The Carpet I've Been Called On.

MY EYES! Its Wednesday, August 10, 2011, if that's love in the air it smells a lot like smoke, and this is The Side. Wildfires have flared up in the Great Dismal Swamp again, so if the wind is blowing the right way things get very hazy and being out in it is about as much fun as hyperventilating in a bar. We actually saw the smoke on Monday from the beach. We noted a weird looking cloud which looked like something from a volcanic eruption.

This is one of those few times in which i miss having my old Blackberry. It would have been a hell of a picture.

HOPE AND CHANGE AND BLAH BLAH BLAH...

Last go around, I posted up about the lack of women working at DC Comics and people wanting this rectified. That got more comments than usual, including me getting called out for posting "bullhock". There goes my PG rating. The cry of "bullhock" came from Linda, and Linda has quite often has acted as the throttle to my insanity, so its obvious we have to dive a little bit deeper here.

First off, I'm sticking with what I posted about being against quotas. The best person should get the job regardless of gender. Yes, there is a disproportional amount of men as opposed to women working over at DC, and its gotten to be more so with the dumb reboot.

Second, let's dissect this. There was a post from Jim Lee and Dan DiDio concerning this. For those who don't feel like clicking over and reading it, they say that they've heard this complaint and will be incorporating more women into creative teams. I don't really put much credence into anything DiDio says, but I do have a bit more faith in Lee. He's always seemed like a straight shooter to me, so I'm going to take them at their word here.

Right now nothing is being done to hire more women at DC. They aren't looking for much new talent either right now. There's a reason for this: they're kinda busy at the moment. The incident was the San Diego Batgirl Cos-player only happened a couple weeks ago. That may sound like a lot of time, but its not when you're in the process of relaunching your entire superhero line. Seriously, this is the main focus of DC right now. When they go to conventions they have got to be selling this like its the greatest thing ever. Its not like just doing an "event" which readers can read or ignore. They can't ignore this. And it better work, or someone might not be in the same position they previously were in. Right now, the focus isn't on hiring because they are having to push what they've got on deck to launch next month.

Linda said it was a "good old boys club", and she's absolutely correct. The guys who organized this picked people we have worked with and trust to see this through. You and I may not agree with these choices. I certainly don't. Right now there're people in key positions at DC who were doing high profile stuff in 90s. You want to see a "good old boy club", then look at the creative staffs of the big two and Image back then. We're getting a lot of these guys popping back up again, because its business and a lot of business is who you know.

I'm not excusing or condoning any of this, but this is how it is. Now, the real gist of all this is not about how it is, but about how it should be.

I put at the end of the last post that DC has done its part, and they have. They've acknowledged that there is a problem and they want to fix it. I also said that people need to do their part and I think that's gotten misconstrued as me saying "ladies need to step up their game", and that's bullhock. Gosh-darnit.

Pull back and look at the board, people. DC has its narrative, and it has nothing to do with what's in our pull boxes every week. Its narrative is that certain writers and artists and awesome and that this relaunch is going to be the greatest thing ever. The SD Batgirl changed that narrative at the year's biggest nerd prom. That event was the start of a movement, and a movement requires people to do stuff. I'm not just talking about women who want to work for DC. I'm talking about everybody who gives a damn about this. That gal made such a stink that DC had to acknowledge this, and that's amazing.

And here's where we go from here.

We need to stay in contact with DC about this, either online or at conventions. We need to be vocal about what Lee and DiDio posted, and praise them for it, so they don't forget it. Right now there's no openings for fresh faces, but that's going to change. Don't expect it next week, and this is good. This allows people to start getting noticed. Push your work and show them that you've got what it takes. They might not be looking at portfolios now with the reboot, but talk to somebody and let them know that you are definitely interested when the time comes. And stay in contact. Getting a job in for a big comic company requires harassment.

And if you aren't looking for a position with them you need to be encouraging to people you know who are. And you should also be seeing the DC guys at cons and tell them about how you think its a good thing that they're planning on having more women on staff.

DC Comics is looking to take their intellectual properties into the 21st century and they've recently been forced to consider that their idea of taking this into the future might be open to improvement. Its up to us as readers and people who genuinely care about comics to keep this movement going. Don't count on special treatment because you're a woman, because this is about equality, not being special.

Right now we have to sit and wait. Certainly, remain vocal about this matter. I wouldn't expect much as far as DC bringing a significant amount of fresh talent in until next year. This year belongs to the reboot.

Patience.

MUSIC!!

You know how some songs just make you angry? Not like "Crap, I'm trying to eat my sandwich and Lady Gaga just came on the radio, now I've lost my appetite" angry. I mean angry music! This is one of those.



I swear, every time I hear it, I'm consumed with rage towards little green pig heads.

Before I go, my condolences to the Team Six members, support staff, and families who lost friends and loved ones this last weekend. It was a terrible thing, and my heart goes out to them. God bless, and we'll see y'all Friday.