The Gay (TM)

At SWSX 2019 expo yesterday, which fell right on international women’s day, Marvel held a panel on its comic history publication up to the current movies, and provided a first look at WAVE, a brand new young heroine from the Philippines, originating from suba.

Wave is set to debut this may during Marvel’s War of The Realms event, in a bimonthly miniseries called New Agents of Atlas. (That is, 2 issues on may, 2 issues on june!) and was designed by filipino artist Leinil Yu.

The premise of New agents of atlas goes: ‘As Sindr, Immortal Queen of Muspelheim, and her legions of Fire Demons march on Asia, it’s time for a new band of heroes to unite to protect the Pacific Rim. Having brought together a ragtag team of heroes to defend the Earth from an alien invasion in the past, can Amadeus Cho reassemble his “protectors” – Shang-Chi, Silk and Jimmy Woo to save the world from incineration? And where is Kamala Khan? And just who are Crescent, Io and Luna Snow? Featuring Marvel’s newest heroes from China, Aero and Sword Master, and a mysterious new Filipino heroine named WAVE!’

The team of all-asian superheroes is being written by Greg Pak (planet hulk, totally awesome hulk, mech cadet yu, John wick, firefly, james bond 007), and the art will be helmed by Gang-Hyuk Lim (Domino, west coast avengers) but the reason i make this post is this: if there is a high demand for the series, or a great response to Wave’s debut- it can be spun into a full monthly title, or a solo series! (like what happened with riri williams, currently Ironheart)

Take, for example, Yayoi Kusama. Kusama created daring and innovative artworks, making them very personal and speaking freely about her mental illnesses and the domestic abuse she endured as a child, painting from the most honest depths of her heart. She was copied by many male artists, who are now revered as being geniuses. Even, at one stage, the wife of a male artist approached her and said, ‘I’m sorry, Yayoi’, because she knew her husband had unashamedly ripped off Kusama’s vision and hard work.

Andy Warhol copied Yayoi Kusama, and didn’t even make an effort to hide it. His Cow Wallpaper piece is a blatant ripoff of Kusama’s Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show. Kusama put her heart and soul into her art, working with repeating images and polka dots as a method of calming the hallucinations she suffered on a daily basis.

With reference to the art theft of Claes Oldenberg, this article describes the following:

[Oldenberg’s] actions caused Kusama to become deeply depressed. So discouraged by the lack of recognition she received for innovating a new kind of sculpture, Kusama would often lock herself in her studio without coming out for days.

It’s a problem that extends further than just a lack of appreciation for the legacies of professional creatives. Check out this work, by the activist group Guerrilla Girls:

Women are seen as objects in art. Women are not heard in the same way that men are.

I’m a transgender man myself, and– while I still experience a decent amount of bigotry and inequality– I recognise the world of privilege that has been made available to me since I began passing and took a male name. I consider it my responsibility, as an artist and as an appreciator of art, to encourage women and to hear their stories. I also try to promote the art of LGBT+ creators, and to consider the perspectives of all who make art.

✨POKEMON: SWORD AND SHIELD STARTERS✨

I’ll be honnest, I can’t keep up with Pokemon but they are cute! 😑😑