On the Controversy of how females are depicted in comics: -Spider-Woman, Vol. 2 # 01 Variant, by Milo Manara. -Spider-Gwen, Vol. 1 # 01 Sketch Cover by Frank Cho, after Milo Manara. -Harley Quinn: Valentine's Day Special, Vol. 1 # 01 Sketch Cover by Frank Cho, after Milo Manara. Here's the thing, until basically these past few years, comic books were almost exclusively the domain of 30 year old white guys. I am not saying that as a good thing, or a welcoming environment to new readers. In point of fact, the cultural shifts are being reflected directly by the readership. In other words, comic book companies realized they needed to broaden their readership in order to stay solvent. That change does not negate the history of the industry, and there needs to be a balance between those two ideals: fan service for long-time fans and new ideas for new readers. That is why Marvel has cameos by Stan Lee in their movies. That is why titles keep getting relaunched with new creative teams and artists. As for the controversy surrounding the images above, I agree with the people who are offended by them. I also agree with the artists who created the works. Everyone an has equal say in this, in my opinion. Everyone. That includes Milo Manara, Frank Cho, Marvel, DC, and all the fans and readers of the respective characters and series. Just because something is bothersome to me, it does not mean it will bother everyone. Milo Manara has been making way more explicit artwork than the first image since before I was reading comics. He has a dedicated following because of it. If you do not like his work, do not buy it. Frank Cho's website is titled 'Apes and Babes'. That should tell you what your getting into when you look at his site. Furthermore, the two sketch covers he did were done after market and sold through his personal website. If you do not like or do not approve of the artwork, do not buy it. But Frank Cho has been doing this work for a long time, and he is making a living at it from all appearances. Are Female characters usually depicted in ridiculous, and completely male-centric poses and clothing? Yes, absolutely. Obnoxiously so in many cases. Consequently, artists that piss off fans wind up getting less and less work. For example, Jim Balent does not draw Catwoman any more. On the other hand, Adam Hughes did like, 50 covers of Catwoman. Google Adam Hughes sometime. He tends to draw Women in a pretty exaggerated fashion as well. Additionally, times are a-changin'. GREAT books like Bitch Planet, Pretty Deadly, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Secret Six, Batgirl, etc. (pretty much anything by Kelly Sue DeConnick or Gail Simone) are on the shelves where they did not use to be. If comic book fans are anything en masse, they are stubborn and slow to accept change. People tend to gravitate towards characters being depicted as they first encountered them is my point. The number one rule with comic books - across all genres, nationalities, demographics, or years - is that comic books are sold by companies that want to make money off of them. It therefore follows that the number one way to support a book you like is by buying it (or preordering it). And, the inverse is also true: if you do not like something, do not support it. There is one corollary to this one rule: your tastes do not give you free reign to rip into someone else for liking something you do not, or for creating artwork that you do not like. Ultimately, taste is in the eye of the beholder, and I do not agree with censoring artists because they upset a subset of the fandom. I just cannot support that idea. If a comic book is not to your taste, do not buy it. It is that simple. Frank Cho is a nice guy, and a really good artist. Milo Manara is one of the best artists in his chosen genre. You can dislike his work, but you cannot sit around and call him a bad artist just because it does not appeal to you, or even if it offends you. If you do not like any of the artists I have spoken about, do not support them. And that choice is your voice in the matter.
