The Four Color Media Monitor: Marvel's new, not so creative computer program

The Verge points to a computer program Marvel's putting out for creating one's own comics featuring their characters (which they then are said to lay claim to), but it comes with demands for restrictions that, although some seem to stem from a desire to avoid the pitfalls they took from their SJW agenda, still feature a few that reek of censorship in the most absurd ways. Here's the list:

“Content that could frighten or upset young children or the parents of young children.”
Prescription drugs or over-the-counter medication, vitamins, and dietary supplements.
Contraceptives
“Suggestive or revealing images,” including “bare midriffs”
“Sensationalism,” which is not defined but elucidated with the examples “killer bees, gossip, aliens, scandal, etc.”
“Obscenity, bad or offensive language” or “proxies for bad or offensive language.” E.g. no “X@#%!”
“Noises related to bodily functions.”
No politics, including “alternative lifestyle advocacies”
Death
“Misleading language”
“A copy or parody of current or past Marvel advertising creative”
Any “controversial topics,” including “social issues”
Double entendres
Any amusement parks that aren’t Disney amusement parks
Any movie studios that aren’t “affiliated with Marvel”
Guns

I suppose the next thing they'll add is, no automobiles drawn to resemble existing models, a practice that's appeared in some European comics as far back as Michel Vaillant in the late 1950s, and could be seen from time to time in American comics as well? I can probably understand some of these requirements - they seemingly want to make it a family-friendly program - but it still reeks of hilarity for anybody familiar with their ultra-leftist conduct of the past decade. Now that I think of it, a demand for no bare midriffs is decidedly laughable too, because the original Aquagirl had an outfit like that in the Silver Age, and it was never an issue. The demand for no guns could also be considered going a bit far - certainly if the Punisher's put to use in this new program.

Obviously, this isn’t the first time that comic book artists have faced bizarre restrictions. In the 1950s, the comic book industry attempted to avoid government scrutiny by creating the draconian Comics Code Authority and implementing a set of regulations that prohibited, among other things: werewolves, vampires, zombies, the word “horror,” the word “crime,” love stories that did not assert “the sanctity of marriage,” disrespect for police, judges, or the government, and “seduction.” Marvel spent decades contorting around the code and hunting for loopholes, before abandoning it altogether in 2001. At the time, it was an industry leader, and DC Comics wouldn’t make the same move until 2011.

Ironically, they never abandoned it, or had the courage to truly cut loose, as their conduct under Joe Quesada, the phony moralist, has proven. The hypocrisy stems particularly from their stance on sexuality as opposed to violent content, as recent artwork demonstrates. All for the sake of appeasing SJWs who won't buy the products no matter how far they go. Why, back in the 80s, when they were publishing Marvel Comics Presents, there was a Black Panther story featuring censored profanity, and considering how jarring some of the violence in the tale was, why is it such a big deal the raw language be censored? Even some of the creator-owned products published under the original Epic imprint may have originally been subject to censorship (could Alien Legion be one of them?), which made them a laughing stock when it came to indie creations. It basically showed how they never truly abandoned censorship for real, and now we've reached a point where it's taking a huge toll on creativity.

The UK Guardian says they've received criticism for the restrictions imposed, though this article predictably takes a leftist approach:

The list caused a stir online, with several artists and writers responding by posting images flouting the rules. Others were concerned by other topics deemed to be “controversial”, such as politics – defined as including “lobbyists, PAC sites, political campaigns and alternative lifestyle advocacies” – and “social issues”.

Some feel this is directed at users hoping to make LGBTQ storylines, and that Marvel is not committed to addressing the lack of diversity in their comics. [...]

Yup, leave it to such an awful paper to pretend they haven't done that recently...to no avail. And fail to acknowledge they're advocating bad examples for children, and/or pushing ultra-leftist agendas down everyone's throats. And what about the requirements being directed at anybody who might want to develop a story with conservative viewpoints and politics? They obviously couldn't care less if the rulebook discriminated against them.

In any case, it doesn't sound like a very appealing program anyway, and supporting it could just as well take attention away from all the comics and characters they've been hurting all these years. And there's no telling if that'll change under C.B. Cebulski.

Labels: marvel comics, msm propaganda, politics, technology