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By Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson
If I had my druthers I would mostly live in a Jane Austen world. I say mostly because of course it would be necessary to be wealthy and male, from a proper upper class family with good social standing and white goes without saying. I prefer gentility, good manners and pleasant behavior. I don’t like crass, vulgar, adolescent immature anything. So what am I doing in the world of comics?
Here’s my true confession—I can’t stand most of the overdrawn huge busted female protagonists or female tag alongs with their scanty clothing and overly sexual stances in mainstream and some indy comics. I’m not too thrilled with the pervasive violence and the adolescent need to blow up everything in sight including entire universes. It not only bores me to stone but as a woman, much of it, I find offensive. I worry that it helps to maintain a pervasive anti-woman and violent atmosphere not just in comics but also in the world at large.
However, I rarely take a stand on these issues because I also worry a great deal about censorship. Freedom of the press and the right to express oneself is not just an intellectual ideal for me but a passion. I don’t want my worldview censored and therefore I don’t get involved with censoring others. I just don’t look. I click it off, turn off the device and don’t pay my money. Because I do have somewhat of a platform I also don’t promote or encourage things I find offensive but I don’t say anything against them either. If you can’t say something nice…
However, once something moves into hatred and the stated need to physically harm, rape and kill those who with whom one disagrees we’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. And that goes for both the right and the left. Physical violence whether it is destruction of property or going to the very limit of humane behavior by harming anyone you disagree with is insane. Attacking people who draw cartoons and killing them with automatic weapons is a show of extreme barbarity. If you cannot use your intelligence to counteract those things with which you disagree and must resort to physical violence then you have already lost.
On January 8, Art Spiegelman spoke on Democracy Now about the recent horrific events in Paris and one of the things he said struck me profoundly. He talked about the visceral comprehension we have when we see a cartoon or visual image. A cartoon tells a story with such immediacy that it crosses all borders and if done well goes to the heart of the matter in a split second. And that is one of the main reasons why yours truly, mostly Mz Jane Austenite, finds herself in the world of comics. I love that sense of the immediate moment of truth whether I agree with it or not.
Honestly, many of the images from Charlie Hebdo are gross and not to my taste. At the same time as much as I try to keep an open mind about different cultural norms I cannot quell the sick feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I am near a woman in full purdah. As much as I wish I could rip the veil off and kick the guy’s behind who’s ambling along in shirtsleeves paces in front of the poor creature sweating under layers of clothing, I don’t. I have no right to impose my belief. It would be intrusive, violent and a little nuts.
Whatever defamation these cartoons represent to some there is no way in any sane world that these images require the horrible and unthinkable sadness of the death of those who drew them. Time for us all to drop our swords and kalashnikovs and find our pens! Je suis Charlie.
by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson
The duo of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey have done it again in the 10th anniversary edition of their comic book series Action Philosophers. It’s available in late October from Dark Horse in a beautiful hardcover one volume edition with new cover art. This smart and witty non-fiction graphic book is the introduction to philosophy that should be required reading. I wish it had been around when I struggled through some of these works!
The series originally published by Van Lente and Dunlavey under their company Evil Twin Comics began life as a single issue comic book about Frederick Niestche, he of the “God is Dead” philosophy. The comic book proved to be so popular that the guys developed a series that was eventually distributed by Diamond. For those of you unfamiliar with the industry that’s pretty impressive for an indie company. With support and appreciation from the industry the series won a Xeric Grant in 2004, was nominated twice for an Ignatz award and lauded by the American Library Association. For Evil Twin Comics they’ve also created Action Presidents and The Comic Book History of Comics.
Action Philosophers 10th Edition by Dark Horse.
Beginning with Plato and Socrates the comics in both dialogue and art reveal complex intellectual thought in an easy to understand and cheeky manner. The dialogue juxtaposed by the drawings ranges from amusing to laugh out loud funny. This is comics at it’s best. The work is appealing and available. Ryan noted that they consider the audience for the comics as 11 and up and that the comics are for comic book fans and philosophy fans. Now that’s comics for a general audience!
From Plato, Action Philosophers.
Van Lente and Dunlavey have impressive resumes. Fred is noted for his work at Marvel Comics for Iron Man, Spider Man, X-Men and Hercules. He also wrote Cowboys and Aliens with co-author Andrew Foley that was the basis for the film. Van Lente began his studies in film and then majored in English. It’s an excellent combination for working in comics with a strong sense of writing and the ability to frame the story. That clarity of story line comes across so well in Action Philosophers.
Ryan’s background is in illustration, writing and drawing and he has worked for Disney, Marvel, Warner Brothers and Comedy Central creating cartoons and designs. Both attended Syracuse University and as with colleagues whose experiences go back for a long time their work appears complimentary and seamless in its collaboration. Ryan’s illustrations are bold, clear and have classic comic book references in his artwork. In other words it’s recognizable and fun.
From Plato, Action Philosophers
I love the fact that this is called Action Philosophers and for something that could be difficult and dry this is a book of Action. The pages burst with activity and energy in the drawings themselves as well as the smart dialogue and storyline.
This is a book that should be on your list for yourself and as a gift. It’s out of the ordinary and that’s a good thing. It’s also completely accessible and a fascinating read. Go Action Philosophers!
[Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson is writing a biography of her grandfather, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, military intelligence officer, prolific pulp writer, inventor and founder of DC Comics, with Gerard Jones (Men of Tomorrow) entitled Lost Hero. Her most recent publication is co-editing and writing an Introduction to a reprint of some of the Major’s adventure tales from the pulps entitled The Texas-Siberia Trail published by Off-Trail Publications. Nicky is a writer, editor and audio publisher and holds a Master’s in Classical Greek Mythology. She was featured in Women’s Enews with an article on Wonder Woman and San Diego Comic Con and appears frequently at Comics Conventions throughout the US speaking about early comic book history.]
by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson
Frederic Wertham’s name is akin to the devil incarnate in the comics world. Wertham was one of the ringleaders of the anti comics movement in the early 1950’s with his book Seduction of the Innocent. Carol Tilley, scholar, professor and librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has written extensively about the subject gave a panel on Thursday morning at NYCC under the auspices of the American Library Association.
Dr. Fredric Wertham Reading Shock
These are smart people and if you think you’re entitled to geek status, these people not only know their comics and love them but can also place them within the context of history and culture. And if your second thought is—oh librarians, and yawn…dull—far from it. Carol is not only smart and funny, uses lots of interesting visuals but her talks are also lively and thought provoking.
In looking at what we’ve lost Carol pointed out that in the early 1950’s about 95% of elementary age kids were reading comics. Teens and adults were also reading comics. From the moment comics arrived on the scene in the early 1930’s kids loved them and the titles proliferated. Once Superman started throwing villains and automobiles around the number of genres and titles became prolific. After World War II comics became more mature and there were 600 new titles in a decade. That’s a lot of comics.
Wertham’s campaign against comics was part of the death knell that led to the much smaller percentage of kids reading comics today. Comparing the smaller percentage of 7 million in sales today to over 1 billion in the early 1950’s tells the tale. That the prejudice against comics led to the reduced readership is important for everyone in the industry to understand.
Carol not only has done research in the usual avenues but has also researched specific teenagers from that period who responded to Dr. Wertham’s message of anti-comics. She gave some fascinating examples of kids crusading against racial stereotypes and a young woman who set up a lending library for comics during this period as well as the cogent arguments presented by teens who wrote to Dr. Wertham in response. Carol pointed out that social media is nothing new since comics have long supported social media through the fan letters printed in comic books.
Carol Tilley: What We’ve Lost, Where we’re headed.
One of the major results of Carol’s scholarship and research is the fact that Wertham fabricated some of his statistics in his zeal to eradicate comics. In other words there was no necessity for the Comics Code, which was in existence until 2011.
From the very beginning of comic books librarians used the image of Superman urging kids to read. Today’s librarians celebrate comics because they encourage children to read. This is one of the basic foundations of the inception of early comics. Carol’s challenge to the librarians in the group was to point out that in the Wertham scare the ALA did nothing and to ask them what would they do if something similar to the Wertham campaign happened today? Who says comics are silly and shallow—not in this panel.
by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson
One of my favorite events at New York Comic Con was the Thursday night tribute and presentation to Irwin Hasen, 96 years old. Irwin has been drawing comics since 1940 beginning at Harry A. Chesler’s shop and then going on to DC drawing The Green Hornet, The Flash, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern and creating Wildcat. Irwin then went on to co-create the long-running newspaper strip Dondi. Irwin is much loved and revered in the comics community and it was a poignant moment for all of us there to see him honored.
Danny Fingeroth and Irwin Hasen, comics legend.
Danny Fingeroth, comics scholar and editor at Marvel for many years was the emcee. Danny has written a number of how to books on comics as well as Superman on the Couch and Disguised as Clark Kent. Danny often presides over panels about comic book history and provides a solid background in the subject as well as a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
Paul Levitz was at DC for over 35 years and president there from 2002-2009. He’s considered by everyone in the industry to be a super comics scholar and he wrote 75 Years of DC. Paul spoke of Irwin’s accomplishments over the years and gave us a historical overview. Danny introduced Paul with the point that 75 Years of DC is a hernia-inducing book. It is a tome and one that is well written and leaves no stone unturned. You can see what kind of evening this was. There was no way this was going to be some solemn occasion with the constant kibitzing back and forth from Irwin to each of the panelists and the moderator and the audience erupting in frequent laughter.
Paul Levitz, Comics historian and past president of DC Comics.
Dan Makara, a filmmaker who has produced a documentary of Irwin’s life, Irwin, a New York Story talked about why he decided to do the film and gave us some idea of how he worked with Irwin.
Dan Makara, filmmaker, Irwin, A New York Story
Michael Uslan, the producer of all the Batman movies and a writer of many comic book projects from Archie to Doc Savage spoke about Irwin’s accomplishments in comics and then presented the award to Irwin.
Michael Uslan presents the Eisner Award to Irwin Hasen.
Irwin was visibly moved and pleased to receive the Eisner and it was terrific to see someone of his age and length of time in comics able to enjoy this special moment.
The film was shown immediately after. Dan Makara has done a terrific job using fun ways of telling the story with animation and cartoons as well as the traditional voiceover and talking heads of the typical documentary. The ending is quite wonderful and I’m not going to give it away because you should see this tribute to Irwin for yourself wherever it’s shown.
I can’t support the Je Suis Charlie movement, as to me it ignores the larger problem. What happened in Paris, is horrific, but less than a few months ago almost the exact same artists were condemning Charlie for it’s biased and crass presentation of issues in illustration. I support free speech, I support non-violent dissent, I do not support violent attacks over disagreements in opinion, but where are the voices of equality, understanding, and brotherly community. I fear the Je Suis Charlie movement is only another break-neck, knee-jerk reaction without full consideration. The pen is a mighty weapon, I use it often, but I ‘d give my left hand to start seeing some pens used to build a community instead of these constant attacks. We just keep getting deeper in the negative, without doing anything to stabalize and rebuilt. Here’s hoping the coming months don’t see more attacks on character, person, religion, belief, and a new trend of those attempting to use the pen to heal wounds and rebuild a world to be proud in.
Its true that freedom of expression usually seems to demand we support the publication of stuff we don’t even like! but I guess thats the reason to support it. This means that at any time there are lots of things that we can object to and denounce, even if we reluctantly agreee that it should be published, performed, broadcast filmed or whatever. As for comics that build community, there’s never been a better time. just off the top of my head: Womanthology, Secret Identities, Occupy Comics, Colonial Comics, Big Feminist Butt, Stanford Graphic novel project, The Graphic Canon, any random CBLDF anthology, the Flight and Explorer anthologies, Hip Hop Family Tree, Second Avenue Caper. If by community you mean comics that either bring together a group of artists around a theme or a single work that affirms, identifies or illuminates a community, then we’re living in the best of all comic book worlds right now and its only going to get better. Said mr. optimistic.
Free speech also means (especially means) supporting the expression of ideas you don’t agree with. It would be great to have a society based on community and the positive, but a free society means taking the bad with the good. Condemning, boycotting, ignoring, and even hating speech you disagree with is all fine and everyone’s right. But seeking to stifle it through violence and, by extension, fear and threats is the issue. One can support this even if you don’t agree with Charlie Hebdo was doing.
You nailed it, Randy!
I can’t tell you how sad articles like yours make me. It’s heartbreaking.
Because you’re obviously a good person with strong ethics, and you share what seems to be the consensus in the US articles I read : we have to support Charlie DESPITE what they do.
I’ve been reading Charlie for the last 20 years and please, please, believe me : they are good guys, fighting the good fight.
All people know about them is what you can see in the press today : trash cartoons, almost exclusively about Islam. With no elements of context or even translation, some of them even completely loose their meaning, with horrific results.
And we end up with the world seeing Charlie Hebdo as a xenophobe newspaper…
Heartbreaking.
Yes, Charlie publishes gross, punk, childish, offensive cartoons. It also publishes smart articles about economy, politics, ecology, literature, movies… And don’t believe that Islam is the only topic they mock : they joke mainly about politics, ridiculous personalities, and yes, yes, religions too. I completely understand if it’s shocking to some of us. I’m an atheist and I think it’s quite okay to mock religions (and to be honest it makes me laugh). But I know religion is off limits for a lot of people .
But here’s the important point : no media in France has done more to fight racism. Yes they do offensive jokes about Islam (and catholics -mostly ! they sued them 14 times these last years- and jews and buddhists and whatever), but they do it with a 22 years history of fighting the french far right and the oh so scary Front national party.
When you’re a Charlie reader, you know all that, and you trust the guys. You look at a cartoon featuring Mahomet and you know they’re targeting extremists. It doesn’t even cross your mind that they could despise a whole community.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to rant this long. I certainly don’t mean to sound aggressive or angry because your article sounds to me sensible and wise (and you didn’t go as far as saying that Charlie is racist like I read in a lot of places !) . It’s just very disappointing to see well-intentioned people slightly loathing Charlie… and to think I would do just the same in your place.
I’ve been reading Charlie Hebdo all my adult life has only made me a smarter, more generous, positive and tolerant man. We lost precious people. As one of their former journalist said, they were just happy people trying to make people happy. We need the surviving team to go on and make us think and laugh.
“I cannot quell the sick feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I am near a woman in full purdah.”
Welcome to white feminism, 101. That whole paragraph is gross, like really really gross. But it’s especially gross considering that Muslim women can’t wear headscarves in France.
Saying that something grosses you out isn’t censorship, by the way. That’s an important distinction.
One important precision Kim.
Religious signs (like muslim headscarves, having a crucifix around your neck, wearing a kippa or a I love Jesus t-shirt) are forbidden in precise situations : when you’re in school or when you’re a civil servant doing your job in contact with the public.
For instance I’m a librarian and none of my colleagues wear such signs at work.
I’m not gonna start a long and boring french history lesson, but we ended deciding that it’s important that France as a state, as an institution, stays non-religious. We’re just all equal citizens and no belief is above another.
Is it smart ? Is it dumb ? Does it favor tolerance and equality or just the opposite ? That’s a big debate and I understand if you disagree with that law. I’m not so sure myself about the school ban.
But of course everybody is allowed to live and show his faith in any other situation !
My colleague Fatiha doesn’t wear her scarf at work but of course we welcome any muslims women who do.
Sorry it’s a very sensitive subject and it’s very hard for me to explain it properly in english. I hope I wasn’t to clumsy.
A lot of the material in Charlie Hebdo was intentionally offensive. The hook-nosed caricatures of Muslims are pretty close to the racist depictions of Jews and blacks that were common in the U.S. media a century ago. (It wasn’t surprising to read they had an all-white staff.) Charlie also had a history of running homophobic cartoons.
But that’s the thing about free speech/censorship battles: they rarely involve great works of art or literature. They’re usually about vulgar, lowbrow junk like “Deep Throat” or Hustler magazine or 2 Live Crew albums … or “The Interview” and Charlie Hebdo.
Sure, we would feel more comfortable defending the free-speech rights of Martin Luther King than those of Larry Flynt. But free-speech martyrs are rarely that pure. It’s possible to defend these rights without endorsing the material under attack. Here in the U.S., Robert Crumb’s cartoons are offensive to many people (especially to women) but I don’t want to see Crumb censored or shot.
As Seb said: We have to support Charlie DESPITE what they do.
My English must be terrible because I was trying to say the exact opposite… :)
They were fighting for everybody’s rights and I understand if religious cartoons offend some but they were really great people.
George, please let me correct some of your statements:
– The staff is not all-white. I was really happy to hear that Zineb El Rhazaoui was on vacation that day because as a Moroccan Charlie journalist she was certainly on their list of people to kill. She’s a human rights activist, and her writing in Charlie is mostly about religion, like condemning shariah related horrors.
– the hook-nosed caricatures : I checked and I found only one of the cartoonist drawing Mahomet with a long nose. None of the others did that. I understand if you found that to be in bad taste, but again, these are guys who have been fighting racism for 20 years while all the others were watching the national front party getting bigger and did nothing. Still, good point.
– the homophobic cartoons : this is simply NOT TRUE. I was very surprised to read you because there never was the beginning of a controversy on that topic. I googled it : it indeed comes back again and again in a lot of english newspapers that Charlie is homophobic and misogynistic (without any justification). If you know a little French I encourage you to search in my language: there’s absolutely nothing. Last year an ultra-conservative organization tried to oppose same-sex marriage. Charlie made fun of them by often depicting them as gay. Not very subtle but efficient! I think your journalists saw them and misread them.
There are sadly a lot of misunderstandings about some Charlie cartoons on the web. I can understand the controversy over religion and I’ve tried my best to explain Charlie’s point of view. But I assure you the other topics are just misunderstandings.
You’re right about “free speech/censorship battles”. CH is hardly poetry (even if they reccomend some in there literary section !)
Sorry I’ll stop ranting here.
I highly recommend to anyone trying to understand Charlie Hebdo is to read this Robert Crumb interview :
http://observer.com/2015/01/legendary-cartoonist-robert-crumb-on-the-massacre-in-paris
As an American cartoonist living in France, he has an unique point of view.
“At the same time as much as I try to keep an open mind about different cultural norms I cannot quell the sick feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I am near a woman in full purdah. As much as I wish I could rip the veil off and kick the guy’s behind who’s ambling along in shirtsleeves paces in front of the poor creature sweating under layers of clothing, I don’t.”
You get sick when you see a woman in a headscarf? Also, what about Hasidic women? Or Christian women who always wear a lot of clothing? Amish? Mennonites? I’m just curious whether your POV is anti-Muslim or anti-religion. I’m guessing anti-Muslim based on where you go in the next sentence. (It should go without saying that the picture you paint is NOT how the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world live…)
The fact that you cannot condemn these attacks without attacking Muslims makes me sick to my stomach.