Post by Icefanatic on Sept 4, 2018 18:04:09 GMT -5
Legal disclaimer: Because this is based off of decades-old memories and information from secondhand sources at that time that cannot presently be verified, I am changing the names of any parties involved.
Back in the 1990's, I was a starry-eyed fanboy. I viewed my favorite comic book creators as something akin to gods. The idea that they would descend from some near-Olympus to interact with us lowly fans at events and conventions was something I could barely wrap my head around. I still remember stammering my way through my first conversation with a creator whose work I admired, and wondering why my tongue had suddenly grown too large for my mouth.
There were few creators I admired more at that time than Bark Made. As I got to interact more with other fans and with people working in the industry...and also comparing notes about who we had met in the industry and who we wanted to meet, I started to hear some bad things about creators I had come to like based solely on their work. I had the not-uncommon-notion that comic book creators were much like the heroes they depicted in the comics. I was old enough to know better, but somehow, I still didn't.
At the mention of Bark Made, I started to hear mostly two things:
First - That if I wanted to hear the latest dirt and gossip on who people were feuding with...sleeping with...and cheating on, in the industry, all I needed to do was get a couple of drinks in Bark Made. That he would then tell ANYTHING on ANYONE.
Needless to say, that didn't fit at all with the fantasy I had of who Bark Made was, based off of being a fan of his work.
Second - And this was even harder to reconcile with my fantasy-view of 'Bark'...was that he was supposedly offering women who wanted to break into or gain advancement in the male-dominated comic book industry, help...in exchange for them providing him with sexual favors!
I was stunned the first time I heard it. And the second. After hearing it from enough people, the shock finally wore off...and I started to notice something else from the people I was hearing it from.
The men mostly seemed to believe that Bark Made was really getting sexual favors from women in exchange for giving them career advancement.
The women mostly seemed to believe that Bark Made was actually falsely mischaracterizing his relationship with one woman as the above, to give the impression he was some kind of stud or player. After seeing numerous examples since then of Bark Made mischaracterizing something to try to make himself look good at the expense of others, I am inclined to agree with that assessment.
One thing most people in both groups agreed on, the source of those rumors were from statements made by...Bark Made himself!!!
Maybe after a few of those drinks fans liked to ply him with?!
If Bark Made doesn't like certain people in the industry he has been associated with being accused of gaining entry and advancement through sexual favors, maybe he shouldn't have helped foster that belief in the first place?
Just a thought.
* * *
Back in the 1990's, I was a starry-eyed fanboy. I viewed my favorite comic book creators as something akin to gods. The idea that they would descend from some near-Olympus to interact with us lowly fans at events and conventions was something I could barely wrap my head around. I still remember stammering my way through my first conversation with a creator whose work I admired, and wondering why my tongue had suddenly grown too large for my mouth.
There were few creators I admired more at that time than Bark Made. As I got to interact more with other fans and with people working in the industry...and also comparing notes about who we had met in the industry and who we wanted to meet, I started to hear some bad things about creators I had come to like based solely on their work. I had the not-uncommon-notion that comic book creators were much like the heroes they depicted in the comics. I was old enough to know better, but somehow, I still didn't.
At the mention of Bark Made, I started to hear mostly two things:
First - That if I wanted to hear the latest dirt and gossip on who people were feuding with...sleeping with...and cheating on, in the industry, all I needed to do was get a couple of drinks in Bark Made. That he would then tell ANYTHING on ANYONE.
Needless to say, that didn't fit at all with the fantasy I had of who Bark Made was, based off of being a fan of his work.
Second - And this was even harder to reconcile with my fantasy-view of 'Bark'...was that he was supposedly offering women who wanted to break into or gain advancement in the male-dominated comic book industry, help...in exchange for them providing him with sexual favors!
I was stunned the first time I heard it. And the second. After hearing it from enough people, the shock finally wore off...and I started to notice something else from the people I was hearing it from.
The men mostly seemed to believe that Bark Made was really getting sexual favors from women in exchange for giving them career advancement.
The women mostly seemed to believe that Bark Made was actually falsely mischaracterizing his relationship with one woman as the above, to give the impression he was some kind of stud or player. After seeing numerous examples since then of Bark Made mischaracterizing something to try to make himself look good at the expense of others, I am inclined to agree with that assessment.
One thing most people in both groups agreed on, the source of those rumors were from statements made by...Bark Made himself!!!
Maybe after a few of those drinks fans liked to ply him with?!
If Bark Made doesn't like certain people in the industry he has been associated with being accused of gaining entry and advancement through sexual favors, maybe he shouldn't have helped foster that belief in the first place?
Just a thought.
Member Is Online
Member Is Offline
Member Is Banned
ABP NEWS
Verified Account