I know that in the past 15 years or so, whatever “qualities” Image Comics CFO, Erik Larsen’s school-creation ever had, they’ve been trashed ever since by the addition of offensive content that’s gotten to its lowest ebb yet in the 236th issue, which Critical Blast spotted hidden in the pages:
…there’s no real guessing at what’s involved in Image Comics’ SAVAGE DRAGON #236, which features the four offspring of the titular character. The storyline, called “Savage Little Dragons” finds they tykes doing various kid activities — crawling out of the crib, fighting with each other, watching underage rape porn on the television.
Wait. What? […]
A child is hit in the head with a rock, then punched from behind. And then, yes, sodomized by the other child who is then seen walking away as he pulls up his pants.
This wouldn’t be acceptable in a manga book, then obviously, it’s equally offensive in a western comic too. At this point, Larsen can no longer claim to be somebody who understands anything about art, and isn’t qualified to make the arguments he did 4 years ago. For now, here’s the bottom line provided by the other site about this case:
Here’s our take: mature jokes are mature jokes. But pedophile-pandering rape scenes aren’t good for anybody, and they’re certainly not good for comics.
That’s why a rape joke that turned up in the latter half of the anime series adapted from Rurouni Kenshin, whose own mangaka was arrested and charged with storing child porn in his office and house, was one of the worst moments to be seen in a Japanese product too. It goes without saying Larsen’s just further demonstrated how morally bankrupt he’s become, with one of his other recent disturbing storylines involving 2 Lolita-ish lesbians. And where are all the social justice hypocrites in all this mess? Practicing double-standards, as usual, with their silence. I remember when the Daily Dot, a pretty poor site themselves, attacked him over a scene involving a threesome affair, which is a pretty cheap subject to take issue with in contrast to the current horror. If what was found in #236 is what Larsen’s sunk to now, that’s why he’s trashed whatever valid argument he ever made, and is only giving Image a bad name today.
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Originally published here.
Follow Avi Green on Twitter @AviGreen1
