1. "Bat" & "Cat". It's a stupid, childish attempt to Sound Cool.
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| Zdarksy. Of course. Who else would think imitating Tom King is a way to sound cool? |
2 & 3. Japanese Manga's weird fetish/obsession for nymphettes in sailor costumes and Corgis/Shiba Inus.
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| It's creepy in its relentlessness. Why can't they fixate on circus boys in swimming trunks, like normal Americans? |
4. The continued Wink&Nod sexualization of Catwoman.
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| "Uncovered"; oh, it's not naughty ambiguity, it's a genuine exploration of her as feminist anti-hero icon, blah blah blah. At least in the Golden Age when she wore a split-skirt and plunging neckline, they were more honest about it. |
5. Yaoi.
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| Look, I suppose we gay people have a right to creepy trash as much as anyone, but I don't have to like it. If this stuff is even FOR gay people, rather than just female readers who get off on watching male characters treat other male characters as badly as female characters are usually treated. |
6 & 7. G'nort. And "swimsuit issues".
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| Who is this FOR?! People who fetishize grown-up circus boys in swimming trunks? |
You know, the Fat Funny Friends of the Golden Age may be mostly gone, but don't convince yourself that the contemporary equivalent, the Lore-Riffing Parody Meta-Character (I'm looking at you, Dr. Quinzel) is any way more sophisticated (OR funny).
8. Oh So Clever Parodies/Satires/Homages that try to excuse themselves by lampshading that that's what they are.
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| Although ever time you DON"T lampshade it, some fool who missed the joke will inevitably start to take it seriously (e.g., Lobo, Sentry, the Extremists, the Watchmen), and, inevitably, that will include not just readers but writers. |
9 & 10. Chip Zdarsky and The League of Overused XXXtreme Batman Tropes.
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| "Batman descends on Gotham City, full of rage and force, more driven than ever to save his home. But the new landscape has turned friends into foes. Can anyone stop his reign of terror? Should they? The Gotham War continues in this second chapter!" |
