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Something I've wondered for years

Started by Jayzus B. Christ, 30 November, 2001, 06:37:32 PM

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Jayzus B. Christ

I'm 27, I've been reading 2000ad since I was 4. Since then it has been getting away with more and more 'mature' content. This is what I've always wondered: When a writer includes a previously unmentioned swear word (like the infamous Button Man 'f'word), a more explicit sex scene or a more horrific act of violence, does he have to ask Tharg first, or does Tharg have a certain day every month or something when he establishes the new boundaries and tells all the writers and artists? It's not important, I know, but like I said, I've wondered that for years.

fraston

depends if the creators time it right so that it's too late to make any changes innit?
creative scheduling...

McNulty

It's a thorny issue all right. An arguement can be made that if a story is good enough, it doesn't need swear words to incite some shock/novelty value into it. the excuse that 2000ad gave to the inclusion of that word in Button Man was to give realism and because they thought we were mature enough to handle it. If the story appeared in the Meg, there probably wouldn't have been such an outcry - strips like Preacher and Lazurus Churchyard (admittedly not "pure" 2000ad creations) have extreme language in it as a matter of course. 2000AD, however, still should try to maintain its standards as a publication which still has something for most sci-fi/fantasy readers. In tthe end of the day, if 2000ad goes down the road of the Meg in using incidental swearing, it will soon lose its shock value andd mean that the writers will have to go further and further to achieve the same response from their readers. I hope that this will not be the case.

wrighty47

I agree with you that a good story doesn't always need swearing, but sometimes the reverse can be true. Can you inagine much of the Vertigo stuff minus any swearing. Swearing isn't always put in for shock value. Sometimes it can enhance a given story or character. It doesn't necessarily dumb down the story. Highly literate comics like Lucifer include a lot of bad language, and for me are better for it. Same is true of The Invisibles. Can you imagine Jack Frost's character coming across so well if he didn't swear, and Preacher would probably have been a completely different animal altogether. I will however agree with you that swearing should be confined to the Meg, although how many under 16's do read 'tooth?

Alan!

esoteric ed

I have to say, I've noticed this over the years, just take a look at the early censored Dredd strips, and the when the "offending frames" were published in "Judge Dredd - The Mega History" they were a case of "impact shot" what was all the fuss about???

Guess times change, ACTION Comic was very graphic in the seventies, and eventually was pulled, but even the old green one probably feels he has to portray a realistic approach as tastes change.

A recent Sinister Dexter strip (!) on the Porn set was a good example of how the comic has moved on.

Good Thread
Ed

Jayzus B. Christ

True enough, and although I didnt find that porn story particularly offensive, i did find it a bit crap. Regarding 'that' f-word in Button Man, though, I felt that it was a good line and it would have been a shame to leave it out. But it was weird that John Wagner, who has been writing for 2000ad since day one, suddenly threw that one in.

Jayzus B. Christ

I missed the last line of your message, ed - when I said 'true enough', I was talking about your point about the Sinister Dexter story, not congatulating myself on starting a good thread. Thought I'd better add this because I'm new to these pages.

evil.genius

What are we talking about? Corrupting the minds of juveniles with horrific and mind bending words like "Fuck"? I don't know about the rest of you, but that word was in regular use in the playground when I was in primary school.

Jayzus B. Christ

I wasnt talking about corrupting the minds of juveniles: I couldn't give a toss what expletives pop up in 2000ad, and I'm sure a comic's not going to turn kids into raving mentalists. I was curious, not morally outraged, about the evolution of 2000AD's editorial policy.