An amusing John Byrne story from a recent column by Erik Larsen:

"There was, I'd heard, a dispute with Stan Lee over something - I don't recall exactly what. I do remember John objecting to the name of Stan's soon-to-be new character called 'Ravage.' I recall John relating an incident when he was trying to explain to Stan why he found it objectionable. He's equated it with rape and said to Stan something like, 'What if I said to you that I was going to ravage your wife?' and Stan 'didn't seem to get it.' The reason Stan didn't get it may have been that John appeared to have confused the word 'ravage' (which does not mean rape) with the word 'ravish' (which does)."

Meeeyow!

Watch Steve Carell appeal to wealthy cats for them to donate money to the New York Center for Autism.

Thoughts on Heroes

I like the new show Heroes but I've got this nagging feeling the creators have some messed up attitudes towards women. The two main female characters are: 1) Claire, a sweet cheerleader and 2) Niki, Internet stripper/single mom. Of course, there's also the cop's estranged wife, a woman torn between two men, and a pixie-cut girl who mainly acts as a soundboard to another character's rantings. But I have a suspicion these three won't remain past the first story arc. I suspect at least one of them will die* and pixie-girl is some kind of double-agent or spy. Anyway, to me the two extremes of cheerleader/stripper (oh, heck, let's call it what it is -- virgin/whore) embodied in the female leads doesn't bode well for the show. But it's been entertaining so far and I'm hoping that once we get past the origin arc the writers will put these characters into more interesting situations.

Then, I came across this article on Heroes which contained this telling quote from executive producer Tim Kring: "'One of the things that has really popped for people, especially with women, is this kind of strong female character [Niki, the stripper],' he said. 'A lot of that is the sexuality of this character that I think women can really relate to, especially women who are mothers. The idea that this is a mother who can actually own her sexuality is a very powerful thing for women.'"

So apparently the producer's idea of a woman "owning her sexuality" equals stripping for money. Uh, okay... But wait! She's trying to be A Good Mother and only strips because she's trying to support her son. That could almost be bearable if it weren't for her powers, which appear to be turning into some kind of Mr. Hyde/Incredible Hulk type who can do the nasty stuff Niki won't (like killing and having sex.) Maybe it's just me but a character who has to let another personality take over in order to get the real work done and then has no memory of the event does not strike me as particuarly strong.

I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make, but I just thought I'd thow my observations out there. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.


* As well as Ando, Hiro's buddy. Everyone hero needs an Uncle Ben!