s all a shame, because comic books were a lot of fun before the creators realized how much money they could make by dividing the fans and stirring up chaos.
-The Southern Nerd
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The Southern Nerd 