I was going to actually review She-Hulk Vol 2 #38 by Peter David. It is the last issue of She-Hulk after all.
Then I saw this:
You know, eventually, I might’ve read another Peter David comic after the Scans_daily debacle. But now I’m pissed.
I’m pissed that Peter David thinks an ableist comment is an acceptable thing to print in a comic. I’m pissed that he think She-Hulk would say something like that. I’m pissed that this made it off an editor’s desk and to print.
There are times when characters are racist, sexist, ableist, and homophobic to serve the text and in a good text, these actions are condemned either by the narrative, plot, or other characters (see such texts as To Kill a Mockingbird). This is not one of those. She-Hulk is not ones of those characters; she’s a highly educated lawyer and a hero, who’s never expressed anything like this before even in moments of weakness when her friends were in peril. When her mother was killed by a mobster, She-Hulk went after him legally. She-Hulk had more grace in February 1980 than in March 2009.
Fail, Peter David. And fail, Marvel, for printing this.
Really? I’m shaking my head…
@paxm — Unfortunately, yes.
You have got to get over yourself. How easy is your life that you have to look this hard to find this offensive?
@Grant — Actually, it’s not that hard. Perhaps, it’s harder to look at our own able-bodied privilege. Art, which comics are, reflect our society and its values, and this does not reflect mine and I’m going to speak out about it.
@Grant – I didn’t have to look hard at all to find that offensive. WTF? Not only is it offensive, it’s out of character. She-Hulk is a lawyer, one that has canonically gone after criminals before and knows that she should treat agents of the law with the respect due their positions as her ally in her judicial battles against grime. She-Hulk isn’t going to alienate her allies by being disrespectful.
I mean, if you don’t think it’s offensive, I think you’re wrong, but it’s not just offensive. It’s completely out of character too. Neither of these is acceptable.
Grant, I’m disabled and I didn’t have to look twice to find that comment offensive. Who the hell he thinks he is, I do not know. Disgusting.
So glad I read this! Someone not on the autism blogs who has heard of ableism! And condemns it!