DEAR EDITOR: Let me preface this letter by saying that I am fan of The Stranger. But I have to draw the line at this terrible article on the Emerald City Comicon ["Superfreaky," Paul Constant, Feb 10].
In the article, Constant talks smack on Brian Michael Bendis for only selling 90,000-100,000 copies of Ultimate Spider-Man a month, but doesn't mention that Bendis is one of the most prolific writers in comics nor that he has opened the doors into mainstream comics for several independent writers and artists. Constant also doesn't talk about the artistic legitimacy that comics have due to the contributions of Daniel Clowes, R. Crumb, Jim Woodring, Craig Thompson, Neil Gaiman, and Grant Morrison.
To top it off, this FUCK STICK talks shit on the way comic fans dress: "…overweight, with longish hair and a goatee, wearing a leather duster or trench coat." Fuck you, asshole. I have normal hair, a pea coat, and I am clean-shaven. Not only did my supportive, comic-fan, very hot girlfriend go, but my mom is overweight. It seems to me that this guy is talking shit on fat people. And he called them "clones," when following the herd seems to be the modus operandi of music-based subculture, considering that at every show I go to there are DROVES of thick-framed-glasses-sporting, scarf-wearing, Red-Light-shopping hipsters.
Go read Vice, jack off to Suicide Girls, buy a Neighborhoodie, and leave my fucking art alone, you trend-following, unoriginal piece of shit.
Patrick Lemus
HOT COMIC CHICK
DEAR EDITOR: I'm writing in response to Paul Constant's lackluster article, "Superfreaky." I am a hardcore comic-book fan, and I am sick of the continuous, relentless stereotyping of the genre and the fans as fat, pathetic, 30-year-old men who still live in their parents' basements. I am 21, female, attractive (and not overweight) and I have many friends like me, both male and female--normal, cool people who are huge comics fans.
The genre is huge. The superhero genre has been revised and revisited in new and interesting ways, keeping even the oldest superheros, such as Batman and Superman, from falling into the traps of the tired cliché. Superheroes of both the Marvel and DC variety are as fresh and alive and popular today as they were when they first appeared on the page.
The old cliché that comic book fans are ugly, pathetic, and fat is just that--clichéd. It's time for people--and writers--to get a clue and stop falling back on old, dead ideas. It's not superheroes who are yesterday's news--it's the self-important yuppies who think they are.
Nettle Barnes
NORMAL AS NASCAR
TO THE EDITOR: I read your article on the comicon. The people that go to these events are no different then fans of NASCAR or football. Sure, a guy dressed like Doc Oct with homemade arms may not be normal. But he gets thanked by the rest of the people there for his creativity in how he made the arms. That is no different then a sports fan buying the jersey of his favorite player. There are no costumes to buy, so comic fans make their own. I don't see how that is strange or odd in any way.
To say there is something to be embarrassed about, even if the sales of comics are dying, is totally wrong. There is nothing wrong with collecting or reading comics. If this is what a person enjoys, they have no reason to be embarrassed. You don't have to be gay to like comics as you imply in your article.
Michael Lowe
FUCK LIBRARIANS
DEAR STRANGER: I wanted to voice my opinion regarding the "Sexiest Librarian" category in your Valentine's edition [Feb 10]. As someone who works in the Seattle Public Library, I felt your comment about the "mostly dowdy staff" was incorrect. Whenever I work at the Central library, I notice many hot, young, and juicy library staffers. Not only is the Central Library loaded with these sexy people, but all of the Seattle Public Library's branches also have their fair share of hot young things. And depending on which neighborhood you're in, the chances of finding hot, nubile patrons is also high. I believe our local library system has been sadly overlooked as a fresh dating ground to exploit. Please visit your local neighborhood library soon (especially if you are also hot, smart, and young, as some of us are tired of looking at the elderly folks and need new eye candy). Thank you.
M.
the middle muddle
TO THE EDITOR: Christine Gregoire's "meeting in the middle" ["Affirmative Reaction," Sandeep Kaushik, Feb 10] sounds suspiciously like Gary Locke's game plan. She possesses no real vision beyond her own personal ambition. However, I do agree with her that this state is of a decidedly middling nature; people outside this state who have the impression that this is where "progressivism" lives are deluding themselves. This, after all, is one of only two states to pass an anti-affirmative-action initiative; it also ranks near the bottom in support of higher education, its infrastructure is in tatters, and its land-use yahoos are mindlessly despoiling the environment.
Whatever passes for progressiveness in this state is in fact an expression of narcissism and self-interest. This narcissism and self-interest infuses Gregoire's conceits and lack of moral fiber; she tells us that steps to alleviate poverty and advance social progress must be "incremental." Well, wasn't that the South's plea to stave off civil rights, giving it time to "adjust"--or rather, find ways to block it? Nary a dark hue bespotted the pallid landscape of Gregoire's inaugural ball, just as it didn't her whites-only sorority party. I suspect that Gregoire's future--and this state's--will be no different than her past and present.
Mark Kittell
HOLY SHIT
TO THE STRANGER: I am so tired of reading articles that only talk about sex outside of marriage, with no regard for CHRIST. Sex was designed to create another human being to be cared for and loved by a male and female parent, not for careless, predatory, deadly, and reckless "recreation." Those who do this type of sexual sin are in for great suffering and pain. Do you not care about the youth who are getting STDs every day because of articles like the ones you put out? Do you realize HPV can cause cervical cancer and can't be detected by many who have it? Do you know a condom won't always protect against this and other diseases? Jude 1:7 states, "As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." I am praying that Hell is not where you will end up. CHRIST is real, and so is Hell. Fear GOD--the only thing that matters in the end is what you did for CHRIST. HE is the only way to Heaven. Praise HIS Holy Name!
