Tarot Witch of the Black Rose minimates

[dr baghead]

Isn't the implication that you do have a problem with it, though? You have a problem with your children playing with/seeing them.

That's just ridiculous.

Although, maybe you have a good point, let's run with it! Anyone with a child can no longer:

-Drive a car

-Cook hot food

-use a knife

-bath in more then 2 inches of water

-sleep on their stomaches

-go anywhere without a parents permission

-ride a subway/bus alone

-stay up past 8pm (if they're good though they can stay up until 9 on Saturday)

-watch anything but Phineas and Ferb (actually, that's not so bad an idea)

-talk to strangers

-take aspirin without dying

-eat a hamburger that DOES NOT come with a free toy (sorry, the other ones are too big, you won't finish them)

-vote

I have no personal problem with any of those things, but my niece and nephew (don't have kids of my own) are too young to do any of those... so I guess implicitly I DO have a problem with it?

[TM2 Dinobot]

While we're on the topic of flogging dead fish* here, can everybody just give the "haunted vaj" joke a rest?! Ivan linked to the review that made that crack three pages ago. Either find something else in the Tarot comics to make fun of (of course that would necessitate actually giving the comic a chance first), or at least make a vagina joke that's original or funny.**

Of course we can always make Walter Peck jokes all day and see if that works too.

* I just got sick of all the overused dead horse references around here and wanted a change of pace

** I'm sure a handful exist, though the only one I can remember right now is that time Top Gear reviewed the Lamborghini "Rebenton"

Predator has at least ONE funny one.

I don't think these are going to be any less controversial as time goes on. Once people aside from us know about them, I'm sure they're gona start showing up on blogs.

[buttheadsmate]

I prefer my MiniMates as a cult collectible.....

Is your spelcheck on ?

[NorthRaider]

I don't think these are going to be any less controversial as time goes on. Once people aside from us know about them, I'm sure they're gona start showing up on blogs.

Yes, yes, we've already repeatedly established that the Tarot mates will be already are bloody controversial.

All I'm trying to say is to give the issue 53 joke specifically a rest. If you're going to rag on the series, at LEAST say something more credible besides "OMG HAUNTED VAGINA LOL!!!11!!1!"

[Zombieboyfiend]

Sweet a July 10th release date. I can't wait.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Zombieboyfiend

[dr baghead]

All I'm trying to say is to give the issue 53 joke specifically a rest. If you're going to rag on the series, at LEAST say something more credible besides "OMG HAUNTED VAGINA LOL!!!11!!1!"

I've actually been wondering... how out of context is that "Your vagina is haunted!" quote.

I mean, I know we *know* the context in terms of the storyline presented... I mean in terms of the books actual tone and theme. Like is Tarot supposed to be "super dark and edgy we're totes serious about this stuff!!!" or is it "B-horror: breast, blood, and bizarre humor"?

If it's super edgy serious then the haunted vagina line SHOULD be made fun of, it makes no sense. However if it's AWARE it's a stupid line, if Skeleton Man is supposed to be a poor hero or something and would blurt out something that sounds crazy and inappropriate and it was written to be funny in context, it needs to be dropped because anyone making fun of it doesn't get the joke.

Like I don't think most people have a problem with Buffy and that show tries to be funny horror, so I searched "funny buffy quotes" and found this:

"Give me time, and I may be the first Wicca to do all my conjuring in fresh pine scent."-Willow

I personally don't like Buffy, but I'm sure someone who does can explain to me WHY this is funny and not the stupidest thing I've ever heard. (Like I'm sure it's some lame joke about how Wiccans use pine trees in real life for ceremonies, so what if in a pinch Willow used a pine tree.... car freshener! ZOMG! So funny and modern!) If Buffy was a random comic getting minimates maybe we'd all be making "Will these be the first fresh pine scented minimates?!"

Maybe Tarot is like All Star Batman and Robin, if you listen to the internet comedy reviews and judge based on its cover it's horrible and full of quotable lines that out of context make the book sound horrible, but if you read it it's a more lighthearted take on 'Dark and Serious', like Buffy supposedly is, where those horrible quotes framed in the context of "It's supposed to sound stupid" or "they make fun of that line later, it's intentionally bad" it's awesome.

[karamazov80]

I have no personal problem with any of those things, but my niece and nephew (don't have kids of my own) are too young to do any of those... so I guess implicitly I DO have a problem with it?

Not that I want to keep harping on this--the definition of a pointless, semantic argument, but if you have "no problem at all" then there is no problem with any component of the thing you are referring to in any circumstance, by my reading. Otherwise, it is "no problem at all personally myself in my opinion. . .except X Y Z," as BHM suggests. It's the same as saying "I have absolutely no problem" with something. Absolute--": having no restriction, exception, or qualification <an absolute requirement> <absolute freedom>" (courtesy of internets dictionary). You can't provide exceptions to an absolute statement or the statement is by definition not absolute. So the statement is false. Of course, there are sayings that are not meant to be taken literally, for example, frequent misuse of the word. . .literally. "He literally took Tom Brady's head off with that hit!" is not usually literally true. And that is probably the intention of the initial posting of this saying, but if you want to look at what is said technically, it does not appear to be correct. Saying the kids can't play is an exception, so if you say that you have no problem at all with something but then state that you have a problem with it in the next sentence, then the first sentence is less than true.

And as for the vote issue, I think children might make wiser voting decisions that adults, frankly, so I would encourage you to get your nephews/nieces involved.

P.S. OMG Haunted Vagina! LOL!!

[Mirymate]

You gotta admit, NR, once you read the sentence "You got to get out of here! You've got a Haunted Vagina!" it's a difficult phrase to forget everytime you see these.

[dr baghead]

And as for the vote issue, I think children might make wiser voting decisions that adults, frankly, so I would encourage you to get your nephews/nieces involved.

Well in all seriousness my then 2-year-old nephew told me to vote for "O-BA-MA!" (you can take that as a "See! kids are politically smarter then some adults!" or "Oh well!I guess kids are politically stupid like most adults" depending on your view point.) and I did... so there.

(I might not listen again in 2012 though... I don't like the controversial "Dinosaur Train" stance he's taken in recent months. In America it's Dinosaurs OR Trains! Not both, this ain't Stalingrad, buddy!)

[groundhog7s]

Are we still talking about this? Oh yeah, I forgot we'll be talking about this until sometime after they come out.

[battlecat]

Semantics is fun! But K80, it's two different problems/non-problems.

ie. I have no problem at all with chocolate. But I'll keep my dog away from it.

Meaning chocolate is no problem for me, but my dog eating chocolate is a problem for me (since it's poisonous to dogs). It's the dog *eating* it (or, the kids *seeing* something inappropriate for them) that's the problem, not the item itself.

Also people have talked about "boycotting" this set. You can't really boycott one set -- that's just not buying something you don't like. You could boycott DST to show your displeasure, but that would mean buying no more Minimates at all.

Edited February 16, 2010 by battlecat

[karamazov80]

But you are meaning, "I have no problem with chocolate as it relates to myself" while leaving out the "as it relates to myself" part. The clear meaning is understood because of the second, qualifying statement, but the first statement is still technically incorrect, IMO.

As for the seeing/hearing component, no physical item or entity is intrinsically bad. Things only obtain normative values once they are perceived to exist!

And regarding the Dinosaur Training, I'm all for it. Domesticated dinosaurs are always preferable to wilder ones.

Also, haunted vagina, OMG, LOL!

[battlecat]

No I really do mean "I have no problem with chocolate," period. My problem is the act of my dog eating it, or, if you need something material to be the problem then my problem is the dog!

However someone saying "I have no problem with these Tarot Minimates, but I have a problem with my kids." would sound awful, so it would generally be phrased the other way.

Basically I'm saying something being only appropriate to a certain age range, as long as I am within that range, is not as such a problem. When there are other people in my life outside of that age range though, there is a problem, but it's the potential interaction between kid and item, not the item itself. Since the original post said he wouldn't show the item to his kid anyway, then there really is no problem! :biggrin:

I only wish I perceived Dinosaur Trains to exist!

Edited February 16, 2010 by battlecat

[karamazov80]

I don't reckon we're gonna agree on this one, but let me ask one question--if in an alternate reality your dog had eaten the Tarot Minimates and then only craved chocolates from here on, necessitating the purchase of expensive chocolate dog food that contributed to your being unable to send your kids to art school, from which they might get a lucrative job as the inker to the "Tarot" comic series, would you then not have any problem with these Minimates? And if you would, suggesting that there is a scenario in which you might not even post the seemingly definitive, though in truth open-ended statement, "I have no problem with these Minimates," then would it be truthful to oneself to ever post such a statement at all?

I think we all know the answer to that one.

Also, my wife just told me that we all "need a life"*

*she said that this statement is not open to interpretation

Edited February 16, 2010 by karamazov80

[battlecat]

Ha!

I feel I should admit that my dog was (sadly) fictional.

Also, my wife just told me that we all "need a life"*

*she said that this statement is not open to interpretation

Well that's just a given...

[karamazov80]

Sadly, my dogs are far from fictional. Though they act like a couple of cartoon characters.

[TM2 Dinobot]

MAN did this go downhill fast!

Battlecat, you may be right about Boycotting something where you can't do it to just one. That's like a blockade on one harbor. Just use another one. However, that one harbor is going to feel the hurt. Perhaps DST will go "Ooh, those didn't sell too well..." Though 2 things about that. They may be already bought and paid for by Broadsword, in which case the sales figures would be less important, and secondly DST may misinterpret poor sales as lack of support for Indy Comics as a whole.

[battlecat]

For sure Dino, I didn't mean to imply that voting with your wallet won't make a difference, just talking terminology.

I probably should've posted something on-topic before descending into alternate universe dog analogies . So for the record, I won't be buying this, from lack of interest, but don't really have a problem with the set since I already consider some previous Minimate sets plenty "adult" -- to me, serial killer toys and cigarette-smoking toys seem just as wrong for kids as fantasy-porn comic toys do. And as an adult collectible I hope it succeeds simply because I don't like anything dragging down overall Minimate sales.

If anything I find the upcoming Hellfire Club "bondage-mates" more racy, because the Marvel line is supposed to be kid-friendly now more than ever with the TRU deal. I know we already had Emma in something similar, but her outfit doesn't seem quite as realistic/detailed -- also I guess I'm used to that being her "costume", not after-hours wear. Having not read the Hellfire comics I'm not as desensitized to that outfit on Jean Grey, and get a picture in my head of little Timmy running up to his mom with that 2-pack as her eyes pop out of her head . (As with everything, YMMV...)

[drgnrbrn316]

I was showing my 8 year old brother some of the pictures from Toy Fair and he saw the Tarot stuff. He looked at the picture, said the skeleton guy looked kinda weird, and that was pretty much his thoughts on the whole property. I don't think kids are going to really pick up on the scope of this property unless either 1) they've read the books before, or 2) they catch a glimpse of it and someone else freaks out.

Had he seen the thumbnail for that stuff and I freaked out and slapped my hands on the monitor to try and shield it from his eyes, I imagine he'd have had a different opinion on the subject. He likely would have obsessed over it, wondering just what it was I was protecting him from. Instead, he just saw some weird looking Minimates that he had little interest in.

I'm not saying everyone should run out and buy these for their kids, I'm just saying that what you see and what they see might be different things.

[karamazov80]

*sends e-mail to Nancy Grace*

[groundhog7s]

drgnbrn, I think that's kind of subjective and, for me, misses the point about kid influence. I feel it's subjective because each kid is raised differently and are exposed to different things. How your nephew responds to these and how my kids respond could be totally different because they've been raised in different environments. To me, it misses the point because it's not that my kids might see anything wrong with the mates themselves (though they probably would), but it might get them interested in Tarot. My boys want to see Back To the Future because I have the mates and have been turned on to Marvel comics because of my collection. They ask just about who every character is that I have and usually show some interest in the properties that they come from. I don't want to have this around for myself, but I also don't want them showing any kind of interest in the comic they come from.

[TM2 Dinobot]

For sure Dino, I didn't mean to imply that voting with your wallet won't make a difference, just talking terminology.

I probably should've posted something on-topic before descending into alternate universe dog analogies . So for the record, I won't be buying this, from lack of interest, but don't really have a problem with the set since I already consider some previous Minimate sets plenty "adult" -- to me, serial killer toys and cigarette-smoking toys seem just as wrong for kids as fantasy-porn comic toys do. And as an adult collectible I hope it succeeds simply because I don't like anything dragging down overall Minimate sales.

If anything I find the upcoming Hellfire Club "bondage-mates" more racy, because the Marvel line is supposed to be kid-friendly now more than ever with the TRU deal. I know we already had Emma in something similar, but her outfit doesn't seem quite as realistic/detailed -- also I guess I'm used to that being her "costume", not after-hours wear. Having not read the Hellfire comics I'm not as desensitized to that outfit on Jean Grey, and get a picture in my head of little Timmy running up to his mom with that 2-pack as her eyes pop out of her head . (As with everything, YMMV...)

Actually, Selene is a Variant. So Black Queen is the only one we have to think about. And somehow I doubt she's gona make it into the TRU wave.

[Mattallica]

WOW this thread has exploded from when i last viewed it, I'd just like to clear my stance on these if i may

I have no problem with them( heck Ill buy 'em) or the source material for that matter( I managed a comic store for 7 years and saw/sold all kinds of "underground" comics, i never quite got the draw of the real hardcore porno ones, but to each their own) but knowing how easily uptight folks can get over such things I d hate for my precious minimates to be unfairly labeled "Bad" and suffer for it is the comment i was trying to make, i wish DST and Broadsword great success with these. -M

[battlecat]

Actually, Selene is a Variant. So Black Queen is the only one we have to think about. And somehow I doubt she's gona make it into the TRU wave.

I doubt it too. I was saying the TRU deal has likely gotten more kids collecting, who then also get their parents to buy LCS sets. We don't even have the TRU mates in Canada and I've seen parents with kids buying Marvel mates at my comic shop.

To be clear, I don't have any real problem with the Hellfire Club mates, I'm just saying they seem racier to me in comparison, because they're not (just) targeted at adults.

Edited February 16, 2010 by battlecat

[Deadpool]

Just so I get my 2 cents in, She-Hulk banged the Juggernaut, but no one objects to minimates of them. Kids don't have to know that, and they don't have to know that that lady's vagina is haunted.