The comics blogiverse is an increasingly diverse network of comics pundits, fans and fanatics — not to mention professional creators themselves — where one can find a variety of fascinating and/or obnoxious opinions to suit any taste, or lack thereof. Every Saturday, I’ll offer up excerpts from five of the more interesting, thought-provoking posts I’ve come across over the past week, for better or worse. Enjoy!

Amy Reads the Week (of March 23rd, 2007)
Arrogant Self-Reliance

And that is the clencher, no? If a male hero’s girlfriend/wife is hurt or killed to get at him, he isn’t considered a bad boyfriend or husband. But if a heroine’s child is hurt or killed to get at her, she most likely is considered to be a Bad Mother. And there are few labels worse in our society than Bad Mother. When Kate Spencer’s son is hurt because he was playing with her Manhunter weapons, she is not the only one who thinks that she’s been a Bad Mother; everyone does. Even This Humble Author have suffered under this assumption (yes, even me, Gentle Reader!) in that I took Selina to task for being so carefree with her own life when Helena needs her, oh so much.

I have No Definitive Answers, Friends, because this isn’t a problem easily solved. Rather, let us think on those stereotypes as they exist not only in comic books, but in the world. And perhaps let us Call Attention to Things Such As This the next time someone says, “it’s just a comic book! What does it matter that Powergirl’s breasts are so large?” or, “it’s just a comic book! Why do the liberals always have to have a gay/black/female/cheesecake-loving hero to read it?” It’s never *just a comic book* because—I’ve said it before and I will say it a thousand times more—our pop culture reflects our innermost desires.

Our popular culture reflects Us.

Interview: Tony Millionaire Pt. 2 (of 2)
The Daily Cross Hatch

Yeah, it’s about a kid who wants to be a superhero, and he finds that these insects in his backyard have super powers. They’re not great superpowers, but they’re pretty good for insects. The ant’s power is that it can talk, and there is a worm that can listen. You can barely tell that he’s listening, except that he looks at you, which is much more than any normal worm can do. To these bugs in the backyard, the kid is like a superhero, because he can lift up tin cans and put sticks together, and help them build this little fortress. He’s this amazing super creature that’s enlisted to help them. It’s just a cute story for little kids, about how heroes are heroes to different people, for different reasons.

After the Cape #1
The Savage Critic(s)

There’s something that’s missing about this book, and I’m not entirely sure what it is. I’m tempted to be a dick and say that it’s “quality,” but that’s kind of cheap, and not entirely correct – The creators are definitely trying their best, but those efforts are somewhat misguided and unfocused, and the ultimate aim seems to be something unoriginal and unnecessary in today’s environment. I mean, do we really need another story about superheroes with feet of clay and problems just like normal people, when the largest superhero publisher is pushing their entire line in that direction and doing it with the big name toys that we’ve known since we were children? The only way to make a book like that work if you’re an indie publisher is to do something that the mainstream publishers can’t, or won’t – either take it farther, or do it better. On the evidence of this first issue, this series isn’t looking to do either.

Revenge Of The Message-Board Men
A Trout in the Milk

Apparently the life of a comic-book professional is a pretty sheltered one, when it comes to criticism: for example, in the world I live in, the kind of passive-aggressive weaselhood that Millar indulges in here leads, pretty inevitably, to a fist in a face…

Mark Millar and Graeme McMillan are just names to me. I think these days Millar writes a lot of stuff which is averagely-good for wrapping fish in, and then makes himself look like an idiot by praising it to the skies. Graeme McMillan, by contrast, writes a lot of things which cogently and amusingly indicate the absurdity of this endless self-promotion, all somehow without ever descending into mean-spiritedness. I admire that in him. Millar should, too. Because this is probably the easiest and most genial criticism he will ever have to face.

And if he plays the bully again, he’ll get much worse.

Chris Van Dusen on “My Favorite Mistake”
Grey Matter

Because… Izzie and George? They’ve got some intense feelings for each other, those two. It’s obvious. It’s amazing. There they are, in that linen closet, NOT DRUNK AT ALL, and it’s apparent that the sex – the really, really good sex – it could happen again – right then and right there. So George rushes out, leaving Izzie all alone. Neither has a clue what to do.

George. Is. Married. We see George banging the linen closet shelves, Izzie looking so confused, both of them pacing around like caged animals. Izzie and George are so incredibly flawed. But that’s what makes them interesting. That’s what makes them human. That’s why, even though they did a terrible thing, we still love them. And we want to see them get out of this okay. I’m talking about all parties involved: Izzie, George, and Callie.