Every now and then I run across an image, video, article, blog, or overhear a comment regarding hipsters. It’s usually negative, commenting on the absurd or ridiculousness nature of their attire and attitudes. Often times I am able to laugh with the jokes and laugh with my hipsters friends at these jokes and quite frankly laugh at myself, because even though I don’t dress “hipster,” my mindset and attitude is very much that of a “hipster,” or at least I think so.

Admittedly, one of the reasons I am writing this is because, I am little sore about the stereotypes that are passed around about hipsters.

A friend of mine, Jessica, posted this image on her blog recently:

I don’t think the image is wrong, but I think it makes it easier for people who like to rip on hipsters to rip on us/them more. Considering I can only assume based on how it’s written, was written by a hipster, so logically, people who rip on hipsters are going to read this and be like “Oh, I must right in thinking I can rip on hipsters because they’re ripping on themselves, I get a free pass.” Complaining and being somewhat angry that this image was created is stupid and a waste of time, especially when looking upon the evidence of other sub-cultures where people’s perceptions towards them haven’t changed. Hippies, punks, beatniks, and flappers are still made fun of pretty heavily to this day. Me talking about my animosity towards the image is going to do nothing towards the social perception towards this culture.

However, having said that, I think it’s important to point out that what the beatniks were to the fifties, hippies were to the sixties and seventies, flappers to the twenties, and punks to the eighties…hipsters were to the aughties. It’s a sub-culture composed of people who defied convention and conformity to ideas that are commonly upheld by most.

Lets look at some facts…

The hippie culture

• gave unmarried couples of all ages the freedom to travel and live together without societal disapproval
• expanded rights to homosexual, bisexual and transsexual people
• enabled for greater acceptance for religious and cultural diversity
• enabled for co-operative business enterprises and creative community living arrangements to be more accepted
• health food stores of the 60’s and 70’s are now large-scale, profitable businesses, due to greater interest in natural foods, herbal remedies, vitamins and other nutritional supplements
• broadened the personal appearance options and clothing styles, including nudity, which became more widely acceptable

The beatnik culture

• were there before the hippies arrived on the scene to tell them they did not have to conform. That they could speak out against societal norms and find their way to their own truth
• engaged in a questioning of traditional values which produced a break with the mainstream culture that to this day people react to – or against
• produced a great deal of interest in lifestyle experimentation (notably in regards to sex and drugs); and they had a large intellectual effect in encouraging the questioning of authority (a force behind the anti-war movement)
• were very active in popularizing interest in Zen Buddhism in the West

Flapper culture

• redefined how women act in society by going to jazz clubs at night where they danced provocatively, smoked cigarettes, sniffed cocaine, and dated freely; they rode bicycles and drove cars and drank alcohol openly
• began taking work outside the home and challenging women’s traditional societal roles
• advocated voting and women’s rights

Punk culture

• educated and made popular following and believing in highly controversial “ism’s,” that advocated and popularized individual freedom and anti-establishment views. Common punk viewpoints include anti-authoritarianism, a DIY ethic, non-conformity, direct action and not selling out; other notable trends: nihilism, anarchism, socialism, anti-militarism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-nationalism, anti-homophobia, environmentalism, vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights.
• seeked to outrage others with the highly theatrical use of clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, tattoos, jewelry and body modification. This again, like the beatniks, was to engage people in questioning traditional values which would produce a break in the mainstream
• popularized DIY thinking specifically in regards to, but was not limited to: publishing, fashion, and art.

Where and how do hipsters fit into any of this? How do they contribute to a social cause instead of just being pretentious pricks? Well, now that the aughties just ended, it might be easier to see how.

Hipster culture

• thrives on anything independent, anything that hasn’t been subjected to censorship and filters. Which helped popularize independent media, thinking and living; in turn making people want to live more authentic and promote the idea of complete creative control over every vestige of your life
• promotes such positive thinking acts such as thrift store shopping, eating organic, locally grown, vegetarian, and/or vegan food, drinking local beer (or even brewing their own), listening to public radio, and riding bicycles
• helped to make the widely accepted concept of metrosexuality popular in turn helping people become more accepting of gay culture

Us hipsters are not without our faults…of course everyone gets us wrong. The definition of ‘hipster’ remains opaque to anyone outside this self-proclaiming, highly-selective circle. The whole point of hipsters is that they avoid labels and being labeled. However, we all dress the same and act the same and conform in our non-conformity, much like all other subcultures.

In the beginning it wasn’t like this obviously, but the more and more people became exposed to hipsters the more and more people were influenced by them, therefore, creating a mockery of everything that once was. And the same could be said for quite literally every other subculture. The more exposure we gain the more our word and influence is spread which is great because it does exactly what we want it to do. Make people think differently than how they’ve always thought. But, in the end, it’s the mainstreamers that are influenced by us that claim ownership and skew the concepts that we originally intended to suit their own needs.

Many of us may be pretentious pricks, the image isn’t wrong about that. But, what it fails to point out is that, so weren’t all the other subcultures. But that doesn’t mean we contribute nothing to society. And quite honestly, that’s how many of these people involved in these subcultures feel about the mainstream…is that YOU’RE all pretentious pricks because we don’t fit into YOUR culture. So we created our own.

Listen, I/we really don’t care if you make fun of us, because quite honestly, it’s really funny when you do. Just don’t say we contribute nothing to society when you can’t turn on the TV, go online, or simply just walk around without seeing our influence somewhere that the mainstream has adopted.

What is this book about?

A description from the writer:
“A violent rapist prowls the city streets, while the corrupt authorities, controlled by a wealthy right-wing family, turn a blind eye. From the burgeoning art scene emerges an enigmatic hero — the bizarre, brash, and colorful creature of the night, THE CREEPER. And she’s got one word for the self-serving upper-class… BEWARE. In the aftermath of World War I, the bohemian art scene explodes onto Paris — much to the chagrin of the rich and powerful Arbogast family. Ravishing Surrealist painter Judith Benoir wants desperately to make a splash that will have everyone talking, at whatever cost — even if it means ignoring the warnings of her jilted lover, Inspector Allain, and her prudish sister, Madeline. Amidst the cultural clash between aristocracy, religion, and the avant-garde, The Creeper’s simple cat burglaries quickly escalate into spectacular art crimes, establishing her as a cultural icon.”

This story takes place in 1925 Paris, which as you read the story you begin to understand why. It was a pretty wild and crazy time for people who lived in Paris during that time. World War I had recently ended and people were tired of death and misery and wanted to live it up. So as a result some liberal sensibilities began popping up which really ignited the avant-garde artist movement. This paved way for Surrealist painters to be taken seriously as more and more people were buying this type of artwork and also as a result of the avent-garde art movement women were becoming more independent.

It was a time of enlightenment and Paris was a mecca for writers, artists, and free-thinkers. It was a time of cultural change and technological advancement. An entirely new way of thinking about life and art was coming into focus, so utilizing the idea of what the character The Creeper is makes perfect sense for this book. For in many ways, The Creeper, is the embodiment of that attitude and spirit that was alive in that era.

For those of you who don’t know, The Creeper, was originally a superhero that first appeared in Beware the creeper Volume 1 in 1968. His name was Jack Ryder who was a Gotham City television talk show host fired due to his outspoken nature. Finding employment in network security, he attempted to rescue a scientist named Dr. Yatz whom mobsters had kidnapped in order to obtain his newest discoveries. The chief mobster hosted a masquerade party at his mansion. To gain entry, Ryder improvised a costume from yellow tights and facial make-up designed to look like skin, a green wig and trunks, and red gloves, boots, and furry cloak. Ryder located Yatz inside, but the mobsters detected him and opened fire, wounding him. Yatz injected Ryder with a serum and implanted a device in his wound. The scientist performed this surgery to save Ryder’s life because the implant has the power to almost instantly heal any wound and grant it’s host enhanced strength and agility. Because the scientist was unaware of the drugs in Ryder’s system the implant inadvertently recorded the drugs in his system as well. Thus the whenever the device in his system is activated it recreates his strength and agility but it also recreates the drugs in his system, explaining The Creeper’s odd personality.

The Creeper in this story has no connection whatsoever to the original Creeper, but I thought I should explain why the odd personality of the original Creeper was a perfect vessel to this story.

Why should you read this book?

For the social commentary that the writer hints around to in this story. A character like The Creeper is ideal for examining that commentary. Specifically because there’s that classic tradition of the fool who speaks the truth. The Creeper’s antics really put that era’s issues into focus in this story. She exposes the hypocrisy of those around her.

Not only do I think that this story was a way to speak about the issues surrounding that era, but I think it also has a moralistic theme revolving around the idea of loving people for the wrong reasons. Either those reasons you know about or even those you don’t is something that plays a vital role. So does the notion of taking things too far and having to face consequences you never foresaw.

It also deals with the idea of what circumstances can create an art movement or fad, and just how much validity those types of things have.

The early 2K’s (early 21st century), writers seemed to be in love with the idea of re imagining and re purposing popular characters or themes and telling a new story utilizing the very ideas that made the original characters popular.

Such as in the Marvel comics world Mike Allred took a book called X-Force which was primarily used as a vessel to tell story’s about characters that were popular in the X-Men world. But mid-series, Allred joins the team and says “no, there’s an entirely new way we can tell this story but still using the same ideas of what X-Force stood for and what it was all about.” Which is what he did and it was highly controversial, however, a huge success in sales. There were numerous books that did this and Vertigo did something similar with their Creeper character. The reason writers did this is because you need depth to the story in order for people to relate and to care. A lot of people may have liked the original Creeper, but, the Creeper in this story is someone that more people can actually relate to easier. A lot of the strength of the story comes from the fact that the creators are doing their best to create believable human emotions and motivations. That’s what makes a story interesting, and it’s what readers can relate to. Most people have absolutely nothing in common with a guy who puts on a costume and fights crime, but they do understand anger or a desire for justice. These characters aren’t there to move the plot along, but to tell a story about why people act and say the things they do, and what sort of circumstances can drive a person to incredible deeds.

What is this book about?

World’s Finest chronicles the first ten-years of Batman and Superman’s relationship. It starts off with Bruce Wayne (who is secretly Batman) and Clark Kent (who is secretly Superman) attending a charity function of a mutual friend who is kidnapped and held hostage. The two heroes arrive at the scene but due to their inability to work together, they are unable to save his life. From that point on, they decide to remember that day by meeting every year and working to improve their group dynamics.

Why should you read this book?

Many who would review this book would opt for the broad overview why this is an interesting book; that it’s a great portrayal of the complicated relationship between these two characters. However, I’d like to fine tune the specific portrayal that was the most interesting to me and why.

Avid Now is not the Rhyme readers know that I am a huge fan of comics; especially comics I got into when I was kid. What comic reader isn’t? Well, I suppose the difference is I might stand in the minority when I say my favorite time in comics was during Spider-man’s Clone saga, when Diana Prince was replaced with Artemis, when Ollie Queen was dead and Connor Hawke replaced him, or when Jean Paul Valley was Batman and when four different Supermen claimed to be Superman after the original died. These are the characters I remember, these are the characters I love, and these are the characters I can relate to. So it shouldn’t surprise you that my favorite issue of this book was issue number #9.

Issue #9, has two separate stories; one for when Batman goes looking to see if any of the four new Supermen is the original by seeing if they remember that they meet every year on the same day and when Superman goes looking to see if this new Batman was told by Bruce Wayne that they meet every year.

Despite the outcry of fans that hated the replacing of these heroes and declining sales from the books after; I think it was one of the smartest things DC Comics has ever done. To have fictional characters continue to live on and on and never die is absurd to me. But that is another blog post for another time…

One of the reasons why Batman and Superman work is because the writer’s change them to suit that time era. Replacing them in the 90’s drove sales and got people back into comic books. Even though it wasn’t well received it will always be remembered and people that got into comics from those books who work for these companies later will be inspired to create books and stories based on them. Much like how creators now do with stories they grew up with from the 60’s and 70’s.

Every issue from this book is great and you should totally pick it up. You can find it here. It’s a good book for someone who is thinking of getting into comics but doesn’t want to get a ton of old books just to understand the history of the characters and the book is great for any Batman & Superman fan of any era since this books spans the entire history of the two characters and picks out significant life changing events that truly shaped the character.

On a side note, if you’re interested in books similar to this, you can read my review of Batman: Turning Points which has the same concept, except the history and friendship between Batman and Gotham City’s police commissioner James Gordon is spotlighted.

So to begin a new Now is not the Rhyme segment called: