Arthur 12/3/10

[scarfman]

Here are cartoons from Arthur, King of Time and Space since last Friday. Fanfiction cartoons in a separate post.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Thanks for reading.

Comments

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I really like the point you made in this morning's strip, especially its timing.

Just yesterday, I was discussing the way recent DC writers have Flanderized Oliver Queen and Roy Harper as womanizing, cheating sleazebags, based on a) Ollie having a child out of wedlock before ever hooking up with Dinah, and then getting raped by Shado while unconscious, and b) Roy having a relationship with Cheshire while he was deep undercover*.

Meanwhile, the only other serious contender for Roy's heart is Donna Troy, who's had a long succession of intimate relationships, and yet is never portrayed as anything but the epitome of virtue.

I'm still not sure what to make of that. At first glance, it's an advancement for the portrayal of women, but I don't know if it holds up to scrutiny. A double standard is a double standard, even if it's inverted, and the pedestal of Unshakable Virtue they've put Donna on is just as much a trap as the tarry brush used to paint Guenevere for so long.**

Most twisted of all ... that succession of romantic entanglements ties in far too well with the whole obnoxious premise that Donna was "cursed to live an endless succession of tragic lives". It makes it seem like every one of Donna's romances was a torment, and that's the most cynical take on love I can imagine.

---

*That pun was far too obvious. Shame on you for even thinking it.
**Of course, this very pedestal makes Donna much more faithful to Marston's original concept than the current version of Diana. YMMV as to whether that's a GOOD thing.