Have I devoted too much mental energy to a comic I never intended to read in the first place? Obviously. But, when I come across two pieces on Orson Scott Card, future scribe of Ultimate Iron Man, in one day, I can’t possibly pass up cheap synergy. (Schadenfreude may be my drug, but thematic coincidence is the chaser that mellows the buzz.)
At Prism Comics, Scott Anderson makes me slightly uncomfortable:
“We didn’t know he was this way [referring to Card’s well-publicized anti-gay sentiments], but now we do, so what do we do? While I wouldn’t suggest that he be censured in a meaningful way, I would suggest that we don’t help him, that we don’t give him a platform from which to speak or resources to finance his macabre views or the prestige to give them credibility.”
Now, this presumes that Card’s beliefs will automatically influence his creative outpout, and there’s really no way of knowing that. And, if they do, I would find it much more rewarding if the market self-selected the dumbass out on its own. At the same time, I would significantly downgrade my opinion of Marvel (get a shovel) if they looked at Card’s story bible and said, “Hey, Tony Stark endorses the Federal Marriage Amendment! Score!”
Much more to my liking is Paul O’Brien’s assessment over at The Ninth Art:
“None of which is to say that liberals should put aside their distaste and rush out and buy an Orson Scott Card publication. The entertainment possibilities of spending an evening in the company of his personality, albeit mediated through his writing, strike me as slim.”
I really can’t argue with that. Still, all things considered… Ultimate Iron Man? Pass.