OMG I just saw this on the BBC:

"In a stunning development the BBC has learnt a squadron of bombers from Okba ben Nafi Air Base in Libya are presently strafing Salerno in Southern Italy in retaliation for NATO airstrikes. Panicked civilians are reported to have witnessed armoured personnel vehicles and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns down the main streets with Libyan soldiers shouting anti-American and European epithets and telling alarmed inhabitants that it is now their turn to suffer. Sources tell the BBC NATO is considering redeploying forces to assist Italy. A pair of US F-16 fighters from the 31st Fighter Wing operating from Aviano Air Force Base were reported to have engaged a squadron of Libyan Su-22 fighter planes before contact was lost"

Fuck WWIII has started PRAY FOR US

oh crap it's 404ed here's a screencap:

Will they also threaten to ban Gail Simone? Tune in tomorrow-same bat time, same bat channel!

Let me start by stating comic books are the fast food of entertainment. They’re meant to be cheap and consumed quickly. We live in a time where we find ourselves texting on our phone, video chatting and uploading to Youtube with music/TV/Hulu in the background; paradoxically, a comic has to be extremely well structured, well written and beautifully drawn to hold our interest. While quality is not necessarily incompatible with low price, this seems to present a challenge to traditional comic book companies. Because IDW is a relative newcomer to comics, their approach was seen as new and different. Titles like Locke and Key and 30 Days of Night helped them become one of the top comic companies in the industry. Unfortunately, it seems rather than continue with new and innovative content, they seem to have regressed into Truman era notions of gender roles, at least with their Transformers titles (yes, I’m referring to the Transformers #8 and Spike, having lots of sexy times, working out and taking down giant robots with Easy Off oven cleaner). When an editor asks the fans on the IDW forum if Arcee should be be present in the ongoing Transformers title (remember, this is a character that has appeared in every incantation of Transformers since G1), it indicates that something is not quite right with the editorial team. It smacks of a total lack of understanding and familiarity of the Transformers franchise, the fandom and their consumer base.

The people at IDW seem like really nice, talented guys but to ask a particular group of fans (most of whom, by their own admission, obsess over every little detail related to Transformers toys to the point they created a wiki devoted to everything Transformers) about what should be in their comic books shows an astounding lack of confidence. Using tired old tropes and holding onto the outdated belief that only horny teenage boys buy comic books isn’t going to drive up sales. An editor’s job is to say “Let’s come up with some new and exciting; let’s take things to a level that’s fresh and innovative and come up with a great story!” Not “Hey guys, do you think the girl robot should be in our funny books?”

Granted, I do understand Hasbro is involved in this process and approves all the content but all they care about is making money and avoiding controversy (how the minstrel show bots made it into ROTF proves Hasbro is still clueless but that’s a rant for another day). But when I read comic books, I want to escape into another world, into a place that’s interesting, strange and even scary. I want to have long, late night “What if...” conversations with my brother again. Not “Spike is an asshole and whoa, did the last Transformers comic suck or what?” which is basically how our conversation went last night.

Oh well, there’s always fanfic.

Update: O hai there, fantards, I see you've been going through my journal these past few days! I updated the tags and unlocked a few more to make it easier to read your fail.

I wrote this for a writing contest at the IDW forum; let me know what you think.

Even giant robots party and it's Friday. Here's what they did: