Indie Creator Power

A review of Stud and the Bloodblade #1

Between Stud and the Bloodblade and Netflix, I found more reasons to keep reading comics.

Last week the trailer came out for Part Two of “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” and I was a bit miffed. Netflix went way out of their way to appease the angry fanboys who trashed Kevin Smith’s update to the 80’s “He-Man” cartoon — a cartoon known in today’s world for memes like this — for not being manly man enough.

The 100% spoiler ridden trailer defuses all the suspense Smith and company built up in the first six episodes. In all likelihood, this was done to appease what Bob Chipman calls the “YouTube performative outrage industrial complex.” They might as well have had three minutes of Smith screaming, It’s okay! He-Man is coming back! It’s not the “She-Ra” cartoon! The status quo is restored! Find something else to be toxic towards! You can go back to ignoring us again!

Even though I liked the first half of “Revelations,” I‘m dejected enough by this not-even-recent example of toxic fandom. I don’t think any angry YouTuber changed the entire show midstream from what Smith intended all along, but it’s these kind of antics that make the simple act of anticipating the next chapter of anything an impossibility. All corporate properties have to be handled with kid gloves just…