From: aw3a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Anatole Wilson)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Oz Squad panned...
Date: 15 Nov 92 18:13:01 GMT
Organization: Masters student, English, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

>In a review of _Oz Squad_ #1 in the Autumn 1992 _Baum Bugle_, Stephen
>Teller calls it "the most repellent published work with the name Oz in
>the title I have ever seen."  Teller goes on to speculate that "the real
>explanation for the comic seems to be a deep-seated hatred for American
>society of the 1990s."
> 
>I think Stephen Teller is a good and knowledgable Oz critic, but he's
>missed the boat here.  All we really know is that _Oz Squad_ isn't to
>his taste.  I think it's very good.  The point that Teller misses is
>that this book isn't about hatred of society.  By bringing society's
>ills into an Oz story in a frank and adult way, the authors create a
>jarring contrast and striking juxtaposition.  Oz is an innocent
>children's world.  But we live in the real 1990's.  What would it be
>like if the Oz characters were here and now?  Yes, they would encounter
>people speaking what Teller decries as "the grossest gutter language,"
>and yes, if they lived in our society it would affect them in negative
>ways.  Teller calls the humor "sick", but I call it dark -- I *mean* the
>Scarecrow smoking a cigarette?  C'mon!  That's nasty funny.

I don't know. The Comic Reader (TCR) did a story on Oz Squad a couple of
months ago, and gave a lot of background information that hasn't made
its way into the comic yet. (For example, "Ozschwitz," visited in the
first issue, is a Nazi concentration camp built when the Nazis invaded
back during World War II. It's presence was virtually unexplained in the
comic.) Frankly, I thought the untold story was a lot more interesting
than what's actually been portrayed in the comic.
    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 think a telling remark was a quote from TCR attributed to Andrew
Murphy, the artist, in which he said (from my faulty memory) "you can't
be sentimental about the stories you remember from childhood." 
    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. 
      
    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.  
    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.
    So what do I think of Qz Suad? Well, I've been buying it because
Andrew Murphy's a friend of mine. I'll probably drop it when he leaves
after the fourth issue. I think the some of the ideas being presented
are interesting. But I dislike the way all the characters have been
corrupted, and I'm unhappy with the way these ideas have been executed.
(I think they could do with a little less violence and baby squashing
and spend more time developing the characters and their Brave New Oz.)
It's just not my cup of tea.  
    Personally, I *can* be sentimental about my favorite characters from
childhood, and I could writer real satire--using those characters--in a
way that would still preserve the fond memories. (Let's remember that Oz
and Wonderland and so many fariy tales had a certain amount of saitre in
them already.) And I wouldn't feel the need to simply destroy everything
in my path.


     
    
Anatole Wilson                  "If anyone objects to anything I say,
-----------------                I am prepared not only to retract it,
                                 But to deny under oath that I ever said it
                                 in the first place."