“Striking Sparks” — Page Eighteen
Badass guardian spirits actually get annoyed when the threat runs away.
More below!
Bobservations
Spirit of Cooperation
Shawn Gustafson, who scribes the terrific webcomic The Specialists, wrote some kind words about 3 Minute Max on his Facebook page. Thus it will be my pleasure to return the favor here, although I am not sure how necessary it is since according to our stats, many of you actually come here after reading The Specialists.
And if it freaks you out that we know that, well, welcome to the age of Big Brother, baby!
But for those of you who were not aware, The Specialists (written by Shawn and illustrated by Al Fukalek) is a fun and thought-provoking comic postulating the existence of an “Avengers“-like team of superheroes assembled during WWII. Which sounds simple enough — but is it? This was America during the 1940s, when things like racism and misogyny were not only commonly accepted but in many places had the force of law. Add in a penitent Nazi and an angry, violent drunk who is nonetheless the only leader the brass will accept since he is at least white and male, and you can imagine the conflicts that arise even before they face the Nazis — who are, of course, creating a super-powered team of their own.
It is an excellent read, especially if you buy the books. (I did!) WWII comics just have to be read on paper. These little tactile nuances are important.
(BTW — the original title of this post was “Tit for Tat” except I accidentally wrote “Tits for Tats” by mistake, and then got intrigued and did a Google image search for that with the SafeSearch filter off. Yeah. About what you’d expect.)
Oh, and I notice that over there in the right-hand column under “Allies” we’re currently right on 99 FB followers. Anyone feel like pushing us into triple digits? How about you?
Ah. Sorry, I see you’re busy Googling “Tits for Tats” with the SafeSearch filter off. Well, maybe when you’re done.
Welcome to the age of Big Brother, baby!
— Bob out
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Additional pluggage! Max did the storyboard for the latest Lady Gaga video.
Hey, Bob, thanks for the mention!
Coincidentally, “Tits for Tats” was the name of my doomed tattoo parlor. We allowed our patrons to pay for their tattoos the same way they might pay for Mardi Gras beads. We failed to make even our first rent check, but it was a really fun month.
Two thoughts for you:
First, interesting to see another spirit show up, and I look forward to seeing how the two guardian spirits interact whenever they eventually meet (assuming you show us).
Second, thank you for the mention of The Specialists. I had not come across it before, and after a couple hours I am now caught up on it and enjoyed what has already been created quite a bit.
Thanks for the kind words, Aetrun! I’m glad you found us!
I started reading the specialists, but got disgusted with all the ‘playing up’ of the racism and antisemitism (you didn’t mention him and his robot). I know such things were rampant (and still are, BTW), but I don’t like getting my nose rubbed in it constantly.
The nazis were enough play on it (they built their entire power base on it, after all). To constantly rub, rub, rub was too much for me.
I grew up in the US army and didn’t experience racism until I was an adult. I truly see nothing good of it or of forcing people to see it.
Well, The Specialists is set in World War 2.
You do know the civil rights movement happened after WWII, right? That there was all sorts of sexism & racism at the time? Quite honestly, it is that fight which intrigues me. It is something I can identify with – I’m a white male, but I was bullied in school. I’ve seen racism, so I know my troubles were like a dinghy compared to a battleship, but at least I have a grounds for comparison. The battle against Magic Nazis is well done but doesn’t interest me nearly as much as the homefront issues.
Anyway, since racism & sexism both still exist, calling attention to how bad they are in a comic is actual a subtle way of continuing the fight. So kudos, Shawn!
Thanks, AlpineBob! As Bob mentioned in last week’s blog post, it’s only natural to add diversity to an ensemble of characters. If our somewhat large cast were made up entirely of white protestant men, it would be not only bland, but conspicuously homogeneous. And since, as you say, racism, sexism, and antisemitism were so prevalent during the 1940s, we felt that our black, female, and Jewish characters had to encounter those elements.
But I don’t want to pile on Valkeiper2012. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and not everyone will like The Specialists, and that’s okay. I know that any scene that involves bigoted behavior is unpleasant for me to write, so I can only imagine that they’re unpleasant for some people to read!
I do appreciate that, truly I do. I imagine if I had been exposed to bigotry, racism, and all the other stupid discriminators of society, I probably could tolerate it more.
The specialists story line I read was pretty good. It was my own intolerance to the stupidity that was the problem. Thankfully, I find my tolerance for the stupidity has NOT decreased after I finally encountered it and this has been recognized by many of those around me.
They refrain from the sick jokes when I’m around. I know they tell the jokes when i’m not there and appreciate their effort.
As I appreciate yours. thanks.
I do love how our cute detective has her own connection to the ether. I suspect she will figure the whole thing out very soon and be involved in helping keep the secret.
So the women that has a talking spirit thinks teleportation and superhumans are far fetched?
In her defense, she’s probably used to talking to spirits, making it ordinary… for her.