Comics

"(Castor Oyl: Hey there, are you a sailor?) "Ja' think I'm a cowboy?""

"I yam what I yam and tha's all what I yam.""

"Well blow me down!"

"That's all I can stands, cuz I can't stands n'more!"

"I'm strong to the finach, 'cause I eats me Spinach, I'm Popeye the sailor man! (toot, toot)"

"Olive Oyl says that she don't want to be with no unedumacated ignoramousk. So I'll be an EDUMACATED ignoramousk! (and he enrolls)"

"I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

"Let's you and him fight."

"Help, Popeye! Save me!"

"You keep your hands to you, that's what you are!"

"Don't you DARE 'reproach' me!"

"Oh, Popeye!"

"I'll take you all on one at a time!"

"Where's the entrance to the exit?"

"Oh yeah? WHAM!"

"A-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah!"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS THE BACTINE!!"

"Nothing quite brings out the zest for life in a person like the thought of their impending death. I see by the looks of you that you understand."

"Hmm? What's that Shmee? Mm, Hmm. Yeeess. Hmm? Yeah. Really? Uh, Huh. Okaay. What? Hmm. Well FUCK YOU MR. BEAR!!! You speak LIES!!! LIIIIES!!! Stuffed with pure venom, you vile lint infested bastard!! How many more, like you, are there?!! How many more?!!! You can't even imagine the things I've endured!! And always at the hands of shit like you!!! You don't know the truth!!!"

"Hey, sorry about the window, but I noticed it was locked. I don't suggest you ever lock it again."

"Two nights ago, I was taking a walk at night, and this little chihuahua started following me!!! GODDAMMIT!! IT KNEW!! I ran, and finally lost it, and made it home!!! BUT IT KNEW!! IT KNEWWWW!! Did the DOG SEND YOU?!"

"I was just drawing a comic; Happy Noodle Boy. It's really popular with the homeless insane."

"Whether in a suit, or in a loincloth, people are ignorant little thorns cutting into one another."

"Any pile of stunted growth unaware that entertainment is just that and nothing more, deserves to doom themselves to some dank cell, somewhere, for having been so stupid!! Movies, books, T.V., music - They're all just entertainment, not guidebooks for damning yourself!"

"I never drank her blood! Never! But I needed it! You see!! It changes color when it dries! It NEVER stays! I HAVE to keep the wall wet!"

"Wacky!? What the hell kind of word is that? WACKY!? I HATE that word!! Fewer words are as excruciatingly stupid!!! And used in description of me!! FOOK!"

"Without fail!! EVERY time I leave my house, it's as if I've given up my every right to be left alone, or treated with respect!!! You flies with your unyielding little minds!!! You think my difference from you is an excuse to 'comment' on me, as if I were on DISPLAY for you!!!"

"Dear Die-ary, today I stuffed some dolls full of dead rats I put in the blender. I'm wondering if, maybe, there really is something wrong with me."

"Think of that sensation as reassurance that you are not dead yet."

"Trust me, I know what self-loathing is, but to kill myself? That would put a damper on my search for answers. Not at all productive."

"I can't let you go. We've begun something lovely, and, as with all things that start, it, inevitably, ends! The beginning is always so fine!! But decay soon follows. A degeneration into the tired old situation. The rot sets in. This way, there is only the beauty of the start!"

"The world would be so much nicer if people only used guns on themselves."

"Todd? I like Squee better."

"Well, I just don't want you to think that this piece of shit is anything other than a pathetic, human defect. Nothing more. Not a monster, not a bogeyman. Nothing but another reason to feel better about yourself. Understand that it's just a person - not worth devoting any nightmares to."

"You flaw. At least I'm under the delusion of doing something productive."

"Um, well, you better get going, it's Tuesday, and you know what that means - U.F.O.'s!! (runs)"

"I've relinquished control of my insanity."

"Johnny "Is this milk still good?!!""

"Victim "Huh?! *sip* Uh...yeah.""

"Johnny "THIS LETTUCE! HOW CRISP IS IT? HOW CRISP GODDAMMIT?!"

"Victim "It's Fine!""

"Johnny "THESE FUDGE-POPS! FREEZER BURN?! FREEZER BURN?!""

"Victim "umm..""

"Johnny "EAT THE FUCKIN' WEENIE!!!""

"Victim "mmph... It tastes okay.""

"Johnny "Whew! Thanks. I haven't cleaned my fridge out in awhile, and well... You know."

"We think we are so great in our protests...but we just become the bitter offspring of what we oppose. We become prisoners in our own cages. We begin to speak in badly constructed melodramatic prose! OH, RAGING HORROR!! Make this stop!!"

"I wish... I wish someone would just switch me off and... fix me."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm the one that's been killing all those people. But I'm also the creative force behind Happy Noodle Boy, so forgive me and shut up."

"Killing someone who's bleeding to death. Fff...fuck, you people...you...how stupid you are. Resorting to the same old, monkey brutality, afraid to look up from your bloody dicks. Afraid of transcendence. Hey...your head looks like a potato. And how stupid was I? I, actually paid attention to you! Devoted precious thought to it. God...I used to love the noises I heard in my head. Hhh...I never should've left my room...my room, out there, I almost remember it. It's gone now...along with everything else...vanishing. Heh...potato."

"This isn't pleasant... I'd rather not be dead... Don't want to die... Don't... Geez... This is worse than goth poetry... Agg..."

"No more stars... no... clouds... nothing... hsssss... It's such an easy thing to say you hate something... so easy to hate... what a piece of shit I am... I ca...can't believe I went the easy way... I thought I knew... I wish I knew something... anything. Ehhh... Actually... your head looks more like a reject jellybean."

"Dear Diary, I seem to be dead."

"I've been talking to dead rabbits and feeding bloody walls. I've done horrifying things with salad tongs. It's really eaten into my social life."

"Do you have ANY idea what's going on down there?!! Hideous things! People are suffering, and people like...well...ME, heh, are running around!! Suicide, genocide!! People are killing MOOSE!! You buy a video game system, and a better one comes out in a month!!! Powdered eggs?!!! Self esteem is so low, girls are buyin wonder bras!!! Do you see!? DO YOU?"

"You know, that fat little lawn gnome of a God wouldn't answer some easy questions!!! I'm criminally insane - I don't know what HIS reason is for being SO FUCKED UP!!"

"I wonder if you can kill the Devil."

"It's okay! I'm alright! I think my spine has exploded, but I'm fine."

"Shit! This is awful. At least alive there were nice people mixed in with the social maggots."

"Damn! Hell makes a yummy bagel."

"You people!! Shit!! You're all idiots!! I admit to being weak and catering to some minor transgression or two, but this place is sick. But I won't let myself give the issue respect by addressing it any furth... YOU STINK!!!! Focusing on the mundane! Money!! Fashion!! Cream cheese!! You're in Hell and you're too stupid to know it!"

"A cheerleader! PURE EVIL!!"

"I wonder if I'm still crazy. Go find a cheerleader and saw her legs off. OKAY, that answers that."

"I detest sleep. I've got better things to do. Besides, I find it frightening - to awaken and be unsure of everything you remember about life not being just part of a dream. Waking means I've slept, and sleep dissolves what certainty I have left."

"Funny thing is, Pinocchio's a real boy now but his wiring's all fucked up."

"Either my hair burned off in hell, or I sleep-shaved it during a really stupid dream."

"Does light even EXIST when the refrigerator door is shut!?"

"You know that feeling you get? The one where you just know you're going to projectile vomit out of every orifice? I feel that right now. I want you away. Leave me to my vomit."

"Imagine a sculptor being confronted by a stranger, who, as it turns out, confesses to revere our sculptor. Imagine the flattery known to anybody who is told they've inspired some noble aspiration in somebody. The student then presents our sculptor with a work fashioned after the sculptor's own style - a likeness of the student himself. It is a monstrosity! A fucking mess. Even worse, is that our artist sees that this piece of shit before him is a more reasonable facsimile of his own work than he'd like to think. You fucking idiot!! Admire me?!! You shit!!! I'm the villain in this fucking story!"

"Just because we've similar interests does not guarantee you're going to like me! My foot in your ass is a good example of that. My delusionary hell does not agree with yours!!"

"And though this gets me no absolution, I WOULD NEVER DO WHAT YOU DID TO THAT GIRL!! YOU ABOMINATION OF MENTAL SUBVERSION!! OH, LOOK!! AN ORIFICE. HOW DO YOU LIKE BEING FUCKED WITH STEEL?!!"

"As you may already know, I tried to kill you. I see how that could be construed as a bad thing, but the part that understands that is not the one running things in my little world."

"I've excluded happiness as one of those possibilities we seek for ourselves. Oh, I still want it, but that's beside the point. Contentment - they say it's the ultimate, but I can't even wish for that. I don't even want the desire to be content. I can only hope for silence."

"I like you immensely, Devi. And to prove it, I shall obliterate all of my affection and interest for you. Just like before, but different. I cannot hurt what I do not acknowledge. I don't know of anyone that I love, or of anyone that loves me, but I give you what I can. I give my nothing."

"I know forgiveness is out of the question. I just ask for what we all ask of the people we respect - that the thought of me does not compel you to violent spasms of projectile vomiting."

"Kill my stomach if I'm hungry! Shut off my want if I'm lonely! Tear off my genitals if I'm aroused!! Excess!!! So much excess!! It's so much superfluous nonsense, and I want nothing to do with it if I can help it!!!"

"It's a frightening world to be alone in."

"It must be nice to still have the opportunity to save the cohesion of your pretty mind. The best some people can hope for is to better manage their damage."

"Dear Die-ary, the passions that drive us should be the ones we respect and admire. To feel contempt for one's own motivations is a vulgar thing. Too often, it seems, I've succumbed to less-than admirable compulsions, driven by this furiously reprehensible machine of mine. So many things inside that I can do without - desires and urges and what not. So extraneous. By the time I write in this book again, I hope to be as cold as the moon that lights this page."

"Such amusing fiction, these stories they tell. It always comes to this. If they really had a desire to live, they would've been more aware of how easy it is to die, would've chosen their actions more wisely. In these moments, you can tell they're not regretting having hurt you. They regret doing it to your face. They get so loud. They make so much noise. I try to wait until I'm out of the room before I start laughing... A blur... of... sweating... screaming... human... drama... but, everyonce in a while, they say things that sound like words. They make me think about what I'm doing. The noises make me uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that... sometimes... I wonder... why I don't just get myself a pair of earplugs."

"Dear Die-ary, there's nothing terribly wrong with feeling lost, so long as that feeling precedes some plan on your part to actually do something about it. Too often a person grows complacent with their disillusionment, perpetually wearing their "discomfort" like a favorite shirt. I can't say I'm very pleased with where my life is just now... but I can't help but look forward to where it's going."

"Don't disturb me at home...I'm very busy!"

""Try the stew...it's delicious" (from Squee = Dreamtime)"

"I love children, they're so sweet and stay crunchy in milk"

"Why are people so... unpleasant? Honestly, it's so difficult to truly care about so many things without first knowing the answers to some of the most fundamental, mind ravaging questions! How can one possibly respect the existence of something, people in this case, when that something seems to defy respect? They do such trivial things, and find amusement, even up to 'so-called' maturity, in the incessant mistreatment of their own kind."

"These hands!! I can't get them off my wrists!!"

"Squeeze my nub!"

"Now you see what my goiter can do to your follicles!"

"I am wiggling my leg! Witness my leg!"

"NIPPLES!! I HAVE NO NIPPLES!!!"

"Clutch my testes, bloody squirrel humpers!!"

"Cease your flatulent winds and hear my mind-numbing expulsions of wicked noise! Grr!! Cheese!!!"

"I have powers pinto beans can only dream of!"

"Everybody! Say it with me as I wiggle!! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Look David Hasselhoff can fly!!"

"Those kids are after me lucky charms!! Must get to my car and escape! Shit! Speed lines are chasing me!!"

"Crackers! Crackers! But, no squeezy cheese!! You've broken my secret elbow!"

"Holy pigshit, Batman!"

"Oh, the horror!! The funky horror!!"

"Whoopee, and all that shit!!"

"Stop with the mooing you damned chihuahua!"

"Accept my heartwarming gift of tree scratchies!!!"

"Moo! Moo!! Mooo!!! I'm voodoo cursing you!!"

"Goobers or Raisinets?! Goobers or Raisinets?!! Squeak once for yes!! Who has stolen my cheese!! Answer me, or don't!!"

"Note: "Then, so as to anger American audiences, 10 minutes of french dialogue with subtitles ensue, guaranteeing limited theatrical release.""

"Pssst, lady, c'mere and drool on my face."

"The monkey, he see me, but me don't see da monkey. He punch me in da head!! Head punchin' monkey!! Skeetos drinked my head juice!! Corn!!"

"I won't leave you!!! You is my bruddah!! BLOOOGH!!! I won't forget you!! I do mighty kung-fu kick for you!!!"

"I am like a flying potato!! Bow down!! Or I will unleash my zoinky army of surly crack-babies!!"

"I am going to fly into your butt!! Prepare all asses for vicious entry!!"

"End this pathetic deception! I know you're hiding martians in your head!! Gimme them martians! I am going to put butter on them!!"

"Otan jiyou bi o me detou gozaimasu!! [webmaster's note: If anyone can tell me what that means, there will be warm offerings of tree scratchies in it for you. Thank you.]"

"You think, but you're not plywood."

"(Points at a dead dog) "My god!! You're beautiful!!""

"You have invoked an evil older than man!! Older than croutons!!"

"MMMM MONKEYYZ"

"You insane son of a bitch! You just ruined a perfectly good baby! I yell!"

"I am the policeman who punches heads!! Now move along you insane freak."

"Hey you! Stop eating grass!! This isn't some kind of grass eating place where you can eat grass!! Hear me!! I am da law!!"

"You fucking lunatic!! Stop!! Don't make me shoot your groin!!"

"Let's go to my room, Shmee. We'll hide under the blankets and maybe fall asleep before we die."

"No, you're wrong, Shmee. They aren't bad people. They love me. They don't really mean it when they tell me to get kidnapped."

"Yay!! I’m home and I wasn’t attacked by that squirrel!"

"So, are you gonna chop me up and put me in the garbage now? Because Shmee tells me you're a bad guy. He says this is a bad place to be. Please don't chop me up."

"Buy me or I'll die!"

"NOOOO!! I DON'T WANT TO EAT NO TOASTED SOULS OF THE DAMNED!!!!"

"Squee: "Are there other kids here?" (his final line in the comic)"

"Doctor: "Yes, but I wouldn't get too close to them!""

"Doctor (offscreen to Squee): "Hey kid, don't turn your head or your brain will melt!" (final line in the comic)"

"Well... it beats a lobotomy!"

"Um... Mary Thomas said I have cooties. Those are bad."

"Nooo... setting people on fire is wrong. Hee hee. You're silly, Shmee."

"Your presence tires me."

"Do you know what it's like to be trapped into a life you never planned on having?"

"I haven't smiled once since you were born."

"You ruined my life!"

"Mommy's ignoring you honey. Go bother your father, he's in his study."

"I can't hear you honey."

"Time's up boy!!Next time I see you, you will be a lot smaller and coming out of my other end!"

""My dog's name is Woofles!" (concluding his speech on armagedon)"

"Yeayyy... see you tommorow, Squee!"

"Stand back amigo, this is a job for the ANTICHRIST!"

"Nny... It felt like such a good thing with him. Have you ever hated someone for making you like them - like them so much... and then wish they would die?"

"You know what's worse than hiding from what scares you?!? Do you?! I'll tell you-- it's having good things pass you by because you're too busy cringing in idiot terror, hiding someplace where all you can do is dwell on shit!!"

"Sigh... It's so pretty when you're looking down on it."

"You see, he's a bit upset just now. None too pleased with the turn of events. I, on the other hand, feel quite lovely. Ironic, really, considering I'm known to be the depressive side of things, while he is more accustomed to being the manic one."

"You are nothing more than an outhouse to him, Mr. Eff, whereas I am his home. He will return, and when he does, that will be the end of it."

"Try something else! Put your head in the trash compactor! That should work!!"

"Don't expect anything but nasty irritation from anyone you didn't create."

"You're alive for now! Why waste your existence mimicking the dead!? Go enjoy!!"

"Don't make me break my foot off in your ass!!"

"Poisoning our boy's mind with your shit!! You offend me!!!"

"You bought me from the pet store, fed me once, and then nailed me to the wall; THREE YEARS AGO. I dont have to imagine."

"She liked you and you tried to kill her. That was impolite."

"I mean, look at you! You devote more time to fuming over the stupidity of mankind than you do to what you once felt so much for!! Your imagination has been subverted!!"

"Killing yourself isn't the answer."

"The extent of your work is that anemic piece of shit, Happy Noodle Boy! A goddamned STICK FIGURE!!!"

"...who would ever suspect that they were no longer the mind behind the other end of their internal conversations. The other voices have become self-aware."

"Hardly. You see, I am holding a giant hamburger"

"There is a disturbing association in your mind, between feeling and weakness. I concur that it does present a vulnerability... but it means openness!! To pleasures! To pains! To grievance and rapture!! What other creatures know such things!!? And you would cast it off like an itchy turtleneck?!! Blasphemy of your species!! Your body screams for input!!"

"You were born a feeling creature. There is no unlearning of your nature. Therefore...there is no choice!!"

"There is no choice. You're always a slave to something."

"Remember, dog, beauty is ephemeral, pain is forever."

"If you actually believe your true intelligence is determined by some standardized system, well, then you can't be THAT smart. The ability to quote memorized information is hardly worth such joy."

"You dare revel in this hideous beast you have spawned, so bloated with countless wicked futures!! Blinded morons, for all you know, this child of yours may be a vessel for Satan!!"

"Cursed with an abnormally vast perception of this cruel reality. Trudging through levels of intense emotion no small minded creature could withstand!! So it is no surprise that, most of all, there is pain in superiority. I suffer..."sob"...because I am better."

"I never asked to be this superior being."

"How I envy those blessed with a stunning ignorance of the truth. (sigh) Oh... to be truly happy! To be an imbecile!"

"Do you not see how superior I am? Hear me, and evolve."

"Your pathetic delusion flatters me!! How open you are in exposing your defective and easily misled mind."

"Indeed! The toenail that is your brain is hungry!!"

"Agonizing is the pain of knowledge. Acknowledge my genius and make it more bearable."

"Ooh. I believe in pain by whatever name you wish to disguise it under. So, yesss!! I DO believe in love!!"

"I would insult your intelligence, but what would be the point?"

"There is no worse enemy than the one incapable of knowing why they may be wrong."

"I have seen the light, and it is me."

"For, despite the forgiveable ignorance of youth, you are also, likely, being raised by imbeciles, poorly prepared for parenthood, capable only of perpetuating their genetic flaws. What tragedy it is to be just smart enough to know you are doomed to painful idiocy."

"Because, and I mean no offense by this, I would like to go."

"I CAN'T SEE THE BACK OF MY HEAD!!"

"MY EYES!! I CAN’T SEE MY EYES!!"

"Krik: "Shiit! It feels like we've been running around for HOURS. Let's rest for a minute.""

"Tess: "Okayy!! And, hey, let's also thrust our thumbs deep into our EYE-SOCKETS!! WHEEEE!! C'mon, how stupid are you!?""

"Tess: "You're a real asshole, you know that?""

"I am laughing at his funny-ness."

"So he's shaking and whining that he only wanted a BrainFreezy and didn't want to be bothered. Just like a little girl. We pushed him around some more, for a few more minutes. And then, and I swear this happened. I SWEAR... he shot LAZER BEAMS from his EYES!!!"

"You're not here because that guy is some psychotic, raving, Neo-Nazi NERD!! You're here because you're a small-minded ass-tick!!!"

"Don't make me try to come up with an original curse!!"

"Tess: "I can't believe this. I'm escaping a house full of assholes so I can live in a world where they're NOT in chains.""

"Krik: "Fuck you!""

""Not... grasping. She speaks of my manliness, but in... what... a negative way? Confusion!"

"Someone get this churrito out of my ass!!"

"This is Heaven. You can stop praying now."

"Beware of God."

"OOOOH, SORREEEE!! I only created THE UNIVERSE!!! You’re right, I should be out running LAPS."

"Understand that these people are not catatonic, they can get up and do as they please. In fact, they all have powers. Highly destructive weapons of the mind. But there is no desire to use them - either out of respect or out of fear of retaliation. Here, the futility and stupidity of aggression is understood."

"HEY!! I'm BLISSING over here!!"

"The Devil: "You will adress me by my proper, distinguished title - Senor Diablo.""

"Johnny: "Will "Mr. Satan" do?""

"The Devil: "Yeah, okay.""

"There is such amusement in seeing the joy in someone when they think they have just gotten smarter."

"Know that, for all its troubles, the world is perfect. Flawless in its beauties and turmoils. Violence and nightmares being a natural product of humanity."

"Hey!! Move it!! Every place I have to be is important!!"

"Hah! No, it won't hurt at all, though some people say it is the most excruciating thing they've ever known. Your hair might fall out."

"I’m so depressed. I wish I could kill myself again."

"Excuse me, but I don't seem to have enough cream cheese to cover both halves of my bagel."

"Jimmy: "I can't leave!!!""

"Johnny: "I could arrange for that to be true. But at the moment your legs are still attached to your body. Take advantage of that now.""

"You work with the living canvas, whose ephemeral beauty is realized at that tiny moment at which the life has truly been extinguished from it's shell."

"No! This is wrong. You...you're supposed to teach me!"

"Jimmy: "We could work together. I'm just like you!""

"Johnny: (After smashing a sledgehammer into Jimmy's open torso)"I don't like myself much.""

"Please, somebody rescue me from this hell of inferiority!! I deserve better than to have to endure the stupidity of those who do not share my interests in music!!"

"I trust that your minds are developed enough to take no offense at these things. If not, well, I'm better than you, aren't I?"

"People. God knows I love them (Do not fear the sarcasm.)"

""...there's just a time to pull yourself out of the muddy gloom that sucks at your feet and holds you under the delusion that this is the only kind of attention there is to receive. There is a time to just pack your bag full of a deadly arsenal of weapons and just shake off the dismal robe that shrouds you. Well...perhaps YOU shouldn't go about it that way...No, you probably shouldn't. But you'll be seeing somebody who does. Kids, don't do this at home...unless you're not planning on blaming me (in which case, GO TO IT. We need more things like this on the news.)"

"Doing something purely for one's own enjoyment is fine, but, I must admit, finding that others enjoy it as well has a certain power over the corners of my mouth."

"I do not adore death as if I were some idiot groupie to the lead singer in a band. I approach it with the mixture of fascination/terror/icy speculation of someone who really knows nothing. I trust, only enough, to know that I like myself too much to even consider bringing about my own demise."

"Letters from "kindred spirits" come in, telling of how they agree with my views and how the world stinks, and of how they wish they could just kill themselves. Well, dispose of yourselves quietly, if you must, so long as you don't leave a note saying I told you to do it, you self-esteem deficient loons. I happen to have a certain fondness for existing - soda wouldn't have that lovely fizzy feeling if you were dead. Think of all the things you would miss; cartoons, music, movies, video games, music, art, fingernail growth, sex...well, perhaps not sex, depending on how weird your mortician is."

"...the soon to be ruler of the known universe JHONEN VASQUEZ!! Your desire to be conquered bleeds out of you. I know you want it."

"I mean, I still haven't killed anyone. I think I keep from going over that edge by writing about this person who has taken a flying leap over it."

"NOOOOOO!!! I’ve lost the respect of this impolite special ed student!! I have no valid reason to live!! (Thank you, Lord, for sarcasm.)"

"A lovely day in the city park. Sun shining, the birds singing! They're laughing at me mom!!"

"To achieve THIS shot, we first made a plaster mold of the actor's head. We then filled it with cow parts. Then, for realism, we surprised the actor by blowing a hole through his head."

"Parents, don't get upset-It's a fake brain. A gelatin mixture was poured into a brain shaped mold. We then filled it with the blood of a homeless man. No one will miss him."

"Fun Fact: it's not a moose."

"Stupid people: I would ask you to keep in mind that this should NOT be a source of moral guidance (THAT WOULD BE MOVIES). Put away the knives and never allow yourselves to forget: YOU ARE STUPID."

"He is thinking of how pathetic this is. [next panel] I don't know what he's thinking here. He is very mysterious."

"Kids, drugs won't help things. They'll only turn you into a hideous little freak troll-baby with exploding eyeballs."

"Ah, swearing - Beloved crutch of the intellectually deviant."

"Kids, don't be stupid and try this. This is a trained flying toddler."

"Angry nun is always comedy."

"Don't sue me. I'm funny."

"Sir? There seems to be a problem with this ice-sucky machine. Please make my pain end."

"Jhonen: Heyyyy...wait a minute. You're the Devil, aren't you?""

"Gas station attendant: Nooo, I'm not the Devil. Go away."

"Jhonen: Ohhh, come on. You're the Devil."

"Gas station attendant: GLAARGH! BLOOOGH! (morphs into demon) Yess! I am the DEVIL!! DAMN you and your mighty word probe!"

"For those dense fucks who grow weary at the absence of sophomoric violence, here is a little boy being attacked by his cuddly gerbil."

"Check out Happy Jack's Happy Noodle boy Page - I won't give you the URL because life is never easy - do a web search."

"Until the future happens, goodnight."

"Keep Smiling until you stop"

"It's a book you can enjoy with the entire family, so long as they're numb to the grotesque."

"I can tell the book's getting more successful because of the dramatic increase in the "YOU FUCKER! I WROTE TO YOU AND YOU NEVER WROTE BACK YOU SUCK YOUR RESPONSE WAS SO SHORT IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DEVOTE SHITLOADS OF PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE TO MEEEEE AND ONLY MEEEEE" kind of letters. People, I do enjoy the letters, but REALLY, to most readers I am a book in their hands, not a friend and not an enemy. Not even a person. What matters is the book, not my personal responses to some lunatic's queries. Overall, however, the mail (paper and electronic) has been quite lovely, making me smile like the little girl I wish I was."

"Much more will happen, but I am sneaky piggy, so I no tell."

"Smile!! Though your life is miserable"

"# Murder. What's with that?"

"# Do you kill people?"

"# Pain. Good?"

"# Have you ever been murdered?"

"Break glass in case of overwhelming despair."

"Drink blood. Go to hell. Parents concerned about vampirism."

"Utilizes dazzling, stark, black and white technology given to us by the benevolent space creatures."

"Smile! You fucker!"

"Keep off! It's impolite to walk on the dead."

"Kiss me!! I'm insane!!"

"This is my back"

"The most beloved massive head wound recipient in existence."

"Please stop breathing."

"You are so small."

"Suck it like you loves it, baby!!"

"Acheron Cosmetic Surgery - because you're ugly :)"

"Have you seen this boy? He is very ugly."

"This is the Johnny shirt that all your ugly friends are wearing. You are much better looking, so get it and make them see how hideous they are. It's not really edible, you could eat it if you really tried."

"Knock on me. You just TRY IT."

"Plastic Roses: Get your ass kicked for being insensitive."

"Dude, can you spare some change? I need beer."

"If you can read this, you are probably not dead yet. - The management."

"You'll pee fire!"

"Your intestines will hate you."

"Enjoy your stay."

"I Eat Food"

"What Do You NEED?"

"Johnny the Hamicidal Maniac"

"Hellfire Vodka"

"ring me, I dare you"

"777 the # of the moose"

"For a good time, don't call me. I am dull."

"t-shirt of Johnnys"

"I'll say this once, we're not the same. You took an oath to uphold the law. You help people. I gave that up a long time ago. You don't do what I do. Nobody does. You boys need a role model? His name's Captain America, and he'd be happy to have you.... If I find out you are trying to do what I do, I'll come for you next."

"I was fascinated by the Don Pendleton Executioner character, which was fairly popular at the time, and I wanted to do something that was inspired by that, although not to my mind a copy of it. And while I was doing the Jackal storyline, the opportunity came for a character who would be used by the Jackal to make Spider-Man's life miserable. The Punisher seemed to fit."

"To me, it's disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. ... The vigilante anti-hero is fundamentally a critique of the justice system, an example of social failure, so when cops put Punisher skulls on their cars or members of the military wear Punisher skull patches, they're basically sided with an enemy of the system."

"Heidegger, who took Kierkegaard's philosophy further, comes even closer to describing the Punisher: 'Since we can never hope to understand why we're here, if there's even anything to understand, the individual should choose a goal and pursue it wholeheartedly, despite the certainty of death and the meaninglessness of action.' That's sure the Punisher as I conceived him: a man who knows he's going to die and who knows in the big picture his actions will count for nothing, but who pursues his course because this is what he has chosen to do."

"Frank Castle has spent years exacting vengeance for the deaths of his family by punishing criminals everywhere. His skull insignia inspires fear throughout the underworld. But Punisher's appeal rests on more than his ability to do what the rest of Marvel's heroes won't. He's a tragic figure – even a profoundly selfish one in some ways. The sad truth is that Frank Castle can't survive without killing, and his new job fulfills him in ways his family never could."

"Gerry Conway was writing a script and he wanted a character that would turn out to be a hero later on, and he came up with the name the Assassin. And I mentioned that I didn't think we could ever have a comic book where the hero would be called the Assassin, because there's just too much of a negative connotation to that word. And I remembered that, some time ago, I had had a relatively unimportant character ... [who] was one of [the cosmic antagonist] Galactus' robots, and I had called him the Punisher, and it seemed to me that that was a good name for the character Gerry wanted to write—so I said, 'Why not call him the Punisher?' And, since I was the editor [sic; Lee had been named publisher in 1972], Gerry said, 'Okay.'"

"Like Batman, he's motivated by direct personal tragedy, but unlike Batman (most of the time), the men that destroyed his family are alive, known and active criminals. Like Daredevil, Frank Castle looking to clean up the streets of Hell's Kitchen. But unlike Matt Murdock, Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent, Frank doesn't have the skills, influence or education needed to interact with the legal system in any substantive way. Instead, he's just very, very good at killing people, and very, very motivated to do so."

"Belldandy:(Sobs) Ah, not this! I can't do anything to do to stop this! -- OVA #4: Evergreen Holy Night"

"Belldandy: My name is Belldandy, from the Goddess Relief Office. I have come to fulfill a wish of yours. However, I can only do one. Um... If you don't mind me asking, what is Skuld doing in Morisato-san's house? And Urd too..."

"You're mistaken! Why... why have you become like this? You were the one who taught me that all life was precious, Celestin! I want to continue growing old with the living beings on Earth. Therefore... I will protect this world!"

"Celestin, Please don't. You can't!"

"Ahh this sucks! I can't leave such an ugly blueprint as it is! Such lovely equations! -- OVA #3: Burning Hearts On The Road"

"Oh, what an elegant design -- and sooo efficient, my sweet Mister Bug-zapper!"

"Because, dear sister Urd, I can't stand your arrogant, selfish, violent, pushy, impulsive, and stupid behavior! And, because, unlike you, Belldandy is honest, selfless, gentle, and pure! That's why!"

"I'm not a child! Nyahh! (Sticks tongue out at Keiichi)"

"Get me a popsicle while you are out!"

"You... you dare to show yourself in front of us? (to Celestin)"

"Oh spirit of thunder,swift in the sky, you who makes the earth and air tremble with your voice! I, your servant call upon your awesome power! Power that smashes, i call upon you now! Become Thunderbolts in my hand! Destructive Thunder!"

"You who are of the highest rank on Heaven's Supreme Council... to think that you would rebel against Yggdrasil and then to lead the Guardian of Time to destory herself... Your crimes cannot be forgiven. Celestin, your flesh will be frozen and your soul will be sealed in a Level 17 life form and banished to the moon!"

"Truth is we cannot afford to lose such a promising goddess as Belldandy. He was important to her; she might not be able to let go of him."

"The gods have, since ancient times, created methods to test humans. The system God has created... it opposes all living creatures and splits the world. It condemns people to roles. Heaven pretends they can't see the suffering of the people. Only the lucky few find the way. The pain of those beings reaches deep into my heart. I want to counter this discrimination and extend a helping hand. In order to do that, the only thing that can be done is to create a new system! See... this is what God has wrought... I cannot allow such a system to continue! This is the will of my quarrel with Heaven. I would like you to come with me. If I had your help, even the weak-of-heart could have their wishes fulfilled. So that everyone can be equal and happy, I wish to reach out."

"The gods only think of themselves. Don't steal any more of my hopes!"

"This list of the superhero’s “uses” —which one could lengthen substantially— demonstrates the genre’s appeal (popular, sociocultural, political), its flexible expediency for various ends. An inviting mode of representation, a "costume” easily appropriated and donned, the superhero in recent years has indeed received unprecedented (and long overdue) attention from scholars."

"Sad list, isn't it? Further proof of what I have always said: too many (male) writers seem able to think of only two things to do with female characters -- rape 'em or knock 'em up. The dead ones might be the lucky ones. At least I made Wonder Woman MORE powerful."

"...all our theories about how comics are put together are invariably about time. The duration of a panel's action and the duration between one panel and the next. We haven't added very much to the Eisner-Steranko concept of "sequential art.""

"...if the form is to say something important, rather than just involve itself in the kinetic thrill of drawn characters chasing each other, then we have to think harder."

"An illustrator is someone who takes a story and visualizes it. In a comic, the drawing is the story; it doesn’t illustrate it."

"I don't think that we should seek to define comics on a formal basis. I think that some of the best comics do not involve "sequential images" which is the basis of every formal definition of comics."

"...the concept of what comics is gets narrower as we go along. Each writer on the subject who defines comics wants to exclude something. McCloud excludes the single panel so Family Circus and Far Side are out. Blackbeard says there must be word balloons so Prince Valiant is out. Harvey says there has to be a visual-verbal balance. Somebody else says there must be no redundancy of information with words and pictures repeating each other. This is crap. Pictures have illustrated words and words have explained pictures since the beginning of time. Somebody reads a dull comic and extrapolates rules from it. Who do they think they are? There are all these people trying to be the rule-makers and the end result is bad for the art of Comics."

"The form restricts itself at every turn. For instance, the artist sits before his blank page. If his first picture is a big square one all the way across then he has severely limited his second panel to having to fit in the letterbox space along the bottom. If he divides that in two then that third panel is looking like a sad and defeated cornered animal. That's about all i see when I look at comic books now. Obviously the artist doesn't do it that way; he plans the whole page simultaneously. But it tends to read like he planned it that way, and that's all that counts."

"The syllogism that says "Comics are sequential art, Trajan's column is sequential art, therefore Trajan's column is comics" is such a glaring fallacy that I'm surprised it's gotten this far."

"...the whole small press movement...[is] the first real upheaval in this country of Comics as a genuine Art - Art being to me a thing which is a lively part of life while commenting on life - as opposed to comics as journalism-cartooning or comics as a collecting-hobby or comics as boys power fantasies."

"[t]he standards of comics include inventiveness, originality, and consistency. The best comics really are great artworks — great by the intrinsic standards of that art form."

"Her husband had been willing to indulge her affection for the comics so long as it was just her, but now their children were growing up and starting to read and he was not convinced that people having adventures in skintight costumes were altogether appropriate. His feeling was that his wife would have to stop reading it, and she was heartbroken because she had an equally strong commitment to the fictional characters she had been enjoying all these years. When you come face to face with that kind of circumstance, it has to be treated with respect. It's like singing on stage and realizing you had an impact on your audience, and using that as an excuse to do your craft better than before."

"You can go into slow motion or fast motion in a comic book in a way you can't in a movie without drawing attention to it. You can have six panels in a row where the actions are a half second apart, or you can skip years between panels and it just doesn't have the same egregious quality, where, in a movie, Peckinpah slows down the murder and it seems that the body collapse in slow motion; it seems like an entirely different thing when you do that on film and when you do that on the comics page."

"The viewer is a 'co-producer" of the comics text at a level of involvement and intensity just through the nature of the medium itself."

"...in a visual medium, a comics format … the writer works for the artist, in the same that the writer in a movie works for the director."

"In movies, television, and comics, the operative factor is what some film semiologists have taken to calling 'the gaze.' The gaze is a combination of the gaze of the viewer at the comics page, or television tube, or film screen, modulated and directed by the looks that the characters give to each other and by various objects. I look at character X who looks at situation Y (and character X) in a way that I wouldn't have before. The point, of course, is that the movie gaze, the TV gaze, and the comics gaze are three very different processes. What makes the comic book gaze the priveleged one in my estimation is that the viewer has the greatest control over the comic book gaze, greater than any of the other two. Viewers can control how far way or close to hold the page, whether to go backwards and re-gaze -- and going back in a comic book is a very different process from going back in a novel to re-read a previous paragraph or chapter."

"You know, I distrust people who 'read' comics … you don't read a comic book. You look at a comic book. While you're looking at a comic, sure, you read the words; as well, you learn to look at the panels in a certain order, in a certain way … if you start out to 'read' a comic book, you're starting out with the wrong mind-set."

"Both companies could be more judicious in pairing artists and writers for sustained periods, promoting series outside of the usual channels, and warmly engaging with fans. Instead of simply telling people to buy their books, they could instruct new audiences how. And they could listen to what new audiences say they want: diversity not just in racial, religious, or sexual terms, but also in terms of the types of stories told: Is there really any more harm in publishing a comic where Captain America has a romantic cup of coffee with his boyfriend Bucky than one where he’s a Nazi?"

"What we heard was that people didn’t want any more diversity. They didn’t want female characters out there. That’s what we heard, whether we believe that or not ... We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against."

"The (Communist) "Daily Worker" of July 13, 1953 said that comics play the conscious role of: "...Brutalizing American youth, the better to prepare them for military service in implementing our government's aims of world domination, and to accept the atrocities now being perpetrated by American soldiers and airmen in Korea under the flag of the United Nations." This article also quotes Gershon Legman (who claims to be a ghost writer for Dr. Fredrick Wertham, the author of a recent bast against comics published in "The Ladies Home Journal"). This same G. Legman, in issue #3 of "Neurotica," published in autumn 1948, said: "The child's natural character...must be distorted to fit civilization . . . fantasy violence will paralyze his resistance, divert his aggression to unreal enemies and frustrations, and in this way prevent him from rebelling against parents and teachers . . . this will siphon off his resistance against society, and prevent revolution.""

"WE BELIEVE: Your editors sincerely believe that the claim of these crusaders . . . that comics are bad for children...is nonsense. If we, in the slightest way, thought that horror comics, crime comics, or any other kind of comics were harmful to our readers, we would cease publishing them and direct our efforts toward something else! And we're not alone in our belief. For example: Dr. David Abrahamsen, eminent criminologist, in his book, "Who Are The Guilty?" says, "Comic books do not lead to crime, although they have been widely blamed for it . . . In my experience as a psychiatrist, I cannot remember having seen one boy or girl who has committed a crime, or who became neurotic or psychotic . . . because he or she read comic books." A group led by Dr. Freda Kehm, Mental Health Chairman of the Ill. Congress of the P.T.A., decided that living room violence has "a decided beneficial effect on young minds." Dr. Robert H. Feli, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said that horror comic do not originate criminal behavior in children . . . in a way, the horror comics may do some good . . . children use fantasy, as simulated by the "comics" as a means of working out natural feelings of aggressiveness. We also believe that a large portion of our total readership of horror and crime comics is made up of adults. We believe that those who oppose comics are a small minority. Yet this minority is causing the hysteria. The voice of the majority . . . you who but comics, read them, enjoy them, and are not harmed by them . . . has not been heard!"

"Something in his mind had snapped and he began collecting comics."

"...'comic' simply means funny, so the word is inadequate. To tack on the word 'adult' has resulted in a style of magazine suitable for only some adults, glossy comics barely containing their airbrushed breasts, leaving little room for genuine content."

"...the history of comics is mostly just a history of crap."

"I reserve the right to refuse to like a comic just because there is a girl/woman in it, or someone's decided to take a limp stab at marketing it to girls/women. (...) Push past those posters of giant titties and that one of the impossible pose where some gal is displaying her butt, crotch AND breasts, and that one where the girl looks like she's been oiled up and spanked. Push past all that, my sisters! (...) There, my sisters, under all those eye lemons and tree-killers are comics you will like. Don't hold it against your retailer if he or she is keeping the store going with chromium multi-variant oops-my-tittie-fell-out 1-to-4 short-packed speculator specials — get in there and grab that Previews and you will find something for you, and by God order it and get all your girlfriends to do the same and your store will still be in business after the superhero readers turn 18 and start reading the Mangerotica books and the speculators have left to sell their Beanie Babies to pay the rent! (...) Of course, always give your business to the store that makes it easy to get what you want, and doesn't offended your eyeballs with faux-core (as opposed to soft core) porn. Thank you."

"Justin Wadlow, a professor at the French (UPJV) in Amiens and a well-known scholar of comics, explained how books combining texts and comics as a new form of art have been used to spread deep ideas and raise awareness of social issues. He suggested that the essence of [the] Tai Ji Men culture may also be illustrated and presented to the world through these new media."

"The episodic nature of Black Jack’s medical experiments backed up by accurate medical detail, bear more resemblance to television shows such as ER or House MD than to any North American comic book; medical narratives such as these simply do not exist in the US or Canadian comic media."

"By mid-1942 nearly all comic book heroes had changed into patriotic citizens that were willing...to accept their new societal roles."

"As regards the female characters thing, I'm afraid I think it's giving male creators a bum deal. The list does read pretty shocking at first until you think of everything the male heroes have gone through, too, in terms of deaths/mutilations/etc. Granted, the female stuff has more of a sexual violence theme and this is something people should probably watch out for, but rape is a rare thing in comics and is seldom done in an exploitative way."

"Boys young and old satisfy their wish thoughts by reading comics. If they go crazy for Wonder Woman it means they're longing for a beautiful exciting girl who's stronger than they are."

"Comics speak, without qualm or sophistication, to the innermost ears of the wishful self. The response is like that of a thirsty traveler who suddenly finds water in the desert - he drinks to satiation."

"There are one or two rules of thumb which are useful in distinguishing sadism from exciting adventure in the comics. Threat of torture is harmless, but when the torture it’s self is shown it becomes sadism. When a lovely heroine is show bound to the stake, comics followers are sure that the rescue will arrive just in the nick of time. The readers wish is to see save the girl, not to see her suffer. A bound or chained person does not suffer even embarrassment in the comics, and the reader, therefore is not being taught to enjoy suffering."

"Oh yes, but not until women control men. Wonder Woman – and the trend toward male acceptance of female love power, which she represents, indicates that the first psychological step has actually been taken. Boys, young and old, satisfy their wish thoughts by reading comics. If they go crazy over Wonder Woman, it means they’re longing for a beautiful, exciting girl who is stronger than they are. These simple, highly imaginative picture stories satisfy longings that ordinary daily life thwarts and denies. Superman and the army of male comics characters who resemble him satisfy the simple desire to be stronger and more powerful than anybody else. Wonder Woman satisfies the subconscious, elaboratedly disguised desire of males to be mastered by a woman who loves them."

"Comics, they say, are not literature – adventure strips lack artistic form, mental substance, and emotional appeal to any but the most moronic of minds. Can it be that 100,000,000 Americans are morons? Possibly so; but there seems to be a simpler explanation. Nine humans out of ten react first with their feelings rather than with their minds; the more primitive the emotion stimulated, the stronger the reaction. Comics play a trite but lusty tune on the C natural keys of human nature. They rouse the most primitive, but also the most powerful, reverberations in the noisy cranial sound-box of consciousness, drowning out more subtle symphonies. Comics scorn finesse, thereby incurring the wrath of linguistic adepts."

"If you do [one] black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren’t just that character. They represent that race or that sex, and they can’t be interesting because everything they do has to represent an entire block of people."

"I despise the comic industry, but I will always love the comic medium."

"To my mind, this embracing of what were unambiguously children's characters at their mid-20th century inception seems to indicate a retreat from the admittedly overwhelming complexities of modern existence. It looks to me very much like a significant section of the public, having given up on attempting to understand the reality they are actually living in, have instead reasoned that they might at least be able to comprehend the sprawling, meaningless, but at-least-still-finite 'universes' presented by DC or Marvel Comics. I would also observe that it is, potentially, culturally catastrophic to have the ephemera of a previous century squatting possessively on the cultural stage and refusing to allow this surely unprecedented era to develop a culture of its own, relevant and sufficient to its times."

"Why should murder be so over-represented in our popular fiction, and crimes of a sexual nature so under-represented? Surely it cannot be because rape is worse than murder, and is thus deserving of a special unmentionable status. Surely, the last people to suggest that rape was worse than murder were the sensitively reared classes of the Victorian era … And yet, while it is perfectly acceptable (not to say almost mandatory) to depict violent and lethal incidents in lurid and gloating high-definition detail, this is somehow regarded as healthy and perfectly normal, and it is the considered depiction of sexual crimes that will inevitably attract uproars of the current variety."

"I haven’t read any superhero comics since I finished with Watchmen. I hate superheroes. I think they’re abominations. They don’t mean what they used to mean. They were originally in the hands of writers who would actively expand the imagination of their nine- to 13-year-old audience. That was completely what they were meant to do and they were doing it excellently. These days, superhero comics think the audience is certainly not nine to 13, it’s nothing to do with them. It’s an audience largely of 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-year old men, usually men."

"I think it’s a rather alarming sign if we’ve got audiences of adults going to see the Avengers movie and delighting in concepts and characters meant to entertain the 12-year-old boys of the 1950s."

"My main point about films is that I don't like the adaptation process, and I particularly don't like the modern way of comic book film adaptations, where, essentially, the central characters are just franchises that can be worked endlessly to no apparent point. In most cases, the original comic books were far superior to the film."

"I stopped reading the comics page a long time ago. It seems that whoever is in charge of what to put on that page is given an edict that states: “For God’s sake, try to be as bland as possible and by no means offend any one!” Thus, whenever something like Doonesbury would come along, it would be continually censored and, if lucky, eventually banished to the editorial pages. The message was clear: Keep it simple, keep it cute, and don’t be challenging, outrageous or political. And keep it white! It’s odd that considering all the black ink that goes into making the comics section (and color on Sundays) that you rarely see any black faces on that page. Well, maybe it’s not so odd after all, considering the makeup of most newsrooms in our country. It is even more stunning when you consider that in many of our large cities like New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago where the white population is barely a third of the overall citizenry, the comics pages seem to be one of the last vestiges of the belief that white faces are just…well, you know…so much more happy and friendly and funny! Of course, the real funnies are on the front pages of most papers these days."

"The British novel has become so thin-blooded and out of touch with anything. And television drama's been pretty much emasculated. Comics is one place where no one's looking. And you get this work out, which would once have been some bizarre film by Lindsay Anderson, but now there'd be no possible way of getting that funded. Comics' marginalisation allows you to do a lot that you wouldn't be able to do otherwise."

"As for all this talk I keep hearing about how 'ordinary people' can't handle the weird layouts in comics - well, time for another micro-rant, but that's like your granddad saying he can't handle all the scary, fast-moving information on Top of the Pops and there's really only one answer. Fuck off, granddad. If you're too stupid to read a comic page, you shouldn't be trying to read comic books and probably don't."

"The comics medium is a very specialized area of the Arts, home to many rare and talented blooms and flowering imaginations and it breaks my heart to see so many of our best and brightest bowing down to the same market pressures which drive lowest-common-denominator blockbuster movies and television cop shows. Let's see if we can call time on this trend by demanding and creating big, wild comics which stretch our imaginations. Let's make living breathing, sprawling adventures filled with mind-blowing images of things unseen on Earth. Let's make artefacts that are not faux-games or movies but something other, something so rare and strange it might as well be a window into another universe because that's what it is."

"All the comics are sigils. "Sigil" as a word is out of date. All this magic stuff needs new terminology because it's not what people are being told it is at all. It's not all this wearying symbolic misdirection that's being dragged up from the Victorian Age, when no-one was allowed to talk plainly and everything was in coy poetic code. The world's at a crisis point and it's time to stop bullshitting around with Qabalah and Thelema and Chaos and Information and all the rest of the metaphoric smoke and mirrors designed to make the rubes think magicians are "special" people with special powers. It's not like that. Everyone does magic all the time in different ways. "Life" plus "significance" = magic."

"We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be."

"Before being able to comment on the tragedies which have befallen only female comic characters as any kind of a trend, I would need to see a similar list of the kinds of tragedies which have befallen MALE characters in direct proportion to the number of female characters vs. male which exist throughout the entire industry. (...) As a writer with at least over 500 story credits (I stopped counting. Math isn't my strong suit), I will say that professionally speaking, I believe in treating ALL my characters, male, female, black, white or Kryptonian with equal measure respect and abuse. Basically, you have to respect them enough to abuse them in order to see how they will handle the adversity. Remember, monthly comics publishing is akin to a soap opera with more punches thrown. Characters HAVE to be made to endure both physical and emotional adversity in order for the lifeblood of the genre -- i.e. MONTHLY serial stories -- to work. When you've done more work on the subject, I'd be glad to discuss your results."

"Comics are an international language, they can cross boundaries and generations. Comics are a bridge between all cultures."

"The children face problems such as violence, abuse, suicide etc. that medicine can not heal. It will never help these children psychologically and be his support ...? Even when they are in difficulty, in principle they do not speak with adults, or confide about their true intentions. However, expect some serious messages from adults. I will continue to send messages through manga. Children avoid them what force or what they want to impose anything. That is why I will continue to look for those things that [...] inspire their hearts."

"The new readers have mentality, fashions, feelings completely different from those of previous readers. Should I draw comics following my first readers in their growth? Or should I stop doing the cartoonist? ... More or less every three years a cartoonist for children is cornered. I, too, every three years, living a crisis. So I decide and I get back to work for my new readers as if they were the first. ... This is why I am certain that the good work that will draw able to make happy readers of all time."

"The science fiction and manga readers had the same ... Most fiction writers then had had some experience in the comic and some of it had even been absorbed completely ... I can not understand why those who love science fiction also loves the manga and vice versa. There are two kinds characterized by a biting satire and at worst are called "extravagant". ... Both are aimed toward the future, and therefore contain romantic adventures for young people."

"I am convinced that comics should not only make people laugh. For this in my stories found tears, anger, hatred, pain and end not always happy."

"Anyone who reads comics can tell you, every main character has an origin story -- the fateful and usually expectations sequence of events that made them who they are."

"As for some characters being dead and then alive again -- that happens to both genders in comics. Look at Wonder Man. The thing that, to my mind, separates the male and female characters are the sex crimes. Only the female characters are victims of sex crimes; male characters are never subjected to that. (There may be one or two exceptions when the male character was sexually abused as a child, but that's about it.) It is the number and frequency of THAT which troubles me. (...) A female soldier in battle may suffer wounds; that's different than a woman being stalked, kidnapped, and having violence done to her in civilian life. The former incurs the physical damage because of her occupation; the latter, strictly because of her gender. A female cop may be shot because she is a cop, not because she is a female. That, to me, is part of the difference."

"Of course, to work alone is both harder and easier. There's nothing fabulous about drawing comic books. When you finish, you're relieved and happy, but it's the middle of the night and there is no one to share your joy with. With filmmaking you have a party with your crew and then the premiere. All that stuff you miss when you just draw manga. But there are drawbacks to filmmaking too: sometimes it's really difficult to get your ideas across to your crew."

"After World War II readership dwindles for popular superhero titles, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Spirit, and many comics turn to gory, true-life stories, or tales of horror and the supernatural. E.C. Comics' Vault of Horror, Crypt of Terror, and Haunt of Fear cram their pages with severed heads, drug use, and graphic violence. Some of the most popular of these extreme stories come from the pen of comic artist Jack Cole. Throughout the decade, attacks against the violent comics mount. Citizens' groups and religious organizations pressure publishers and news dealers to drop the most offensive lines. Newspaper editorial pages and national magazines debate the influence of comics on the young. In 1954 the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency holds hearings on whether comic books inspire juvenile delinquency. A lead witness, psychologist Dr. Frederick Wertham, testifies that comics "create a mental readiness for temptation" and create "an atmosphere of deceit and cruelty" for children. He even attacks Superman for "arousing fantasies of sadistic joy in seeing others punished while you yourself remain immune." E.C. Comics publisher William Gaines speaks in the comics defense, emphasizing his stories' endings, in which the criminals always pay for their crimes. "Good taste" is his only criterion. Senator Estes Kefauver asks if an E.C. Comics' cover displaying a woman's severed head and a bloody axe is Gaines' idea of good taste. Backed into a corner, Gaines boldly answers 'yes.' The exchange makes the front page of the next day's New York Times."

"PBS, “The Comic Book Code”, Culture Shock: Flashpoints."

"It's a pretty scary list, scary mostly for what it says about (male) comics creators. What I think about this is the guys have good intentions, to use more female characters, and they try consciously to make them strong and positive role models and all that good stuff, but unconsciously it's very hard for many men to see women as something other than victims. (...) And where it comes from in many men is that men are real and women are vehicles for men's needs. One of those needs is to feel strong emotions such as grief, anger, pain, maturity. There are any number of movies and books in which a weak man becomes a hero, or faces up to life, because a woman has been raped or murdered or has committed suicide. Did the writer realize he was (once more) victimizing women? (...) I just checked out the web site after all, to see the reactions of (some of) the other creators. It was interesting to see how many of the men felt called on to defend (or apologize for) their own murdered female characters. You know, I assume, of the point made by people like Trina Robbins that the powers of female characters in the '60s showed a good deal about the male creators-- a "girl" who turns invisible, another who makes herself tiny and buzzes around men annoyingly (when she's not shopping)..."

"Whether or not they know how to say it, superheroes don't kill because they believe the system needs help, but isn't irreparably broken. We know this for two reasons: one, they talk about it so dang much. Fixing Gotham. Saving Hell's Kitchen. And two: If they didn't believe the system was ultimately fixable and desirable, they wouldn't be punching criminals and corrupt officials while befriending the good cops and lawyers. They'd be tearing that system down. They'd be Nolan's Two-Face, Moore's V, they'd be Ra's al Ghul or Magneto. They'd be the Punisher."

"I think it's sad and terrible. I think that too many creators got on the "Bad Girl" bandwagon and did nothing but pander and exploit their own creations. To be honest, many creators that I've talked to solely created those characters to be exploited and exploitative. Now mind you I don't see this as a gender thing as much as I see it as a genre thing. Everybody is out for the quick buck and too many are too lazy to try to come up with something original. I know it's scary but if tomorrow's hot comics are about one-legged Mongolian dwarfs, than you can be sure that more than one respected creator will be jumping all over the concept but will claim to be giving it "their spin." (...) The worst news is that it's a million times worse in other parts of the entertainment field, mainly because there is more money involved and fewer morals."

"Female comic book characters are often treated as secondary to the main male character whom they assist in their current endeavour. They are often transformed into the Other, objects acted upon by the male character for his own ends through sub-par plot writing, as evidenced by such tropes as the ‘damsel-in-distress’. There have been a few characters treated as active subjects capable of continued growth. X-Men featured both Kitty Pryde and Jubilee as young female characters with complex emotions and desires. Kitty’s desire to be treated as an adult is blatantly expressive of Levinas’ concept of recognition. Their costumes, while occasionally sexualized, are overall more expected with elements that can be loose fitting and functional over showing off their sexuality. The interesting problem is that both of these characters are very young; teenagers in fact. By placing them below the legal and moral age of consent, the publishers essentially free themselves from the expectation of sexualizing them for their readers. They fit into an Otherness that shields them in a way similar to Haraway’s cyborg."

"If I were a better artist, I'd be a painter, and if I were a better writer, I'd write books — but I'm not, so I draw cartoons!"

"Stan Lee was the first to do a "longform" comic book with a continuing story line, and I wanted to do for Saturday morning TV exactly what Stan did for comics in the sixties."

"When it comes to heroes of color in comic books such as Miles Morales, Semper's fine with it. But what he really cares more about is giving black creators more attention. "Let them create what they want to," he says. "It doesn't necessarily mean having a black face behind the mask, which is great. But let's instead turn to a black creator and say, 'What do you want to make?' Black creators matter, and that's the thing that I think is more important.""

"I'd chalk most of what's on your list up to lame writing. In desperate search of drama, and unable to obtain it any other way, some writers will resort to obvious emotional triggers/easy pickin's. You can always get a bang by killing Aunt May, or for that matter, Superman. The biggest crime is that many of these stories are unfolded badly, baldly and pathetically, by writers who don't have a clue. People looking for Freudian motives, i.e., hatred of Mother, etc., are wasting their time. Most of these writers sweated cannonballs trying to think of something SO SHOCKING that it would evoke a response from readers, and violence to women was the most horrifying thing they could come up with. Usually, the response to these badly told tales is boredom. Sometimes, they succeed in mobilizing folks like you, who wonder if these writers are sick. Nah. They just suck."

"I came to comic books through Heavy Metal magazine. I was into fantasy art when I was a youngun, and my mom used to buy me Heavy Metal not really realizing it was an adult illustrated fantasy magazine, thought it was just cute and never opened it, thank god. I'm like a ten-year-old or younger at the time, and she would say things like, "You know this is quite a provocative cover." I'd say, "Yeah, I don't know." She'd say, "Huh, okay." So what happened is my aesthetic got warped pretty early. I would get comic books for Christmas and stuff from my mother--X-men or whatever--and I would say, "No one has sex or gets killed in this. It's not that exciting. It's not really doing it for me." That was disturbing to her, I could tell."

"It is as important a serious piece of work as Strindberg or Ibsen. You don’t shortchange the work because it is a comic book franchise for a studio. I think entertaining is a serious business and shouldn’t be taken half-heartedly."

"When someone asks me, 'Why do you write comics?' I tell them, for the same reason I write editorials, essays, and articles; the same reason I give speeches; the same reason I appear on TV programs, and give interviews. Same message; different forum. There is no universal forum, so the more outreach we can do, the better the chance of forming coalitions."

"I think it generally means killing female heroes is supposed to elicit more emotions from readers than killing male readers. (...) I think the wholesale slaughter is because there's a lot of writers who think all major character motivation is made by killing folk and women characters are easier to kill than male characters since so few of them are major heroes on their own. (...) I fear, that most boys want to read stories about big muscled guy heroes showing off than gal heroes. They want the girl heroes there in the background, and even important to books, but they rarely if ever buy a book starring a female. Younger boys I think are frightened to some degree by the overly muscled women even while they may find a sexual delight in them."

"Having always created lots of female characters, and doing some good work on them, I think, by making them all individuals (whether someone liked the Titans or not, Starfire, Wonder Girl and Raven were not in any way the same person in different latex costumes), I find most female heroes that other writers do are simply cookie-cut outs. Since a very few of these are anything special, it's easy to knock them off. Acknowledging that does not condone it. It merely explains it."

"It is a crucial mistake, a snob's error, to think that illustrated stories aimed at a juvenile audience automatically lack a storyteller's genius. Indeed, since juvenile stories need to be stripped down for an inexperienced audience to understand, some approach the elegant simplicity of mythology."

"The Chinese Communist Party will not only prohibit comics that support democracy or “separatism” in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet but will also ban what it will perceive as promotion of religious movements banned as ', superstition, or “illegal” religion."

"Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals."

"If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity."

"Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority."

"Criminals shall not be presented so as to be rendered glamorous or to occupy a position which creates a desire for emulation."

"In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds."

"Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gunplay, physical agony, the gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated."

"No comic magazine shall use the words "horror" or "terror" in its title."

"All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted."

"All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated."

"Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly, nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the reader."

"Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited."

"Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden."

"Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure."

"Suggestive and salacious illustration or suggestive posture is unacceptable."

"Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities."

"Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at nor portrayed. Rape scenes, as well as sexual abnormalities, are unacceptable."

"Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested."

"Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly forbidden."

"Nudity with meretricious purpose and salacious postures shall not be permitted in the advertising of any product; clothed figures shall never be presented in such a way as to be offensive or contrary to good taste or morals."

"RINGGENBERG: Well, given that the Comics Code expressly forbid the use of the words Weird, Horror and Terror, did you feel that your company was being particularly targeted?"

"RINGGENBERG: Let's jump ahead a little bit, to the New Direction comics. In Impact #4 you had a story called "The Lonely One", which was about prejudice against Jews. The Jewish in the story had a very bland name. It was "Miller"."

"Chief Counsel Herbert Beaser asked: "Then you think a child cannot in any way, shape, or manner, be hurt by anything that the child reads or sees?""

"RINGGENBERG: Do you think there are any limits about what should be published in a comics format?"

"Bluestreak: Sentinel Prime is dead. They say Megatron himself ripped the spark core from his shattered torso. They say that he took his sweet time, killed Prime diode at a time. They say-"

"Optronix: They say a lot, don't 'they'."

"Optronix: I'm trying to work here, Bluestreak. I have sixty-three datafeeds to input, with more incoming on five breem pulses. If you believe every eye-witness report, Megatron has personally devastated sixteen provinces and assassinated thirty ranking custodians. All in the time it's taken you to tell me about Sentinel Prime."

"Bluestreak: One moment, everyone's getting along. The next we have Decepticons, a rogue faction we never even knew existed, and a full scale civil war! Suddenly I'm no longer just a Cybertronian merchant, I'm an Autobot soldier!"

"Skywarp [On a non-allied unprotected base]: You know, Thundercracker, it's so criminally easy, I have to ask myself- Should we really take advantage?"

"Thundercracker: And?"

"Skywarp: Oh, sure."

"Grimlock: You here, good. Much to discuss. This place, it metaphor for the old ways, gone now. No more time for contemplation or mysticism. We out of time."

"Jazz: Oh brother!"

"Gravitas: We are gathered here today, on this most sacred of occasions to bear witness as the torch is passed. Give honor to the new Prime. The wheel turns - The eternal cycle continues. Let the creator's vision fill this vessel and unlock it's hidden depths. In these dark times, more so than ever before, we have need of a strong leader to guide us into the light. Only a true Prime shall contain the Matrix fire. This, then, is the sign - The truth, the wisdom. This is Optimus Prime"

"Optimus Prime [Speaking to the Decepticon assassins]: If it's me you want..."

"Darklight: It's your head, actually. On a spike. Megatron has decreed it."

"Megatron: Alas, poor Xeon. If only he could have known what a dark smear his death would leave on the history logs of Cybertron. Would he, I wonder, have been so quick to accept our bribes, to turn a blind eye, if he could see now all he unwittingly set in motion? The emirate's greed was the opportunity, his death the spur. The beginning and now the end."

"Prowl [On the evacuation]: This is not a popular decision-- You know that, right? A lot of voices raised in opposition."

"Optimus Prime: Tell me, Prowl, is yours one of them?"

"Voice of Cybertron: You are a not alone. You are a part of something far greater than you realize, Optimus Prime."

"Optimus Prime: I think that fall did more damage than I realized."

"Optimus Prime: So...I'm talking to myself. Right? If you really are this kind of inner voice, do you have any words of wisdom?"

"Voice of Cybertron: Just two: Behind you!"

"Starscream [On Megatron's failed attempt on Optimus Prime's life]: Oh dear. Things are not going quite to plan?"

"Shockwave: Where is Megatron?"

"Starscream: Dead. A tragic accident. I'm calling the shots now, Shockwave."

"Shockwave: Really. After I have broken the back of Autobot resistance and claimed Iacon in the name of the Decepticons we will review the situation. Shockwave out."

"Starscream: Pfah. We'll see."

"Megatron: This place seems to twist and turn of its own volition. But when in doubt, blow a big hole in something!"

"Megatron [Beating up Optimus Prime]: A jumped-up records clerk, carrying power he barely comprehends. Really, they might have just as well given the Matrix directly to me!"

"Kup: What is it with you and authority, Grimlock? I know it's the image, right? "Me, Grimlock -- Badass", but c'mon, there must have been someone you respected."

"Grimlock: No."

"Kup: You don't think much of our current Prime, I see that. But Sentinel Prime? He had his head screwed on."

"Grimlock: Eh. Not at the end, he didn't."

"Kup: What about Megatron? C'mon! You've stood both sides of the wire, seen this war from the inside out. Don't tell me you gave him attitude. I mean, when Megatron wanted you to jump, what did you say?"

"Grimlock [Slams Kup against a wall]: Me, Grimlock -- Badass!"

"Prowl [On defending inner Iacon against the Decepticons]: Instead of giving it all up, let's give it our all!"

"Scrapper: It's not just a matter of shifting the power from there to here, Starscream...The planetary turbines have a whole different combustion ratio. And the mechaforming process itself requires intricate planning, staged implementation--"

"Starscream: Scapper. I.DON'T.CARE! Do as I command or I'll have Motormaster here mechaform you!"

"Kup: Uh-oh."

"Ironhide: Uh-oh? [realizes that the Decepticons have found them] Ohhh...Uh-oh!"

"Kup [On defending Iacon]: Face it -- It's not looking good. Reminds me of the time..."

"Ironhide: Kup, please! We're outnumbered three to one, pinned down with little or no real cover, and Cybertron is turning itself inside out. Don't try and tell me you've seen it all before."

"Thrust: Hey, Autobot, come out and die!"

"Starscream: Autobots -- Gone! Shockwave -- Gone! Iacon -- Gone!"

"Scrapper: Starscream, please, listen to me! The mechaforming platform isn't compatible with the energy from the planetary turbines. The system's overloading!"

"Starscream: Gone. All gone!"

"Jazz: C'mon, Prowl, on your feet. We have to go!"

"Prowl: Go? Go where?"

"Motormaster: Engage forward ramming shields. Activate targeting scanners. Lock weapons. Fi--[Grimlock rams Motormaster] Aarh!"

"Grimlock: Tsk tsk. Shame on you, Motormaster. Forgot to check mirror when pulling out! Have to revoke license!"

"Wheeljack [Replying to an incoming transmission]: Say again. Who--? Oh. You want me to go where? Do *what? Oh!"

"Wheeljack: Sixteen cycles of hard graft in advanced nano-mechanics. A sustained cluster of symposiums with the finest techno-theoritical minds on Cybertron and it all comes down to this! [Shoots a missile towards the main turbine]"

"Optimus Prime: [shows Grimlock a Golden Disk] You see this? It was given to me by Gravitas, just after I became Prime. It contains the combined wisdom of those who came before me. But you know what? [tosses the disk away] I choose my own path!"

"Sad list, isn't it? Further proof of what I have always said: too many (male) writers seem able to think of only two things to do with female characters -- rape 'em or knock 'em up. The dead ones might be the lucky ones. At least I made Wonder Woman MORE powerful. That's one ..."

"As for some characters being dead and then alive again -- that happens to both genders in comics. Look at Wonder Man. The thing that, to my mind, separates the male and female characters are the sex crimes. Only the female characters are victims of sex crimes; male characters are never subjected to that. (There may be one or two exceptions when the male character was sexually abused as a child, but that's about it.) It is the number and frequency of THAT which troubles me. (...) A female soldier in battle may suffer wounds; that's different than a woman being stalked, kidnapped, and having violence done to her in civilian life. The former incurs the physical damage because of her occupation; the latter, strictly because of her gender. A female cop may be shot because she is a cop, not because she is a female. That, to me, is part of the difference."

"It's a pretty scary list, scary mostly for what it says about (male) comics creators. What I think about this is the guys have good intentions, to use more female characters, and they try consciously to make them strong and positive role models and all that good stuff, but unconsciously it's very hard for many men to see women as something other than victims. (...) And where it comes from in many men is that men are real and women are vehicles for men's needs. One of those needs is to feel strong emotions such as grief, anger, pain, maturity. There are any number of movies and books in which a weak man becomes a hero, or faces up to life, because a woman has been raped or murdered or has committed suicide. Did the writer realize he was (once more) victimizing women? (...) I just checked out the web site after all, to see the reactions of (some of) the other creators. It was interesting to see how many of the men felt called on to defend (or apologize for) their own murdered female characters. You know, I assume, of the point made by people like Trina Robbins that the powers of female characters in the '60s showed a good deal about the male creators-- a "girl" who turns invisible, another who makes herself tiny and buzzes around men annoyingly (when she's not shopping)..."

"I think it's sad and terrible. I think that too many creators got on the "Bad Girl" bandwagon and did nothing but pander and exploit their own creations. To be honest, many creators that I've talked to solely created those characters to be exploited and exploitative. Now mind you I don't see this as a gender thing as much as I see it as a genre thing. Everybody is out for the quick buck and too many are too lazy to try to come up with something original. I know it's scary but if tomorrow's hot comics are about one-legged Mongolian dwarfs, than you can be sure that more than one respected creator will be jumping all over the concept but will claim to be giving it "their spin." (...) The worst news is that it's a million times worse in other parts of the entertainment field, mainly because there is more money involved and fewer morals."

"I'd chalk most of what's on your list up to lame writing. In desperate search of drama, and unable to obtain it any other way, some writers will resort to obvious emotional triggers/easy pickin's. You can always get a bang by killing Aunt May, or for that matter, Superman. The biggest crime is that many of these stories are unfolded badly, baldly and pathetically, by writers who don't have a clue. People looking for Freudian motives, i.e., hatred of Mother, etc., are wasting their time. Most of these writers sweated cannonballs trying to think of something SO SHOCKING that it would evoke a response from readers, and violence to women was the most horrifying thing they could come up with. Usually, the response to these badly told tales is boredom. Sometimes, they succeed in mobilizing folks like you, who wonder if these writers are sick. Nah. They just suck."

"There's the famous--and true--anecdote of the Hellcat story that consists mostly of her being beaten to a pulp by a man, a story that BY THE *WILDEST* COINCIDENCE was written by a man in the middle of harsh divorce proceedings. (...) I'm responsible for the death of Ice. My call, my worst mistake in comics, my biggest regret. I remember hearing myself ask the editor, "Who's the JLAer whose death would evoke the most fierce gut reaction from readers?" What a dope. Mea culpa. But I've learned my lesson. In fact, one of the only reasons I still hang on to FLASH is because I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the moment I walk, the next guy's gonna drop a safe on Linda Park's head before my last voucher's been paid."

"I think it generally means killing female heroes is supposed to elicit more emotions from readers than killing male readers. (...) I think the wholesale slaughter is because there's a lot of writers who think all major character motivation is made by killing folk and women characters are easier to kill than male characters since so few of them are major heroes on their own. (...) I fear, that most boys want to read stories about big muscled guy heroes showing off than gal heroes. They want the girl heroes there in the background, and even important to books, but they rarely if ever buy a book starring a female. Younger boys I think are frightened to some degree by the overly muscled women even while they may find a sexual delight in them."

"Having always created lots of female characters, and doing some good work on them, I think, by making them all individuals (whether someone liked the Titans or not, Starfire, Wonder Girl and Raven were not in any way the same person in different latex costumes), I find most female heroes that other writers do are simply cookie-cut outs. Since a very few of these are anything special, it's easy to knock them off. Acknowledging that does not condone it. It merely explains it."

"As regards the female characters thing, I'm afraid I think it's giving male creators a bum deal. The list does read pretty shocking at first until you think of everything the male heroes have gone through, too, in terms of deaths/mutilations/etc. Granted, the female stuff has more of a sexual violence theme and this is something people should probably watch out for, but rape is a rare thing in comics and is seldom done in an exploitative way."

"Before being able to comment on the tragedies which have befallen only female comic characters as any kind of a trend, I would need to see a similar list of the kinds of tragedies which have befallen MALE characters in direct proportion to the number of female characters vs. male which exist throughout the entire industry. (...) As a writer with at least over 500 story credits (I stopped counting. Math isn't my strong suit), I will say that professionally speaking, I believe in treating ALL my characters, male, female, black, white or Kryptonian with equal measure respect and abuse. Basically, you have to respect them enough to abuse them in order to see how they will handle the adversity. Remember, monthly comics publishing is akin to a soap opera with more punches thrown. Characters HAVE to be made to endure both physical and emotional adversity in order for the lifeblood of the genre -- i.e. MONTHLY serial stories -- to work. When you've done more work on the subject, I'd be glad to discuss your results."

"I reserve the right to refuse to like a comic just because there is a girl/woman in it, or someone's decided to take a limp stab at marketing it to girls/women. (...) Push past those posters of giant titties and that one of the impossible pose where some gal is displaying her butt, crotch AND breasts, and that one where the girl looks like she's been oiled up and spanked. Push past all that, my sisters! (...) There, my sisters, under all those eye lemons and tree-killers are comics you will like. Don't hold it against your retailer if he or she is keeping the store going with chromium multi-variant oops-my-tittie-fell-out 1-to-4 short-packed speculator specials — get in there and grab that Previews and you will find something for you, and by God order it and get all your girlfriends to do the same and your store will still be in business after the superhero readers turn 18 and start reading the Mangerotica books and the speculators have left to sell their Beanie Babies to pay the rent! (...) Of course, always give your business to the store that makes it easy to get what you want, and doesn't offended your eyeballs with faux-core (as opposed to soft core) porn. Thank you."

"Alchemist Kharl: You don't know me? All little boys should know their mother. Wait... I can word that better..."

"Kharl: He murdered Left bird... Do you really hate me that much?"

"Kharl: Actually, I was just going to ask you to make me a sandwich. You know how I hate to cook."

"Rune: WHAT IS THIS!? Pick on the Elf day!?"

"Rath: Did I, or did I not just cut off my head in front of you!?"

"Rath: BEHOLD THE POWER OF NADIL'S HEAD!"

"Rath: I had the Light Dragon Sword to my own neck..."

"Rath: Is it supposed to be crunchy?"

"Rath: Why didn't you tell me you knew I was a guy BEFORE I rolled down the stairs in a skirt?!"

"Everyone get out! Unless you want to explode to death!"

"Listen, I'll explain quickly. We are champions of Justice. We crushed the gang and saved you. We are currently trying to escape to avoid the explosion. THAT'S ALL NO QUESTIONS ALLOWED!!!"

"You moron! Of course not! Stop looking at me!"

"Food, gloriuos food!"

"(In response to Wolfina's quote) "I'm prohibiting you from making jokes like that from now on!" (or in an alternate translation) "I reject your criticisms of my entrances!""

"So why don't you carve it into our bodies already?...This so called strength of yours that is."

"(Introducing himself to Elwood) Let's be friends! My name is C.T. Smith. Age unknown, Libra, blood type AB, favorite words are "D-cup.""

"(After witnessing Gamma jump off of a roof onto a car to appear) "Can't you appear like a normal person?""

"Agent Graves: Here, do you recognize these men?"

"Morgan: We're fuckin' cops, you dumb little bitch."

"The Umbrella Academy Featuring Sir Reginald Hargreeves A.K.A. The Monocle, in... The Day The Eiffel Tower Went Berserk Being Part One of Six in the Story: Apocalypse Suite"

"It came from an atomic flying elbow."

"To this, Hargreeves relied-- To save the world, of course. To which the world asked -- From What? They received no answer. For it was the last time Sir Reginald and the children were seen. Until that day... Until-- The Day The Eiffel Tower Went Berserk."

"Extra Ordinary: My life as NUMBER 7 by Vanya Hargreeves"

"This is the end of the first part of the Umbrella Academy adventure: Apocalypse Suite. There are five more chapters to the series, with twenty-two pages. There are seven members of the Umbrella Academy, and seventy-two names on the Eiffel Tower. Thre is no connection between these numbers."

"The Umbrella Academy Featuring the Mortal Remains of Sir Reginald Hargreeves A.K.A. The Monocle in: We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals Being Part Two of Six in the Story: Apocalypse Suite"

"Everything I own is black.""

"CALAMITY_!"

"But it's the one thing about you that's 'Extra Ordinary.'"

"Maybe I haven't made myself clear-- What I learned in the future-- The world was destroyed just three days after Hargreeve's death! Time is running out."

"In closing, I'd like to point out that I never desired to break the children. I merely sought to foster their potential--which was unfortunately never that vast."

"The Umbrella Academy Featuring The Terminauts in: Dr. Terminal's Answer Being Part Three of Six in the Story: Apocalypse Suite"

"I never considered myself a lucky man...never won a raffle, never made a dime on the ponies...but then the doctors told me I developed a rare disease...Eisenstein Syndrome. It affects one in two-point-five million people...it eats you from the inside...starting with the nervous system...ending with the brain. How's that for lucky?"

"Get the children out of here!"

"Observation_! There are fewer numbers of the Umbrella Academy than expected_! And there'll be fewer momentarily_!"

"The carnival--it's on fire...! I bet it's my family... Drive me there. And drive fast.""

"I swear on the grave of my loved ones that I won't spare a single criminal. It's my pledge and my vow is as unshakeable as the polestar."

"I swore on my parents' grave that I shall combat crime till my last breath."

"We shall name him after the brightest star in North Pole, Dhruva."

"(Princess) Klein: Did you really think, just because you deny the existence of a world that you don't understand, it wouldn't exist?"

"The planet Mobius was once a virtual paradise until it was conquered by the evil Doctor Robotnik! His technological tyranny would have continued if not for an heroic group of Freedom Fighters who banded together and restored order to the Kingdom of Acorn! The bravest among them is a blue streak filled with the most attitude going around - - and without a doubt, he is the fastest thing alive! ARCHIE COMICS AND SEGA PRESENT...SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"

"Born to the most noble of Echidna houses, the latest to continue the family heritage and responsibility as GUARDIAN OF THE FLOATING ISLAND, defender of all the forces of evil from the world beyond as well as those who would threaten within, he is none other than...KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA! Many years ago, during the Great War, when Princess Sally was but an infant, King Acorn sent his wife Queen Alicia to The Floating Island in order to insure the safety of his Queen and the future of Mobotropolis. It resulted in failure. Recently, the newly-returned, now-healthy King assigned a squad of his elite commandos to return to The Floating Island and ascertain the true fate of his loved ones. It is here our tale begins."

"Sonic HQ: What are your views between where the Sonic comic has been - i.e The Sonic SatAM Cartoon and where the comic is going? Why do you think that Sonic fans (well, at least half of them anyway) show so much animocity at major changes that deviate from the original SatAM Storyline?"

"There was a time when the seven of us were happy together, knowing we had each other. Where did it all go wrong? Everyone ended up miserable. Were any of us ever happy after we split up? Back then, just being with each other was enough to make us happy. But why... What happened to us?—Episode 1; mourning on the beach after knowing his friends' miseries"

"It doesn't matter. If I could turn back time, if I could straighten out the errors and mistakes and make us all happy again like we used to be, I would do anything.—Episode 1; in response to the Voice's invitation to the time loop"

"I feel like I'm forgetting something important. What could it be? What am I missing? What did I forget? Why can't I remember?—Episode 2; unable to remember Jung-kook's death from the time loop's past iteration"

"Who... Who are you?!—Episode 2; to the Voice"

"It's the 11th of April again. I've been given a chance. A chance to make everything right again.—Episode 3"

"One day, we'll meet again. All of us. When that happens, let's go to the beach together.—Episode 3; to Nam-joon, before leaving to find and save Jung-kook"

"Can I really trust my memories?—Episode 3; upon going to the wrong location of Jung-kook's accident"

"The future keeps changing ... because something from the past changed. It was me. I jumped in and changed their fate. It was all because of me. I did this.—Episode 6; in the car accident with three of his friends, realizing his mistake in dealing with the time loop"

"There are too many variables. I don't know how things will play out.—Episode 6; deducing when and where Yoon-gi's arson will take place"

"Maybe there's nothing I can do, but I can't let anything happen to them. I just can't leave them alone.—Episode 9"

"So that's what a loop feels like... It ends before I can even do anything.—Episode 10"

"Maybe I'll fail again. But one thing's for sure: if I don't make a move, this vicious cycle will never end. I'm the only one who can end this.—Episode 13"

"Some things, you can't see from up close.—Episode 14"

"I will save him no matter how many times I have to live this day. I will not fail. Not this time. I'm finishing this for real!—Episode 15; referring to his final rescue set for Tae-hyung"

"Tae-hyung, I'm sorry... I'm really sorry...—Episode 15; dying words, to Tae-hyung"

"Every time I couldn't save you guys, you became more miserable. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't save you. Have I really saved you this time? What will happen to me now? To Tae-hyung? To the rest? If I die, will I still go back to that day, or is this really the end? After this moment, will none of this have ever happened?—Episode 15; dying thoughts"

"I can't do anything by myself. Yes, no matter how many times I tried, I could never save all of them on my own. Once again, just like before ... together with you...—Episode 15; concluding words"

"Like my mom, he says... Like my mom, he says... LIKE MY MOM! —Episode 6; referring to his father's opposition on his pursuit for music"

"You're right. What good is all this music?—Episode 6; as if addressed to his father, while starting the fire in his motel room"

"All around me, it was burning hot. I felt like I was suffocating. I thought it was what hell would feel like... I thought for sure I was going to die right there and find some peace at last. Finally I would get to escape this living hell and breathe easier. Yes, that's exactly what went through my mind. But then, someone just has to drag me right back to hell. It was you. Why? You should've just left me to die.—Episode 7; to Seok-jin, after being rescued from the fire"

"There's not much I can do. Narcolepsy isn't something you can just get over.—Episode 10; to Seok-jin"

"I knew something strange was going on. Ever since the moment you showed up again, everything's been all weird, that's why I came after you. What the hell's going on? And what are all those notes all about? Seok-jin! What the hell are you hiding?! Tell me! —Episode 11; interrogating Seok-jin on his mysterious actions"

"I know how that feels. To feel like the only one who's frozen in time...—Episode 11; to Ji-min, referring to himself being an orphan"

"I'm not settling.—Episode 1; to the police officer, upon being arrested for assaulting a customer"

"It's already been two years since we last saw each other. We were busy, sure, and whether we were happy or sad ... at least we weren't locked up.—Episode 12; on the group's separation and Ji-min's confinement"

"You gotta breathe before you can think about anything, you know. Right?—Episode 14; to Seok-jin"

"My clock stopped ticking at some point, so I can't really say how long I've been here or how much longer I need to stay.—Episode 8; to Ho-seok, on being confined in the hospital"

"Locking me up here doesn't solve anything! You keep me locked up here because you're embarrassed of me, and everything's supposed to be okay?—Episode 12; to his mother"

"Seok-jin, get me out of here... I wanna get out...—Episode 13; to Seok-jin, his plea for escape from confinement"

"Oh, I saw Yoon-gi. In my dreams.—Episode 5, to Nam-joon"

"I just paint over it with different colors each time. There doesn't have to be a point. Maybe I'm just trying to make a point with my drawing.—Episode 7; to Nam-joon, on his acts of vandalism"

"Happy or sad, you don't get to choose anything inside here, and he didn't even choose to be here in the first place.—Episode 12; to Seok-jin, on Ji-min's confinement in the hospital"

"What's up with dreams? They feel so vivid when you're dreaming, then they disappear into nothing when you wake up.—Episode 15; to Seok-jin, about his nightmares"

"Guys, the view at night is awesome out here!—Episode 4; to Seok-jin and Nam-joon, after being saved from falling from a building"

"YOON-GI!—Episode 5; witnessing the dying Yoon-gi"

"What? You mean you don't know either?—Episode 5; to Nam-joon, on him being dragged out by Seok-jin"

"The comic-book medium, having come of age on the American cultural scene, must measure up to its responsibilities. Constantly improving techniques and higher standards go hand in hand with these responsibilities. To make a positive contribution to contemporary life, the industry must seek new areas for developing sound, wholesome entertainment. The people responsible for writing, drawing, printing, publishing, and selling comic books have done a commendable job in the past, and have been striving toward this goal. Their record of progress and continuing improvement compares favorably with other media in the communications industry. An outstanding example is the development of comic books as a unique and effective tool for instruction and education. Comic books have also made their contribution in the field of letters and criticism of contemporary life."

"(1) Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals."

"(2) If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity."

"(3) Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority."

"(5) Criminals shall not be presented so as to be rendered glamorous or to occupy a position which creates a desire for emulation."

"(6) In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds."

"(7) Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gunplay, physical agony, the gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated."

"(1) No comic magazine shall use the words "horror" or "terror" in its title."

"(2) All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted."

"(3) All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated."

"(4) Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly, nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the reader."

"(5) Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited."

"(1) Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden."

"(1) Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure."

"(2) Suggestive and salacious illustration or suggestive posture is unacceptable."

"(4) Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities."

"(2) Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at nor portrayed. Rape scenes, as well as sexual abnormalities, are unacceptable."

"(6) Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested."

"(7) Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly forbidden."

"(7) Nudity with meretricious purpose and salacious postures shall not be permitted in the advertising of any product; clothed figures shall never be presented in such a way as to be offensive or contrary to good taste or morals."

"So he said it can't be a Black [person]. So I said, 'For God's sakes, Judge Murphy, that's the whole point of the Goddamn story!' So he said, 'No, it can't be a Black'. Bill [Gaines] just called him up [later] and raised the roof, and finally they said, 'Well, you gotta take the perspiration off'. I had the stars glistening in the perspiration on his Black skin. Bill said, 'Fuck you', and he hung up."

"[T]he list of requirements a film needs to receive a G rating was doubled, and there were no other acceptable ratings!"

"This really made 'em go bananas in the Code czar's office. 'Judge Murphy was off his nut. He was really out to get us', recalls [EC editor] Feldstein. 'I went in there with this story and Murphy says, "It can't be a Black man". But ... but that's the whole point of the story!' Feldstein sputtered. When Murphy continued to insist that the Black man had to go, Feldstein put it on the line. 'Listen', he told Murphy, 'you've been riding us and making it impossible to put out anything at all because you guys just want us out of business'. [Feldstein] reported the results of his audience with the czar to Gaines, who was furious [and] immediately picked up the phone and called Murphy. 'This is ridiculous!' he bellowed. 'I'm going to call a press conference on this. You have no grounds, no basis, to do this. I'll sue you'. Murphy made what he surely thought was a gracious concession. 'All right. Just take off the beads of sweat'. At that, Gaines and Feldstein both went ballistic. 'Fuck you!' they shouted into the telephone in unison. Murphy hung up on them, but the story ran in its original form."

"RINGGENBERG: Well, given that the Comics Code expressly forbid the use of the words Weird, Horror and Terror, did you feel that your company was being particularly targeted?"

"RINGGENBERG: Let's jump ahead a little bit, to the New Direction comics. In Impact #4 you had a story called "The Lonely One", which was about prejudice against Jews. The Jewish in the story had a very bland name. It was "Miller"."

"My first assignment, as a new art assistant, was to remove cleavages and lift up low cut blouses on Katy Keene."

"His sometimes suggestive storytelling – and he was one of the best – almost cost him his job. When his pencilled stories came in, the characters were dressed on one page only. The inker, a woman by the name of terry Szenics, would have to clothe them on the remaining pages."

"I could understand them; they were like lawyers, people who take things literally and technically. The Code mentioned that you mustn't mention drugs and, according to their rules, they were right. So I didn't even get mad at them then. I said, 'Screw it' and just took the Code seal off for those three issues. Then we went back to the Code again. I never thought about the Code when I was writing a story, because basically I never wanted to do anything that was to my mind too violent or too sexy. I was aware that young people were reading these books, and had there not been a Code, I don't think that I would have done the stories any differently."

"With the political and social landscape, being what it is today. I decided to take a leaf out of Osamu Tezuka's book and turn my fears, hopes and dreams of THIS era into a philosophical adventure Manga"

"To have your beliefs and worldviews challenged and questioned ultimately leads to widening of horizons; and it's my hope that readers and visitors will take that message away with them after visiting the exhibition"

"one's own experiences are the ones affecting judgments and perceptions"

"And ultimately, the more you allow yourself to be present outside of your comfort zone and open up to varying experiences and people, the richer and more informed your views and perceptions become"

"It's all a matter of perspective. Three-point perspective will always have more depth than the flat one point."

"The stigma of women in comics and it not being a thing has largely become a factually debunked myth and I daresay we're almost entering a golden age"

"Some spend their whole lives content with their one eye. Others lead paths that open consecutively more"

"Women are the silent unknown soldiers working and striving to hold their families together during times of war"

"Recognition alone at times can be all that is needed to inspire those very women to keep on going; and sharing their stories of triumph both bolsters AND inspires others to likewise believe in themselves and follow suit"

"When women and girls become part of the solution instead of a "burden" that men need to ponder as an extra problem that needs to be solved, society would be able to recover a lot faster as ALL could then participate in reaching a resolution"

"Now is the time for women to believe in themselves and their talents"

"They have so much untapped potential, capabilities and talents buried under self-doubt and unfounded prejudice that they would overturn the region if they give themselves a chance"

"Again, we're in a very transformative time and I believe all factors are ripe for change, so, I wish women would take every opportunity presented to them to make their mark a permanent one"