akbogert

http://novellygraphic.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/weekly-pull-4/

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A Few Thoughts on Avengers Arena, Inspired by the Liu Podcast

I'd like to preface this by saying I don't have tunnel vision, and that I got a lot of good stuff out of the podcast (Even commented as such on the Podcast page). These were ancillary points onto which I've, unsurprisingly, latched, regarding Avengers Arena and its implications.

Given Liu's previous work on X-23 and Laura's current role in Hopeless' series, the subject of the book, and fan responses to it, came up. Liu and Tony agreed that it's best to just let the book play out and not to judge it prematurely. I appreciate why they and others say that; it's true, we don't know what the ultimate plan for the book or these characters is. But it seems to me that Hopeless has created a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario here. Fans of the characters will be upset if they die -- no matter how they die, and now matter how good the story gets. Fans of the book will be upset if they don't die, because the high stakes are the only thing keeping them interested.

Obviously there are a few exceptions on either side, but in general I think what I just said Is true. As a character fan, I'm judging the book because I believe Marvel cares more about the opinions of the people paying them for it than about the people who are not. Sure, I can't be positive the deaths are real, but I have plenty of reason to believe they will be. All the marketing, all the interviews, suggest this book means business. If it turns out to be one massive redirect, fine; as they say, "fool me once, shame on me." I'd rather be fooled into protesting than fooled into submission. So while I understand why they're saying to withhold judgment, I ultimately feel compelled to do otherwise.

Not much later in the podcast, when discussing Superior Spider-Man, a concept was brought up which I've seen said several times by various people, and prior to this by Arena's editor Bill Rosemann: that if people are having an emotional response to something, it must be doing something right. In an interview with CBR, Rosemann said "Art is supposed to push buttons and inspire an emotional response. If we're not striving to create true art each month, then why are we doing this?" He, and others, consider outrage like mine a badge of honor.

I honestly just don't understand how people come to such conclusions. They're indefensible. As this is an online forum, I'll go for the easiest example at hand: trolls. Trolls say things which get a rise out of people. They intentionally piss people off. They elicit an emotional response. And there are some people -- maybe even a lot of people -- who find trolling hilarious, and enjoy watching other people get trolled. You see them pull out the popcorn .gifs and say things like "this is going to be good." With Arena, the same people say "I'm just enjoying seeing these fanboys squirm."

The official stance on trolling, however, isn't that it's great, doing something right, or that it's an art worthy of praise. The official stance is prohibition, and the official punishment is, if the behavior isn't ended, banishment. We recognize that making people sad or angry isn't indicative of anything going right at all, even if others are deriving a very different, even pleasurable experience from it. It may well be that some great things produce negative emotions in people, but the emotions themselves are hardly a proof of good.

So I don't really understand why that line is tossed around so much (particularly as regards Arena) because it's simply not true.

A bit later on in the podcast the two discussed death in comics (obviously a rather relevant topic when it comes to Arena), and Liu, perhaps unknowingly, directly undermined the legitimacy of the entire book. She said she only really accepts death when it serves a greater purpose in the story -- and that it's cheap (Tony called it a stunt) when it's done just to galvanize another character or shape their behavior.

I think we can all agree that the latter is an exact description of what happened to Mettle in Issue #1. On a grander scheme, that's also true of any death in this book, because the only effect it can have is on the other participants in the book. I've said it before but I think Liu's comments really ground my point: beyond the isolated confines of Hopeless' book, these deaths have no impact on the rest of the Marvel universe at all. The only external effect they could hope to have is to piss off and galvanize S.H.I.E.L.D. or Wolverine or the like -- which still falls under the category of cheap death.

Liu talks a bit about what she'd love to have done with X-23 had her run continue -- pairing her up with Black Widow, among things. Whether you loved Liu's handling of Laura or not, I think it's rather infuriating that Marvel has writers actively interested in developing the character, and fans who really want to see that happen, and they are still considering killing that character off.

Liu's "rooting for her" to live, but let's face it: if it really is down to Hazmat and X-23, there's not a single person who believes that Hazmat wins that fight. From a storytelling perspective, it's once again a damned either way scenario: if Laura lives, it's too obvious; if Laura dies, it's cheap. About the only way around it is to say that Laura's victory is so obvious that making her lose would be too obvious, but at that point we're more convoluted than even I care to get.

Which, actually, makes it seem more likely that neither of the two dies, because then you'd be messing with both expectations. But I guess that's all besides the point: that Laura is in a death arena when there are creatives working at Marvel who want to be writing her. The idea that they are forced to sit around hoping for her survival like the rest of us, and that they may not get the opportunity to write her because Marvel decides to kill her off (even if only for a couple years) is just, well, as I said: infuriating.

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Question Exchange?

Hey, followers and lurkers. Eleven of you were crazy enough to sign up to see this. The rest are reading merely from morbid curiosity. That's cool, that's cool.

Anyhow, what say y'all to a bit of a "getting to know one another" deal? I've linked to my personal blog, and my image and avatar are both, well, actually me, so at the very least you know I'm a guy, and that I write way too much. You also know I hate Avengers Arena, I guess, and that I really, really like X-23. I don't know what else you may or may have picked up on without going so far as to read my "About Me," and even then, probably not a lot.

Point is, is there anything you'd like to know about me?

No? Cool.

Yes? Not so fast there, kiddos. This isn't going to be an "ask me" thread. I'll answer, sure, but here's the kicker: whatever question you ask, you must also answer about yourself. Because the real reason for this is that I want to get to know you better, but I'm just veiling that in narcissism. Don't tell anyone.

Or you could just tell me about yourself, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyhow, I'll start, and hopefully you'll follow along so I don't look like an idiot (pretty please?):

What's your actual name? Adam Keith Bogert.

What's your name here all about? It's...it's my first two initials and my last name. A. K. Bogert. Nothing spectacular, but it works.

Do you exist elsewhere on the Internet? I've been known to tweet, tumble, read, and play, among things. I have a Facebook but I don't add people unless we actually know each other. That doesn't mean "IRL," per se, but it does mean we've had a few really meaningful conversations and I don't hate you.

What are you most excited about right now? I'll be starting graduate studies at The Ohio State University in August...where I'll be paid to study video games.

What are you least excited about right now? Having to wait six months until August. Also, Avengers Arena.

What's are you most afraid of? No one will respond to this. Just kidding. But when asked in Kingdom Hearts, I answered "Being indecisive," and that pretty much holds true all these years later.

47 Comments

Because I've Never Been One to Keep My Mouth Shut...

This is a thing. I didn't expect it to be, and I actually kind of hoped it wouldn't be, but now it is, and ever will be, a thing. I should've waded gently into comics. Maybe dove in headfirst. Instead I tossed my heart in and now I'm drowning in an attempt to retrieve it. Joke's on me, I guess.

The funny (read: tragic) thing is, if fans would stop being so darn selfish, they might actually be able to create change. Might, not would, but still.

Thing is, there are a ton of people who really, really don't want at least one character in Avengers Arena to die. I'd guess the largest contingency of these people are Laura fans like myself, but there's a decent smattering of Academy and Runaways fans in there as well. We all have a common interest: that either this book goes away and never happened, or it happens but doesn't actually kill any of the characters. Some people have more reason for desperation than others, as their favorites are actually already dead. But nothing's for granted, not even Laura. Heck, I'd say especially Laura, because for a book that's all about trying to shock people and saying "see, and you didn't think we would go there," killing the supposedly favorite and invulnerable X-23 is just Arena's style.

There are far too many people, in my opinion, who are accepting this book on the assumption that either it's inevitable (so may as well make the most of it) or that their character might survive, and the rest be damned. Rather than turning their anger and frustration on Hopeless and Marvel, these fans have been turning on one another, either dismissing or mocking fans of other characters while asserting that either they assume their favorite is okay, or that they don't have too much investment in the characters to worry.

What bothers me more than that, almost (but not quite), is the people who like these characters and are buying the book. I absolutely cannot get my head around that. Grim fascination and/or eagerness to know if your favorite is lost can easily be served by reading just about any site on the web -- this one included -- which will be rife with spoilers and screenshots. The only thing your purchase of the comic does is convey to Marvel that you like what they're doing and want it to continue. If you actually "really hope this isn't real" or "really hope so-and-so doesn't die," then stop buying the comic, and be more vocal about it online. Ask other people, who don't much care one way or the other, to join you in refusing to buy it -- tell them if the protest fails and the series continues, they can always go back and buy the books easily and cheaply enough.

We don't need petitions. We don't need a million angry threads or flame-baiting posts on every article even tangentially connected to Hopeless and Arena.

What we do need -- and by "we" I mean anyone who wants any of these characters to live -- is to be organized in our refusal to buy the comic and in our ability to calmly and reasonably recruit people who don't care either way over to our side. We cannot make other people know or love these characters, but we can show them that we care, and that it would mean a lot, from one comic fan to another, if a little solidarity could be shown.

It's the kind thing to do. I know that's a crazy idea, being kind, but if the comic community can't lend a helping hand to its own, then we've all learned nothing from these "heroes," and everything that comics are supposed to be good for is a sham.

So what'll it be? Will people read this and agree? Or will I just get a million trolls calling me an emotional "manchild" who should shut up because "it's just fictional characters?" Do I come off as hilarious, as silly, as immature? I hope I don't.

In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. But you know, if we used this as a rallying point to come together and send a message about how we want Marvel, and comics in general, to look in the coming years, then maybe it could be a big deal.

Time, as ever, will tell.

Thanks for reading.

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