I’m not showing the panel here. You can find it online without even trying. Including the articles I linked to.

By now you’ve probably seen about how this week’s Immortal Hulk issue. Or you’ve had the chance to see it anyway. And if you haven’t then Comics XF and Daily Dot have some wonderful write ups. Go read those. I’m seriously telling you to leave this site and go somewhere else because I think they articles are that well written and provide a great insight.

For those who want to just finish reading this and haven’t seen it, first off I ask why? Second, the window in a jewelry store leaves the L out of Jewelry and has a Star of David in the window.

Artist Joe Bennett (who has now earned a place on the list of people I’ll never have on the podcast) has said that it was all an accident and the expected crap like that. Marvel has said that they’ll fix the art in future printings and digital editions. And I think those are both just staling tactics being used so they don’t really have to do anything.

I realize nobody is perfect, and that extends over to companies. But come on Marvel editorial! How do you let this happen?

How many people had their eyes on this before getting published? And nobody saw this? You really expect me to believe that Marvel, one of the biggest media companies in the entire world right now, doesn’t hire people for the sole purpose to look for problematic things like this? Hell have interns do it? Gets you constant sets of fresh eyes even if it is a bit shady with regards to how you’re using the interns.

But this obviously starts with the artist. Without someone who wants to slip this kind of thing into the book we don’t have a problem.

Now I’m no artist. And I certainly wouldn’t even try to draw the backwards letters you’d need to show the inside of a storefront window.

But you know what I would do in the odd chance that I’d try this kind of thing? WRITE THE WORDS OUT FORWARDS SO I DIDN’T MESS ANYTHING UP! Seriously, the best case here is that Bennett doesn’t take the art seriously enough to plan these things out. Worst case is what we got, something super racist and problematic.

There’s one tweet that I saw today that’s sticking in my head despite the fact that I can’t remember who said this: I feel bad that I’ve been telling people to read this because it’s been so good. That’s how I’m feeling. All of a sudden I’m not sure if I can recommend what has so far been a wonderful series. Everybody is going to have their own line on what is bad enough to just make them not get others to read a comic. This blatant disregard will probably do it for me with a lot of people I’d normally recommend this to.

Chris Osborne

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