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secondlina) wrote2011-09-16 11:08 pm
Bitch rant whine
Everybody I know is drawing pretty girls. I want to draw pretty girls too! PB and Marcelline for you all!
I saw this article quite recently, about someone being encouraged by an agent to eliminate the gay characters of her book so she can get them published. The agent even had the gull of telling her “if the book was very popular and sequels were demanded, (the character) could be revealed to be gay in later books, when readers were already invested in the series.”
WHAT.
Gay couples are not marketing ploys. They are not writing anomalies. Support homosexual literature, fanart and comics by writing, drawing, and publishing online and offline as much as possible. We do not back down.
In other annoying news, I am SO SO SO very tired of people that come up to us in the bookstore, ask us for advice on which comics to buy for their kids (while the kid is right there), have us pull out something that makes the kid happy and then have the parents check out the price and go "THIS MUCH for a comic? Something you'll read in two hours? We'll go get you a REAL book."
Or better yet "Manga is all boobs and violence."
Or my favorite "You should be ashamed of yourself, a fine lady like yourself reading comics. Honestly. Don't you want to get married and be a good wife?"
(Yeah, that last one is totally what the fuck).
OH WELL. Tomorrow is the Comiccon. That should help.
- Isa
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Also, in regards to the YA publishing thing, someone else on my flist pointd me in the direction of <a href="http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/993710.html'>this article</a>, which sums up what's been going on on all sides of the matter very coherently.
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What is wrong with all these people? The anti-gay book agency and those parents suck man.
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Seriously?!? What makes you 'unfine' to read comics? And the good wife bit is infuriating! :(
The fact that a publisher would want to mess with the integrity of an artist/author's work to simply cut out homosexuality or use as a 'prop' to create drama is sickening! *growl* Looking at the internet, one can tell there is a large majority of individuals that accept and are even turned on by homosexuality, so if they are afraid of 'lower' sales due to characters being gay, they must not know their market *eye roll* It's sickening that they want to force people to change their works at all to fit an imagined outlook of what's acceptable :( I feel blessed for the years I was strictly lesbian, I was in NYC which is fairly progressive and less hateful. The fact that gays still don't have the right to have civil union in 2011 is in itself proof of the mass ignorance the world shows. (One of the nicer things about Canada that you guys actually recognize gay marriage) .... oh my, I've gone on a bit of a tirade! LOL! Sorry! I'll stop here! ;)
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Wow, what. This person apparently missed the memo that we're no longer in the 19th century.
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Or my favorite "You should be ashamed of yourself, a fine lady like yourself reading comics. Honestly. Don't you want to get married and be a good wife?"
Wow. Someone actually had the gall to say that to you!?
You should have told him (her?) that you draw comics for a living in addition to reading them AND you're in a healthy relationship. It probably would have caused his or her head to explode!
The brain matter would take forever to clean up; but it would have been so worth it! XD
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And I hate how under appreciated comic art is, it leads to so many amazing artists being severely underpaid and having to work their asses off just to make (somewhat of) a living.
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Also, those customer quotes. *bangs head against wall* I get some customers like that when asking on what crafts they should get for their kid. I remember one guy complaining about the price of markers and decided to just go to the dollar store.
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This is so insanely stupid, it's almost funny. I wonder, if comics are so terrible, what did the ever-so-refined customer do in the store in the first place? XD
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Which I definitively did not, considering that part of the job gave me awesome arm muscles and upper body strength for a while :)
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It completely depends!
But when it comes to fiction, usually there would be heavy hints, even with a secondary character... IDK, I just thought that was a "safe" move on her part. There was *zero* reason for her to wait so long, imho. :( And I don't think I would have been as encouraged to roll my eyes if it had been let out in an earlier interview. Like, around the fifth book - OH BTW than :T Argh. I hate to nitpick, but that was super disappointing.
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Amy: The correct answer is "no"
me: fffffffttttt
Just. wow. >:| I'm sorry you have to deal with such things.
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Granted, people like me exist that are not comfortable reading about such things, but to be fair, I don't like reading romance of any sort. It's not why I read a story. (In fact, when the Harry Potter series dove in to Harry's pursuit of the ladies, I started to dislike the books. I read through to the end, anyway, although I still don't really care for that part at all.) Agents/editors want something to appeal to the largest audience possible, which means not being as "extreme" with characters, concepts, what have you. They're a necessary evil in the entertainment business, unfortunately...
Your customers amuse me a bit. In regard to the parent balking at comic book costs, it might be good to inform them that a good comic is not a one-time read. For me, the best comics are those I do enjoy reading the first time, but that continue to call me back for future reading. (Maus is that comic, actually. I never get tired of it.) Not to mention, there are comic versions of some really great literary works, and the pictures within the comic version may help a child get through the great work more easily.
How old was the customer that questioned your want to be a wife? And what were they doing in a comic shop? ;)
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HOLY ****
I'm just..so shocked...it's so ridiculous I can't even comprehend it...
I think I would've just stood there in shock and perhaps spluttured out a "what?!"
And there is plenty of good Manga out there!(not that I know too much about Manga, but I have the Cardcaptor Sakura series on my shelf and some Honey and Clover - those for certain are NOT boobs and violence lol)
I'm very sorry that you have to deal with this crap. From what I hear, it's amazing the type of people one meets in any retail business. I Hope Comiccon cheers you up!
Working at a Comic book shop and going to a con - I am terribly jealous!! I also hope those headaches and sick feelings you were having have gone away.
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Or better yet "Manga is all boobs and violence."
Or my favorite "You should be ashamed of yourself, a fine lady like yourself reading comics. Honestly. Don't you want to get married and be a good wife?"
What?
WHAT?!?!?
My God, the ignorance of some people. You can't be feminine or even be a girl who likes comics without getting this kind of crap all the time. *fumes*
I mean, I know it's mostly guys who buy comics, but there are quite a few of us girls who buy them too. I hate the stigma that surrounds stuff like this. Pisses me off.
Anyway, have fun at the Con!
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To continue to support YA fiction with LGBTQ characters, I have proposed creating Permanent Floating YA Diversity Book Clubs. (http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/976665.html) If you wish to participate, the link will explain how to begin one, join one, or simply pass on the word.
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