The Rec Center #66
Hello! So we have a general “this newsletter is here for you in times of strife if you’re looking for a distraction” policy that we’ve reiterated a few times over the past year and a half. We obviously don’t say it in every intro, but from time to time, I think it bears repeating—and it feels worth repeating today. If you need it, it’s here; if you don’t want to think about fandom, it’ll still be here when and if you’re ready.
This week sees the return of last week’s guest reccer 1degosuperego, who collaborated with Gav on a Yuri/Otabek list from YoI (that’s the other Yuri...there are two Yuris...just go watch it, it’s like 4 hours total). We also have our regular mix of articles and tumblr posts, some beautiful Beronica fanart (in gif form!), and a long outro where I ask Gav to explain exactly what’s happening when Marvel execs throw diversity under the bus. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“How Yuri!!! On Ice Reawakened Figure Skating Fandom In Us” by Ginnis Tonik at Women Write About Comics
A roundtable with YoI fans who rediscovered figure skating fandom through the show.
“Iron Fist and Slapping the Joker: How Not To Write Strong Female Characters” by Jessica Plummer at Book Riot
Some thoughts on a very specific lowkey-sexist trope present in several superhero adaptations.
“Skam: how a cult teen drama has fans invading sets, stalking characters’ Instagrams and learning Norwegian” by Anna Leszkiewicz at the New Statesman
Anna’s fantastic deep dive into the popular Norwegian teen drama is more about the fans than the show.
older stuff
“The Squirrel, The Myth, The Legend” by Torbeast
An academic analysis of Marvel’s Squirrel Girl as a mythic figure, linked with Ratatoskr from Norse mythology.
tumblr & beyond
Gorgeous Riverdale Beronica fanart by ofsparrows!!
Someone put on a Hannibal-themed fashion show at Vancouver Fashion Week!
Look at this incredible Chirrut Imwe cosplay! Make sure to click through to the other pics.
“what if the homeric texts are actually just a very long game of D&D”
If only this videogame grandma movie was real.
fanfiction
1degosuperego, who is responsible for half this list, was also last week’s guest reccer. Once again, you can scream about Drarry, Yuriotabek, and Gryles with her on tumblr.
Super-fast Yuri/Otabek explainer!
Yuri “Yurio” Plisetsky is the third main character in Yuri on Ice, a sports anime about Yuuri Katsuki’s figure skating career and romance with his coach Victor Nikiforov, a Russian champion. (Here’s our YoI primer!) Yurio is a 15-year-old Russian skater, and friend/rival to Victor and Yuuri. He loves cats, he’s constantly angry, and he’s probably an orphan. Otabek Altin is his best friend, a slightly older Kazakh skater who is very laconic and chill, and is one of the few people who can make Yurio smile.
“My soul is an empty carousel at sunset.” by dawnstruck. 13K words, rated Teen.
“Under your skin the moon is alive.” by dawnstruck. 14K words, rated Explicit.
Recced by: 1degosuperego
Backstory: A two-part story exploring demi!Yuri and how his relationship with Otabek might evolve.
Rec: This is one of those fics that just becomes your entire headcanon about a pairing. I particularly loved a late-night conversation between Yuuri and Yuri in part one. Also I love how modern social media is woven into all the fic in this fandom!!
Content warnings: N/A
“Two Make a Pair” by mousapelli. 5K words, rated Gen.
Recced by: 1degosuperego
Backstory: After fooling around skating together in their socks on a slippery floor (!!), Otabek and Yurio pull a long con on the way to pair skating professionally.
Rec: If you’re still reeling from Yuuri and Viktor’s pair skate—and who isn’t—this fic is for you.
Content warnings: N/A
“From Almaty With Love” by BoxWineConfessions. 72K words, rated Explicit.
Recced by: Gav
Rec: Long friends-to-lovers romance, developing into a long-distance relationship. I loved the detail of Otabek being a bookworm!
Content warnings: N/A
“Half a Chance” by ratherunnecessary. 56K words, rated Mature.
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Takes place a couple of years after season 1, so Yuri is 17 and Yuuri/Victor are about to get married.
Rec: DELICIOUS ANGST. Like all of the best Yurio fic, he’s a very believable angsty teen. The story begins with him realizing that he has a crush on Yuuri Katsuki, but it’s one-sided and the story develops into a Yuri/Otabek romance. If you’re into “angst with a happy ending” stories with really intense yet realistic emotions, this fic is A++. It also does a great job of illustrating the pressure Yuri is under as a star athlete who became famous at a young age.
Content warnings: N/A
“Back and Forth” by BoxWineConfessions. 4K words, rated Gen.
Recced by: Gav
Rec: Yuri persuades Otabek to get Snapchat. Very cute!! Also v funny, because of course Yuri would respond to a sexy snapchat by replying “SHUT UP” in a panic.
Content warnings: N/A
“Hood & Glove” by BoxWineConfessions. Written by Fahye with art by Hawberries. 12K words, rated Teen.
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Fairytale AU where Otabek is a ~hero and Yuri is an elf/fairy.
Rec: The worldbuilding in this is a great combination of familiar fairytale background with just enough fresh details to feel original. There’s a fun dynamic between Otabek and Yuri, with supporting roles for the other main skaters from the show. And Hawberries’ art is gorgeous! I especially enjoyed Otabek’s Kazakh-inspired clothes, and the beautiful poster art of Yuri and his animal forms.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Last week, a Marvel exec said that fans aren’t buying “diverse” superhero comics. This snowballed into an industry-wide conversation about diversity at Marvel, and the (many) other reasons why Marvel sales are tanking. Gav wrote an explainer here, and Comic Book Resources crunched the numbers of Marvel’s falling sales here.
As a comics journalist (Gav) and a Marvel-adjacent fangirl (Elizabeth), we decided to end this week’s newsletter with a lil Q&A about What’s Going On.
Elizabeth: So this foolishness isn’t unique to Marvel or comics in general. The big movie studios famously cite a couple of female superhero flops when they’re confronted about only hiring white Chrisses to headline films—despite scores of white-dude-led flops. But I’m not a comics person, so I’d love to know about the specifics of the comics industry. I have heard that things like “crossovers” and “events” and “hey Captain America might be a Nazi???” are better culprits than “diversity” for the sales slump?
Gav: There’s some overlap with Hollywood attitudes, but comics have a different business structure. For one thing, they’re released on a monthly basis and can be cancelled like a TV show.
Marvel spent the past few years launching “diverse” reboots for famous heroes. There are now a bunch of well-known reboots with female and/or nonwhite protagonists (ie. Miles Morales as Spider-Man), but a) they’re all written by white men, and b) these reboots coincided with a drop in sales.
The “diversity doesn’t sell comics” guy tried to connect falling sales with the new generation of diverse characters. But that doesn’t really hold out, because sales went down across the board. It seems like many fans are sick of crossover events (which disrupt ongoing storylines), or can’t afford monthly comics, or any number of other factors. Plus, some of those “diverse” titles are selling just fine, but they’re not selling in “the right way.”
I published a piece breaking down the intricacies of comics publishing here, but basically... comics sales don’t function in a rational way. Publishers prioritize monthly subscriptions from stores, and don’t care so much about digital sales or collected volumes. The problem is, young people may prefer digital comics, and women may avoid comicbook stores for fear of harassment. And books like Ms Marvel and Black Panther sell really well in collected volumes, possibly to new readers who don’t feel the need to visit a shop once a month to spend $4 on a 25-page comic.
Elizabeth: OK wait this is fascinating—are the revenues from digital comics or collected volumes so insignificant that they shouldn’t be counted? This is funny because I actually wanted to try out comics via Black Panther around this time last year and went to a shop and they only had single issues...and I walked away. I would have bought a collected volume in a heartbeat. I just don’t understand—there are a bunch of different (and more accessible ways) to get Marvel’s work into the hands of a diverse group of fans (and the more accessible, the more people will join) but none of that counts towards the numbers??
Gav: Digital is the same price! Supposedly if they made digital cheaper, it might discourage people from going to stores, and stores/comics have a kind of symbiotic relationship. Collected volumes also make a bunch of money. It’s not quite as bad as “these sales don’t count at all,” but DC/Marvel tend to make business decisions based on monthly preorders.
Crossover events are meant to boost sales, because they encourage everyone to read a team-up storyline or tune in for a major plot twist. But if you’re new to comics and just started reading one title, you’ll just be like, “Why the heck is Ms Marvel involved in World War III, and why are they telling me to buy a Hulk tie-in??” The next crossover starts this month, and it’s the “Nazi Captain America” thing you mentioned.
Elizabeth: OK so my cynical takeaway is these dudes will do anything to try to throw “diversity,” whatever that might mean in this context (it’s a frustrating catch-all generally, imo) under the bus. Whether that means privileging sales in spaces that are less accessible or cherry-picking the myriad factors (Nazi Captain America!!!) that are hurting their sales. So my final question is are we likely to see this play out with steps backwards when it comes to representation and diversity?
Gav: I think it’s more like: the guys in charge at Marvel do want to produce more diverse comics, but they’re mishandling it. The writers and editors in the upper echelons at Marvel are mostly middle-aged white guys with ~liberal politics, who like to talk about Strong Female Characters and how exciting it is to relaunch Spider-Man as a black Latino teen. But some of them get aggressively defensive about criticism, and they exist within an industry that’s historically very white and male, and has a serious sexual harassment problem.
I don’t think this week’s controversy will lead to a step backwards. Hopefully it will be constructive, although I suspect there needs to be a major upheaval before superhero comics become more inclusive. And that means rethinking their sales methods as well as new policies about hiring women and minorities behind the scenes.
Postscript: Click the above Twitter thread for some info on Marvel’s new ~rewards program, because... sigh.
Final, more cheerful postscript: However, you can get issue #1 of the new America Chavez comic for free this weekend! She’s an awesome character, a queer Latina superhero with a great costume (important!), and Gav highly recommends this book.
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well.
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