By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/6/2016
Image Expo is kicking off with a stirring speech by Eric Stephenson. We’ll social media it along for you Image Expo is 10 minutes from starting, and the venue certainly has some swagger to it. #imageexpo pic.twitter.com/ML7zoPbNWd — Christopher Butcher (@Comics212) April 6, 2016 "Whatever you imagine, it can happen." Starting the keynote at […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/15/2015
Image’s March solicitations are out, and in addition to the usual goodies like Saga, Injection, No Mercy and many many more a few news series and OGNs are debuting: • Circuit Breakers, a long in the making five issue series by Kevin McCarthy with art by Kyle Baker finally comes out. The series explores J-Pop […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/3/2015
As anticipated, writer James Robinson has made a statement to GLAAD about the controversy over the issue of Airboy #2, which we reported on earlier today. And as also expected, he knows that he fucked up.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this affects reprint volumes of AIRBOY. When Batgirl has a similar controversy, the trade reprint was changed to reflect a more enlightened view.
Here’s Robinson’s statement:
I thought long and hard before writing this response, with the time it’s taken me to do so I fear having been misinterpreted as indifference on my part to the ire this sequence has caused for some. Often public figures just issue a quick apology, a snippet of contrition, in the hope that the light of scorn will then shine away from them. But those apologies often feel inauthentic or meaningless, and I didn’t want to do that.
It was with much regret that I learned how I had angered and offended members of the transgender community with a sequence I wrote in the second issue of the Airboy mini-series I am currently doing. As anyone who has read the first issue will know, this series is a semi-autobiographical piece of meta-fiction that shows me at a self-destructive and unhappy time in my life before I sobered up and entered a better place in both my work and the world as a whole. To illustrate this, I portray myself and my artist Greg Hinkle as two blithe idiots pin-balling through a succession of stupid and self-destructive actions, doing and saying stupid and thoughtless things. I intentionally portray myself in the worst light possible and as the worst kind of person.
Stepping outside of myself and the work, I can see how, while my intention when writing the scene was never to defame or harm the trans community, I did indeed fuck up and for that I sincerely apologize.
In my intention to create an ugly version of me and my world, I have inadvertently hurt and demeaned a community that the real non-fictionalized version of myself truly respects and admires.
It’s a sad and terrible fact that the transgender community is one that is often misunderstood and mocked. And that honestly, truly, breaks my heart. It is a beautiful community full of shining souls, which in a different work on a different day I would proudly show in all its variety and wonder. Honestly, that is the truth. Anyone who actually knows me, knows my feelings on such matters, and anyone who doesn’t will just have to take my word for it.
And yet here I am, in my eagerness to create a scenario that mocks my own moral worthlessness, I do no better than the worst kind of person, blindly marking the transgender community with the same sullying brush I chose to paint myself — instead of giving it the dignity and respect it deserves and is so very often denied.
This is a work of deliberately ugly satirical fiction. One part of me believes a creator has the right to tell the story he feels the need to tell. There’s a part of me that feels that it’s acceptable for a work of fiction to hurt or offend. That at the very least the work elicits feelings.
Then there’s the other part of me — the major part, I might add — that is truly saddened that the transgender community, comprising men and women who carry the burden of an ever-hostile society, should have me adding to their load.
There is minor solace — very minor — in the fact that I note the discourse I’m seeing on-line about this, is at least allowing an exchange of views that I think is open, healthy and ultimately a good thing. I hope comic book fans and creators will think more critically about the way trans characters are portrayed.
I consider myself an ally to the LGBT community and I promise to work harder in the future to ensure that any trans stories or characters in my work are portrayed in a thoughtful and accepting way.
I know this response won’t satisfy everyone, but it comes from the heart. I love all people. I wanted this statement to convey my complete feelings on the matter.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/3/2015
When creators James Robinson and Greg Hinkle showed me a copy of the first issue of Airboy back at NYCC last year, my jaw dropped. A fourth-wall breaking 8 1/2 storyline about two creators bringing back a Golden Age hero while engaging in all sorts of drug taking, alcohol abusing and balls-out (and shown) sexual experimentation…yep something to cause comment. While the first issue got some buzz going, the second issue, which went on sale this week, has unfortunately ignited a firestorm over a storyline that many have condemned as transphobic.
In the issue, Robinson and Hinkle (who are the stars of the comic) are out on a bender and take Airboy to a bar populated by many trans women. Robinson’s character uses the t-word many times, and then Robinson and Airboy go into bathroom stalls for oral sex with the trans women. Robinson has no regrets for drunken bathroom sex, but the old timey, naive Airboy is angered and confused when he finds out that that lady was no lady.
If this all sounds like typical bro-comedy…it is. And it’s also old and tired. And gross and possibly dangerous. Emma Houxbois was the first to criticize the storyline at the LGBTQ site The Rainbow Hub and was the first of many to call out the disconnect between Image’s rainbow twitter icon and ongoing public call for diversity and this transphobic storyline:
I mean, really. Image Comics has a rainbow background on their Twitter account right now. The day before they’re set to release a comic where one of their writers himself is drawn mercilessly and repeatedly using a transmisogynist slur, degrading trans women by portraying us both as sex objects and a carnival sideshow to be gawked at, and then topping it off by completely ungendering us. To what end? To use us as a symbol of the fall of western civilization to drive Airboy into a furious rage? To give Robinson the world weary asshole street cred he’s so desperate to peddle as an excuse for not having anything interesting to say? There’s no voice, no agency, no humanity to any of the trans women in this comic. Just an open mouth to fuck or a penis to gawk at. Robinson and Hinkle have clearly proven themselves to be worth about as much of my time as a pair of used condoms floating in a toilet. It’s a distraction to target and shame hacks like them who stoop to this level for a cheap thrill
First up, the characters of James and Greg are portrayed as complete assholes. A pair of idiots who stumble from one drug to the next with their dicks hanging out, literally.
In many works of fiction, asshole characters requires asshole behaviour. But in the case of Airboy this is not merely asshole behaviour, instead it is harmful behaviour. Trans folk are one of the most oppressed communities in our society today – and not only do they have to deal with hateful behaviour from cis people, but also from their LGB allies.
Not only do they have to deal with hate but the very real threat of violence and murder. I made the error of thinking that asshole characters excuse asshole behaviour and but that simply does not apply to transmisogynistic slurs/tropes. I apologise for my wilful idiocy, and thank those that called me out. I don’t ever want to recommend something hurtful! Comics that hurt people, that perpetuate damaging tropes, should not be acceptable in this day and age. Thinking that it’s part of the characterisation or context presumes that everyone reading the comic is cis or that folk who are reminded of the fear they feel daily should just get over it. That slur is still all too commonly used (recently by John Barrowman for example) and nobody should have to deal with that in a comic.
This trope is particularly dangerous, as trans women are often violently assaulted by men who feel they’ve been “deceived.” In the past six months, nine transgender women have been murdered in the United States.
Robinson’s previous work on Starman and Earth 2 has included multi-dimensional gay male characters. In fact, both received GLAAD Media Award nominations for Outstanding Comic Book. Not to mention that Image Comics is currently publishing at least two books with interesting trans characters: Wicked + Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, and Trees by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard.
It is disappointing that Robinson would create such a transphobic scene when he’s been an ally on gay issues. And even more disappointing that Image Comics would damage its own reputation for publishing strong trans characters by allowing this scene to appear in this issue.
“It’s shocking in 2015 that a publisher would allow this type of transphobic scene to be associated with its brand,” said Nick Adams, GLAAD’s Director of Programs, Transgender Media. “Robinson and Hinkle repeat the outdated, stereotypical attitudes toward transgender women that the rest of America is quickly leaving behind.”
Defending this comic as cool or a great story is an act of willful blindness, the constant abuse that trans people receive from media and from society is killing us. With a 41% suicide rate this is the literal truth. I’m sick of being a punching bag, of having to explain why things are bad all the time, of trotting out that suicide statistic. And I’m utterly sick of cisgender guys saying ‘Oh this isn’t bad, I don’t see what the fuss is about.’ You can go to Twitter now and see leading comic creators saying exactly that. This lack of empathy and an attitude of ‘I’m alright so you should be’ is wrong. It’s really sad to see it coming from comic professionals.
And Nick Hanover at Loser City decries the tired nature of the tropes:
Removing quality from the equation altogether, is Airboy’s “boys will be boys” story something that is in danger of disappearing from culture? Judd Apatow’s empire of films by and for man children behaving badly doesn’t seem to be hurting for sales, and Two and a Half Men remains one of the most successful television series in history. You don’t have to look very hard to find works like Airboy, but you would have to look much harder to find a comic or, hell, a work in any medium that treats trans culture fairly.
My lack of response to opinions on Airboy #2 is not from indifference. In contact with GLAAD. Will issue statement tomorrow. Night night.
— James Robinson (@JamesDRobinson) July 3, 2015
MEANWHILE, the most radical reaction of all came from another Beat comrade, Brett Schenker, who organized an action at Graphic Policy called for the book to bepulled from the shelves because of the transphobic elements that reinforce prejudice:
This is not a call for censorship. James Robinson and Greg Hinkle have a right to create whatever they’d like, and we have as much of a right to show our disdain for that. Speech doesn’t mean protection from consequences. Image has the right to exercise their speech and pull the comic, and actually show they believe in the words and beliefs they claim they uphold.
Look. If your response to a callout of media that plays into stereotypes that LITERALLY lead to the murder and victimization of people
— The Rainbow Hub (@TheRainbowHub) July 3, 2015
so horrendously depicted is "Don't Censor Art", then we know exactly what kind of human being you are. And there's no point in engaging that
— The Rainbow Hub (@TheRainbowHub) July 3, 2015
So that’s where we’re at right now. Do I believe that Airboy #2 presents a tired, unnecessary storyline? I sure do. The idea of the old out of touch guy who has sex with a trans woman and then freaks out is right out of the aging sitcom playbook. This may have been a storyline that people once thought was edgy, but we’re in the midst of a huge consciousness raising about trans people, gender fluidity, and in general the non binary nature of sexual roles. Greater social acceptance for trans people is definitely a civil rights movement that’s growing quickly.
And it comes in the face of very troubling statistics for both murder and suicide of trans women, especially women of color. I am very sad to say that I am personally acquainted with this terrible toll. So the “recall” of Airboy #2 could be something like a recall for a faulty airbag…ignorance can kill in this case.
All that said, as a baby boomer, my hackles go up at any call for the removal of public art. We don’t know if violent media causes violence, but the media does reinforce dangerous beliefs and prejudice and these ideas need to be identified and called out. I personally don’t think Airboy #2 is hate speech —it’s more planned self loathing than anything—and Robinson’s character is actually fond of the woman he had sex with:
So there is a bit more nuance than the previous stories might indicate and suggest the intent was not as harmful as the execution….but, once again, this does not outweigh the unfortunate transphobic elements of the story and the dangerous nature of these tropes.
And you know what, most importantly of all, as a cis woman, my opinion on this doesn’t really matter. It’s not my call to make. And the people who do matter have spoken.
After the Graphic Policy piece went up, people on twitter were using the words boycott, pull and ban interchangeably. They all mean different things, peeps. I PERSONALLY don’t support censorship of non hate speech, but if people want to boycott this book or Image Comics, they should. And we should all promote more education about trans issues and more talking about the POSITIVE treatment of trans people in comics. And more being kind to each other in general.
I’ll update this post when Robinson’s statement is released.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/3/2015
“James Robinson” himself, being assigned the Airboy comic for a reboot
For starters, this work is not for kids, and there might be a plot spoiler. With that out of the way, let’s review!
Airboy was originally made during the boom of super hero comics in the World War II era, where America dreamed of spandex clad heroes fighting not only super villains, but of the likes of Hitler and the entire Nazi army. One of the things that set him apart was that Airboy flew a plane with wings that flapped much like a bird’s. Even stranger, a Franciscan monk made both the plane and the superhero costume.
Aside from sharing the same name, that’s where the buck stops in this book. What we are instead given is a fast and illicit trip through one’s insecurities, and case of writer’s block.
Through the first few pages, it’s not the WWII flying ace that we see, but rather we are treated to a modern day man sitting on a toilet. Namely, we see writer “James Robinson” himself, being assigned the Airboy comic for a reboot. The story follows him, and later on artist Greg Hinkle, through a night of alcohol and drug fueled mayhem. Amid a wicked hangover, everything crescendos with a very “unlikely” visitor.
I must admit, it was weird seeing things from other end of the drawing board. Within the first couple of panels, confusion set in, and I read on wondering when this “Airboy” was going to make the scene. A number of pages later, all expectations of him and his flapping plane disappeared. I felt like some cardinal rule was getting broken. But as someone said some time long ago, rules are made to be broken.
The visuals reminded me a lot of “The Fifth Beatle” spliced with a Lewis Carroll drug trip. The use of solid colors as opposed to shading makes the art style unique
The story follows him, and later on artist Greg Hinkle, through a night of alcohol and drug fueled mayhemand pleasing to the eye. The drawing style is both clean and whimsical, making this story a fun and easy read.
Disregarding the art and the surprise twist at the end, the writing alone will keep any down to earth reader keep on reading. The frank, clear dialogue helps us relate to the characters it many ways, from their concerns and feelings, to the insane situations they are involved in.
All-in-all, I loved this story so far. It took me a few heartbeats to get passed my great confusion over the story title, but after that it was a good time. The humor and situations are very adult, so don’t be too shocked when you see male genitalia. Yup, you heard me.
This is a must read that should be picked up at your local retailer.
Airboy by Image Comics is available for sale as of today, June 3rd.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/17/2015
At the last NYCC, I got shown a few pages of the new Airboy series by James Robinson (Starman, FF) and relative newcomer Greg Hinkle. As I turned each page, my jaw dropped more and more and more.
This is a roman á clef, a reboot, an autobio (?) comic, wish fulfillment…whatever, it’s crazy. Metafictional. In the grand tradition of 8 1/2, a movie about a movie director trying to make a new movie, which happens to be 8 1/2, this is a comic about Robinson and Hinkle making an Airboy comic. But having debauched Bay area adventures along the way, based on Robinson’s own past ups and downs in his personal life.
It’s wild.
Bestselling writer James Robinson (Starman, Fantastic Four) and artist Greg Hinkle are hired to write a reboot of the 1940s action hero Airboy, but what better way to seek a little creative inspiration than a night of debauchery? Robinson and Hinkle team up to star in this metafiction about two comic book creators gone wild in the new series AIRBOY.
In AIRBOY, Robinson’s reluctant to do yet another Golden Age reboot and he’s worried about his stagnant career, ailing marriage, and all-around doldrum life. But that’s nothing a stiff drink can’t fix! Enter artist Greg Hinkle and a night of partying that has to be seen to be believed. Even Airboy himself will have his work cut out for him if he plans to get the two comic book creators in-line and back on the straight and narrow! Could this task be too much for hero?
“This is me trying something I would never have had the balls to do in the past. Namely, I’m combining the sad details of my real life at a recent much darker time, and having those revelations combined into a stew with gross exaggeration and comic book action fantasy,” said Robinson. “If you like semi-autobiographical drama, combined with drugs, alcohol, flagrant promiscuity, air fighters in two-fisted battle action and myself and artist Greg Hinkle doing full-frontal nudity… then this is the comic you’ve been waiting for. It’s been a blast to write and very cathartic and I hope everyone enjoys seeing a different side to me.”
AIRBOY #1 hits shelves on June 3 and can be ordered with Diamond Code APR150494.
Wait, I thought censorship was really, really bad, and self censorship was just another form of censorship. Wow, I just can’t keep up anymore with the speech “rules”.
People don’t know how to read comics anymore.
Being upset is no longer a challenge but something to DESTROY. How dare a book make you feel uncomfortable.
Alex, protest is a matter of free speech. Think of the racial politics of, say, 1940’s comics, and think about how many would be tolerable today. People have a right to be outspoken and to shame publishers if they think necessary. And the publisher can choose to listen or not. The true opinion of readers will be what matters in the long run. If the protesters are simply a crackpot minority, their opinion will have little influence.
That said, I don’t think Robinson is anti-GLBT. A few years back, I heard an interview with him where he was talking about loving the San Fransisco party scene, which is pretty much code for: I stay out all night at drugged up parties (an idea somewhat substantiated by this series itself). This sort of scene is generally quite GLBT-friendly, and I have to imagine San Francisco is even more so (my own experience is from Toronto, where most places were ⅓ gay after 4 am). I can’t imagine a person saying they love the SF party scene being trans-phobic, since diversity is a lot of the appeal of the whole thing. I haven’t read this issue, just some articles about it with some panels posted, but simply setting a story in such a bar seems to be something that Marvel or DC would veto in the planning stage.
I won’t disagree if people in that group (I am not a transgender person) are offended by what Robinson wrote, but from the little I know of him, I do believe he would consider himself an ally and have good intentions.
This is sad. Turns out the internet can smother creativity just as easily as it allows it to flourish.
Press Release Translation App:
“giving it the dignity and respect it deserves”
I will continue to write my story as I see fit until I write about anyone who isn’t a straight white male in which case that character will go from a realistic portrayal to something forcibly sanguine.
“I hope comic book fans and creators will think more critically about the way trans characters are portrayed.”
Watch your backs. Don’t make the same mistake I did.
“I promise to work harder in the future to ensure that any trans stories or characters in my work are portrayed in a thoughtful and accepting way.”
I have been advised to belabor the point that I will continue to write my story as I see fit until I write about anyone who isn’t a straight white male in which case that character will go from a realistic portrayal to something forcibly sanguine. Seriously. You win. Lesson learned.
Let’s see what happens, ok, before we go on a “whaaah! Another comic creator cowed by the Internet posse!” bender. It might be that a single caption gets added for context.
The danger with this sort of ‘bad boy’ stories is that all too often readers do identify, see the behaviour as ‘cool’. Asshole things that the asshole characters do are laughed about, and there unfortunately there are folks who feel that “it’s funny, so it’s permissible.”
Of course it’ll still be held against him to his dying day.
Wait, I thought censorship was really, really bad, and self censorship was just another form of censorship. Wow, I just can’t keep up anymore with the speech “rules”.
>>
@MWorrell :
Yeah >> some people don’t seem to realize that they are inviting (an inevitable) backlash — and that they can loose all of the gains they’ve made (and then some) in the blink of an eye.
Trigger warning for Christian readers who have suffered anti-Christian hatred. The word “fundie” is as hateful as the N-word, and should be banned from the arts and public discussion. Mocking people of faith is not only tolerated, but encouraged in comics! “Fundie,” “Jesus freak,” “Bible Thumper,” “Holy Roller” – terms all as hateful as the N-Word.
Here’s the problem with this apology, which relates specifically to writing something to be published later: James Robinson KNEW what he was writing. If he is an ally of LGBTQIA (nailed it!) why didn’t what he wrote strike him as insensitive or harmful at any point in the writing process?
When someone says something in the heat of an argument or just off the cuff, I can understand the apology more, but you have so many eyes on this, and you know what era you are in. No, being conscious of the climate doesn’t mean you will be perfectly controversy-free for the rest of your days, but no one at Image saw this coming?
Does anybody know what the “Cancel Colbert” woman has been up to lately?
It’s good he apologized for that awful (awful) comic. But I’m just wondering why the editors or managers aren’t issuing a statement? I get the impulse for making despicable characters, characters that represent the worst in people, but why did no editor along the way try and help him fix this story? They seem more to blame than James Robinson.
Sabin: Image does not have editors. Creators are solely responsible for the content.
Most of the trans people I’ve seen comment on this, self included, weren’t calling for the book to be pulled off the shelves or rewritten. As far as I know, that stems from the one site Heidi mentioned in the previous article. There were people talking about no longer buying Image Comics, but that’s their right. People stop buying stuff from publishers for smaller reasons.
I was telling my friend Barry about the Robinson-Hates-Gays story, and he said he wasn’t surprised. He said that TONS of so-called liberal artists are really KKK types. He told me about how John Lennon recorded this White Power anthem that just brazenly used the N-word in the title – “Woman is the N-Word of the World” – so Lennon hated blacks and women, a twofer. Why doesn’t this get much press? People talk about John Lennon, but never mention he was a defender of segregation. He also said that while feminists claim Patti Smith was some progressive songwriter, she also is an avowed white supremacist – Patti Smith proudly declared so in a song called “Rock and Roller N-Words.”
I can’t tell if you’re joking or not, but Woman is the N-Word of the World” is not a white power song, it’s a pro feminist song comparing the way men have historically treated women with the way white people have historically treated black folks. Lennon ran the song past several civil rights leaders of the day to make sure it wouldn’t offend or be misunderstood, the last thing he wanted was to have it perceived as a racist anthem. It should also be noted that use of the N word since the 1970’s have changed, it was a bad word in the 70’s but now it’s a BAD word. (For example 1970’s TV used the word, (on news reports, on sitcoms like the Jeffersons and on SNL) without having to bleep it, I doubt Lennon would write a song like that today if he was alive. Lennon was many things, including an admitted abuser of women, but there’s no evidence of him being a racist.