At the time, I had no clue how he managed to give the impression of a bad green screen in a comic. Then I started comparing some of the objects in the comics to photos and found some that were nearly identical. As far as I can tell, there are two things that could have happened: either Arlem has been tracing photos or he’s been pasting photos directly into Photoshop and then adding filters.

I spent a long time debating whether to simply call this photo-referencing or not. However, this is an attempt to pass the work of others off as his own. Even if he’d gotten permission from the person who photographed the objects, failing to give credit would still be considered illegal. And there’s really only one term that adequately describes this: art theft.

(Unless he took the pictures himself, in which case, it’s lazy and a bizarre form of self-plagiarism.)

I know this is a serious accusation, but I’ve got proof. Enough proof that this will be a multi-part post.

NYPD Squad Car

Police Car from Hawkgirl #60 This is a NYPD squad car.

• The marking beside the back window (directly above the back tire) is the Chevy Impala logo.
• The writing on the back door says “COURTESY PROFESSIONALISM RESPECT”. This is a slogan that is specific to the New York City police department.
• The writing at the front is the word “POLICE” but too blurry to read.
• The logo by the front tire is the NYPD logo. (Again, blurred out so it isn’t easy to recognize.)
• The word “POLICE” was typed and put where “NYPD” would appear on squad cars.
• “ST. ROCH” appears where a squad car would have a car number and precinct number.

Wikipedia has some photos for comparison. Or you can browse through this gallery of NYPD squad cars. The 2008 Chevy Impalas at the second page are pretty much identical to the car in this image. Oh, and he used the exact same picture in X-Factor #11, which came out a year before Hawkgirl.

He couldn’t be bothered to find a different photo to steal. Now that is lazy. I wish I could say that this is a one-time thing. But looking at comics drawn by Arlem over the past few years, it’s pretty apparent that a good chunk of the backgrounds are stolen. Not to mention Arlem’s annoying habit of reusing images that he himself drew.

NYC Taxi Cab

A picture of a New York City taxi cab, edited to replace “NYC” with Metropolis. From Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #3.

Profiles in Photo Theft

From Superman – The Last Family of Krypton #2. Because drawing a book cover is hard.

Egyptian Knick Knacks

The image on the left is from an online gift shop. The one on the right is from Hawkgirl #61.

Picture on the left is from Kaboodle. Pictures on the right are from Hawkgirl #60. The vase miraculously repairs itself for the picture on the far right.

The image on the left is a canopic jar from the same gift shop as the Anubis statue. The one on the right appears in Hawkgirl #60. Arlem reused the image a few times.

Just a few.

Coming next time: Stealing from famous artists, billboards and New York skylines.

From Batman Adventures #11

I’ll admit I didn’t get the joke in this until about the third time I read it … but I laughed when I did.

If you can figure out what song inspired this picture, congratulations! You’re on the same wavelength as me.

…

I am so, so sorry.

While I can see why people got so angry about it, I didn’t. Why? Well, because I have never really agreed with the “mutants as minority” metaphor. And buying into that metaphor is pretty much necessary for the speech to be offensive.

The mutants as an oppressed minority idea is nothing new. It’s been used in comics for decades. Sometimes subtly and sometimes explicitly. Mutants – like real life minorities – are often the victims of prejudice, and like real life victims of prejudice experience bullying, harassment, violence and oppression. But the metaphor is not a perfect one, and there seems to be a desire to carry it much too far.

In the real world, prejudice is often based on ignorance and unjustified fears. However, there are plenty of justifiable reasons to be afraid of mutants.

Mutant powers manifest during the teenage years, a time when emotions and hormones are running high. Self-control is a skill that many teenagers still haven’t developed. The idea of a teenager spontaneously developing a lethal power is terrifying.

When Rogue’s powers first manifested, she put someone in a coma just by touching them. If Cyclops visor or glasses are knocked off, he could seriously injure or kill someone. Not on purpose. Not maliciously. But that’s very little comfort to the person who is put in the hospital or killed.

Does this justify hate crimes against them or treating them as subhuman? Absolutely not.

It does, however, justify caution. It makes fear understandable. And it’s why I have never agreed with the metaphor. At best, the comparison to real world minorities is superficial.

While I don’t agree with everything in the speech, I wholeheartedly agree with Havoc asserting that “we are all human.” It’s something I wish would be said more in the X-Men comics. Because for a long time mutants have been saying they aren’t human. They are not mere Homo sapiens. They are Homo superior.

I read X-Men comics sporadically, so I have no clue when the term first popped up. But I have absolutely loathed the term since I first saw it. If writers are going to insist on using mutants as a metaphor for real life issues, they should quit using this term. Or at the very least, only have the bad guys use it.

Historically, there are plenty of instances where groups have labelled themselves “superior” or dismissed other groups as below them  or as subhuman. These people are known as bigots. In other words, some of the last people who you should be having your heroes emulate.

Havoc’s speech isn’t perfect. There are hints of possible self-loathing and deciding to reject part of a person’s identity can be damaging. But then again, to me it didn’t come across as Remember trying to say this is the way things are or this is the way things should be. It came across as saying “this is the way Alex sees it.”

I don’t think Alex’s viewpoint is the viewpoint that other mutants (or real people) should emulate. But the idea that everyone is human and should not be defined by their genetics is something I can get behind, both in the Marvel universe and in real life.

This means new episodes of both Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The new episode of Green Lantern premieres at 10:00AM Eastern Time, and the Young Justice episode premieres after that at 10:30AM. (And according to the TV schedule, the episodes will play again on Sunday at the same times, just in case anyone misses them.)

I haven’t been following Green Lantern, but I have been enjoying Young Justice. Unfortunately, I’m about nine episodes behind. Which leaves me the arduous task of catching up on my recorded episodes. It’s like a late Christmas present.

Oh, and to the people in charge of DC Comics: I’ll admit that I don’t know many of the details of the rights issues that temporarily yanked DC Nation off the air. But could you please, please just settle any more potential rights issues that might disrupt your programs and comics now rather than yanking stuff off the air without any warning?

Or at least let fans and the creators know when something like this happens. That way you don’t have a creator talking about how excited he is about an episode that’s about to air … only to have it not air and leave everyone confused.

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And since the song has become so popular – currently #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 – it has spawned dozens of fan parodies/versions. Most range from mediocre to mildly amusing. My favorite – and the best I’ve seen so far – is this one. Mostly because this is completely in character for Deadpool.

I tend to get extremely excited when mythological characters are used in comics because it combines too things I love. It’s often difficult to tell which elements of the mythology are canon with the comics, which can be a bit confusing for mythology nerds. It can also become incredibly creepy.

You see, Greek mythology has enough incest to put Ancient Egyptian dynasties to shame.

For example, let’s take the character of Hippolyta, the mother of Wonder Woman.

In both the comics and the mythology, she is queen of the Amazons. In the comics (pre-Reboot), she was brought to life by some of the Greek pantheon. In the mythology, she’s the daughter of Ares.

In the direct-to-DVD Wonder Woman movie, Hippolyta has a son with Ares. Which – if we go by the mythology – means she slept with her father.

In mythology, Ares’s is  the son of Zeus and Hera, making Zeus Hippolyta’s grandfather. In the comics, Zeus slept with Hippolyta to produce Diana. So if we go by mythology, Hippolyta slept with her serial rapist grandfather in order to have a daughter. This makes Diana both the daughter and the great-granddaughter of Zeus.

I know Ares being Hippolyta’s father probably isn’t canon with the comics but considering that the comics seem to be trying to be closer to the original myths …

If it is canon, may I suggest this song as Wonder Woman’s new theme song?

The following picture of the new team was released.

For the most part, the group shot is good. Most of the team members are in dynamic poses or standing at the ready. Except Vibe, who never gets any respect. Stargirl’s costume – as always – is a bit iffy, but at least she looks ready for battle and happy to be there. (Although I have to wonder where her staff is, since she’s never had any powers of her own before.) I’m not much for the costuming, but for the most part it does work.

Unfortunately, Catwoman completely ruins it.

What DC wants you to think when you see Catwoman’s costume:

1. Boobies!
2. Bondage!

Desired final thought: Catwoman is hot! I’m going to buy her book!

What I think when I see Catwoman’s costume:

1. Catwoman doesn’t know how to work a zipper.
2. Catwoman doesn’t realize that going bra-less in a fight is a bad idea.

My final thought: Catwoman is a moron! I’m glad I’m not buying her book!

Sadly, I’m not surprised by this treatment of Catwoman. It’s hard to be after the infamous cover of her anatomically inaccurate butt and boobs. And her first issue of the reboot had her in her underwear for the first pages without showing her face. (And ended in a sex scene, naturally.)

Look, I don’t mind her having sex with Batman. I don’t mind Catwoman being sexy. But this over-the-top crap is getting on my nerves. Every preview and picture I’ve seen for Catwoman post-reboot is advertising Catwoman as a sex-object instead of a person. What’s her personality? Her dreams? Her goals? Who cares? She’s sexy!

If you advertise a character purely on cheesecake, it can hurt the character’s portrayal, because all the readers will see is cheesecake. Maybe there’s more to her portrayal in the books, but with the way she’s being portrayed in the ads, I’m not going to buy her book to find out. Pin-up style poses and outfits may attract some new male readers, but it’s a good way to turn off female readers.

I don’t even like Catwoman as a character, so when I start getting annoyed by crap like this, you’ve probably gone too far.

To any DC Comics artists or writers that read this, I’m asking one thing. Please, please quit treating Catwoman like nothing but a pair of boobs and a butt. If you want to sell me on the character, you need to sell me on her personality. Not on her rack.