This entry was inspired by Macabria, specifically a comment she made on a previous blog:
"To be honest, I find a lot of comics to be a feminist's nightmare... but part of the reason why I read them is for the simple rudimentary ideals. Women are beautiful, men are strong, and good will win."
I responded with a comment about how Marvel handled the Invisible Woman through the 90s, and thought I would share that with the world. Or, at the very least, the 8.73 people who read my SG blog.
Here's a shot of Sue Richards, during a midlife crisis:
She also became a total bitch. I don't remember the circumstances during which this happened, just that Mister Fantastic was about to die, and the Thing was wearing a cheesy mask because he had been scarred somehow. Oh, and the Human Torch had accidentally burned down a college building. So it was a dark time for The Fantastic Four because dark times for heroes were in fashion at that particular moment. This was the same era in which Superman "died," Batman had his back broken, Spider-Man became a dark avenger, the original Green Lantern became a villain and so on. Yeah, this was when I began to lose interest in comics and turned my attention to movies.
This was in middle school, so we're talking about 1993 or 1994. I stopped reading comics, started watching older movies, obscure movies, and realized I liked them better. The characters were more real, the situations more interesting. And there was depth. Movies seemed the way to go. Except that it would be harder work to get into movies, and I was already a pretty good artist, so I decided I would just draw comics anyway, and hope I somehow became a good enough writer to get into some screenwriting. So now I'm a senior in high school. It's 1999, and I've headed back to the comic shop and this is the sort of thing I see on the stands:
Red Monika and Witchblade respectively. Now, I was 17 at the time, so I appreciated the near nudity of the characters. But even I could tell then that was the purpose of the design. To get horny teenagers to buy comics. These characters weren't well written. In fact, to call them characters would be an insult to even the lifeless space fillers you find in a Michael Bay movie. I thought it was kind of sad that comics had stooped to this level just to make sales.
On the other hand, I had also discovered J. Scott Campbell's work, particularly on "Danger Girl," which I appreciated more as an homage to the classic James Bond movies, of which I'm a huge fan. Campbell's girls were a little more fleshed out (no pun intended). The sexiness of his characters was very tongue in cheek, but the comic was also a fun adventure. But while he and Andy Hartnell reveled in goofiness, their contemporaries decided to give real drama to their characters. So what emotional turmoil can a woman like Witchblade go through?
Well, this, of course:
Because, you know, women can get preggers.
I'm pretty sure just about every female character in comics has become unexpectedly pregnant at some point and it's always a point of serious drama. It's unimaginative.
So, by now you're possibly saying "but, Adam, what about Wonder Woman? She's a strong, interesting female character!" Did you actually say that? Because I'm working on my psychic powers and I'm hoping I got this one right?
Anyway, Wonder Woman:
The Amazonian Princess, sent to America as an ambassador for peace. A strong but beautiful female, with intelligence and integrity. And she was created in the 1940s, which makes her way ahead of her time. Until you find out that her creator, William Moulton Marston, used the bondage fetishes he enjoyed with his wife and mistress as the basis for the Wonder Woman design.
Well, they can't all be perfect.
P.S., go check out Macabria's new set, Temptation. It's quite good. Trust me, I know these things.
"To be honest, I find a lot of comics to be a feminist's nightmare... but part of the reason why I read them is for the simple rudimentary ideals. Women are beautiful, men are strong, and good will win."
I responded with a comment about how Marvel handled the Invisible Woman through the 90s, and thought I would share that with the world. Or, at the very least, the 8.73 people who read my SG blog.
Here's a shot of Sue Richards, during a midlife crisis:
She also became a total bitch. I don't remember the circumstances during which this happened, just that Mister Fantastic was about to die, and the Thing was wearing a cheesy mask because he had been scarred somehow. Oh, and the Human Torch had accidentally burned down a college building. So it was a dark time for The Fantastic Four because dark times for heroes were in fashion at that particular moment. This was the same era in which Superman "died," Batman had his back broken, Spider-Man became a dark avenger, the original Green Lantern became a villain and so on. Yeah, this was when I began to lose interest in comics and turned my attention to movies.
This was in middle school, so we're talking about 1993 or 1994. I stopped reading comics, started watching older movies, obscure movies, and realized I liked them better. The characters were more real, the situations more interesting. And there was depth. Movies seemed the way to go. Except that it would be harder work to get into movies, and I was already a pretty good artist, so I decided I would just draw comics anyway, and hope I somehow became a good enough writer to get into some screenwriting. So now I'm a senior in high school. It's 1999, and I've headed back to the comic shop and this is the sort of thing I see on the stands:
Red Monika and Witchblade respectively. Now, I was 17 at the time, so I appreciated the near nudity of the characters. But even I could tell then that was the purpose of the design. To get horny teenagers to buy comics. These characters weren't well written. In fact, to call them characters would be an insult to even the lifeless space fillers you find in a Michael Bay movie. I thought it was kind of sad that comics had stooped to this level just to make sales.
On the other hand, I had also discovered J. Scott Campbell's work, particularly on "Danger Girl," which I appreciated more as an homage to the classic James Bond movies, of which I'm a huge fan. Campbell's girls were a little more fleshed out (no pun intended). The sexiness of his characters was very tongue in cheek, but the comic was also a fun adventure. But while he and Andy Hartnell reveled in goofiness, their contemporaries decided to give real drama to their characters. So what emotional turmoil can a woman like Witchblade go through?
Well, this, of course:
Because, you know, women can get preggers.
I'm pretty sure just about every female character in comics has become unexpectedly pregnant at some point and it's always a point of serious drama. It's unimaginative.
So, by now you're possibly saying "but, Adam, what about Wonder Woman? She's a strong, interesting female character!" Did you actually say that? Because I'm working on my psychic powers and I'm hoping I got this one right?
Anyway, Wonder Woman:
The Amazonian Princess, sent to America as an ambassador for peace. A strong but beautiful female, with intelligence and integrity. And she was created in the 1940s, which makes her way ahead of her time. Until you find out that her creator, William Moulton Marston, used the bondage fetishes he enjoyed with his wife and mistress as the basis for the Wonder Woman design.
Well, they can't all be perfect.
P.S., go check out Macabria's new set, Temptation. It's quite good. Trust me, I know these things.
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In short: I hope I have a sexy midlife crisis.