Don't Draw that Derriere

                A few months ago, Milo Manara drew a Spiderwoman cover and the internet exploded.  Some feel that the explosion was justified.  Personally, I think it was bullshit. Well, just recently, Frank Cho, creator of Liberty Meadows and all-around exceptionally talented artist payed homage that Manara Spiderwoman cover in his own humorous way.  Well, the internet blew up yet again. 

                Here is the cover in question:

                Please note, this is a sketch cover.  It is not sanctioned by Marvel and it’s not in circulation.  Cho did this for a fan, the same as if someone had asked him to draw a picture on a regular piece of paper at a convention.  The problem, apparently, is that Cho posted this on his website, which drew attention from outside sources. 

                Personally, I had no problem with the Manara cover, aside from it just being a weird drawing that wasn’t quite anatomically accurate.  Therefore, I also have no problem with the Cho homage, which is a better drawn interpretation in my opinion.  The fact that Cho is a funny guy, that is his stock in trade, maybe even more so than being a “hot girl” artist, shows that this was a joke, poking fun at those people that got so bent out of shape in the first place.  Apparently, Spider-Gwen, as she’s called (and seriously, Spider-Gwen? Have we just run out of ideas at Marvel?) is a teenager, which I honestly did not know until this outrage started.  While this might be something else for people to complain about, let’s realize that:

a)      While the pose is provocative, the character is completely covered up, much more so than actual real life teenagers that post half naked pictures all over the internet (Kendall Jenner, please raise your hand, not too high though, your tits will fall out).

b)      It’s a goddamn drawing.  While it’s a good drawing in terms of technical proficiency, and a humorous one as well, I will say that Cho really messed up in the fact that the character is not on model.  Spider-Gwen actually looks like Jen, the blonde adversary of heroine Brandy in Liberty Meadows.  She is not drawn as a teenager, at least no teenager I have ever seen, and while that is small consolation, it should be consolation enough because, you know, it’s just a goddamn drawing.

Of course, none of that matters because Robbi Rodriguez got wind of this and posted one of the dumbest tweets I may have ever read:

https://twitter.com/RobbiRodriguez/status/585331843605495809

Yes, his response to someone drawing a picture of a character that he draws is that he wants to beat him up.  Not only that, but he also calls Spider-Gwen (God, I just feel stupid typing that name) one of “his kids”.  His surname, mind you, is neither Lee or Ditko, the people that created Gwen Stacy, nor is he Dan Slott, the current writer who brought her back from the dead or some such nonsense.  Rodriguez was, at best, in the right place at the right time.  This gives him no ownership over the character, and while he may not enjoy a character he draws regularly depicted in a sexualized manner, he should realize that not only does this shit happen all the time, I guarantee if you Google “Spider-Gwen erotica” (just not at work, you weirdo) you will find much worse than an homage to a cover.  The fact that Rodriguez stated in a later Facebook post that Spider-Gwen is a gateway book for younger readers, while true, really holds no bearing on the current situation.  It would be one thing if Cho had been commissioned by Marvel to draw a variant cover for the book, which, I would assume, would not be a humorous homage to a cover Marvel pulled from rotation months ago, and it was in regular rotation for his younger readers to see, I get that to a point.  But being pissed off, to the point of wanting to fight someone, anyone, much less a comic superstar like Cho, over a drawing, is asinine.  You know what it did though?  Now more people know who Robbi Rodriquez is.  I had never heard of the guy before, and I sure as shit won’t ever read a book he draws, but I at least know who he is.  Plus, what’s worse, a random drawing by someone not associated with the character at all, or a profanity-laced facebook rant by the artist primarily responsible for drawing the character?

Cho’s response to Rodriguez (which further cements the fact that he is a humorist first and foremost):

Seriously, he could have let it go.  He could have said nothing, or issued an apology to those that he offended (though I, and many people would have lost a lot of respect for him I assume) and just carried on.  Instead, Cho did what funny people do when a joke riles up a group of people, he made another joke.  Twist the knife, Frank.  Twist it good.

Rodriguez was not the only person that took offense to a drawing.  First, and almost immediately, Sam Maggs at The Mary Sue made a big deal over what is essentially nothing.  First, Maggs made it a point, when referencing Manara, that he was an “erotic artist”.  First, Manara is an artist, not an erotic artist.  Does he have erotic work in is portfolio?  Absolutely.  Does that have any bearing on his superhero cover that he was commissioned to draw by one of the largest (if not the largest, I’m not sure how the big two rank) comic companies in the world.  All this does is show me that Maggs is already reaching and trying to get her readers to cast judgment before she even gets to the third paragraph.

Then, Maggs makes mention of the fact that Cho has drawn some cheescakey stuff in the past, and links to humorous sketch covers he has posted in the past, showing a pattern that Cho has followed his entire career.  She then explains, well, I’ll just let you read it:

But by taking a shot at this particular cover, one that caused so much discomfort among lots of comic book readers, it shows a clear disregard for the perfectly valid outrage over Manara’s original Spider-Woman variant; an incident that, we should note, made our list of the “Worst Moments in Female Fandom in 2014.”  

First of all, maybe Cho, like a lot of other people, thought your outrage was silly to begin with.  Why should he validate how you feel with something he draws, especially if it is a humorous depiction?  Second of all, the fact that you have a list with that title should be a black eye for your cause, and shows me that all you’re doing at The Mary Sue, is the same thing everyone else on the internet is doing, looking for pageviews. 

Of course, after that we get this gem:

Aside from being an obvious poke at “those angry feminists” who “overreact” to things, the cover is also an unfortunate but elucidating look at what some men think about women who are trying to carve out a space for themselves in the frequently misogynist world of comics – where they feel objectified and overly-sexualized on a regular basis. What makes this sketch even more inappropriate is that the Spider-Gwen book is clearly aimed at a teen audience, meant to entice new, younger female readers to Marvel comics. Plus, Gwen herself is a teenager.

If this was a poke at those angry feminists, then you took the bait, hook line and sinker.  I’m not even saying it wasn’t.  It’s fun to poke special interest groups that think they are high and mighty and deserve special treatment, and yes, feminists fall into that category.  I would like a little more clarification as to how a drawing, a private drawing that was shared via an artist’s personal website, is doing anything to hinder the talented women in the comics industry today.  Please, elaborate on that.  Finally, I already covered how asinine the fact that we are bringing up the age of a fictional character in regards to her fully clothed pose in a drawing is.

This is my favorite part of the article though, hands down:

And before anyone tries to tell you that “it’s just a joke,” it would be helpful to remember that jokes can cause real hurt and real harm to marginalized communities, and that is absolutely something worth critiquing.

Please note that every passage I have copied and pasted also included links to other The Mary Sue articles because, you know, page views.  To this I would say, put on your big boy/girl pants and fucking deal with it.  We are not put on this earth to make everyone around us feel warm and fuzzy.  If you don’t like a joke, get over it.  It’s a joke.  People have been telling jokes and making fun of others since the dawn of time (you know Eve’s first reaction to a naked Adam was to point and laugh, right?).  I know that feminists hate the “get a sense of humor” argument, but if you are dealing with someone that makes jokes on a regular basis, as Cho does (he wrote a comic strip for Christ’s sake, and a successful one at that) then realize that that’s all they are, jokes

To those at The Mary Sue that are concerned about random erotic pictures of cartoon characters, I don’t see you taking individuals to task for Kim Possible or Powerpuff Girls erotica, or whatever other creepy shit like that is out there.  Why, though?  Because it won’t engender as many pageviews as calling out a comic book heavyweight like Frank Cho over a “scandalous” depiction of a comic book character, that’s why.  This doesn’t even take into account that this cover just follows the same pattern Cho has made a career out of, beautiful women and funny jokes.  If you want to start a dialogue for the right reasons, then start that dialogue.  If you want to act mad and take someone who, by all accounts is one of the nicest guys in the business, to task so people read your article and visit your website, go fuck yourself.

Of course, after this, Janelle Asselin from Comics Alliance threw her hat in the ring, and she started out fine, saying that she “didn’t really care” about the cover and it was not her “sort of art”, even echoing some of my points, like the fact that this was just a picture, not a company commissioned cover.  Then, she loses me completely by saying that this cover, and Cho’s response that people “grow a sense of humor and relax” basically dehumanizes women.  Please.  I have seen more strong women characters in Frank Cho comic books than any single male cartoonist, maybe ever.  Are they drawn kind of cheesecakey?  Sure.  But not only are they not twigs, representing a positive body image for women, but they have strong personalities, also positive role models.  Are you going to tell me that Cho making jokes at those that are easily riled up (and this proves that they are) removes all of that?  Cho telling people to chill out, it’s just a joke is the exact right response, because he’s correct. 

What exactly is it about a drawing that everyone sees it as a personal attack on their ideology?  I would like to know how Asselin and Maggs (hell, anyone that feels like Cho’s drawing is this abomination because it apes a cover that they didn’t like) feel about the Charlie Hebdo attacks from a few months back in France. I am not calling these women, or feminists in general, terrorists, no one compares to terrorists in my book.  What I am saying is that those individuals were opposed to cartoonists drawing certain cartoons because something they believed in, an ideology directed them to feel that way.  How is it this way of thinking any different?  Unless you are getting a paper cut from these drawings, they are hurting no one, and if your feelings are that hurt over something a middle aged Asian guy draws for a fan (or even for himself, who cares) then maybe a look in the mirror is in order for you.

Go Home Feminists, You’re Drunk

                Last week there was a large outcry over a comic book cover by Milo Manara from the upcoming Spider Woman book from Marvel Comics.  It shows the titular hero in a pose that shows off a great deal of her ass as she is climbing over the roof of a building.  Is it cheesecake?  Absolutely.  Is it unnecessary?  Well I guess that depends on your definition of the word. 

For decades, comic books have sexualized, and often over-sexualized women, be they super-heroines or damsels in distress.  Muscle-bound men and large-breasted women in spandex is comics’ stock in trade.  That being said, there are many strong and strong-willed female characters in comics.  Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Chris Claremont created so many strong female characters for the X-Men franchise that not only have they mostly overshadowed their male counterparts (aside from Wolverine, that guy will always be more popular than Jesus) but have become popular enough where a group of only X-Women were given their own book (granted it was only a couple years ago, but still).  Even in the context of “team books” like Avengers, X-Men, Justice League, etc., many of the women characters are written as strong, necessary parts of the team.  Where would the Justice League be without Wonder Woman, or the X-Men without Storm, etc., etc.  Did it take superhero comics a long time to take women seriously?  Absolutely, and the 1990’s did not help that with the over-sexualization of the early Image comics, and comics in general does a downright shitty job appealing to women in general, always has, probably always will.  Mainstream comics also does a shitty job appealing to children, failing to realize that once all of their fanboys move out of their mother’s basements and have to start spending money on rent they won’t have the disposable income for comics that young kids might have (of course if they keep over-inflating the prices of these books they will price their way right out of that as well). 

It's not just the ladies that get posed with their asses in the air. Manara's cover on the left and a J. Scott Campbell cover from the mid 2000's (I believe) on the right.

What I’m trying to say, in my usual long-winded way, is that a picture of Spider Woman’s ass is not an overt attack on women, it’s cheesecake.  And it’s cheesecake from an artist that is known for his erotic comics.  Seriously.  Look him up, but take your safesearch off first or you won’t understand, nor will you find many images I’m assuming.  That’s like being pissed that you went to KFC and got a shitty hamburger.  They specialize in chicken, that’s why you go there.  You don’t commission art from Manara and expect anything but the female form in all its glory.  It’s cheesecake in an industry that was built on cheesecake.  If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.  Plus, it’s a comic cover, it will be on the shelf for three months, tops, then fade into obscurity.  Instead of celebrating the fact that a fan-favorite female character is getting her own series, feminists (many of whom probably do not read comics anyway) attack the fact that one picture, a variant cover no less, is not up to their lofty standards of what women superheroes should look like.  My answer to that is, draw your own superheroine.  Market her, sell her, and profit off of her, instead of inciting anger over something as silly as the fact that too much of a character’s ass is showing.

I will admit, I am not someone that keeps up with pop-culture that much, but why is there such a stink being raised about this while Nikki Minaj shakes anything and everything that she has, shows more skin than any superhero this side of Chaos Comics, and spits right in the face of good taste, without so much as a questioning glance?  Are feminists up in arms about this as well, or is it because she is a woman she gets a pass?  Would that mean that if that cover was drawn by a woman that it would be ok?  That there is a double standard, that a man drawing a woman in a scintillating pose is wrong but a woman doing it is empowering?   This is an honest question, please enlighten me.

There are so many things that we can be raging about as a society…is this really the mountain you want to plant your flag on?  I would much rather question Marvel’s choice of giving Greg Land another comic book to draw than the choice of who draws a variant cover.