There’s a difference between criticism and censorship. This is something that I did not always understand, even as it seems obvious to me now, so I fathom that it can be a confusing distinction. To be clear: censorship is an attempt to prevent artwork from existing (or from reaching its audience, which is functionally the same thing); and criticism is the assertion that artwork has flaws or problems.

An article I read that was attempting to highlight that distinction for the general public brought up an old Penny Arcade newspost in which Tycho argues in defense of the artwork of the game Dragon’s Crown. In it, he pulls a straight-up strawman argument: “It’s very weird to pull up a story about a game with frankly visionary art and hear why it shouldn’t exist,” he says.

At the time that Dragon’s Crown came out, I can recall rolling my eyes at the sexualization featured in the artwork. I was on Team Criticism, that day, but neither I, nor anyone else I can recall, suggested that Dragon’s Crown shouldn’t exist. For that matter, I don’t think people suggested its art shouldn’t exist, either. Some people may have suggested that its art would be better if it were not so overtly sexual in a manner specifically intended to appeal to the male gaze. Maybe, if you backed a particularly zealous critic into a corner, you could induce them to suggest that Dragon’s Crown’s artwork should be better in this way, or else not exist. But no one asserted, as Tycho implies they did, that creators may not create.

There is an intense irony here. Tycho didn’t see it, then, and apparently neither did the writer of the aforementioned article that dredged up the newspost. The irony is in the comic strip, to which Tycho’s post is attached.

The male-gaze oriented, sexualized nature of the Sorceress’ artwork appeals to men, but is understandably alienating to women – that’s what makes this comic strip funny. Tycho and Gabe could not possibly have crafted this joke without fathoming the issue at hand, so they get that the Sorceress is problematic.

This comic, which in so few words elucidates the problem, could not be funny without being critical of Dragon’s Crown. Tycho and Gabe made a strip criticizing this game, and then Tycho made a newspost conflating criticism with censorship.

That’s arguably hypocritical. It’s also incredibly ironic, and, in many ways, tragic: these miscommunications, these misunderstandings, turn people who agree with one another into opponents for no reason.