Watching Alison Tieman cry when discussing how the Honey Badgers were kicked from Calgary Expo drove me to buy volumes one and two of her comic.
I was reminded of Matt Taylor’s tear-filled apology after the feminist-brigade were all up in arms over his shirt (not his wonderful contributions to science) and wanted to projectile vomit out of rage then, too.
For anyone who wants to declare that women aren’t victims, and cares about true gender equality, I’ll support you.
The five star rating is for the quality of the art. Its not often you can find this attention to craft for only 20 dollars. Sometimes I go to art museums and pretend I am an art critic, and you can find work that shows this skill for millions of dollars. Alison really is talented…she has an uncanny ability to make real human forms seem 3D. I haven’t seen many artists do this successfully since the masters. I almost want to buy another copy so I can frame some for the wall. In the last few pages of the long comic, she successfully told a story with pages and pages of pictures, no words. It was a brutal scene that made me sad. So kudos to Alison for being such an effective artist and story teller with her drawing skill.
The subtext of the story has Alison’s politics shining through. She does some interesting gender role switching with the aliens, and the humans seem to have kept our traditional gender roles. Alison makes the male characters more sympathetic. Usually a good character that moves people is more powerful than all the advocacy. I read the longer story first before the paper comic that was shorter, and I noticed the intro comic first edition had a summary of all the characters. I think the story could include more of these details as I read the story (instead of being told in a telling manner in the beginning of paper comic)
Thank you for your feedback Monique! The second volume is out if you’re interested in reading more. It does switch from a higher altitude look at the situation to a more personal story between the two main characters.
I got my copy of V. 2 today and I think it deserves a video essay!
I will post a link when I am done.
Don’t worry that your art was banned, Alison. That’s actually a very good sign.
Lots of good art is celebrated posthumously because it takes a while for people to come around to a new message.
Even Shakespeare was banned and rated as mediocre. The establishment always does this when they feel threatened.
so was Ginsberg.
When Greats Gatsby was published, Fitzgerald thought he failed and it wasnt added to syllabus until later.
I read the second volume a few times, and there’s too much to unpack in a single review post. I will probably do a longer review via youtube video or perhaps submit a blog.
I don’t have page numbers to reference what I am talking about, so I will focus on what I thought was the most profound page. Subversive not just in gender roles of human beings, but of the nature of our sexual attraction. I stillI think sexual attraction is biologically ingrained. I know Alison is a bisexual and gender queer, as are many of the honey badgers. The bisexuality may help the author be more fluid and think of insights into gender and sexual attraction.
The scene has a flashback to 5 years ago, where Anne (human woman), Red (male alien), and Richard (human male) are sitting around and Anne is drinking and looking badass.
Richard, a programmed soldier for the Centrist, (an Orewellian type human government) is asexual. He seems he doesn’t like to be touched by Anne, but he doesn’t mind being touched by Red. I thought that was amusing commentary on women in the 21st century. Women such as myself also have an “in group” bias and a unfounded fear of male aggression, even though studies show that its lesbians who are more prone to rape and sexual crimes than your average man (2010 findings CDC)
Richard show some sexual uptightness, much as a woman in 21st might also indignantly show shame or be sensitive to slut shaming by indignantly declaring that she is asexual. That’s not to say Asexuals don’t exist, but its interesting how Richard and many 21st century western women are so indignant to remain pure.
Red, the alien, seems very confused by the term “asexual”, and declares that even after learning human language, he still doesn’t understand.
This is clear jab at the modern gender social justice warrior, who are known for making up unscientific and arbitrary terminology to describe any random feeling.
Hilariously, Anne confirms his confusion, even though she is human, by calling it “centrist bullshit”
There is a hint at bisexuality, when Red asks if there is a distinction between having sex with men and women, and it seems the Prac looks for something besides gender in a sexual partner. It seems the Prac don’t look for gentials, but a “shared purpose”. This was really interesting and it seems to reflect on human bisexuality.
I don’t think human sexuality is that fluid (per individual). Some humans prefer sex with a specific gender, and that is what they are attracted to. Human Sexual attraction is not a social construction, as it is with the Prac. This may be a commentary on humans who are bisexual though, and since bisexuals may not have a sexual preference per gender, they might select a sexual partner by a “shared purpose”.
Red also comments on human gender roles that in human culture and stigma, it is the stigma is strongest for “two men”, “men despoil women” and “men are always strangers”
These comments were the most fascinating at all. In this dialog, the character correctly points out that these particular stigmas are indeed a social construction, and are not necessarily biological.
This is all in context of Red’s alien culture, the Prac. In Prac culture, women are dominant in many unexpected ways. For example, in the Prac, women are leads in the army, but lives are counted in terms of male deaths. This a severe critique of human culture in general, where although more men die in battle and suffer from violence, womens’ deaths are counted as more valuable and get more resources and grief at death. These leads to Red’s confusion of human gender.
One of the best communities I have ever had a privilege to be among and associated with. The people there are truly diverse in thought, sexuality, gender, race and we all are able to express our views without breaking down into arguments or accusations of one another. I hope to be supporting the Honey Badger for many more years to come.
Proud to have personally pushed the Honey Badger Convention Fundraiser to the magical level of 9000!!!one!!1!eleven!!.
sorry i couldnt attend i would have like to meet you all. let me know if you will be coming back to the midwest.
I have heard of the supercool stand-against-censorship poster of the badgers that you sold at the expo. Can i buy one & is shipping an option?
I admire all of you very much for your guts and minds and hope you will cointinue on your path for a long long time!
Best of wishes,
Chris
Read worth your time and money.
Because Gamergate, ethics, and censorship, need we say more?
Watching Alison Tieman cry when discussing how the Honey Badgers were kicked from Calgary Expo drove me to buy volumes one and two of her comic.
I was reminded of Matt Taylor’s tear-filled apology after the feminist-brigade were all up in arms over his shirt (not his wonderful contributions to science) and wanted to projectile vomit out of rage then, too.
For anyone who wants to declare that women aren’t victims, and cares about true gender equality, I’ll support you.
I couldn’t give much but I gave with conviction. Bite back, badgers!
The five star rating is for the quality of the art. Its not often you can find this attention to craft for only 20 dollars. Sometimes I go to art museums and pretend I am an art critic, and you can find work that shows this skill for millions of dollars. Alison really is talented…she has an uncanny ability to make real human forms seem 3D. I haven’t seen many artists do this successfully since the masters. I almost want to buy another copy so I can frame some for the wall. In the last few pages of the long comic, she successfully told a story with pages and pages of pictures, no words. It was a brutal scene that made me sad. So kudos to Alison for being such an effective artist and story teller with her drawing skill.
The subtext of the story has Alison’s politics shining through. She does some interesting gender role switching with the aliens, and the humans seem to have kept our traditional gender roles. Alison makes the male characters more sympathetic. Usually a good character that moves people is more powerful than all the advocacy. I read the longer story first before the paper comic that was shorter, and I noticed the intro comic first edition had a summary of all the characters. I think the story could include more of these details as I read the story (instead of being told in a telling manner in the beginning of paper comic)
Thank you for your feedback Monique! The second volume is out if you’re interested in reading more. It does switch from a higher altitude look at the situation to a more personal story between the two main characters.
https://www.feedthebadger.com/product/xenospora-volume-2/
Thank you again,
Alison
I got my copy of V. 2 today and I think it deserves a video essay!
I will post a link when I am done.
Don’t worry that your art was banned, Alison. That’s actually a very good sign.
Lots of good art is celebrated posthumously because it takes a while for people to come around to a new message.
Even Shakespeare was banned and rated as mediocre. The establishment always does this when they feel threatened.
so was Ginsberg.
When Greats Gatsby was published, Fitzgerald thought he failed and it wasnt added to syllabus until later.
I read the second volume a few times, and there’s too much to unpack in a single review post. I will probably do a longer review via youtube video or perhaps submit a blog.
I don’t have page numbers to reference what I am talking about, so I will focus on what I thought was the most profound page. Subversive not just in gender roles of human beings, but of the nature of our sexual attraction. I stillI think sexual attraction is biologically ingrained. I know Alison is a bisexual and gender queer, as are many of the honey badgers. The bisexuality may help the author be more fluid and think of insights into gender and sexual attraction.
The scene has a flashback to 5 years ago, where Anne (human woman), Red (male alien), and Richard (human male) are sitting around and Anne is drinking and looking badass.
Richard, a programmed soldier for the Centrist, (an Orewellian type human government) is asexual. He seems he doesn’t like to be touched by Anne, but he doesn’t mind being touched by Red. I thought that was amusing commentary on women in the 21st century. Women such as myself also have an “in group” bias and a unfounded fear of male aggression, even though studies show that its lesbians who are more prone to rape and sexual crimes than your average man (2010 findings CDC)
Richard show some sexual uptightness, much as a woman in 21st might also indignantly show shame or be sensitive to slut shaming by indignantly declaring that she is asexual. That’s not to say Asexuals don’t exist, but its interesting how Richard and many 21st century western women are so indignant to remain pure.
Red, the alien, seems very confused by the term “asexual”, and declares that even after learning human language, he still doesn’t understand.
This is clear jab at the modern gender social justice warrior, who are known for making up unscientific and arbitrary terminology to describe any random feeling.
Hilariously, Anne confirms his confusion, even though she is human, by calling it “centrist bullshit”
There is a hint at bisexuality, when Red asks if there is a distinction between having sex with men and women, and it seems the Prac looks for something besides gender in a sexual partner. It seems the Prac don’t look for gentials, but a “shared purpose”. This was really interesting and it seems to reflect on human bisexuality.
I don’t think human sexuality is that fluid (per individual). Some humans prefer sex with a specific gender, and that is what they are attracted to. Human Sexual attraction is not a social construction, as it is with the Prac. This may be a commentary on humans who are bisexual though, and since bisexuals may not have a sexual preference per gender, they might select a sexual partner by a “shared purpose”.
Red also comments on human gender roles that in human culture and stigma, it is the stigma is strongest for “two men”, “men despoil women” and “men are always strangers”
These comments were the most fascinating at all. In this dialog, the character correctly points out that these particular stigmas are indeed a social construction, and are not necessarily biological.
This is all in context of Red’s alien culture, the Prac. In Prac culture, women are dominant in many unexpected ways. For example, in the Prac, women are leads in the army, but lives are counted in terms of male deaths. This a severe critique of human culture in general, where although more men die in battle and suffer from violence, womens’ deaths are counted as more valuable and get more resources and grief at death. These leads to Red’s confusion of human gender.
I’m disappointed that there are no more comics to read. I wanted to find out what happens next.
One of the best communities I have ever had a privilege to be among and associated with. The people there are truly diverse in thought, sexuality, gender, race and we all are able to express our views without breaking down into arguments or accusations of one another. I hope to be supporting the Honey Badger for many more years to come.