Forget Lederhosen

I had started a dedicated blog on this topic, and this is the first post imported from it. Now I post everything on the topic under the tag "Germany in comics" here.

I read comics. I sometimes even read Superhero comics. I'm fed up with the following:

• Germany being depicted as "place where everyone lives in timber frame construction houses and wears lederhosen", stuck a hundred years in the past.
• Roughly 9 of 10 German characters being villains.
• German language being usually completely butchered.

So, I'm going to point out this nonsense as I find it, serving the double purpose of letting me vent, and maybe, maybe helping someone out there avoiding factual errors. I will also point out comics that get things right, or at least not wrong, to see if things are really as bad as my current impression suggests.

I'm pretty sure other countries and languages are getting similar treatment, but I feel unable to accurately comment on those issues, so I'll leave that to other people... Thought I might be the only nutcase interested in something like this. :D

For a start:

2 panels from Marvel Comic's New X-Men #36 (published in 2007)

Yes, there are woodframe construction buildings in Germany - I even happen to live in one. It's not the norm, though.

However, Lederhosen are completely ridiculous as "typically German". First, they are "typical" for some parts of the Alps (parts of Bavaria, Switzerland, Austria, northern Italy).

Second, they are not everyday wear, but traditional costume. Ethnic. Folkloristic.

"Lederhosen" relate to "typically German" roughly like "traditional Native American costume" relates to "typical for the USA".

It's ridiculous, and not in a good way.