A lot of the time, a comic book cover will fake you out by showing something that isn't quite what it seems as the story unfolds. Sometimes, much to my horror, the situation is worse. I give you Detective Comics #371:
Surely that cover is just to get your attention. There is no way that, in the 1960's, they would show a girl being so stupidly vain that....
....oh. Well, I stand corrected. Apparently "any girl" will pause in the heat of battle to address an appearance issue. Being the victim only boy with three sisters, I had been brainwashed enlightened
enough to assume that this was a safety issue (i.e, her vision was obscured or something). But no, the writer was very clear that this was nothing more than simple vanity.
But don't worry, guys, we get insulted as well:
See? When we're in a fistfight, we'll get distracted by anything in a skirt, even if it leaves us open to a punch in the face. Because we're guys. Ergo, we're stupid. And our brains shut off the minute we see something pretty, because we're Pavlovian beasts who just can't help ourselves.
Who wrote this crap?
Ohhhhhh... Gardner Fox. That explains a lot. By the time this came out, Gardner was around 57 years old. I guess to him, this was still a perfectly acceptable plot device.
Gardner Fox gave us a lot of great comics, but this wasn't one of them. But no one bats a thousand, so he gets a pass. This time.
But I'm getting something worthwhile out of this issue! Some Fun with Out-of-Context Dialogue!(tm!):
YEAH!
I SAY, "YEAH!"
There it was, just sitting there on Page 11. I could post nothing but haiku poetry for the rest of the year, and this will still have been a bitchin' year for this blog, on that panel alone.
Eisner Awards Committee, it's spelled B.A.R.N.E.T.T.!
See you Monday!
7 comments:
Have a good staycation...I have to go change my tights
Best "Fun With Out-of-Context Dialog" ever.
I'm willing to give Gardner Fox a pass on this one, since Batgirl might have been monologuing facetiously. And frankly, the type of criminal element Batman appears to be dealing with there probably WOULD get distracted by a nice pair of gams.
Imagine if Barbara flashed her titties or something. Batman and Robin could just dismantle them one at a time.
It may be completely beside the point but I really do like Batgirl's boots. If I were a super-heroine, those are deffo the boots I'd wear.
Also it is her mask dood. I mean come on. Her secret identity is at stake with that. She is the daughter of the police commissioner. Someone is bound to recognize her even if it isn't right away.
I hate it when you not posting. Weekends are great and all, but wid no posts from Adam they are just a little bit more gloomy than they should be.
Justin, are you kidding? Didn't you see Batman looking too, while he biffed those two blackguards? He almost fell over. And what's wrong with you, Adam? You're more interested in a dick in the hand than a gam in the eyes? I personally take my testosterone induced black eyes proudly when willingly distracted by a nice set a gams.
Amen MF
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