I did it! It was me ALL ALONG!

[odditycollector]

There's been some confusion over the comic pages I posted this morning. For what purpose did I post them? What even are they?

Obviously, there was a communications failure on my side. I suspect, after 3 hours of word balloons, I was just *really sick* of looking at words. Everyone should just KNOW my intentions.

The pages aren't from a "real" comic: I found some unrelated art which (with a couple small tweaks) served my purposes, and re-dialogued them entirely! The pages are now a scene that should logically follow the end of the War of the Supermen miniseries, yet does not.

If you read the New Kypton/War of the Supermen story - and I don't recommend it, if only because it seems like DC got bored in the middle of several storylines and concluded with (fairly literally) "Rocks fall; everyone dies" - you were treated to a plot in which the humans blow up a populated planet out of xenophobia, for which the only consequence I noticed was a sad editorial by Lois Lane, after which she flew in Superman's arms towards a hopeful sunrise. Or maybe a sunset, it doesn't really matter. [scans or it didn't happen]

My reaction was basically, "Whaaaaaaaaat?"

So I put together a scene* in which some of the DCU's aliens call us on that shit. (I was waiting for someone more "official" to do it for me, but, well...) Because yes, we live in a vacuum, but we live in a vacuum full of other populated planets who should frown on such actions. If only out of self interest. (The DCU's aliens tend towards jackassery, with luck I got that across?)

*I don't know what to call it. Illustrated fanfic? Narrative meta? Too much screwing around with Photoshop?

Comments

[seeking-avalon.blogspot.com]

Ahem.

If 'Earth' stands in for America (and it so often does, dominant culture, forces etc) then there's no way 'Earth' ever does anything wrong enough that anyone can Sanction them. Displeasure is the job of toothless journalists writing leftist sob stories.

Even if 'Earth' doesn't stand in for America, DC is written by Americans who have difficulty with privilege and opposing perspectives. The important point will always be they won over supposedly superior (super human) forces - not that there were innocents, not that they were bigoted and fearful, accepting of an exceptional minority individual but any more than one would equal, to their minds, invasion and oppression and the end of life as they'd comfortably known it.

It's never genocide when the conquerors do it - it's expansion, manifest destiny, and the protection of their (the proper) way of life.

[odditycollector]

If 'Earth' stands in for America (and it so often does, dominant culture, forces etc)
It def. did in this case, considering all the human actors were American. Which is a DC Comics thing in general.

then there's no way 'Earth' ever does anything wrong enough that anyone can Sanction them.
...yeah. Though imagining otherwise is an occasional non-USAian fantasy. (I wonder if that wasn't fueling some of the fairly awful things I had the characters say - Americians Earth people, not as top of the pile as they think.)

Displeasure is the job of toothless journalists writing leftist sob stories.
In this case... her editorial - how the writers would have us interpret the story - was basically "I don't know if anyone noticed, but genocide? Kind of an atrocity. But never mind that, because now is the time for 'healing'. Which, since everyone else is dead, means for *us* to heal from the idea we are bad people who should feel bad. Feeling bad sucks. Instead, let's all try to forget this ever happened. American Dream: Yay!"

Admittedly, this is not far off from other articles I've read, so great for realism I guess. But it is still NOT THE MORAL I WANT from anything ever.

accepting of an exceptional minority individual but any more than one would equal, to their minds, invasion and oppression and the end of life as they'd comfortably known it.
Argh. Like, I KNOW this is a fear of white people everywhere, but how steeped in it can you be to publish a story where that fear is taken to logical conclusion, to which the reaction is: *shrug*. (They might have twigged if the Kryptonians weren't portrayed as majority white, but there are so many racial metaphors built into aliens in fiction...)

Superman is now on a journey to walk across America, to better connect with the 'Earth''s people. (I am not reading it.) Obviously that was the problem.

It's never genocide when the conquerors do it - it's expansion, manifest destiny, and the protection of their (the proper) way of life.
That's why I threw in a dig at the "United Planets" meme - There is no "utopia" there once you introduce a scorched non-Earth policy; it's a horror story, like all the rl stories about Empire building. Through I suppose it's always a better view from the centre.

[seeking-avalon.blogspot.com]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but genocide? Kind of an atrocity. But never mind that, because now is the time for 'healing'. Which, since everyone else is dead, means for *us* to heal from the idea we are bad people who should feel bad...

This is kind of what I feel Obama told the American (and World) public about the various Iran and Afghanistan war crimes.

[odditycollector]

But it's my understanding that Obama was elected to wash away America's sins! (She snarks, dependent on international headlines for Obama news, and being pissed off at the sentiment in *fiction*. Seriously, though, it seems like a % of his country sees his Presidency as their atonement.)

And re: Giving up on DC, you are a wiser woman than I. Though my reading list has been slowly narrowing to the categories of "Supergirl" and "Things I have reason to believe Supergirl (or Amanda Waller, but that is sporadic) may show up in."

(And *Kara* tried to give up Superheroing in the aftermath of seeing her mom die in front of her once again, but this was presented as "Teenagers, moody or SO moody?" rather than "Fuck you too, Earth people, get eaten by a giant mutated space polar bear.")

PS

[seeking-avalon.blogspot.com]

You'd think he'd want to reconnect to the humans he knows to remind himself they're not all fearful, jealous, fragile, mass murdering collaborators. Not y'know, go walking about, on their level, having them go all 'Oh Superman, you're the greatest, even though we just murdered the home you never thought you'd see again and all the people with powers just like yours. Now, could you totally get my cat out of a tree?'

(I'm just guessing btw, gave up on DC a while ago.)