Mordax et al

ivegotyoukeptin:

theadventurezone:

 Yesterday, we revealed some pages for our graphic novel adaptation of the first Adventure Zone arc, and received some criticism of the direction we went with for Taako’s coloring. This artwork reveal came some months after the first reveal of some of our characters, for which we also received criticism of our three leads, all of whom were white in these initial designs. Us and the graphic novel team realized that, yes, that is extremely bad, went back to the drawing board, and had several long discussions about how to best rectify this situation, resulting in the artwork revealed yesterday.

More or less all of the criticism we’ve received centers on Taako, whose skin is a pale blue color in these designs. What we’ve heard most is disappointment that Taako is not realized in these pages as a person of color — or, to be more specific, a Latinx or explicitly Mexican character. There was concern we had failed to follow through on an opportunity to get better representation for Latinx listeners, instead opting to take a safe route, and make Taako a fantasy color without any kind of real-world connection. Much of the criticism also focuses on how that color (or, to be more specific, green skin) has anti-semitic connotations.

This conversation was happening in certain corners of our fandom long before the graphic novel art reveal took place yesterday. We’ve heard criticism from some folks over our policy of not having canonical visual representations of any of our characters — a policy that has resulted in a genuinely humbling ocean of fan art, but also some instances of in-fighting between members of the community who take umbrage with one another’s disparate interpretations of these characters. Another criticism of that policy is that it inherently does not foster good representation, and in fact represents a noncommittal way of handling racial representation on this show.

Here’s the truth of the matter: I think all of this comes from this underlying friction between where The Adventure Zone and us, its creators, were when we started doing the podcast, and where we, the show, and you, the community, are at now. 

Keep reading

Look, I’m relatively new to The Adventure Zone. I started listening earlier in the month, and shortly after finishing the first episode I began to look into fan art of the show. I was thrilled to find the show had a thriving, active fandom. However, my excitement was short lived. I quickly learned this fandom is full of nothing but toxic people who may say “all designs are welcomed” but turn around and destroy those who draw things that do not mesh with their opinions on how the characters should look. 

I am heartbroken for the Mcelroys. I’m heartbroken that this is the impression you’ve given them of the fandom. I’m heartbroken that I can’t recommend this fandom to those I know because of how disgusting so many people are. 

That’s not to say everyone is that way, but the vast majority–

Representation is WONDERFUL, and personally I’m thrilled that Merle is shown with darker skin in the Graphic Novel… But then people tore that apart. You will ALWAYS find something to be offended by. You’ll NEVER be happy. I’m not a fan of “fantasy colored” skins like blue or green or pink or orange or whatever… so yeah, a “normal” skin color on Taako would have been incredible! BUT this is only one take on Merle, Magnus, and Taako. We all have our takes on the boys and that was one of the things I loved. There are so many creative people and I’ve fallen in love with multiple designs, across a spectrum of colors and shapes.

But THIS? When the Graphic Novel’s preview pages were released the fandom had a melt down. I UNDERSTAND representation. I UNDERSTAND the desire for it. But your reactions? No. There was something truly terrible about the way the fandom reacted. The Mcelroys are SCARED to do anything because of you! They don’t know HOW to create representation because no matter what they do there’s intense hatred and backlash for it. They’re trying their best, and they admit they’ve made mistakes. THEY’RE HUMAN BEINGS YOU KNOW. I don’t know what you’re all expecting other than the show’s end. 

I hate this fandom more than any other I’ve encountered.