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The Ur-Fairy Tale, or, Putrid Sexual Politics

The Ur-Fairy Tale, or, Putrid Sexual Politics published on 2 Comments on The Ur-Fairy Tale, or, Putrid Sexual Politics

Where can you find a girl that nurses a unicorn, a dragon that speaks like a stereotyped Chinese and an evil guy named [just in case you missed that he was evil] Coeur de Noir or Blackheart? It's all in the early draft of Legend, that overstuffed 1984 fantasy train wreck in which Tim Curry is the best thing and, shuddersomely enough, Tom Cruise without pants is NOT the worst.

The Loremistress has so obligingly given me a link to my favorite draft script of all time, that of 1984's Legend. 

"Your wish is my command. 😉 Behold the early script for Legend!

http://www.hundland.com/scripts/LegendOfDarkness.txt

Enjoy!
The Rampant Bicyclist"

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Besides being 400 hours long, it's also a slag heap of cliches that are so overworn that they turn into stereotypes. And the sexual politics are PUTRID. Lili, the princess, is seen as a good character only when she is a pure, innocent virgin. The appearance of her sexuality [in a fascinating transformation and rape scene with the Baron, a precursor to Darkness] coincides with her turn toward evil. The revulsion towards women as active, sexual, desiring individuals just emanates from the page.

Go read it!

Thoughts on the Labyrinth novelization

Thoughts on the Labyrinth novelization published on 4 Comments on Thoughts on the Labyrinth novelization

For Slate’s Summer Movie Week coverage, Grady Hendrix writes an interesting article about movie novelizations. You should read the whole article because it brings in novelizations, tie-in books [slightly different], fan fiction, fan message boards, why sci-fi and fantasy get novelized, but not other genres… It’s a pretty cool overview. The article observes that novelizations have the following characteristics:

An accelerated production schedule, often being written in a matter of months or even weeks.

Low quality of writing, since they’re churned out quickly.

Low quality of physical book, usually paperbacks on cheap paper, since the aim is to produce them fast and cheaply.

Limited selling window, since the salability depends on buzz about the movie just before and just at the beginning of its release, which leaves the novelizations on the shelf for about 3 months [at max].

Deviations from the finished movie, since the authors of novelizations frequently work from an earlier version of the script.

Meanwhile, I’m thinking again about the Labyrinth novelization. It’s no secret that I have long loathed the novelization for its painfully bad writing and inspid portrayal of Jareth. However, it’s always interested me because it seems halfway between the rough draft and the final movie. For example:

The novelization provides more background on Sarah’s mom and Sarah’s mom’s boyfriend, who actually has a name in the novelization [Jeremy].

Sarah grabs a broom to defend herself when the goblins enter the house.

Jareth bows when he enters. He also says his name.

Sarah goes the “wrong way” behind one of the knockers’ doors. She enters a crazy scene where the trees, the rocks and the ground are laughing crazily. She runs out of the scene.

The Fireys actually try to help Sarah find the castle, but they are easily distracted, and they don’t know what a castle is.

The ballroom scene actually has some conversation that makes it clear that Jareth is trying to tap into Sarah’s dreams or make her think the scene is a dream.

Again, more conversation in the Escher Maze establishes that both Jareth and Sarah are scared.

There’s also more conversation in the final showdown where he is clearly grasping at straws. He’s more desperate, screaming her name at the end.

Okay, now that I scan through the novelization, I find it interesting for its deviations from the movie. I think of the novelization as an uncut version of the final film. There are bits in the novelization [like Sarah’s broom, “Then…there is a place to look,” “I’ve been expecting you,” etc.] that I’m almost certain were in the movie, but were cut out. [My suppositions are based on a geeky close examination of the novelization, the photo album and the movie. ] Most are just lines of dialog, but I think they do add something to the movie. Characters’ reactions become more realistic; the point of certain scenes becomes more apparent. [Big example: In the final film, the Fireys don’t do anything except provide David Bowie another excuse to break into song. At least in the novelization they advance the plot by helping Sarah on her quest, even though they are inept.]

Hmmm, there’s definitely an essay here…

LHF is late today.

LHF is late today. published on 1 Comment on LHF is late today.

…Primarily because I haven’t written it, photoed it or laid it out yet. I know all two of you were champing at the bit, but please be patient until later tonight or tomorrow. 

In other news, reviews are divided on Superman Returns. I just listened to David Edelson’s review of it on NPR, and he slammed it viciously. But even more damning than his commentary was a sound clip between Lois Lane [Kate Bosworth] and Superman [Brandon Routh], in which Lois explains why she wrote the Pulitzer-winning article Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman. The set-up allows the Lois character to bring out her true feelings. Is she bitter? Snarky? Sarcastic? Sobbing? Brittle? Tremblingly vulnerable? I have no idea how Lois feels about Clark’s disappearance and return because Bosworth just played it casually and deadpan, like she was talking about what video she wanted to see this weekend. Routh seemed a bit more expressive, but still, the music was more expressive than both of them. If that sample is any indication of the whole content, I feel skeptical about it. Bryan Singer, c’mon! You gave us such cool X movies — can’t ya make Superman soar?

…I do want to see Lex Luthor torture Superman, though.

Yippee, I finally watched some Smallville.

Yippee, I finally watched some Smallville. published on 1 Comment on Yippee, I finally watched some Smallville.

Like BTVS, only starring a guy and less compelling and individualized characters, Smallville follows a teen with superpowers and the archetypical struggle with adolescence, adulthood, identity and superpowers, all of which even out to be the same thing. Superpowers as metaphor for puberty is a concept that I find endlessly fascinating, probably because part of me still thinks I'm a cripplingly shy 15-year-old.

Though I like the superpowers=teenage life trope, Smallville doesn't instantly win me over. It has a hard act to follow, set up by BTVS [that's Buffy The Vampire Slayer]. See — BTVS was like Desperate Housewives in terms of unfortunate events combined with Gilmore Girls for witty dialog and construction and Dead Like Me for its thoughtful take on mortality. Then there was the whole tone-switching Romeo-and-Juliet angle. You know how Romeo and Juliet reads like a comedy until Mercutio gets killed? BTVS took that comedy/tragedy balance to an even more ambiguous level by killing off craploads of beloved characters, yet never sparing the humor. BTVS was a comedic melodrama with some actual emotional heft.

Plus it had VAMPIRES, which are another cool metaphor [or cluster of metaphors] unto themselves, but I could digress about them for a long time, so I won't.

Having established that BTVS is the critical asymptote of television greatness that all one-hour dramas yearn for but can never achieve, I now grant that Smallville is a solid and entertaining show. With a thoroughly standard formula as popularized by BTVS, Smallville must distinguish itself through characters and setting. As far as characters go, Tom Welling as Clark Kent has little emotional nuance; his inner turbulence comes across as model-boy poutiness, rather than Sturm und Drang. He spends most of his time looking and acting like a Straight Man, and I don't care. Fortunately, almost everybody else acts better than he does.

While I'm talking about characters, here's a special KRYPTONITE [or whatever will make her go away] section for Lana Lang. Does anyone else find her an irritant and drag on the entire series? I've only seen eps 1-4 of season 3, and I can't stand her. Every time she appears, the show turns into Angsty McAngst and the Angstballs. Clark may be a zero, but Lana just has negative value. What sort of intelligent person would pine after someone who kept hurting her [can you say "prep for a future abusive relationship"?]?? What sort of modern, even halfway enlightened teenage girl thinks it's her mission to "save" her bad boyfriend or "wait" for him until he's ready? What sort of moron keeps following Clark around even though it gets her tied up, injected, knocked out, etc. [and that's just in those 4 eps!]?  The point is that she's a brainless airhead with no sense of self-preservation, no emotional grounding and, worst of all, no freakin' backbone. You'd think someone who kept intercepting bad guys and kicking them in the nuts would be brave and interesting, but no. She's just like some walking, talking plot point with inconsistent psychology who exists only to motivate Clark into rescuing things.

Back on track, I really like the setting of Smallville. After I got used to the characters saying Smallville and Metropolis with straight faces, I thoroughly enjoyed the singular setting. See…Smallville is a pretty weird place for TV Land and not just because of the meteor rocks. There are an inordinate number of parental figures in Smallville that care about their children [no matter how messed up they may be]. In fact, Clark and his parents, stupendously enough, form an unbroken, happy, two-parent family, a source of strength and comfort to each other. The Kents represent the flip side of all the kookily dysfunctional families that populate most of TV Land: the Kents prove that families are good for something after all.

20th anniversary screening of Labyrinth, not coming soon anywhere near you

20th anniversary screening of Labyrinth, not coming soon anywhere near you published on 1 Comment on 20th anniversary screening of Labyrinth, not coming soon anywhere near you

In summary, on July 20th, there’s a special 20th anniversary screening of Labyrinth at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [Beverly Hills, CA], followed by a live [as opposed to dead, I presume] conversation with Brian Henson, who voiced Hoggle. 

Also, to quote the release, “The Academy’s current exhibition ‘It’s Alive!: Bringing Animatronic Characters to Life on Film,’ which contains original animatronic puppets from the film, will be open for viewing immediately following the screening.” Drat! Actual puppets used in Labyrinth, and I’m not anywhere near California. I’ll dig around for some more information on this exhibition and get back to you.

It’s not fair.

Here we go, latest press information from the Academy’s Web site http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2006/06.06.22.html .

Shelf dive

Shelf dive published on No Comments on Shelf dive

Will someone please explain to me why Jareth, who executed a great belly flop from the table to the floor this weekend, shows no damage whatsoever, while Frank, who has spent all this time standing around with a dirty little smirk on his face, has a chip in his lipstick? I have to reapply that fire-engine red some time this week. >_<

Also, can someone please explain why I bought a 1:3 chair expressly for Jareth and/or Frank to sit in, and Jennifer is the one who uses it all the time to do her sketching and journal writing in?

Volks SD16 girl slips in under the radar.

Volks SD16 girl slips in under the radar. published on 2 Comments on Volks SD16 girl slips in under the radar.

With all the hoopla about the Volks SD16 boy at the end of last year, I expected the Volks SD16 to come with a similar fanfare. Nope. Olivia Morgan just snuck in quietly as an LE 100 available only at some party and then through Fashion Doll Quarterly.

Buzz over on DOA is lukewarm. People like the more mature body, but the jointless ankles really turn them off. People also seem to like her more mature face, but everyone pretty much agrees she looks like a female form of Yukinojo. Both DOA speculation and the FDQ behind-the-scenes article conclude that Volks is chasing the American fashion doll market and therefore introducing a BJD with some of the same qualities [curvaceousness, blond hair, pointy feets] as Barbie.

I really like her. She has the type of body that Frank should have: tall, thick, strong and curvy. She also has a very sweet face that begs to be glammed up. She’s also much less expensive [as these things go] than Yukinojo. You can order her over at the FDQ site for $969 + $11 s/h in the USA. Not that I’m about to break my bank account for her. Frank could still kick her butt any day. :p Wanna see some pictures?

Continue reading Volks SD16 girl slips in under the radar.

Stuff I want in no particular order updated again

Stuff I want in no particular order updated again published on No Comments on Stuff I want in no particular order updated again

Basic Photography: CCAE course, $149.00 no 

Summer Light: CCAE course, $125.00 got it 

The Art of Reviewing: CCAE course, $125.00 no 

Pirates, Sailors and Pasta: A North End Walk: CCAE course, $37.00 no 

What Makes Harvard Square a Square?: CCAE course, $37.00 no 

Boston’s Historic South End: A Walking Tour: CCAE course, $20.00 no

Mastering the Art of Aloneness: CCAE course, $44.00 no 

Arthur Spiderwick’s Guide to the Fantastical World Around You: $24.95 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Collection (Seasons 1-7): $220.00 

Twilight Zone Season 1: $96.00 

Twilight Zone Season 2: $80.00 

Twilight Zone Season 3: $90.00 

Twilight Zone Season 4: $90.00 

Twilight Zone Season 5: $80.00 

Mirror Mask: $26.96 

12″ Drusilla action figure: $45.00 no 

Elfdoll Tiny Adel: ~$300.00 got Jin 

Elfdoll Rainydoll Nabee: ~$750.00 no 

a haircut got it 

a new pair of shoes got it

the domain name for my Web comic got it

and a really good computer with a flatscreen monitor and a DVD player that doesn’t seize up in the middle of Minority Report!!! no

a flatscreen monitor from newegg.com

a laptop cooling board from newegg.com

a love seat

foamcore for mounting LHF backdrops

a bulletin board

 

The glory that is the Labyrinth comic adaptation

The glory that is the Labyrinth comic adaptation published on 6 Comments on The glory that is the Labyrinth comic adaptation

I just bought a three-comic adaptation of Labyrinth. Published in 1986, this Marvel adaptation came out in three separate issues, which were then collected in a super special. If you watch Ebay, you’ll see that the super special appears much more frequently. “What a pity,” though, because the individual issues contain exquisitely awful cover art somewhere not duplicated in the super special. 

Anyway, stay tuned to Jareth’s Realm because I will scan and upload each volume of the adaptation so that you, too, can see how amusing it is [for all the wrong reasons — not a funny story, but heinous art]. Until I get a new scanner, please content yourselves with a sample below, illustrating JARETH THE FEARSOME BOOGEYMAN WITH GLOWING CONTACT LENSES OR SOMETHING!

1:6 BJDs: Jennifer, Daisy and Geordie

1:6 BJDs: Jennifer, Daisy and Geordie published on 1 Comment on 1:6 BJDs: Jennifer, Daisy and Geordie

This is probably the only time you’ll ever see all my 1:6 BJDs together, since Jennifer belongs to the 1:3 universe with Jareth and Frank, and Daisy and Geordie belong to the Love Has Fangs universe. They are making cross-dimensional connections for the sake of your edification, though. 😀Continue reading 1:6 BJDs: Jennifer, Daisy and Geordie

Two new 1:6 BJDs for me!

Two new 1:6 BJDs for me! published on 1 Comment on Two new 1:6 BJDs for me!

On Monday, I got a Limhwa [I will never learn how to spell this correctly] ToYou without eyes or wig. Extremely pale and petulant, she is about 27 cm with a wiry, preteen body. Her foreshortened face with full cheeks offends my aesthetic sensibilities because I like my dolls with more standardized beauty or cuteness, but she fits the character well. Said character, Daisy, is a pouty, protected, precocious vampire killer! Watch out, Anneka!

Today, I got a secondhand Elfdoll tiny, Jin dal Re. Unlike most of the Elfdoll tinies, she has no curves, which makes her appropriate for Geordie, a 3-year-old [non-vamp] character. Unlike ToYou, Jin dal Re is immediately endearing with her minuscule size and child-like features in proportion to her body.

I don’t have any pictures now because I’m at work, but you can see the default ToYou here. Am I the only one in the BJD world who thinks she looks like a terminally annoyed and abused child? You can also see the default Jin dal Re here. In accordance with Geordie’s more energetic, carefree personality, the eyebrows will have to be repainted. I also need to give Geordie a gentle cleaning with a Q-tip and some soap. And maybe I’ll repaint her lips. Watch for pictures this weekend or sooner!

Long-awaited Triad prototypes photos!

Long-awaited Triad prototypes photos! published on 2 Comments on Long-awaited Triad prototypes photos!

Triad Toys has finally unveiled Eva [fem] and Evo [masc] 1.0.  As you can see in the photos, they have swappable heads, hands and feet; double-ganged elbows and knees;  and 40+ points of articulation. What you can’t see from the photos is just as impressive. Each fig comes with two chest options: unbound [for baring the breast] and bound [smaller, to go under clothes]. Furthermore, hair can either be swapped with molded hairpieces or size 4 mini wigs. And, if all that wasn’t enough, eyes [probably 4mm] can be swapped and positioned, just like in your average BJD! Much jubilation and speculation is now occurring over on MWD.

The bad news? Well, they’re not shipping nude bodies until November [why must they torment us so?!]. Additionally, the price will be $35-$40 for a nude without s/h. Oooh, my achin’ wallet… Triad clearly is not making cheap bash fodder like BBI’s Perfect Bodies. Triad is targeting the careful creator of high-quality customized figs. I remain disappointed that there are no cheap fems for bash fodder out there, ever since the PBs went out of production.

As for initial impressions, I appreciate Triad’s balance between aesthetics and poseability.  The standard masc and fem bodies look appropriately realistic, though I think that the lower abdomens are too long on each and the thighs too short for proper stylization.  Part of me wishes that the fems had bigger boobs and a more defined waist, but it’ll be nice to get someone who doesn’t stretch all tank tops beyond recognition [no thanks to Anneka certain people].

I see that I’ll have to stock up on a few just for bashing purposes, since I like the bulk and solidity of Cys, PBs, Triads and the like, as opposed to the slender, fashion-doll-like Obitsus. Cut for proto photo. Continue reading Long-awaited Triad prototypes photos!

Scratch that…what was Will’s is now Max’s body.

Scratch that…what was Will’s is now Max’s body. published on No Comments on Scratch that…what was Will’s is now Max’s body.

My attempt to Frankenstein the aforementioned skinny body for Will failed. The muscular arms looked out of proportion to the narrow torso. Also the torso was too short. I moved Will back to a body type much like his Dragon body [sigh]. None of these changes have shaken his attraction to his tragically pink and gold cowboy boots. ~_~

I did, however, save the disproportionate body. I decided that it would be perfect for a male character who uses a wheelchair. [Thus his arms would be bulked up from wheeling the chair, while his paralyzed legs would be slender.] Since I have a male character that I want to embody, Max, I decided that Anneka’s dad would get the body I Frankensteined two nights ago. Since I painted his face last night, I just need to give him hair before he can break his invisibility and appear on camera. [Hey Max…stop hiding in the bathroom and flushing your pills!!]

Oh yeah…and I need to get Max a wheelchair. Fortunately he’s narrow enough to fit in a Barbie wheelchair…

Pictures later.

Note to self: Make a banner for trade with Action Figure Diary. [If you haven’t seen it, go read it. It contains 1:6 action figures in silly escapades, along with their human owners. Gentle and witty, with great character development.]

Also sign up for ohnorobot.com, not only for publicity, but also for easy storage of transcriptions.

My mutant superpower: plot hole detection

My mutant superpower: plot hole detection published on 2 Comments on My mutant superpower: plot hole detection

Yippee, I watched X3 on Saturday night.

As a flashy summer movie, it satisfies with Dramatic Showdowns â„¢, Impossible Odds â„¢ (did anyone else think that the 6 good X-Men “holding the line” on Alcatraz were just ridiculously outnumbered against the scores of Magneto’s bad guys on the bridge?), Wrenching Sacrifices â„¢, et hoc genus omne.

New characters like Kitty Pryde (played cutely and capably by Ellen Page, who I kept mistaking for the castrating pervert she played in Hard Candy) and Beast (Kelsey Grammer, of all people, doing a good job!!) kept my interest. They kind of compensated for the fact that the script writers ruthlessly killed off or neutralized the kinkiest characters (R.I.P., Magneto and Mystique). Thus the movie was left to boring personages like Famke Janssen’s Phoenix, whose superpower is apparently standing around in a catatonic manner. With such a large cast, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, whose power is ass-kicking while wisecracking, and Halle Berry’s Storm, whose power is looking great in pleather, sorely lacked time to strut their stuff.

Overall, I thought X3 was a good movie, but not good enough to fully engage me. Like the subject line says, I couldn’t care less about the morality of a mutant cure. I was too busy identifying loose plot threads.

I’m waiting excitedly for Superman Returns (June 28), The Devil Wears Prada (June 30) and, most of all, Pirates of the Caribbean II (July 7)!! Oh yeah…and whenever The Da Vinci Code comes to the cheap seats, I’m going to mock its pants off.

New improved Will: from brawny to scrawny

New improved Will: from brawny to scrawny published on No Comments on New improved Will: from brawny to scrawny

My concept of Will’s physique has always been closer to that of my 1:3 Jareth doll, rather than the ridiculously muscular soldier’s body he’s had for years. Unfortunately, the custom head that I use for Will won’t fit on any of the skinny male bodies…until now. Tonight, after a long silence, I broke out the Dremel and my drawer of bodies in an attempt to transfer the brawny neck assembly from a Dragon male body to the scrawny slender Obitsu male body.  In order to balance out the thicker neck, I imported Will’s original muscular arms [so he doesn’t have twig-like upper limbs]. I have yet to ream out the torso to allow for neck poseability, but you can see a mock-up of how I want Will to look below.

I’m swapping his body not just because I envision Will as skinny, almost to the point of weakness. I’m also narrowing his body because that way he can fit in all the cool clothes for female fashion dolls [his pants are My Scene] that he couldn’t before because he was too wide. Only clothes for fem figs come close to achieving the proper look for Will.

Frank’s first shoot

Frank’s first shoot published on 1 Comment on Frank’s first shoot

…Better late than never, right? Proudly presenting Frank, shot the day he arrived in the mail, acting sultry in a Dollmore warm-up set. Intended for 60 cm dolls, this outfit looks gut-bustingly sexy on the Model body. In case you haven’t paid attention to my ecstatic raving, Frank is a Volks Yukinojo head on a Dollmore Bella body with a neck modified by our very own Armeleia the stupendous. I painted his face. See him in his leisure suit below….

One doll hobby meets the other…

One doll hobby meets the other… published on No Comments on One doll hobby meets the other…

Back in the olden days when I purchased my first BJD [that’s spring, 2004], most BJDs for sale were 1:3.

The 60 cms represented teens, while the 45 cms represented toddlers. They were also really expensive [you couldn’t get one for under $400.00, really], all foreign-made and somewhat of a rarity. By contrast, my action figs/fashion dolls were 1:6, cheap [$100.00 is a high-end price for an articulated doll], plentiful both in the States and elsewhere. Since I was used to action figs/fashion dolls, the expansion into the world of BJDs represented a quantum leap away from the familiarity of vinyl.

Scant years later, action figs and BJDs are drawing closer together in ways that I never expected. Soom Uyoo both inaugurated and exemplified the new intertwining of BJDs and action figs/fashion dolls. Explicitly marketed as being the size of 11.5″ fashion dolls, Uyoo was positioned as a high-class resin sibling to Barbie, Jenny and Momoko, only better because you could change her hair and eyes as well as clothes. Furthermore, as a 1:6 and therefore much smaller doll than your usual 1:3 BJD, Uyoo also marked a drastic price drop in the average cost of a BJD, her price much more similar to that of a collector’s action fig/fashion doll than that of a 1:3 BJD. Just like a Barbie, Uyoo was portable, easily dressable and relatively affordable, so she was poised to enter the fashion doll/action figs market [and probably take over Barbie’s closet while she was at it].

Since Uyoo’s introduction, many other 1:6 BJDs have appeared on the market. They fall into two categories: teens [like Uyoo] and young children [like Orientdoll Ji]. I have no desire to populate a BJD universe with a bunch of teens and tinies, but I am always seeking diversity of ages in Love Has Fangs. So the greater availability of 1:6 articulated toddlers, pre-pubescents and young teens [no matter what their construction] excites me greatly. My 1:3 BJD universe has stabilized and completed at 3 inhabitants [Jareth, Frank and Jennifer], but my 1:6 universe has plenty of room for expansion….

…All of which is to say that I have another BJD en route to me. Limwha ToYou, a 27 cm pre-teen girl, will come unpainted and unwigged for about $255.00 [see what I mean about cheap?]. She looks like an abused, haunted, tired, petulant girl of about 12 or 13, which is exactly what she’ll be. All my blood-sucking characters had better watch out for <b>Daisy the vampire killer!!</b>

I’m also going back and forth about getting an Orientdoll So. I really can’t find an articulated plastic toddler. [The closest possibility, Mattel Tommy or Kelly, has no elbow or knee joints. Why not?!] And I really want one for Geordie, Dom’s niece. Plus Orientdoll sells So very cheaply [$109.00 w/o s/h] unpainted, so I may soon have a 3-year-old running around the LHF universe, heh heh heh.

Batwoman [?!?!?!] is a lesbian [?!?!?!?!?].

Batwoman [?!?!?!] is a lesbian [?!?!?!?!?]. published on 2 Comments on Batwoman [?!?!?!] is a lesbian [?!?!?!?!?].

Attention tout le monde! We are now inaugurating the new media tag, under which the Blog of Eternal Stench stinks up the atmosphere with commentary about the latest books, movies, TV and radio I’ve been consuming. Aren’t you excited? I knew you were [all 2 of you].

Unless you’ve been living in a closet during the past week, you know that DC Comics is resuscitating Batwoman [who???] as a lesbian. Check out the New York Times article for an interesting survey about the history of superheroes more accurately reflecting the ethnic and sexual diversity of the population at large. Supposedly Batwoman’s new sexual preference is a newsworthy advance in the name of peace, tolerance and the American way.

You know what would be really “groundbreaking?” If, instead of tacking on some homosexuality just to boost sales, the major comic publishers started by creating a queer character in the first place and then thought about how the sexuality would affect the character.

You could warp the stereotypes of superheroism [identity switching, flashy outfits, defending the oppressed, freakin’ outrageous sex appeal] to fit some of the experiences of gay people, such as coming out, getting ragged on, standing up for oneself. For example, maybe the character’s alter ego is straight and the super hero identity is gay! Maybe the character defends others against homophobic bullies…or has a murderous vendetta against homophobes [oooh, a tragic flaw]. Some of the most interesting superhero stories, like Spiderman, use the superpowers as an interesting metaphor [in Spiderman’s case, it’s superpowers as adolescence/growing up]. A similar thoughtful treatment of a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender superhero would be eminently interesting.

On a side note, I didn’t even know there was a Batwoman until all this buzz started occurring. Sheesh, if you’re add a twist to a character’s sexuality, why not do it to a character who could at least swing that way if she wanted to? For example, Catwoman seems to hang around women all the time, and Batman really pisses her off. Of course, just because she dislikes Batman doesn’t mean that she automatically must be attracted to women, but making Catwoman queer seems more psychologically plausible than pinning gayness as an afterthought to some non-entity named Batwoman.

T-shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts!!

T-shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts!! published on No Comments on T-shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts!!

Last night I developed two LHF T-shirts. My unofficial survey of two people reveals that they look pretty good! 😀

Design 1 just shows the comic’s URL.

Design 2, which I’m really proud of, says “Vampires do it in cold blood,” then the URL below.

If you spend over $20.00 [hint: black shirts are $21.00] in the next week, you can use the following coupon code for $5.00 off: MOTIFMETHOD. [Coupon code expires June 11.] So spread the LHF love…affordably!

Feed me, Seymour…feed me!

Feed me, Seymour…feed me! published on 1 Comment on Feed me, Seymour…feed me!

We now have our very own LJ feed for easy addition to your friends list. Go here and add meeeeee!

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/lovehasfangs/profile

Since I just created it, entries may take a while to appear. But there is a special bonus ep up, so you can always go to http://www.lovehasfangs.com and see it.

EDIT: As of 2:00 PM, 7 people have added the LHF feed to their friends lists. Be one of the cool crowd! Add it!

EDIT: As of 3:00 PM, it’s up to 12!

The dirty secrets of Love Has Fangs

The dirty secrets of Love Has Fangs published on No Comments on The dirty secrets of Love Has Fangs

Today marks the beginning of a new occasional supplement to LHF, When No One’s Watching. The first installment concerns Maximilian, Anneka’s dad. With such a large cast of characters, only a few are ever in the spotlight at a time. The other ones are still living their lives, though, just undocumented…until now. Now you can find out the cast’s dark, dirty secrets.

I started this supplement because I really like my characters. They all have detailed back stories that extend across decades and even generations, but, usually, only a small portion of this character development shows up in the main arcs. With the supplement, I get an excuse to play with my people more.

I also want to show off my kitchen. Isn’t it neat? I picked it up at Goodwill last night for $1.50. I’ve long coveted the Barbie kitchen as a backdrop, but it came with all sorts of plastic food and utensils that I already had. I finally just got the backdrop for a reasonable price.

Oh…and a deep, dark secret of my own… As you can probably tell, I don’t actually have a Max doll [YET!]. Despite the fact that he’s Anneka’s dad, I just haven’t given him a physical form yet. I need to find a Robert E. Lee doll…

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