Can Wizard Magazine BE anymore sexist?
Blah, Wizard Mag just celebrated their 200th issue and you’d think after such an achievement some semblance of maturity and, I dunno, maybe respect would come along with such a milestone? Naw, such high-level concepts don’t apply to the frat-boy “dudes” running Wizard.
Not only did Wonder Woman come in at a lowly #15 in Wizard’s list of the 200 greatest characters for all time (15? Really? Behind mother fraking Jesse Custer? C’mon), but the good old boys compiling the list just couldn’t help but make a sexual comment about the beloved grand dame of comics before they even try to venture writing anything resembling respect for the character’s greatness.
With 60 years of history behind her - standing strong as a feminist icon - Wonder Woman is reduced to a typical, all-to-easy, sexual and sexist joke. Must there be a discussion on her star-spangled panties in the write-up? Not only is this not humorous, it’s stupid! I find it quite funny how all the male characters on the list manage to be written with hyperbolic praise galore and with nary a references made about Batman’s cod-piece, or Superman’s bulging biceps.
And these “cool bros” at Wizard don’t just stop the inanity train with Wonder Woman; for they do an equally terrible sexist take on Supergirl as well. Ranking in at #153 the Girl of Steel is blurbed about as being potentially “as great a hero as Superman - as long as she doesn’t grow out of that belly tee and mini-skirt?” Wha’ huh? Wizard is basically staying that Supergirl’s worth as a hero, and as a character, is only measured by the skanky-ass costume she sports? What year is this again? I would love to see a list of Wizard’s greatest “ethnic” heroes ever created and see what horrors and bon mots these idiots come up with. Ugh.
Now I loves me some inappropriate humor - off-color remarks are a guilty fave of mine -but when presented in a list that is meant to praise the awesomeness of cherished characters, only to find the few lady heroes on the list minimized as base stereotypes (women = sexy), is just plain insulting. Step up Wizard and pull your heads outta your bear hats (see I can be sexist and stereotypical too!), grow up and realize that sexist writing is not the mark of creativity. It is the mark of lazy and rude writing, however. So congrats on the 200 issues of non-progress, Wizard Magazine, you are a credit to your name!
May 14th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I just shrug if off. They’ve been like that for…how long? Yeah. I am surprised, though, Batgirl/Oracle wasn’t on the list. Even without the use of her lower body, Barbara continues to be a hero. But…we get Moon Knight? as much as I a fan of the c-lister like him…Babs should have been on the list.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
“Has it gotten that bad? Good God, I’d rather work for an American car company than jump on that sinking ship.”
That was Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy of 30 ROCK recently referring to the Bush administration, but he may as well have been talking about Wizard Magazine. That rag becomes more worthless by the month, and I can assure you that any respectable mainstream publication with journalistic integrity and intelligence would come up with a more sensible list. I haven’t even seen the new issue or the story in question yet, but I’ll bet Jesse Custer was as close to an “indie” character as Wizard cited. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
May 14th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Not to correct you Lan (but thank you for your fab comment) but Barbs Gordon did make the list, she chalks in at #37! Which ain’t too shaby really.
And as for the indies OJ, there are a few:
Cerebus, Katchoo, Phoney Bone, and Enid Coleslaw. So at least they tired to spread the wealth! I guess. :)
May 14th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I missed her the first time. I wonder how that happened since my girlfriend is a total Batgirl nut and wondered if she made the list and was kind of mad when I told her no. She was thrilled to learn I can’t read and that Babs was on the list.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Cerebus, Katchoo, Phoney Bone, and Enid Coleslaw.
So has no one from Wizard ever read Love and Rockets? Please, please tell me Maggie made the list.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:16 am
People still read that rag?
May 27th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Corey Henson:
Yes, Hopey and Maggie share the #95 position.
Also in the list: Tara Chance (Queen & Country), Usagi Yojimbo, Concrete, Hunter Rose (Grendel), Francine Peters, Uncle Gabby (Sock Monkey).
Actually, what surprised me most (and pleased me more than a little) was that the female character who finished highest was not the highly-predictable living icon (?) Wonder Woman (#15), but Kitty Pryde at #13. Here’s what they wrote about her:
“Superhero ingénue, stalwart teammate, girl next door, unstoppable soldier for mutantkind and first love to many a fanboy who grew up reading her adventures–Kitty Pryde’s worn many hats during her tenure in the X-Universe. But that natural evolution has allowed her to mature from a dopey kid sidekick into a potent force for good, one of the most popular X-Men of all time. When it comes to the human element of the mutant struggle in the Marvel Universe, there’s no better poster child than Pryde, a young woman as strong as she is lovable.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
”
Of course it would have been nice if Kitty had finished a little higher than #13. And Wizard had not made so many stupid selections (Cassandra Nova? You’re kidding, right?) Or given a little more thought to their descriptions… *sigh*