From: ian@airs.com (Ian Lance Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Oz Squad panned...
Date: 17 Nov 92 04:53:23 GMT

About Oz Squad...

aw3a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Anatole Wilson) writes:

>    As for whether it's satire or a reflection of a hatred of '90's
>society, I'm not sure there's much of a difference. Naturally, for
>satire to be effective, it's got to tear down the wrongs it is
>satirizing. However, I don't think this is *good* satire, nor do I think
>satire is their main goal.

I don't think Oz Squad is at all satirical, and I'm not even sure why
that came up.  It's not making fun of anything.  I don't think it
reflects a hatred of modern society, either, any more than a cyberpunk
novel reflects a hatred of technology.

I think it's sort of like Milk & Cheese, but with some ``history''
behind it.

>    It strikes me that this comic is more on a nihilistic bent of taking
>the surface innocence of the Wonderland stories and stepping on it,
>corrupting it purely for the sake of corrupting it. It's a way of saying
>"I'm not innocent anymore, your'e not innocent anymore, so let's destroy
>the 'lie' of innocence." 
>It's a destructive compulsion that--rather than act as satire to point
>out fualts in the human condition and hopefully improve society, life,
>or whatever--simply tears everything down as ugly, violent, and stupid. 

If this is all you read in the series, I think you're really missing a
lot.  The creators clearly have a lot of respect and admiration for
the original Oz stories.  They are not in the least tearing everything
down.  The good Oz characters are trying to do the right thing, albeit
in a universe that is morally more complex, and more violent, than
that of the original books.

>    Unfortunately, this appears to be a driving force in the comics and
>movies of today. Think about the Punisher, or Batman's current psychotic
>attitude, or the popularity of Lobo, where violent killing is half the
>fun. Look at any movie made in the past twenty or so years that portrays
>a future society--Blade Runner, Freejack, etc.  

Blade Runner was a moderately complex film, and to describe it as
tearing everything down is, again, to miss a lot.  In fact, it's
missing the entire film.  I assume you're exaggerating for effect.

>    Star Trek: New Generation aside, everyone's given up on the idea of
>a utopian society. Sometimes I'm afraid that this constant barrage of
>nihilistic thinking and literature will sap the will of people to even
>try. That's why the death of Superman depresses me.

Popular comic books, and mass media in general, don't set these kinds
of trends.  They reflect them.  Reading the daily paper is enough to
give up on the idea of a utopian society.

Would you prefer that our comics and movies be unremittingly happy and
cheerful?

Incidentally, I was a dedicated Oz reader in my youth.  I've read all
but two or three of the books (by which I mean I've read all the
Baum's and Thompson's, and most of the others written by various
random people).  I still like them, though I haven't read them for a
while.  I enjoyed Eric Shanower's Oz books, and I enjoy Oz Squad.
-- 
Ian Taylor | ian@airs.com | First to identify quote wins free e-mail message:
``Things are either isolated units, or they form one inseparable whole.  If
  that whole be God, then all is well; but if aimless chance, at least you
  need not be aimless also.''
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc