I'm a Sexist Pig!

OINK!  It's Sunday, January 15, 2011, I is ashamed, and this is The Side.  Nobody's perfect, and boy, I sure ain't.  Yes, there's often plenty of typos in here.  Yeah, I've had times in which I haven't posted when I said I was going to post.  This week I had a serious headdesk moment.

COMIX!!!

Last go around I raved and raved about HEART  from Image Comics.  I poured over the first first three issues and took in the whole book.  Loved every bit of it and its a really great book.  Its also the first comic from Blair Butler and I noted this saying that this book is his first outing as a writer.  Well, I got a comment on the Comic Kings website:

Not to be that guy, but… Blair Butler is a lady. Other than that, great review. I’ll have to pick up “Heart.”

Oh, he's so totally that guy.

GAH!  It never occurred to me that Blair Butler is a woman.  I've only know one person named "Blair" and he was a dude.  There's that there Blair Underwood actor fella, he's a dude.  The only "Blair" I know of that's a who was on THE FACTS OF LIFE.  I even read an interview with Butler that was featured in one of the comics.  Still had no clue she was a she.


This isn't like that whole Lady Gaga thing in which the song gets played, you ask "What the fuck is this garbage?", and then you she a picture of Gaga, and you ask "What the fuck is that?"  And it seems obvious that  that we're dealing with a Boy George type thing and its a cross dresser.  But then they are claims that its a woman and you're stuck wondering "pre or post op".  This is totally different.


Its also not the first time I've made this mistake.  I spent months thinking Taylor Swift was a guy.  People kept talking about how amazing Taylor Swift is and I'm wandering around half wondering who is he?  He's certainly got a cool name.  I was curious, but not curious enough to bother Googling Swift.  Then I saw a magazine cover with a gorgeous girl on it and in big bold letters it said "Taylor Swift".  I'm looking at the magazine thinking to myself, well I guess this guy must be popular to be the lead story in this magazine.  Then the realization slowly crept in that Taylor Swift was the gorgeous girl on the cover.

This is even worse.  Yes, Butler wasn't even a blip on my radar before Wednesday.  I just knew there was an MMA comic out there that I wanted to check out.  I had no clue that she was the girl on the cover of that one issue of BOOSTER GOLD.  Usually when there's a writer I don't know very well, but their stuff blows me away like HEART did, I do a bit of research.  Sure, my schedule has been pretty jam packed this week, but I could have at least checked out her website which was listed in the comic.


And its worse because I'm all for more women getting into the comic industry.  Now one throws her hat in the ring and I think she's a he.  I even read back through the comic armed with this new knowledge.  The comic is from the viewpoint of an up and coming MMA fighter.  Butler absolutely nails it.  I would have thought that this comic was written by an MMA fighter.  I don't expect women writers to write about hearts and unicorns and crap.  I've ready plenty of hardcore stories from Gail Simone.  Carla Speed McNeil's FINDER is still one of the best comics you probably aren't reading.  I feel like a freaking hypocrite because it never dawned on me that the writer of comic that it brutal and honest about the stuff an MMA fighter goes through and is so pumped with adrenaline could have been written by a woman.  I wouldn't blame Blair Butler one bit for wanting to kick my ass.  Right now, I want to kick my own ass.


So, I want to apologize to Blair Butler, who isn't a guy.  She's a woman who writes really awesome comics.  And if you haven't picked up HEART yet, you suck nearly as bad as I do.

MUSIC!!

Rough weekend, but I did get to hear some really good music yesterday.





That's it for me this go around. Hope you enjoyed my tale of being a stupid sexist jerk, as well as the video with the cute little hamster. See y'all Wednesday, at which point I'll try to be a better person.