National Review Online on Rawhide Kid...

http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/ 02_12_08_corner-archive.asp#0...

From the 'Corner' a blog for thier writers. Both comments appeared on 12/10/02

THE RAWHIDE KID? [Jonah Goldberg] It already sounds like the punch line to a joke about a gay guy who spends too much time at cowboy bars. But for some reason, that’s the character Marvel has decided to make it into its first gay superhero to have his or her own title (though I am sure the neighbors had suspicions about Dr. Strange, what with the brightly colored silk robes, the well-groomed mustache, the one-eyed trinket he kept under his chin and the, ur, um, Asian 'manservant'. While I’m sure some will applaud and others will denounce this 'breakthrough' I don’t think the impact will actually be that big. First, comics have had gay characters for a while. Second, comics aren’t read by kids anymore but by people around my age. And, third, judging from this picture, most people will just assume it’s a limited edition spin-off from a Village People comic. Posted at 09:53 AM

MARVEL PROBLEMS [Robert A. George] Jonah, I have to say that I'm becoming a little disturbed at the direction Marvel Comics Editor In Chief Joe Quesada is taking the company. First, there was 'The Truth' miniseries which now says that Uncle Sam experimented on a bunch of blacks before they perfected the serum which turned blond, blue-eyed skinny Steve Rogers into Captain America. Yes, the Tuskegee ('syphillis'experiments are part of America's history, but is it really 'essential' to undermine the innocent WWII era creativity of Cap creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon with early 21st century cynicism? The gay Rawhide Kid is the latest ( the mini-series will be called 'Slap Leather.' Please.). He's not a famous character by any means, but it just seems like a way to push a gay character out there. Since, the word is that the story treatment will be humorous ('campy', perhaps?), I have to wonder whether gays will be thrilled about this development. The undermining of social convention was always a necessary element in Marvel stories, but it seems like the current crew is pushing it way too far. Posted at 06:00 PM

well, at least it is getting the media to talk about comics - sort of like the revelation that Ben Grimm is Jewish.

Reason Magazine's web site has a similar blog entry:

<< I have to say that I'm becoming a little disturbed at the direction Marvel Comics Editor In Chief Joe Quesada is taking the company. First, there was 'The Truth' miniseries which now says that Uncle Sam experimented on a bunch of blacks before they perfected the serum which turned blond, blue-eyed skinny Steve Rogers into Captain America. Yes, the Tuskegee ('syphillis'experiments are part of America's history, but is it really 'essential' to undermine the innocent WWII era creativity of Cap creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon with early 21st century cynicism? The gay Rawhide Kid is the latest ( the mini-series will be called 'Slap Leather.' Please.). He's not a famous character by any means, but it just seems like a way to push a gay character out there. Since, the word is that the story treatment will be humorous ('campy', perhaps?), I have to wonder whether gays will be thrilled about this development. The undermining of social convention was always a necessary element in Marvel stories, but it seems like the current crew is pushing it way too far. >>

The only thing I can find to disagree with in this post is being a 'little' disturbed at the direction Marvel is being taken. I'm a lot disturbed by it.

Just to make note of it, Jonah is a huge comic fan. I can't recall whether he still reads comics, but he has a large knowledge of comic history and talks about them quite often. He's NRO's contributing editor, and I believe he holds the same title on the print magazine side of the company.

-Brian

The Slush Factory: Comic Book Magazine With John Byrne, Dwayne McDuffie, Colleen Doran, Alex Robinson, and many more. Visit us at: http://www.slushfactory.com

I can agree with this to some extent. The problem I see here is that Marvel's management is taking the 'shock treatment' approach to revising their characters. However, I've already decided not to have anything to do with the products of the current editorial and creative regimes.

Still, it's an ironic contrast with the anti-Communist rhetoric that permeated Marvel comics during the 1960s...

I think he's the EiC of NRO online and he's a contributor to the print magazine (as they call it NR on Dead Trees). He's also a syndacated columnist and a big geek. Star Trek and Simpsons refs permiate his

Robert George, the other _National Review_ staffer quoted, is also a big comics fan. He preferred DC growing up, while Jonah was into Marvel; they have had humorous debates on the subject in 'The Corner' and elsewhere on _National Review Online_.