Notable Comic Book Writer Calls Female Journalist "Caravan of Diseases"

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There are all kinds of things that the comic book industry is arguing about right now, (looking at you #comicsgate) but hopefully, they can all agree that insulting women is not okay.

In today's industry, many professionals are looking to fund their own titles to show that readers just want good books; without being inundated with political opinions. There are artists who want to draw "sexy" protagonists and those who feel that style just demeans women. There are writers who want to focus on plot-driven stories and others that want to drive a political narrative. And the only wrong answers are the books that don't sell.

Sales determine who's right and who's wrong as the consumers vote with their dollars.

But stepping off the page, as creators look to promote their own independent work, their behavior can have some repercussions to success. No matter your background, there's a certain way to treat people. I don't know that any of our mothers raised us to be demeaning and insulting. Being kind and loving one another, while understanding that people have differing opinions and viewpoints, should mean that when we don't see eye-to-eye with someone, we are still respectful about it.

Something that seems to have escaped long-time comic book writer, Ron Marz. Marz recently took to twitter so he could "meme" a female political journalist, with whom he disagrees with. Seeing as how this is the same writer who stuffed a woman in a fridge as a Green Lantern plot device, used to motivate Kyle Rayner, it shouldn't really surprise anyone.

Taking a screenshot of analyst Tomi Lahren, an outspoken, conservative, political journalist, Marz noted a caption at the bottom of the screen during a recent broadcast on Fox News. The caption read "Caravan of Diseases" while Ms. Lahren was on-screen. Taking a screenshot of the image, timing it just right to achieve the least flattering image of her (mouth open, eyes shut), Marz shared it to Twitter with this comment:

"I thought her name was Tomi, but I guess this fits too."

https://twitter.com/ronmarz/status/1071111636000362498?s=19

This kind of misogynistic behavior should be frowned upon, but instead, it received over a thousand "likes", with hundreds of "retweets". Ron Marz may not be sexist, as he's had an extensive run on WITCHBLADE, but the behavior certainly feels that way. Twitter is growing into a cesspool of vitriolic behavior, as it has come under fire for being inconsistent in policing its users.

While Marz hasn't done anything significant in a while, he still makes public appearances at local comic-cons and is currently promoting creator-owned work. Perhaps we should hold him, to a higher standard before inviting him to sit and interact with fans at conventions? Clearly, if you disagree with him, he's shown that it's open season on insulting you publicly.

Is that the type of person we want to introduce our children to at the next convention? Is that the type of person we want our dollars supporting?

I should hope not.