University of Panels: 2018

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

🎄Comic Review: Ms. Marvel #31, "One Night Only"🎄

Writers: G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed, Rainbow Rowell & Hasan Minhaj

Artists: Nico Leon, Gustavo Duarte, Bob Quinn & Elmo Bondoc

A remarkable milestone issue that celebrates the best aspects of Kamala Khan’s character while progressing towards an even greater future!

Ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Holidays everyone! You know, with all the negativity currently going on in the world at large, I feel that it’s important for us to be reminded every so often that positivity still exists out there. And seeing as how today is Christmas, a milestone holiday that occurs only once every year, what better way to celebrate it than with review of a milestone comic issue. As such, my holiday present to you all is a review of MS. MARVEL’s 50th issue “One Night Only!”

For those who are unaware, milestone (or anniversary) comics are issues of a long-running comic series that celebrate the anniversary of said-series and its respective characters. These issues are meant to be special events, as they primarily occur when a series reaches its fiftieth or hundredth issue (or in the recent case of ACTION COMICS, its one thousandth issue…) and are often extra long or double-sized in length. To put it into a mathematical perspective, the average length of a standard single issue comic ranges from 21 to 25 pages, whereas the length of a milestone issue can range from 34 to 45 pages. Because of their additional length, the creative teams of these particular issues are under increased pressure to produce a story that’s not only high in quality but also succeeds as a celebration of the series' anniversary and characters. When these efforts are successful, you end up with truly fantastic stories like AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #400, “The Gift,” which not only told the story of Aunt May’s death during THE CLONE SAGA but also dedicated its entirety to honoring the character's legacy and the importance of her relationship with Peter Parker. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, you have AVENGERS #200, “The Child is Father To…?,” which not only had Carol Danvers being raped by a super villain but also portrayed the rest of the Avengers as complete idiots who made no attempt to comfort Carol or to stop her from falling in love with her rapist and leaving to live in limbo with him.

Good Milestone Issues vs. Bad Milestone Issues. (Left) From Amazing Spider-Man #400 (Apr 1995). Art by Mark Bagley and Larry Mahlstedt.
(Right) From Avengers #200 (Oct 1980). Art by George Pérez and Terry Austin. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Something that I’ve come to notice regarding the milestone issues published by Marvel is that they tend to follow a structure similar to that of Charles Dicken’s novel A CHRISTMAS CAROL in that they tend to be celebrations of a series or characters’ past, present, or future. For anniversary stories that focus on the past, Marvel will often simply pay homage to or feature the return of classic elements from the series such as the case with X-MEN #100 having the all-new X-Men fighting sentinels disguised as the original five X-Men. Milestone issues that focus on the present tend to be more varied, ranging from being the concluding chapters for ongoing storylines, such as with IRON MAN #200 being the finale to “The Iron Monger Saga,” to standalone issues with an emphasis on character development over action like with “The Trial Of Magneto” from UNCANNY X-MEN #200. And milestones that focus on the future are usually celebratory in the manner that they set the stage for future stories, either by introducing a new characters or villains like Venom in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300, or plot twists like the reveal of Magneto’s tragic origins as a Holocaust survivor in UNCANNY X-MEN #150. In my personal opinion, however, the best type of milestone issues are the ones that incorporate elements from not just one but all three areas of time. Stories that have the characters either reflecting or encountering elements from their past, demonstrating how they have changed and developed since their initial beginnings, as well as contemplating and looking towards their futures. These elements are all presented in the subject of today’s review, MS. MARVEL #31, “One Night Only,” which serves as the fiftieth issue of the series overall!

Now immediately you’re probably confused as to how MS. MARVEL #31 could possibly be the fiftieth issue of the series. Well the thing is, is that Kamala Khan’s series actually runs across two separate volumes. The first volume of MS. MARVEL ran for a total of nineteen issues but following the crossover event SECRET WARS in 2015, all of Marvel’s books were canceled and then relaunched with new number ones. While this strategy has made keeping track of a series’ continuity an incredibly daunting task for even long-time readers, it has proven to be a financially successful strategy since number one issues tend to sell more than their contemporaries and has thus been an ongoing practice throughout comics’ history. Following the relaunch the series ran for another thirty one issues and when you add in the previous nineteen issues from the first volume, that would make MS. MARVEL #31 the fiftieth issue of the series to be published.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned back in my review of MS. MARVEL (VOL. 8): MECCA, Kamala Khan has easily become my second favorite comic book hero of all-time, surpassing even Batman and the X-Men. Kamala is immensely relatable due to her adolescent struggles, nerdy personality, and strong desire to do good for her community and help those in need. While it is certainly important that she provides greater diversity and representation to the Marvel Universe because she is Muslim, her creators G. Willow Wilson and Sana Amanat perfectly understood that the character would not last if her Islamic faith was the only aspect of her personality and thus set out to make her a character as genuinely authentic and realistic as possible. Although Wilson was still initially skeptical about the character’s chances of success, she later stated in a 2016 TEDx Talks appearance that “within a few months no one was calling [Kamala Marvel’s first Muslim leading lady anymore, but] were calling her this generation’s Spider-Man.” In essence, MS. MARVEL proved to be a critical and financial sensation that defied everyone’s expectations due to her being a character that not just Muslims but all audiences could connect with and relate to. Because of the character’s unprecedented success, Wilson and Amanat knew that MS. MARVEL’s fiftieth issue (a milestone which neither them believed that they would ever reach) needed to be a special event that demonstrated how the character has enriched various peoples’ lives. To achieve this, it was decided to bring on three additional writers who would tell their own individual MS. MARVEL stories. These guest-writers include science-fiction author and poet Saladin Ahmed, the current writer of the comics EXILES and MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN; Young Adult novelist Rainbow Rowell, the author of novels like ELEANOR & PARK and Marvel’s revived RUNAWAYS series; and professional comedian Hasan Minhaj, DAILY SHOW host and the writer/star of the film HOMECOMING KING. Furthermore, each of the three stories are illustrated by different artists, Gustavo Duarte, Bob Quinn, and Elmo Bondoc, and are all separated an overarching main plot by Wilson and artist Nico Leon that focuses on Kamala struggling to have a slumber party with her friends. The final product of this creative gathering, MS. MARVEL #31, “One Night Only,” is a milestone issue that celebrates the lighthearted and somewhat goofy spiritedness of Kamala Khan’s past stories, honors the down-to-Earth traits that make her the hero she presently is today, and serves to progress and introduce plot elements and character development for future stories.

(As a brief aside, there will be spoilers for this issue throughout this review, including the ending. If you’re legitimately curious, I highly suggest stop reading this review and go out and buy MS. MARVEL #31 right now, as well as the entirety of G. Willow Wilson’s run on the series! Trust me, you won’t regret it!)

The fiftieth issue of MS. MARVEL opens on a Saturday night at the Khan residence where Kamala is preparing to host a slumber party for her best friends Nakia Bahadir, Zoe Zimmer, and Michaela “Mike" Miller. While Kamala’s mother fails to grasp the logic behind having a sleepover, Kamala stresses that it’s meant to be a special bonding experience. Their humorous spat is interrupted by her friends arrival, thus marking the beginning of what Kamala hopes to be one night free of crime fighting. A night where she can just be a normal teenage girl engaging in normal teenage girl activities. But as Kamala has been forced to learn throughout her superhero career, being “normal” is a concept that has never really applied to her life. The slumber party initially starts off strong with the girls discussing Kamala’s first kiss from the SOMETHING NEW arc as well as providing their own respective views on boys and dating.

However, it is quickly interrupted by a series of unwelcome intrusions that force Kamala to repeatedly abandon her own party and go into action as Ms. Marvel. Over the course of the night, Ms. Marvel is forced play an intergalactic game of chase with Lockjaw and a teleporting cat, deal with an angry pizza woman possessing skunk powers, and team up with Miles Morales to prevent New York’s water supply form being poisoned. Finally, tired of it all, Kamala makes a shocking decision that will forever alter the course of her career as Ms. Marvel as well as her friendships with Nakia, Zoe, and Mike!

MS. MARVEL #31, “One Night Only,” is undoubtably one of the best stories to come out of G. Willow Wilson’s MS. MARVEL series, second only to the MECCA arc in terms of being my personal favorite! The issue manages to celebrate the best aspects of Kamala’s character from a past, present, and future perspective whilst doing so through the voices eight distinctive creators. At its core, the issue is composed of three separate mini-stories within a larger overarching plot, each of them having their own individual writer and artist. Although this could have easily served to the book’s detriment, the creative team effectively manages to weave all four narratives into a single cohesive whole, which is a feat especially deserving of praise. The problem with having multiple creators collaborate on a single book is that their respective styles will usually clash with one another, thus resulting in conflicting tones that can easily distract the reader. Thus, collaborative books are incredibly difficult produc even for writers who share similar styles and characteristics. For instance, although C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were both Christian authors who wrote high-fantasy novels, as well as good friends with each other, the two were unable to finish a collaborative book entitled LANGUAGE AND HUMAN NATURE since they were vastly different in how they incorporated themes of faith into their works. Despite this, I feel that collaborative efforts can still succeed if the creators are able to adjust and balance their individual characteristics to match those of their partners, thereby reducing the risk of tonal shifts. One of the methods in which MS. MARVEL #31 accomplishes this is by utilizing Kamala’s slumber party as a framing device in which the other mini-stories are juxtaposed. While the main sleepover plot is written by G. Willow Wilson, the side plots feature Kamala as Ms. Marvel are all written by Saladin Ahmed, Rainbow Rowell, and Hasan Minhaj respectively. The comic makes effective use of transitions between writers by having each mini-story beginning with Kamala’s party being interrupted by some random outside force, and ending with Ms. Marvel returning home to pick up where she previously left off. Another clever touch that I noticed is that Wilson’s sleepover plot always takes place inside Kamala’s house whereas each of the min-stories take place outside, thereby making the transitions feel more natural and consistent. This is made clearer in the artistic department, with the exception of two occasions; all the bits taking place inside the Khan’s residence are illustrated by Nico Leon, but it always switches over to a different artist whenever Kamala exits the house.

Transitions between different artists. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #31 (Jun 2018).
Art by Nico Leon and Gustavo Duarte. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

But most impressively, each of the guest authors manage to have their writing styles reflect Wilson’s usual dialogue, characterization, and tone so well that I could’ve sworn that the entire issue was by Wilson herself if not for the fact that there are multiple artists onboard to indicate the transitions between writers. Furthermore, all of the stories share a purpose by focusing and building up towards Kamala’s growing stress of living a double life. So, while each of them possess their own individual plots and messages, they all share a single thematic focus that helps connect them all together. In large measure, ONE NIGHT ONLY greatly succeeds as a collaborative work between four writers and four artists through its effective use of transitions and the maintenance of a consistent tone and thematic focus.

While it’s certainly impressive that the creative team manages to connect all of their stories together into a larger single work, the individual plots themselves are all great and are each reflective of the fundamental elements that make up Ms. Marvel’s mythos. And while it was probably unintentional, I personally feel that the three mini-stories individually highlight elements that are symbolically reflective of Ms. Marvel’s past, present, and future. The first by Saladin Ahmed and Gustavo Duarte focuses on Ms. Marvel helping the Inhuman’s teleporting dog Lockjaw chase a cat that transports them distant planets with warring alien factions.

Ms. Marvel plays intergalactic chase with Lockjaw. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #31 (Jun 2018).
Art by Gustavo Duarte. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

While in my opinion this is easily the weakest of the three mini-stories, it does effectively represent the lavishly ludicrous elements that predominated Ms. Marvel’s early adventures. Despite her stories always being centered around adolescent struggles, when Ms. Marvel first debuted, she was regularly teaming up with heroes like Wolverine and Lockjaw to fight giant mutant sewer alligators, and her first arch nemesis, the Inventor, was a mutated clone of Thomas Edison with the head of a cockatiel. Plus, when Kamala was temporarily a member of the Avengers, she helped combat time-traveling dictators and interdimensional alien warlords. In that sense, Ahmed’s story accurately reflects the lighthearted goofiness that was more heavily present in Ms. Marvel’s past stories. The second story by Rainbow Rowell and Bob Quinn focuses on Ms. Marvel dealing with an enraged pizza woman stricken with the Inhuman power to smell like a skunk from vandalizing the Khan’s house. Rather than having an all-out fight with “Skunk Girl,” who’s depressed about her powers making her an outcast and is envious of Kamala’s happiness, Ms. Marvel instead tries to appeal to her. She gives a heartfelt speech about how she too is an Inhuman, and how although neither of them can reclaim their former lives they can still adjust accordingly and find happiness.

This is highly reminiscent of the series’ recent stories being more grounded in reality and tackling serious issues like gentrification, profiling, cyberbullying, teenage depression and romance as well as a stand-in for the Trump administration. It’s also reflective of MS. MARVEL’s central themes about the adolescent struggles of learning to accept oneself and turning what others might perceive as weird or different into one’s greatest strengths. In this regard, Rowell’s mini-story is easily the my personal favorite of the bunch! The final story by Hasan Minhaj and Elmo Bondoc focuses on Ms. Marvel teaming up with Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, to stop Nazi super villain Arnim Zola from contaminating New York’s water supply with deadly chemicals, but the two have to break into a government facility in order gain access to reservoir’s computer system. This results in comedic banter and antics between the two as they infiltrate the building, along with a scene where Miles accidentally drops a magic mood stone that inadvertently forces him to confess harboring semi-romantic feelings towards Ms. Marvel. While the mood stone itself is incredibly silly (unsurprising coming from a professional comedian like Minhaj), it serves an very important purpose in establishing future developments for Ms. Marvel. When Miles confesses his feelings and states that “having one less [secret] lightens the load,” Ms. Marvel comes to the realization that she needs to be honest with herself, too, and that “maybe it’s time for [her] to lighten the load” as well.

In large measure, Minhaj’s story lays out potential directions for future Ms. Marvel stories to branch out towards while also foreshadowing a crucial moment that occurs within the fiftieth issue itself. Overall, the guest-writers’ mini-stories are individually reflective of the best elements that compose Ms. Marvel’s past, present, and future.

While each of the guest-writers' plots are great in their own right, it is the main overarching plot by G. Willow Wilson and Nico Leon involving Kamala’s sleepover that is the most important since it encapsulates what is essentially the overall heart of the series: Kamala Khan herself and the relationships she shares with her supporting cast. Since the start of her series, the character has always been centered around the adolescent struggles of wanting to fit in according to society’s standards whilst overcoming this mindset by learning how to accept and embrace themselves and others for who they truly are. While Kamala has always felt different due to her Islamic faith, geeky personality, and acquisition of Inhuman powers, she’s always relied upon two sources of strength that have contributed to her evolution as a hero: her family and her friends. While Kamala’s parents endowed upon her the desire and moral obligation to do good for her community, Kamala’s friends have served as beacons of guidance and encouragement, especially whenever the stress of her mission becomes too much to bear. The latter idea is the central focus of ONE NIGHT ONLY, as Kamala’s primary purpose for hosting a slumber party is for her to become more open and intimate with her friends. This is effectively demonstrated at the start of the sleepover when Kamala confesses to her friends about having shared her first kiss with the Pakistani vigilante Red Dagger two issues prior, and how it caused her to undergo spiritual crisis since she still harbors feelings for her childhood best friend Bruno. But while Nakia, Zoe, and Mike are all too eager to try and help Kamala sort out her feelings, she is unable to listen to them as she’s repeatedly forced to awkwardly push them aside whenever an interruption involving Ms. Marvel occurs. This repetitious cycle ultimately leads to the issue’s stand-out moment where, after dealing with interruption after interruption, Kamala returns upstairs to her friends while holding her costume in her hands, stating to them that she is in fact Ms. Marvel.

To which her friends reveal that have known Kamala’s secret for a long time and have been waiting to provide her their support, and then the issue ends with their embracing Kamala in a group hug.

This scene is easily my favorite moment of the entire issue! It further underscores the importance of Kamala’s relationships with her friends while simultaneously shattering an age-old superhero cliché. One thing that I’ve always admired about MS. MARVEL has been the series’ ability to challenge outdated stereotypes. This has been apparent since the series’ first issue which featured a scene of Zoe questioning whether or not Nakia would be honor killed if she removed her hijab to which Nakia replied that her father actually wanted her to take it off.

But while most of the stereotypes MS. MARVEL has targeted are those centered around Islam and Muslim Americans, ONE NIGHT ONLY instead decides to focus on a stereotype that predominates the superhero genre itself: the possession of a secret identity. Since the inception of Superman in ACTION COMICS #1 from 1938, superheroes have routinely lead double lives in which they keep the activities of the mask and the man separate from one another, not only because it helps prevent the hero’s enemies from exploiting their loved ones but also because it allows writers to produce greater drama between the protagonist and their supporting cast. For instance, in the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spider-Man stories Peter Parker was regularly forced to lie and make up excuses to Aunt May and his classmates whenever he was forced into action as Spider-Man, which added additional stakes to Peter’s dilemmas and interpersonal relationships. But as is the case with all tropes, when a storytelling device is overused, it ends up becoming a tiresome cliché. There's only so many times Peter making excuses to maintain his secret identity can hold the readers’ interest. This is actually one the reasons why I'm a huge fan of Mary Jane revealing that she knew Peter's secret and the two getting married, since it allowed the character to evolve beyond his high school years and develop more interpersonal relationships. Essentially, removing the secret identity factor allowed Spider-Man to become more fleshed out and mature, which is another reason as to why I hate ONE MORE DAY so much since it backpedals on this character development by erasing other character's knowledge of his identity.

In regards to Ms. Marvel, I'll admit that I was a little disappointed when Wilson made the decision to keep Kamala's identity secret from her friends and family (with the exception of Bruno) at the start of the series. I was hoping for the book to follow the route of the Jaime Reyes' BLUE BEETLE series by revealing her identity to her loved ones right off the bat. But while Wilson too initially fell prey to the secret identity trope, the entirety of ONE NIGHT ONLY is dedicated to portraying how having a secret identity has been proven to be more burdensome than beneficial to Kamala and her relationships. While Kamala originally decided to keep her superhero life secret out of fear for her loved ones would react, the costs of living a double life became increasingly apparent to her as the series progressed. This was especially evident in the CIVIL WAR II tie-in arc when Kamala put Ms. Marvel’s needs above those of her friends, which resulted in Bruno ending their lifelong friendship and the two not reconciling until the issue directly preceding MS. MARVEL #31. ONE NIGHT ONLY further emphasizes this, as every time Kamala’s sleepover is interrupted she gradually realizes that her secret identity has prevented her from participating in her friends and family’s lives (as well as her own) from plans going the way she had hoped and from broadening her relationships and expressing her true self to those she cares about the most.

So when Kamala chooses to reveal her secret identity to her friends, she is essentially welcoming them into both halves of her life. She is not only giving herself permission to become a greater part of her friends’ lives, but her friends permission to become a greater part of her life as well. Furthermore, Kamala’s decision demonstrates that she's overcoming her previous fears of being seen as weird or different. That she is now fully willing to accept her friends’ guiding support through hardship and struggle. But most importantly, that she wants her relationships to evolve and flourish rather than to stagnate or fall apart. In essence, Kamala revealing her secret identity further ties into the themes of past, present, and future, whilst reflecting the outstanding growth and development of the character and her relationships over the course of fifty issues. It's also a testament to Wilson's growth as a writer and storyteller, since ONE NIGHT ONLY takes an element that was initially a detriment to the series and instead utilizes it to serve as part of Kamala's ongoing character arc, thereby turning past weaknesses into future strengths.

Another aspect about Kamala revealing her identity that I absolutely loved is how Wilson presents Nakia, Zoe, and Mike as having already known. This revelation beautifully struck accord with me. While the comic does provide logical explanations as for how they knew, like with Kamala “not [being] very good at hiding” her secret identity or it being “extremely guessable,” it just makes sense from a purely human perspective.

If there’s one truth that’s almost universal it is that no matter how hard we try to hide our secrets, the people who are most likely to figure them out or already know them are the people with whom we share the closest connections. And although sometimes coming forward with these secrets can have negative consequences, more often than not the people who care about us have already accepted them and are simply waiting to provide their loving support, a point which is emphasized through Mike’s words “We just didn’t want to make you talk about it… if you weren’t ready,” and “We just want to help! We’ve been waiting to be asked!”

In many ways, this scene heavily reminded me of the moment from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #400 where Aunt May revealed that she had always known Peter was Spider-Man and gave him her approval before passing away. It was one of the most beautiful and powerful scenes that I’ve ever read from not just any Marvel milestone comic but from any Spider-Man comic period.

Aunt May reveals she's always known Peter is Spider-Man. From Amazing Spider-Man #400 (Apr 1995).
Art by Mark Bagley. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

The twist of Nakia, Zoe, and Mike knowing Kamala's secret identity was not only able to emotionally resonate with me on a similar level, but the parallels between it and the Aunt May scene are indicative of Wilson taking the fans' statements of Ms. Marvel being "this generation's Spider-Man" to heart. And seeing as how Ms. Marvel is now second only to Spidey in terms of being my all-time favorite superhero, its a sentiment that I wholeheartedly support.

What makes this plot twist with Kamala's friends further emotionally resonate with the reader is that Wilson appears to have been building up towards this moment as early as the LAST DAYS tie-in arc when Kamala revealed her identity to her mother, to which her Ammi replied that she already knew and was proud of her daughter. In regards to Nakia, Zoe, and Mike, Wilson provided three separate scenes in which each respective character implied that they knew or discovered Ms. Marvel’s true identity. The first was with Nakia during the ELECTION DAY issue, when she helped assist Ms. Marvel in protesting against HYDRA member Chuck Worthy from running for mayor by encouraging people to vote. Initially it made little sense for Nakia to be actively helping Ms. Marvel since in previous issues she held a grudge against her. However, there is a panel in the issue where Nakia is seen in the background with her jaw dropped in awe after Ms. Marvel gives a speech about voting.

While the intention of this panel was most likely to infer that Nakia was impressed with the speech, I also interpreted it as a subtle indication of Nakia recognizing Ms. Marvel’s words as familiar, thus putting two and two together and overcoming her previous biases towards Jersey City’s resident hero. In regards to Zoe, she was more forward in implying her knowledge of Ms. Marvel’s true identity. When the evil sentient computer virus Doc.X threatened to out Zoe as a lesbian during the DAMAGE PER SECOND arc, Ms. Marvel stressed that the Doc.X virus could also potentially reveal her secret identity as well, to which Zoe replied, “If your life is anything like mine, most of the people you love already know your secrets. They’re just waiting for you to be ready to talk about it.”

Zoe alludes to knowing Ms. Marvel's identity. From Ms. Marvel Vol. 4 #16 (Mar 2017).
Art by Takeshi Miyazawa. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

This sentiment is reflected by Mike here in ONE NIGHT ONLY as I mentioned previously. Speaking of Mike, she suggests to knowing who Kamala really is during the TEENAGE WASTELAND arc when she's revealed to be in possession of Ms. Marvel’s locator pendant after witnessing the latter discard it during the CIVIL WAR II tie-in arc.

The catch is that when Kamala discarded the pendant she did it in her civilian persona, meaning that Mike definitely knew that she was Ms. Marvel. Overall, the twist of Kamala’s friends knowing her true identity feels earned and doesn’t come out of left field due to solid built up from previous issues.

In large measure, MS. MARVEL #31, “One Night Only” stands tall as my second favorite MS. MARVEL story and as one of the best milestone stories to be published by Marvel. The issue wonderfully celebrates Ms. Marvel’s anniversary through the collaborative efforts of eight creators while never feeling messy or cluttered. It encapsulates all of the elements of Kamala’s past, present, and future that have made the character so appealing, but most especially it reflects the growth and development of Kamala and her relationships with her friends over the course of fifty issues. It was recently announced that following February 2019, G. Willow Wilson will be leaving MS. MARVEL after having written sixty issues and that the series will be relaunched in March as THE MAGNIFICENT MS. MARVEL with writer Saladin Ahmed (one of the guest writers featured here) at the helm. While this does sadden me, I simultaneously understand and sympathize with Wilson’s decision as she feels that she’s contributed all she has to offer to the series and that it’s time for her to move onto future projects. And just as MS. MARVEL #31 stresses the importance of progressing towards a brighter future, I wish both her and Ahmed good luck in their respective endeavors. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“I will live in the past, the present, and the future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Monday, December 17, 2018

Dissecting Comicsgate (Conclusion): The Comic Book Industry Strikes Back

Despite all of the bigotry and controversy surrounding Comicsgate, it is my great pleasure to inform you all that their activities have not gone unnoticed or unopposed. In addition to several media outlets like Bleeding Cool, The Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, and even The Washington Post denouncing the movement, several people working within the comic book industry have publicly spoken out against Comicsgate. The most prominent of these individuals is Mark Waid, a long-time industry veteran whose worked at both Marvel and DC and has written several critically acclaimed comics like KINGDOM COME, CAPTAIN AMERICA, FANTASTIC FOUR, and 52. Waid has been one of Comicsgate’s most frequent targets ever since September 2017, when he posted the following message on Facebook after being informed that Richard C. Meyer would be attending Baltimore Comic Con:

“For anyone attending this weekend’s (excellent) Baltimore Comic Con, I have an important request. There is a serial YouTube harasser named Richard C. Meyer who I’m told may be attending as a fan. If anyone sees this gentleman or any of his friends, I need you to come find me and tell me immediately. Even if I’m on a panel, come up and interrupt.

Please circulate this request as widely as you possibly can through all your social media accounts. Fellow pros, tell each other. This is about attempting to lessen the harassment of women in comics, and it is important. Please spread the word. Thank you.”

Although many of Meyer’s supporters accused Waid of threatening Meyer with physical violence, Waid clarified that he simply wanted to engage in a civil discourse with Meyer. Despite this, these very same people continued to accuse Waid of trying to silence free speech and criticism. Waid disputed this accusation, stating in a later Facebook post that “criticism of the work itself is fine, but no reasonable person would fail to draw the line at direct personal threats and attacks on gender and race and orientation.” This argument was supported by Waid’s earlier comments that although he himself was able to withstand many of Comicsgate’s attacks since he was both a white male and an industry veteran, several of his colleagues lacked that same privilege. Essentially, Waid was not trying to silence criticism but was merely trying to stand up in defense of his fellow female and minority co-workers, as not only were many of them afraid to show up at conventions or stores, but some had even received death threats like being “burned to death” or being “put down like a dog” (which Waid states are some of the more tame threats they received, believe it or not). Nevertheless, Waid’s efforts fell through since the Meyer not only failed to show up at Baltimore Comic Con, but Waid stated that in a later phone conversation with Meyer, “[they] mutually agreed that all that need be said is that it was unproductive.”

This wouldn’t be the last time Waid and Meyer would clash with each other, as Waid has been a central figure in the controversy surrounding JAWBREAKERS. The controversy began when it was announced in May 2018 that JAWBREAKERS would be published by Antarctic Press, which led to several comic book stores openly refusing to stock the comic due to its author. Meyer responded intentionally posting the specific stores, their contact information, and even the names of their retailers that refused to sell his book, which may have resulted in the breaking and entering and theft of one comic book store. In light of this news, Mark Waid contacted Antarctic Press to inform them of Meyer’s history of online harassment and connections to Comicsgate, and Antarctic Press later announced although it stood for creator’s rights, it would no longer be publishing JAWBREAKERS. This not only led to Meyer starting up another Kickstarter to try and form his own company to publish JAWBREAKERS, but Meyer later went on to file a lawsuit against Mark Waid on September 19, 2018 for “tortious interference with contract and defamation,” claiming that Waid used his status to threaten and bully Antarctic Press while accusing Meyer of being a bigot and “serial harasser of women and minorities.” This is in spite of the fact that Antarctic Press publicly stated that:

"This is an untrue story. Please do not spread it. Nobody at AP contacted Marvel. Mark Waid did not bully anyone at our company. Though he did call and express concern. No letters were written between us and Marvel. Mark shed more light on the situation, and other factors that came into play that do not involve any staff or freelancers at any other company, that led us to our decision.”

In response to Meyer’s lawsuit, Waid has hired Mark S. Zaid, a Washington D.C. attorney with experience in high-profile defamation cases, and started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $75,000. Fortunately, it appears Waid's efforts to combat Meyer in this case have largely been successful, as not only did the campaign raise more than its intended goal, but Zaid managed to dismiss Meyer's lawsuit through a Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, since Meyer sought to sue Waid in a Texas court of law, whereas Waid lived in California.

But Mark Waid hasn’t been the only industry veteran to fight back against Comicsgate. On August 21, 2018, a random Twitter user claimed that late-comic book writer Darwyn Cooke would have been supportive of Comicsgate, which led to Cooke’s widow Marsha retweeting the following:

"Hi guys, this is Darwyn’s wife and I can guarantee he thought you comics gate idiots were a bunch of crybaby losers ruining comics. because you are.”

This resulted in several Comicsgate supporters harassing Marsha and accusing her of not really being Darwyn’s widow, and when Marsha requested Ethan Van Sciver put a stop to the situation, the latter instead blamed the SJWs for the harassment she was facing and demanded them to apologize instead of his own followers. In response, several prominent figures within the comic book industry who up until that point remained silent or neutral about Comicsgate, came rushing to Marsha’s defense. It all started with OLD MAN LOGAN writer Jeff Lemire tweeting “Comicsgate is based on fear, intolerance, bigotry and anger,” along with NEW MUTANTS artist Bill Sienkiewicz stating on Facebook that Comicsgate promotes “hateful, misogynistic and plain-old ugly dogma.” ALL-NEW WOLVERINE writer Tom Taylor later tweeted, “I believe comics are for everyone. There’s no excuse for harassment. There’s no place for homophobia, transphobia, racism or misogyny in comics criticism.” Taylor’s comment was later retweeted by several other prominent industry figures including Deadpool’s co-creator Fabian Nicieza, and BIRDS OF PREY and SECRET SIX writer Gail Simone. Even the artist of Alan Moore’s legendary WATCHMEN Dave Gibbons spoke out against Comicsgate after reading Sienkiewicz’s Facebook post. Furthermore, this event helped inspire later incidents in which prominent comic book writers have risen up to defend marginalized creators, as was most recently evident with prose writer Eve Ewing. When it was announced that Ewing would be writing the new IRONHEART series, several Comicsgate proponents lambasted her for being supposedly inexperienced and unqualified since she had never written a single comic before. Consequently, writers Tom King and Neil Gaiman came to Ewing’s defense, with Gaiman stating that he managed to get hired by DC decades prior despite having only published three short stories beforehand.

Regardless, while it is good that comic book industry veterans are finally standing up against Comicsgate, many including Marsha Cooke have argued that it took them too long to respond, which in turn has allowed Comicsgate to continue thriving and infecting the comic book industry just like a festering mold. The movement still continues to grow strong and currently shows no signs of dissipating, which begs the question of what should be done. Well, in my personal opinion, I feel not only should veteran writers and artists continue to vocally oppose Comicsgate, but also that the CEOs and higher-ups at companies like Marvel, DC, Image, and IDW should throw their voices into the arena as well. They shouldn’t necessarily outright call their fans and customers bigots, as that’s the type of language that has and will continue to antagonize Comicsgate’s supporters. However, they should openly denounce all forms of bigotry and harassment while continuing to promote inclusiveness and tolerance in both their books and their working staffs. Speaking of which, companies should also provide additional support to marginalized creators who are or have already suffered from online harassment, such as more actively promoting their books. As for us the fans and customers, I believe that it’s moral obligation to provide support for the victims and targets of Comicsgate, whether it’s by simply complementing them on social media, or by buying their products. I myself, for instance, not only follow creators like G. Willow Wilson, Sana Amanat, Sina Grace, Heather Antos, and Magdalene Visaggio on Twitter, but I’m also currently purchasing titles from Marvel’s featuring their newer diverse characters like MS. MARVEL, UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL, and ICEMAN. On the matter of voting with our wallets, I also propose boycotting any of the given works being published by Comicsgate’s members. While I’m normally not one for advocating the boycott of any given product, since I personally feel that it’s unfair as all works should be judged on their own merits, I propose making an exception in this case. People like Richard C. Meyer, Ethan Van Sciver, and Vox Day have fueled their internet careers off of the harassment and discrimination of others, and buying books like JAWBREAKERS: LOST SOULS, CYBERFROG, and ALT★HERO will only serve to give them more money and attention. And on that same note, ignore YouTube channels or Twitter accounts that are supportive of Comicsgate like “Diversity and Comics,” “Capn Cummings,” “Douglas Ernst,” “Yellow Flash,” “Mim Headroom,” etc. As the late Stan Lee said in one of his famous soapboxes, “Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today… sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

Take Stan’s words to heart people. Let his legacy live on by demonstrating to the world that comics are a community that is all-inclusive and do not allow it to be infected by the intolerance and hatred that Comicsgate promotes!

Dissecting Comicsgate (Pt. 4): Revenge of the Bigots

What makes the visceral surrounding Comicsgate even worse is that the movement has actually received validation from a few prominent figures within the comic book industry. The most prominent of these individuals is undeniably Ethan Van Sciver, who is second only to Richard C. Meyer in being the leading voice of Comicsgate. For those who don’t know who Van Sciver is, he was formerly the artist on popular comics like Geoff John’s runs on GREEN LANTERN and THE FLASH as well as Grant Morrison’s NEW X-MEN. While Van Sciver is certainly a very talented illustrator, his online rhetoric leaves a lot to be desired. Not only has he engaged in cyberbullying, such as when he notoriously told a fan on Facebook suffering from depression to “kill [himself]” in May 2017, but he is also an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and has retweeted popular Alt-Right memes such as images of Pepe the Frog. Speaking of which, Van Sciver has been frequently accused of including Nazi imagery in some his artwork, with the most infamous case of this being a sketchbook he released in 2007 entitled “My Struggle.”

Not only does the title translate to Mein Kampf in German, but the character on the cover is Sinestro, a Green Lantern antagonist who’s basically the space-equivalent to Adolf Hitler seeing as how he’s a dictator who used the power of fear to seize control over his home planet’s populace. Furthermore, Van Sciver himself has mentioned that the title of the sketchbook was a joking reference to his own struggles of becoming a comic book artist, thereby adding more unfortunate implications to the situation.

In relation to Comicsgate, Van Sciver has publicly defended its members, while describing the movement as such:

“Comicsgate is a consumer-led revolt against what is clearly a left-wing dominance in the comic book industry. It’s an opportunity for displaced comic book fans, fans who have often quit the hobby, to take control and make or support the comics they’d rather read. It’s an opportunity for creators who cannot find work in mainstream comics for political reasons, or any reason, to create again, free from the oppressive social justice warrior harassment and blacklisting that made work difficult or impossible for them.”

Basically, rather than denouncing Comicsgate for the hate campaign that it is, Van Sciver instead attempts to paint the movement’s members (i.e., white men with conservative political views) as the actual victims of oppression and harassment, which again is a form of “whataboutism” that I referred to back in Part 2 this essay. Van Sciver has also shown support for Comicsgate by hosting both Richard C. Meyer and Alt-Right spokesperson Vox Day on his YouTube channel “ComicArtistPro Secrets.” But more egregiously, Van Sciver has encouraged and directly participated in the harassment of Comicsgate’s opponents. A notable example of this was when he repeatedly pressured cartoonist and critic Darryl Ayo to appear on his YouTube channel after the latter criticized former Marvel artist Jon Malin for literally comparing SJWs to the Hitler. Ayo declined Van Sciver's offer. This led to several of Van Sciver’s twitter followers harassing Ayo, while Van Sciver claimed that he himself was actually the victim of harassment since Ayo accused him of being a Nazi based of the “My Struggle” sketchbook. He also was reported to have stated that he “[thought his] fans [were] the best” following the incident. Van Sciver has also proven himself to be hypocritical and indecisive, since he has not only publicly condemned online harassment whilst participating in cyberbullying himself, but he stated that he was leaving Comicsgate on November 10, 2018, only for him to declare two days later that he was “back in.”

Going back to Richard C. Meyer though, Meyer has made various attempts to influence mainstream comics beyond his online presence. In addition to claiming that he has insiders at both Marvel and DC, Meyer has taken public credit for the firing of former IDW writer Aubrey Sitterson. Sitterson faced controversy when he posted a tweet about performative guilt in relation to 9/11 on September 11, 2017, which led to him being fired by IDW two days later due to fan boycotts of Sitterson’s G.I JOE series SCARLETT’S STRIKE FORCE.

Later in December 2017, Meyer told PJ Media that he personally encouraged the boycotts, stating:

"My hope was to get Sitterson fired and for IDW to stop peddling SJW politics. I’m happy with how he was removed.”

Meyer’s purported reasoning for getting Sitterson fired was not just because of his deservedly criticized tweet but mainly because his book portrayed women and overweight characters in the military, an idea that Meyer seemed to be offended by. Fortunately, however, the industry seems to have learned from the experience with Sitterson, as Meyer and his followers so far have failed to get anyone else they don’t like fired. Meyer’s most significant attempt to change direction of the comics’ industry, however, has been the attempted publication of his own indie comic JAWBREAKERS: LOST SOULS.

Richard C. Meyer's "Magnum Opus." From Jawbreakers: Lost Souls. Art by Ethan Van Sciver.
From https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jawbreakers-lost-souls-graphic-novel#/.

But before I discuss JAWBREAKERS itself, I feel that it’s important to provide some context about this book and how it’s representative of the movement’s larger mission. While for the most part Comicsgate has been focused on harassing and silencing the voices of progressive creators, one of the movement’s other goals is the publication of comics that they feel are more reflective of their own standards of storytelling. Several of its members, including Meyer, have claimed that comics have been an apolitical medium until just recently and that the quality of their writing was at its peak during the 1990s since that era had the strongest sales figures of any decade in comics’ history. There are multiple fallacies behind this argument, however. The most obvious failing is the idea that comics have always been apolitical, completely ignoring the fact that political ideologies and themes have been included in superhero comics since their initial inception in the late 1930s. Take for example the first appearance of Superman in ACTION COMICS #1, which has Superman taking on real world issues like domestic abuse and senatorial corruption. Or how about the first appearance of Captain America in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1, which not only has its cover featuring the sentinel of liberty punching Hitler in the face, but was published a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and was created by two Jewish men at a time where pro-Nazi sentiment still existed in the U.S.? How on Earth is that not a political statement?

Captain America punching Hitler in the face! From Captain America Comics #1 (Dec 1940).
Art by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Not to mention that even some of the more infamous comics from the 90s era that Meyer seems to hold in high regard contained political themes and social commentary. For instance, Rob Liefeld’s YOUNGBLOOD #1 had its characters operating as government agents and assassinating foreign dictators like a stand-in for Saddam Hussein. The latter is an incredibly overt political statement considering that the comic was published in 1992, only a year after the Persian Gulf War ended. Overall, Meyer’s assertion that comics have never been political is completely ignorant of comics’ history as a whole.

There are also various problems with Meyer’s statement about the 90s being the best era of comics due to them having the strongest sales figures. First of all, judging the quality of a story based solely on its financial success is problematic in and of itself. For instance, there are several movies that were critical and box-office bombs when they were initially released but in later years became cult classics like THE WIZARD OF OZ or John Carpenter’s THE THING. On that same token there are been countless films that were box-office hits despite being critically panned like the Michael Bay TRANSFORMERS films. Secondly, while I freely admit that there are several comics from the 1990s that I personally enjoy like THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL, and even parts of the otherwise infamous SPIDER-MAN: CLONE SAGA, the 90s era as a whole has been described by many scholars and critics as “the Dark Age of Comics.” This is because the comics of this era tended be viewed more as commodities than quality stories since people mostly bought them primarily for their artwork and collector’s value, thus resulting in the speculator boom. Consequently, the comics of era featured stories with rushed and terrible artwork (and equally terrible writing) like the aforementioned YOUNGBLOOD and the majority of Image Comics’ early titles, constant crossover events that ranged from good like X-MEN: AGE OF APOCALYPSE to outright terrible like AVENGERS: THE CROSSING, as well as gimmicks like foil covers and trading cards that unnecessarily raised prices.

Foil Covers from the 1990s. (Left) From Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #365 (Jun 1991). Art by John Romita Sr.
(Right) From Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #50 (May 2006). Art by Ron Lim and Tom Christopher. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Additionally, while sales were initially strong for Marvel during the 90s, seeing as how Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-MEN #1 and Todd McFarlane’s SPIDER-MAN #1 still rank among the highest-grossing single comics’ issues of all-time, the speculator boom eventually collapsed under its own weight and Marvel experienced financial troubles so severe that the company was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1996.

The highest-grossing single comic issues of all-time. (Left) From X-Men Vol. 2 #1 (Oct 1991). Art by Jim Lee.
(Right) From Spider-Man Vol. 1 #1 (Aug 1990). Art by Todd McFarlane. Copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

Supposedly, this era is the benchmark of quality that Meyer and his followers believe that all comics should aspire towards…

These are the flawed foundations upon which Meyer’s comic JAWBREAKERS: LOST SOULS was founded. Written by Meyer himself and illustrated by Jon Malin (the aforementioned artist who compared SJWs to Hitler), the premise behind the book according its Indiegogo page is that “a team of ex-superheroes attempt to save a ‘monster’ from a vicious warlord who wants to exploit it!” Additionally, Meyer pitched the comic on his Kickstarter as “a cross [between] THE AVENGERS and THE EXPENDABLES” and “superheroes who take on real evil like ISIS.” These statements further serve to highlight Meyer’s hypocrisy since he claims that comics have always been apolitical whilst producing a comic with heavy political connotations behind it (only in this case the politics are conservative rather than liberal). Furthermore, the “monster” the Jawbreakers are trying to save according to the preview pages is a giant mutant gorilla. This last point especially frustrates me since Meyer once criticized an issue of MS. MARVEL for including a giant mutant-cyborg iguana, which he described as being “silly-billy” or “cringe-worthy,” and yet now he’s doing something similar in his own comic. Again, hypocritical much? Ignoring the hypocrisy, while I haven’t read it myself (and I refuse to give Meyer any of my money), JAWBREAKERS appears on the surface to be a very generic and boring mercenary comic. This is most especially apparent in the character designs, which are very cliched as not only do two of them look a lawsuit-level similar to the Comedian from WATCHMEN and Sam Wilson's Falcon, but all of the others wouldn’t seem out of place with the characters from YOUNGBLOOD. Not to mention that the preview images seem to exhibit slight hints of bigotry which is unsurprising coming from Meyer. For instance, there is a page featuring an African tribeswoman who is wearing nothing but tiny cloths to cover her breasts and nether regions.

An African tribeswoman meets the Jawbreakers. From Jawbreakers: Lost Souls. Art by Jon Malin.
From https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jawbreakers-lost-souls-graphic-novel#/.

While this image already falls into the territory of being a racist caricature, it is made even more uncomfortable by the fact she is portrayed in a very sexual manner with her being drawn with ridiculously large breasts and panels focusing of her butt. Not to mention that image is just poorly drawn in general considering that the woman has the type of cracked spine you’d normally see in badly drawn 90s comics. Despite all of these factors, JAWBREAKERS has managed to find an audience in the form of Meyer’s supporters, as the book accumulated over $400,000 through crowdfunding.

Furthermore, Comicsgate has also attempted to publish other various indie titles aside from JAWBREAKERS through similar crowdfunding campaigns. While I could discuss Ethan Van Sciver’s independent project CYBERFROG: BLOODHONEY, I instead feel that ALT★HERO and its author Vox Day are far more deserving of my scorn since they're more eerily reflective of the types of toxic ideologies that Comicsgate stands for.

Vox Day invades the comic book industry. From Alt★Hero #1 (May 2018). Art by Cliff Cosmic. Copyright © Arkhaven Entertainment.

The Investigative Fund describes ALT★HERO being centered around a “Confederate flagwaving superhero named Rebel, and a white vigilante who turns immigrants over to ICE.” And just like with Meyer’s JAWBREAKERS, I have not and absolutely refuse to read this comic since I fear it would make me feel uncomfortable to degrees that Frank Miller’s HOLY TERROR could only dream of achieving. Regarding the book’s author, Theodore “Vox Day” Beale is a science fiction writer and video game designer who’s a leading online figure in the Alt-Right and was heavily involved in both Gamergate and the Sad Puppies controversy. While he’s most infamous for his novel SJWS ALWAYS LIE: TAKING DOWN THE THOUGHT POLICE, Vox Day recently attempted to establish a new comic publishing company entitled of course “ComicsGate.” While Meyer is reported to have been a fan of Vox’s anti-SJW novels, and Van Sciver has both given platform to Vox on his YouTube channel and was even allegedly on board with inviting Vox into Comicsgate, there were apparently many Comicsgaters who believed that Vox was too toxic even for their movement. On that note, it's worth mentioning that Vox Day wrote the Alt-Right's unofficial manifesto (which included a passage of him supporting "the 14 Words," a mantra cited by Neo-Nazis and white supremacists worldwide), he once tried to defend the Taliban shooting Malala Yousafzai by stating that educated women are "bad for society," has advocated that Syrian refugee boats be sunk with the passengers still on board, and worst of all, Vox is an open and avid supporter of the Neo-Nazi mass-murdering terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in the 2011 Norway Attacks (the majority of whom were children).

So while both Meyer and Van Sciver tried to disassociate Comicsgate from Vox once their followers spoke out, the fact that they were both receptive to Vox's dangerous ideologies and were at one point even willing to incorporate him into their movement, speaks negatively to the characters of both Meyer and Van Sciver. However, Vox Day’s attempts at appropriation of the name "Comicsgate," as well as both Meyer and Van Sciver's previous support for him, means that the movement will forever be tainted by its connections and association with the Alt-Right, a label from which it can now never escape…