Were you offended by KickAss #1?

[hobnoblin]

I read Kick-Ass #1, and really enjoyed it. It's about a kid who lives in "The Real World" who decides to become a superhero. Except for the superhero premise, it's a very realistic comic. The kids in the comic joke around and swear exactly as real kids do. And the title character casually mentions that if you ever barged into his bedroom, you might catch him jerking off to fantasies of his biology instructor. Real and honest.

Unfortunately, the realism is a double-edge sword. You see, the kids in the comic also insult each other like real kids would. And what's the most common insult amongst kids? You guessed it.



When I read the above panels, I groaned. I calmed myself, however, by telling myself: "At least they didn't say 'FAGGOT'". So, of course, 2 pages later....



I am offended by this. I am angry that I have to see the word FAGGOT in a comicbook. I am upset that Mark Millar is perpetuating the idea that it is perfectly acceptable to insult someone by accusing them of being like me.

Furthermore, I find it VERY relevant that in a confrontation between one white guy and three black guys, Millar didn't dare offend blacks or whites with racial hate words, but it was PERFECTLY acceptable for these two groups to lob "homo" and "faggot" back and forth. Pretty brave, Millar. Who gives a shit if you piss off the fags?

What's YOUR opinion?

[KidEternity]

Didn't bother me. And, dare I say, maybe this is the response Millar wants from readers, for better or worse, from this particular work.

Looking forward to next issue, and not really ready to voice a strong opinion about the series until a couple of more issues in. Regardless, did the use of the "faggot" offend me? No.

_________________
"Truth speaks best in the language of poetry and symbolism, I think."
--Elfayaed, The Invisibles #1

[ZdrowcaB]

Not me. Kids do that all the time. I remember when I was about 14 classmates used to say, "That's so gay" "Ur a FAG, LOL" and things like that.

Yeah, they mean it as an insult, but they're teenagers so they don't know any better. Though, I do remember when I was 15 this guy in my math class was harassing this girl and said something along the lines of "You're stupid, and you're so freakin' GAY." She answered with "Yeah, so what if I'm gay? You gotta problem with that!?"

They guy just stared at her for a couple of seconds and answered with a "...no.."

I totally admired her after that.

They way I see it with the whole "using-gay-as-an-insult" is only an insult if you take it personally. Kids are kids, yeah words hurt, but take it in stride. I'm majoring in English education and I observe in a relatively "dangerous" highschool. They do it all the time, usually because they can't think of a better insult. They just say fag or gay as a quicker comeback.

Simply put, there need to be more Sunae Lee's (that girl in my math class) in the world.

_________________
Mulch often and plant a tree seasonally.

[NJ Baritone]

I wasn't offended, but I did flinch a bit. I do agree with your comment on how Millar wouldn't dare use other kinds of hate speech, but "faggot" is ok. Overall, I'm much more offended by the way gay characters are treated in comics than I am by name calling - especially since the characters using the word aren't supposed to be upstanding citizens in the first place.

_________________
...But he was your second husband. Your first husband also disappeared.

But that was his job. He was an illusionist.

But he never reappeared.

He wasn't a very good illusionist.

[Your Pal Eric]

I'm not so much offended, it just stirs up some unpleasant memories and related feelings. I don't like that the hero starts the homophobic banter...

_________________
"You're fingering all the poses that I'VE liberated!"

-Deven Green

[ultimatexavior]

Garth Ennis does it all the time in Punisher. It doesn't make me flitch unless it's shoe horned in there. I know how people talk and it's just unfortunately the way it is. If they tried to do a realistic based book and didn't have it in there it might not sound as authentic. i may actually look into this book down the road if they continue to "keep it real" as the kids say.

x a v i o r

[hadmatter]

I think that this really all about the context in which the insults are used, and we can't actually judge that until the main character experiences some other confrontations in the course of the comic. My instinct when I read that first panel was that the main character had used that particular word, "homos", because he knew that it would be incendiary to those specific hooligans. It's not a far stretch to guess that the group of taggers would respond exactly as they did, whereas using a racial slur would, I think, have just been stupid on the part of our hero. He wanted to engage in his first fight, not get himself killed.

Nevertheless, it's of a little concern that he started the name-calling with that choice, but if his choices in the future are insults intended to inflame his adversaries, and not his own personal hatreds, then I don't really have a problem with it. As others have said before, sad as it may be, it's realistic dialogue.

That is exactly what I heard growing up, and although there is definitely an embedded homophobia in throwing around words like "homo" and "faggot", I have to say that most of the time these insults had nothing to do with actual homophobia. They were just words; I would have been called "fag" every day of my life even if I had been heterosexual, it just hurt a little bit more because it was actually true. It was like calling somebody a dick or a douche, it didn't mean anything in particular.

[MrVinegar]

"It didn't bother me." "It's what people really say." "Kids do it all the time."
"this is really about the context..."

Gee, I wonder why we homos still get beat up for being gay and are still third class citizens? It is offensive and you should all be offended. If you are not, you are part of the problem.

Now, before you think I am advocating getting our torches and pitchforks and hunting down Millar, let me explain further. What those characters did was offensive and we should find their actions repugnant. I would guess (from seeing only this one page) that that was Millar's intention. Now, in the course of this "realistic" work where opportunities arise to use nigger, kyke, dyke, spic, gook
in a realist way and they are not we would see a double standard in the writer.

Society currently allows the use of faggot, gay, and homo with little to no repercussions whereas some the words above will get you fired, ostracized, and black-listed. This is a double standard that we should be outraged over. Judging by most of the responses so far you are all okay with that double standard.

Even if kids use faggot as an insult and on the surface do not mean homosexual it is still a hate based insult. Just as the roots of calling someone a pussy is misogynistic (a vagina is inferior and something to loathe) calling someone faggot (being gay is inferior and something to loathe)is homophobic no matter the context.

So, to wrap up this long, scatterbrained post: if the writer is meaning to present a realistic situation of current society then we should be offended at society for being as it is portrayed and not at the writer. If the writer is trying to be "gritty" or "realistic" by using offensive words that he knows there is a double standard on using, then the writer should be reprimanded.

Personally, I'm a pessimist, so I feel he is simply using words that he knows he can get away with.

[KidEternity]

[merboy]

Not at all offended. He uses those words to rile the other guys up, knowing full well it'll affect them to be called a "homo", he's trying to make them angry. And maybe "faggot" is in there to make you flinch, it IS used all the time like is isn't a problem in movies and music...I just find him reflecting real life, much like Garth Ennis does. The whole book is an exagerration on bombastic american culture and everything that comes with it, why shy away from it?

Not everything's going to be pretty and pefect all the time. We're not always going to find well-adjusted role model type gay people or issues in the media, and why should we? we can be just as fucked up as anyone else.

I've never found Mark Millar to be a homophobic writer in any sense of the word and I totally defend his right to use the word, if something like this makes you so angry you should really look at more important issues.
Are you going to research every single writer to find out if their stance on homosexuality before deciding whether to boycott their work or not? I don't need anyone else to "be okay" with me other than myself, especially not a writer I don't even know.

Mel Gibson, for example, is a rampant alcoholic anti-semitic Catholic, whose father is a Holocaust denier. I am not a Christian by any stretch of the imagination but I can't deny Passion of The Christ was a well-directed movie. I don't like Mel Gibson and what he stands for, but I can't deny he produced a good movie.
This is getting away from the point anyway, because I don't think Mark Millar is prejudiced by any stretch of the imagination.

I find things much more offensive, like people trying to be politically correct and reasonable and swearing up and down they're not homophobic when they really are. Like turning Xavin from Runaways back into a man, or keeping a Batwoman title on the shelf, trying to get a Mature Readers label on any book featuring a gay character or ret-conning Rawhide Kid's sexuality as a moment of madness.

I also found Chuck Austen's cliche-ridden take on Northstar and Scott Lobdell's AIDS baby story much more objectionable, and they were trying to be positive!

But that, unfortunately, is the state of the industry.

You don't like Kick Ass? Don't read it, vote with your wallets and it'll eventually get cancelled.

[MrVinegar]

I think what I wrote must not have been entirely clear. What I was trying to say was that everyone reading those panels should find it offensive no matter what because it is offensive. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean we should take umbrage with Mr. Millar. To my knowledge he has never publicly made any type of homophobic statements. He work on Authority would lead me to believe he would be on our side of a gay rights debate. So basically we should be disgusted with the actions of the characters which I hope was Millar's intention.

The words are homophobic no matter what, even with innocent intentions. That being said I would never ever ever ever advocate for censoring those words or any other racist and hateful words. Care needs to be exercised when using them.

I can never know for sure, but based on his past work I have read I would not believe he had any malicious intentions. Therefore I would not be offended at him.

Although I do believe he used those words with much less fear of repercussions than he would if he used racist epithets. I hope that makes sense!

[hadmatter]

[hobnoblin]

Thanks to everyone who posted.

I don't agree with the overwhelming number of apologists and appeasement advocates, but I do thank you for taking the time to respond.

[MrVinegar]

[howtaobrowncow]