Unforced error, Immortal Hulk 43 Edition. 2 2

[BabaLament]

Hello all!

Well, issue 43 of The Immortal Hulk goes into the "WTF Were *YOU* Thinking(!)" file.

As many have observed, the intentional mis-spelling of Jewelry, and adding the Star of David for good measure for those who didn't catch the implied insult above on first glance, was 100% Certified Dumb. Art team on this was Joe Bennett (pencils), Ruy Jose & Belardino Brabo (Inks), Paul Mounts (colorist). Editorial was Sarah Brunstad, Will Moss, & Tom Brevoort.

Now I'm not completely sure, but wasn't C.B. also in charge/EIC when the X-Men Gold controversy went down? Just saying, editorial might want to stop day trading in GameStop stock & pay attention to what they're putting in print.

My opinion, I could be...no. In this case, I'm not wrong.

Edited February 4, 2021 by BabaLament

[Turnando]

That is blatant anti semitism.  It is shocking to me that this is in a mainstream publisher's comic.  Call them on it.

[MatterEaterLad]

Here's an update from the artist, Joe Bennett.

https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/02/03/its-go-for-joe-fixit-in-immortal-hulk-43/

[BabaLament]

Apology: Check.

Marvel will edit in future printings & on digital: Check.

YFG e-mail from 500 Buena Vista to 7th Floor at 135 West 50th: Probably epic.

Editorial probably got reamed, & deservedly so. After the X-Men Gold 1 controversy, they should know to catch stuff like this.

Edited February 4, 2021 by BabaLament

[speedcake]

23 minutes ago, MatterEaterLad said:

Here's an update from the artist, Joe Bennett.

https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/02/03/its-go-for-joe-fixit-in-immortal-hulk-43/

Is there any reason to believe, prior to this, that Joe Bennett is an anti-semite? One dumb enough to put his anti-Semitism blatantly on show in a Marvel comic book? Has he ever said or done anything in the past that might lead one to believe he is an anti-semite or otherwise racist? I don't know anything about him, so am asking honestly. I'm not willing to jump straight to accusation and condemnation over what could have simply been a dumb, misunderstood mistake.  

Edited February 4, 2021 by speedcake

[followtheleader]

I could see someone misspelling it as it's written backwards.  But the star, yikes.

Patrick

[theCapraAegagrus]

Since when does using SOD in art = antisemitism?

[BabaLament]

@Angel of DeathIts not that it was used, it’s that it’s used incorrectly; the dimensions are all screwed up. That, combined with the misspelling, and the stereotype of jewelry store ownership...it’s just not a good look. The scene would have worked just fine with a generic jewelry store. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

19 minutes ago, BabaLament said:

@Angel of DeathIts not that it was used, it’s that it’s used incorrectly; the dimensions are all screwed up. That, combined with the misspelling, and the stereotype of jewelry store ownership...it’s just not a good look. The scene would have worked just fine with a generic jewelry store. 

According to...?

[BabaLament]

@Angel of Death...a simple Wikipedia search? Google? This seems an odd place to draw a line in the sand. I have no problem with religious iconography in comics; Spawn has been doing crosses and pentagrams from the beginning, not to mention Hellblazer, Faust, BabyTeeth, etc. However, I'm of the opinion that if you're going to do it, do it correctly. That's all.

[theCapraAegagrus]

2 hours ago, BabaLament said:

@Angel of Death...a simple Wikipedia search? Google? This seems an odd place to draw a line in the sand. I have no problem with religious iconography in comics; Spawn has been doing crosses and pentagrams from the beginning, not to mention Hellblazer, Faust, BabyTeeth, etc. However, I'm of the opinion that if you're going to do it, do it correctly. That's all.

lolwut

You're right. It is an odd place to draw a line in the sand. You know that it's just a symbol, right? It can't hurt you.

[Old_Man_Adam]

4 hours ago, BabaLament said:

the dimensions are all screwed up

Never happens in comics 

[Old_Man_Adam]

I think most likely case is an attempted homage which was botched , possible stereotyping but then were jumping to conclusions here . Hard to tell what’s what when people automatically craft an apology when things aren’t meant to be hurtful .

[BabaLament]

@Angel of Death We obviously disagree. It happens. 

I think it was an honest error made while making a homage that was in poor taste. I think the artist is being heartfelt when he said that upon further consideration he agrees it was a bad call. Marvel has committed to making changes in future printings, editions, & digital. I think editorial will pay closer attention in the near future for similar situations.

It happens, unfortunately. X-Men Gold 1 had its issues, though in that book the artist said he was deliberately trying to make a point & missed the mark badly. People are human, and their humanity is going to make its way into the books. That's why its art, and not applied mathematics. Unless you're M.C. Escher; then it *is* applied mathematics.

[F For Fake]

What's more likely:

1. Artist makes a bonehead move by using imagery he doesn't fully understand in an inappropriate context, and exacerbates the situation by making a very unfortunate spelling error, compounding the problem?

or

2. Artist decides to jeopardize their own career and bring shame to their employer in order to make some weird anti-semitic slur in an issue of Immortal Hulk?

It seems pretty cut and dry. Bigotry of all types is raging across the internet 24/7. I won't say much more as I don't want to bring politics into it, but suffice to say there are a lot of dark things bubbling to the surface these days. If this guy wanted to make some point, there are certainly larger venues to do so. I don't see an artist intentionally sabotaging their career to do something like this. It's just a dumb idea, that he shouldn't have committed to paper, and that editorial shouldn't have allowed to reach the stands. But it doesn't feel HATEFUL, you know? It feels uninformed and dumb.

Apology felt sincere, publisher is responding appropriately. What else is there to do?

[Buzzetta]

4 hours ago, F For Fake said:

What's more likely:

1. Artist makes a bonehead move by using imagery he doesn't fully understand in an inappropriate context, and exacerbates the situation by making a very unfortunate spelling error, compounding the problem?

or

2. Artist decides to jeopardize their own career and bring shame to their employer in order to make some weird anti-semitic slur in an issue of Immortal Hulk?

It seems pretty cut and dry. Bigotry of all types is raging across the internet 24/7. I won't say much more as I don't want to bring politics into it, but suffice to say there are a lot of dark things bubbling to the surface these days. If this guy wanted to make some point, there are certainly larger venues to do so. I don't see an artist intentionally sabotaging their career to do something like this. It's just a dumb idea, that he shouldn't have committed to paper, and that editorial shouldn't have allowed to reach the stands. But it doesn't feel HATEFUL, you know? It feels uninformed and dumb.

Apology felt sincere, publisher is responding appropriately. What else is there to do?

I've seen #2 before... 

In 2017, a Toy Designer (later denounced as a 'freelance' artist by Hasbro) included a political message on the side of one of the Transformers that year in "transformer language / Cybertronian".  Upon discovery by Hasbro, there was a running change on the figure where the political message was erased for future releases.  What made it more problematic was that this was specifically a Transformers toy marketed and set at a price point for kids.   This was not a masterpiece figure or a higher end toy geared toward the adult collector market. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Buzzetta

[Gaard]

I don't understand why the mis-spelling of jewelry is bad. Could someone explain it to me?

[aszumilo]

1 minute ago, Gaard said:

I don't understand why the mis-spelling of jewelry is bad. Could someone explain it to me?

Based on the spelling that is visible, on the window, it is assumed he spelled it JEWERY, which is derogatory towards those of the Jewish faith.  Along with the Star of David with odd proportions, leads people to think it was done purposely.

[Gaard]

I see. Kinda like the stereotype Asian portrayal of being bad drivers?

[theCapraAegagrus]

13 hours ago, BabaLament said:

@Angel of Death We obviously disagree. It happens. 

I think it was an honest error made while making a homage that was in poor taste. I think the artist is being heartfelt when he said that upon further consideration he agrees it was a bad call. Marvel has committed to making changes in future printings, editions, & digital. I think editorial will pay closer attention in the near future for similar situations.

It happens, unfortunately. X-Men Gold 1 had its issues, though in that book the artist said he was deliberately trying to make a point & missed the mark badly. People are human, and their humanity is going to make its way into the books. That's why its art, and not applied mathematics. Unless you're M.C. Escher; then it *is* applied mathematics.

Yeah, I disagree with cancel culture. It's a poor rendering by an artist. It's not a crime to use the SOD.