Can you really not say “Sodomy” on a comic book cover? Eric Powell’s Satan’s Sodomy Baby is listed as Satan’s **** Baby everywhere, including on Dark Horse’s website.
Is the word really that offensive? Sure, it’s not the sort of thing you discuss with your grandmother over tea, but using the word itself on a comic book cover? It’s in the Bible, isn’t it? (Sodom is, anyway, and what the heck do you think they were doing there?) I’ve always thought it’s the kind of word conservatives and the religious right enjoyed: You know, “Those godless sodomites inflicting their sodomy on hapless youths with rock music and video games.” That sort of thing. But apparently there’s simply no polite way to talk about fucking people in the ass.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that they’ve only used four asterisks, but “sodomy” obviously has six letters. So it’s possible they’re suggesting the title contains an even worse word than sodomy. Surely, spelling out Satan’s Sodomy Baby is more socially acceptable than allowing people – some impressionable youngsters, and some fucked-up perverters – the possibility of even imagining Satan’s Fuck Baby or Satan’s Cock Baby?
For the love of Jesus Fucking Christ, why won’t anyone think of the children?
A final observation: You can’t put “Sodomy” on a comic book cover, but apparently you can put Michael Turner’s art on one. How fucked up is that?