The happy medium in celebrating bin Laden's death
Osama bin Laden is dead, and that's one thing almost all Americans agree on, except for birthers, who are now deathers, but that's the event horizon for denial. It's a lot harder to prove the absence of something than it is to have more intelligence than a hermit crab with a concussion.
The other thing we can all agree to is: hooray, no more Bin Laden! But this brief moment of national unity is already drying out, as the left wing remembers it writes very stern letters protesting semi-invasive assassinations, and the right wing is stumped on how this makes Obama look like an incompetent, secret atheist-Muslim communosocialist.
So instead, the focus is on the pot-stirring question, "Celebrating a stone-cold killing: how much enthusiasm is too awesome?" which, since there's no more news to report, means the media get to just sit back and let Americans cautiously reproach one another for cheering too loudly (which ain't classy), or too little (which looks suspicious). The important question to ask is, "How would Jesus celebrate bin Laden's death?" but the answer to that is going to make everyone uncomfortable. Not for deontological reasons; it just involves some revealing outfits.
I decided rather to consult two American icons -- Captain America, recently seen cheering Osama's demise at Penn State, and Superman, who just abdicated his U.S. citizenship to buy the world a home and furnish it with love. Superman used to hang slumlords from flag poles and hurl mad scientists to their death, so it's a bit disheartening to see him abandon his career as a bully for justice to become a lousy hippie. Not because Superman shouldn't help everyone everywhere, but because abandoning your role as a symbol of America at its best is a bitch move.
Cap, in contrast, was a glass of warm milk who didn't grow a pair until 2002, but went maybe a little too far when he started mocking French POWs. I figured between these two titans of American ideals, I would find the appropriate response to life in a post-Osama world. The truth, you'll be happy (or infuriated) to learn, is a somewhere in the middle. Specifically, the spleen.
Superman (c) DC Comics. Captain America (c) Marvel Entertainment, Captain America photo by Andrew Dunheimer for the PSU Daily Collegian.
Superman (c) DC Comics. Captain America (c) Marvel Entertainment
Superman (c) DC Comics. Captain America (c) Marvel Entertainment
Superman (c) DC Comics. Captain America (c) Marvel Entertainment
Superman and Green Lantern (c) DC Comics. Captain America (c) Marvel Entertainment.
The only thing better than a crossover is a merger.
Brendan McGinley is known to write a superhero comic or two.
cool
ReplyWell that was interesting. I'm not sure if I was supposed to learn something. Good job?
ReplyI never really got the whole woo bin ladens dead, USA, USA thing. He was only the face of terror - a marketing campaign if you like, it's kind of like Colonel Sanders being the face of KFC it doesn't actually mean he's putting the chicken in the f*****g bucket.
ReplyEh, it's kind of like how we all freaked out about the pilot landing the plane in the East River. Essentially, we needed some good news and an excuse to party.
Since when did the DC and Marvel universe merge?
ReplyBIN LADEN IS DEAD! f**k YES! YOU GOT SHOT IN THE EYE MOTHER f**kER!
ReplyIN-DA-FAAAAAAAACE! SUCK MY BIG AMERICAN BALLS BEE-OTCH!
the appropriate response.
I wonder who else reading this gave Super Man Captain Hero's voice...
ReplyThis was pretty good. Don't get me wrong, I'm no better than you and I'm trying not to be a condescending p***k, but I think you could be really good, especially if you take some pointers from Seanbaby.
ReplyWord. I too think B-Dazzles writing style would really blossom if he got himself a red mohawk
Really awesome article; a"who are the real cannibals?" moment right there
ReplyIt got REALLY disjointed at the end. I don't even know how the exact moral came to be. Everything after the first 1/3rd was the sort of loose story-telling you expect from a middle-schooler too busy trying to hide his embarrassing boners to link two coherent thoughts together. Which is weird because on the whole, the comic reeked of impotence.
ReplyI'm not even from the US, and I was mildly offended by this.
ReplyWARNING, OPINIONS FOLLOW:
ReplyHuh... Me thinks you enjoy interjecting your own political beliefs. We get it, you're a bleeding heart liberal. Mind you I personally have no qualms about that, but the fact that you just beat it with a stick until it dies makes the article/comic feel more like an essay.
Don't get me wrong, I see potential in you, but I think you should lay back a bit on the political commentary stuff. Don't use blatant redundancy to make your point, but wit and satire; subtleness is the silent slayer of comedy. Also, as someone else pointed out don't go for all the cheap jokes, even if intentionally bad (like the cheap like your mother bit).
I would like to reiterate that these are simply my qualms with this comic and your other article. But I honestly hope to see more from you. -Mithander
How did you get liberal from this? It seems like Superman was pretty obviously the b***h on this one. In fact, if anything, it seemed like he was parodying the extremes of BOTH sides.
Did this ever hit the front page? I'm doubting it. I only found it by going to the columnists page because I wondered when the hell we got another new one. Can't comment on the quality of the comic though. My phone will only show the first and second to last panels...
ReplyVery good perspective. I've stayed away from the Osama is Dead thread in PWOT, for fear of what I might find.
ReplyI hope it's not much different than this?
PWOT threads are actually where you'll find some of the most intelligent, open minded people on the internet...for the most part.
I think there was a bit too much text in the comics on this. Also it makes no sense and some of the jokes are even more juvenile than the usual cracked jokes, which is hard to do. Mixing that in with an overly moralistic tone/debate doesn't make for an enjoyable comic. Good try though.
ReplyLovin` it! McGinley, you rock, sir!
ReplyWow, I thought I was the only person to remember the Amalgam series.
ReplyIs it just me, or is that comic not readable at all?
ReplyIf you mean size issues, good citizen, I'm currently trying to make the CMS not automatically scale it down from full-column. If you mean quality of writing, well, I've got no excuse.