The Cultural Gutter

dangerous because it has a philosophy

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -- Oscar Wilde

White Scripts and Black Supermen

The trailer for White Scripts And Black Supermen: Black Masculinities In Comic Books, a documentary directed by Jonathan Gayles. And there are some extended interviews at the documentary’s YouTube Channel.

“Remembering Dwayne McDuffie On His Birthday”

Comics Alliance remembers Dwayne McDuffie. “McDuffie was an incredible talent who was often seen as a “black writer” as opposed to just a writer, largely due to both his stature in the industry, and his ability to eloquently discuss the difficulties that face black writers in comics.”

“Welcome To Black History Month”

At Comics Alliance, David Brothers takes us on a walk through Black history in comics from Krazy Kat; Orrin C. Evans’ All-Negro Comics; Billy Graham’s Panther’s Rage; Hardware and Milestone Comics to now.

Loving the Alien: Superman and Masculinity

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Since alex, Chris and I decided to write about masculinity this month, I’ve been thinking about Superman. Actually, I’ve been thinking and rethinking Superman almost as long as I’ve been writing for The Cultural Gutter. I began really thinking about him while watching Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. I’ve spent most of my life—and [...]

“Never Ask Her If She’s Wearing Colored Contact Lenses”

Pages from Dwayne McDuffie’s script for Fantastic Four #547: “I told Dwayne how much I loved pages 6 and 7 with the Thing and Storm. He laughed because someone online had complained about the scene – arguing that a woman would never be bothered by people talking about her looks behind her back. Dwayne’s incredulous [...]

A League of One

A documentary about Milestone Media co-founder, comics creator, screenwriter and director Dwayne McDuffie.  

Interviews with Dwayne McDuffie

Remembering Dwayne McDuffie on the anniversary of his death with an interview from an unfinished short on Milestone Comic by the makers of  the documentary, White Scripts and Black Men:  Black Masculinities in American Superhero Comics. And Dwayne McDuffie explains the secret history of  Luke Cage’s exclamation, “Sweet Christmas!” (Update: McDuffie discusses the “rule of [...]

Comic Script: JLA Wedding Special #1

The first 10 pages of  the Dwayne McDuffie’s script for JLA Wedding Special #1.

“Frankly, Static deserved a lot better.”

John Rozum writes a comment about why he left DC’s comic, Static Shock. It will have some resonance for people who remember Static Shock’s co-creator Dwayne McDuffie’s posts about the difficulties he had writing for DC’s Justice League of America. Update: Comic Book Resources has more.

The Last 5 Minutes of St. Elsewhere is the Only Show on Mono-Earth

Long before DC decided to reboot its entire continuity, Dwayne McDuffie argued against shared continuity, envisioning a world in which the last 5 minutes of St. Elsewhere was the only tv show, and warned against a shared universe in “Crisis on Mono-Earth” (parts 1 and 2).  He says sagely, “Shared universes are too hard to [...]

Bootstrap Theory and Superheroes

‘It seems to me,’ said Booker T.– ‘I don’t agree,’ Said W.E.B. –Dudley Randall In February, I wrote a piece about how much I like Dwayne McDuffie’s writing. Sadly, a few days later, he died. I’m still stunned .  I feel like I’ve just begun exploring his work, so I decided to look for his [...]

RIP, Dwayne McDuffie

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Animation and comics creator Dwayne McDuffie has died. Among his many accomplishments was the founding of Milestone Media, the animated Justice League, the Ben 10 animated series and most recently the animated All-Star Superman. Comics Alliance has more. And Pop Culture Shock remembers him. (If you are interested, Carol recently wrote an article about him).

Origin Story

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How did Carol Borden become a fan of DC superheroes? Did she uncover the truth that criminals were a cowardly and superstitious lot? Was she packed into an interstellar cradle and shot into space with the blind hope that she would be found and raised to value truth, justice and the superhero way? Or was [...]

Disconnected Viewing

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I don’t have cable right now so I’m rewatching old shows and movies. A lot of them are animated. Such is my way. I’d like to have a nobler reason for rewatching them–something like when James revisited his favorite childhood books. And it’s true—he did inspire me. But it’s also true that I don’t have [...]

The History of Black Comic Book Heroes Through the Ages

Dart Adams Presents: Black Like Me: The History of Black Comic Book Heroes Through the Ages, Part One (1900-1968)and Part Two (1969-2008).  (Click it! It’s amazing).

Milestone!

So much Milestone going on! Milestone creator Dwayne McDuffie talks with The Atlantic about “reinventing personal mythologies, pop-cultural representations of race and an investigation of what shapes our moral frameworks” and how much he likes writing romance.  Meanwhile, Evan Narcisse shares his memories of Milestone Comics–with pictures.

Scarred by SuperFriends

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Friends, I wasn’t always the superhero-loving comics reader you see before you. I underwent a tribulation, a trial of faith, wandering in a wilderness without capes. My resistance to superheros and the Justice League of America in particular stemmed from one root: The SuperFriends. I can’t, in general, argue with the idea of super-friendship, but [...]

Comic Critics Comic

The narrative frames and meta possibilities of “Comic Critics” webcomic could crack my head open, but they don’t. Instead it’s a neat, deeply geeky take on comics, criticism and the industry with a storyline. Special neatness includes this interview with Brian Cronin and this dramatization of Dwayne McDuffie’s time as JLA editor. (via Comics Should [...]

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  • Of Note Elsewhere

    “It’s easier to tell the same stories everyone else does. There’s no particular shame in it.

    It’s just that it’s lazy, which is just about the worst possible thing a spec fic writer can be.

    Oh, and it’s not true.”

    Kameron Hurley writes about lazy writing, cannibal llamas, female soldiers, and women here. (Thanks, James!)

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    Patton Oswalt’s multi-franchise super-movie described in his Star Wars filibuster from Parks and Recreation, animated.

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    Corrigan Vaughan writes an open letter to “Fans of Geek Things“: “I appreciate that you think I have a nice rack and that some of you even find my friends and I to be pretty. That’s very kind. I’m not, however, super in love with the fact that having a rack at all seems to preclude me from being considered a ‘real’ fan.”

    ~

    The Black Girl Nerds Podcast discusses Black girls and women in the Heavy Metal industry with author and journalist Laina Dawes and Ursula “She-Wolf” Parson from Hear Evil News.

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    The Hollywood Reporter interviews director Takashi Miike about his new film, Shield of Straw: ” In Japan now, films are very safe. When I was young and went to old cinemas, they had a distinctive feel, an adult smell about them. As you got in your seat and the lights went down, there was a feeling of excitement: What if the film is scarier than I thought it’s going to be? You’re taken into that world. Nowadays, you can sit in the theater and know it’s going to be safe. That’s good for business, but not for filmmaking.”

    ~

    The Atlantic profiles Spectral Motion, creators of monsters, “effects, and other mechanical grotesqueries that have since become household nightmares, if not names.”

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