For some reason, my Blogger account won't let me reply directly to comments right now, so I'll have to post separate comments instead of direct replies. Bear with me as I figure this out.
UPDATE: Looks like the issue resolved itself. The glitch in the Matrix has been sealed!
Hello again! It's CapDen from Bluesky. I don't have much experience commenting on Blogs (A Glitch In The Matrix seems apropos somehow). Here's hoping *closes eyes, crosses fingers and posts*
ReplyDeleteDear J.M. DeMatteis,
Hello. I’m a fan. And as it turns out, in rereading some of your work that I first saw when I was younger; turning into an even bigger fan.
I’m currently in the middle of a big life career change and find myself back in college at 50 years old. One of my first assignments is a research paper in an English Composition course, and with the instructor’s blessing I’ve chosen to write about a part of your run on Captain America, specifically Arnie Roth. If you don’t mind, I have a couple of questions to ask you about from back then.
But first, some context. The first comic book I ever got was Captain America #268. Coincidentally, the first appearance of Arnie Roth. Being 6 years old the subtext of Arnie Roth was completely lost on me. It wasn’t until this past summer, rereading #268 with an adult’s eye, that I noticed some interesting things in the story. I’m a gay man, and like Arnie I haven’t always realized that. Also like Arnie Roth I didn’t start accepting that part of me until I was in the service. For me it was the Marines, and also for me it was during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
I realize I’m late to the game and that I’m not the first one to understand Arnie’s secret. I have even found in your blog where you’ve written about this aspect of the story before. And I do appreciate that insight. But this is the first time I’ve been able to think for myself about Cap having a best friend who happens to be gay and it’s rocking my world that it didn’t matter to him. You have given me representation in Cap’s mag, and even managed to foreshadow my own life.
My questions, if you please:
I’ve examined the letters pages for the next few issues after #268, looking for some kind of reaction or mention to the subtext of Arnie’s character; but other than vague mentions of a great story I didn’t pick up on anything specific to who Arnie was. Do you remember if there was any fan reaction to the character of Arnie and his story arc specifically referencing gay representation? Did you get any feedback or reactions from other comic creators at the time?
In one of the panels of Arnie and Cap’s childhood flashback, Arnie is pulling Steve out of trouble by the hand. Do you know if the hand holding was drawn intentionally or just an incidental part of the scene?
Did Jim Shooter really not pick up the queer coding clues until later on in the story? Any positive or negative reactions from the editor-in-chief?
Bonus Spicy Observation aka Hot Take:
Personally, I think the YMCA shower scene in the HULK magazine written by Mr. Shooter wouldn’t be as controversial if it was presented today. The real issue was the negative representation with no existing positive ones. Now with more positive representation available, people would be more open to see critical interpretations of themselves. The tragedy of that incident is that Mr. Shooter didn’t recognize that and took it personally.
Thank you for your time, and thank you very much in advance for your reply. At the very least my hope is that you take away that over 40 years later, your creation is still found inspiring.
Sincerely,
Den
Hi, CapDen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the questions. Some answers:
1) There was little to no reaction at the time, not even from other creators, which—looking back—is pretty strange.
2) The hand holding had no significance beyond one friend helping another.
3) Shooter took out some dialogue from one of the later issues—where the Red Skull is torturing Arnie—because (if memory serves and it's been a long time, so the memory may be off) he thought it made it too obvious that Arnie was gay. (I don't think Shooter was homophobic. This was the 80s and, as head of a huge publishing line, I think he was being careful, probably too careful.) But the dialogue on the following pages leaned into things pretty strongly—that, I think, was when Steve told Arnie that his relationship with Michael was a strong, as real, as valid as Steve's with Bernie. So what Jim took out didn't really impact the story.
4) I think you're right about that scene and lack of representation.
Hope that helps!
I'm deeply grateful that, all these years later, Arnie still resonates. Thanks for checking in.
JMD
Hello sir, my name is Felipe, it's an honor to speak with you. I'm a fan of yours. I've been reading your comics recently, specifically Spider-Man 94 and Chaos War, and I loved both. However, I had a question about a certain character in your work:
ReplyDeleteChaos King. He intrigued me when he first appeared in Chaos War. I was impressed by the new greatest threat in the Marvel universe, but I had a big question about him.
Is he the Void and the primordial Chaos? The comic constantly mentions him as the primordial Void and Chaos, even for eternity, but in the guidebook, it says he was only the primordial Void. So, is he also the primordial Chaos? Or is he just an agent of Chaos?
I love reading this comic, even Thor run about Chaos War.
I hope I'm not bothering you, sir 🙏
No bother at all, but I'm afraid this is a question best suited to the folks who created Chaos King. I only wrote that one Thor story, and it was a long time ago, so I don't have much to say about the character and his place in the MU. Sorry!
Delete