So... i'm kindof surprised no one's brought up the cover of August's "Heroes for Hire" yet.
This link, despite being rated by marvel as appropriate for young children, is NOT work-safe!
I'm... fairly shocked. It's not so much that it's tentacle-rape that bothers me (although, that does slightly) it's that it's on a comic that's being rated "T+" by Marvel under their own in-house ratings system... and to quote them directly:
MARVEL RATING SYSTEM
* ALL AGES
Appropriate for readers of all ages.
* T+
9+ years old Appropriate for most readers, parents are advised they may want to read before or with younger children.
* PARENTAL ADVISORY
15+ years old Similar to T+ Suggested for Teen and Up, but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery. Recommended for teen and adult readers.
* MAX: EXPLICIT CONTENT
18+ years old Most Mature Readers books will fall under the MAX Comics banner, (created specifically for mature content titles) MAX and Mature-themed titles will continue to be designed to appear distinct from mainline Marvel titles, with the "MAX: Explicit Content" label very prominently displayed on the cover. MAX titles will NOT be sold on the newsstand, and they will NOT be marketed to younger readers.
Marvel ratings serve as general guidelines for readers. In many instances, a PSR title may be appropriate for most age groups. Marvel leaves the final determination of what is appropriate content up to the consumer."
whiskey... tango... foxtrot?
HERE is a link to the newsaramablog post this morning which has a number of interesting quotes from various industry types like Tamora Pierce (writer on Marvel's White Tiger), Jennifer de Guzman from SlaveLabor Graphics and my personal favorite; Elin Winkler who's company "Radio Comix" publishes hardcore pornographic comics. :D
but what good would this story be... without the obligatory M. Night Shyamalan style twist!
*drumroll*
The cover in question... which clearly depicts strong female (and in Misty's case; minority) women in a demeaning and an overly NONconsensually sexual manner...
...was drawn by a Japanese woman.
So the 50 million dollar question remains;... does that change your perception any? (ratings problem aside)
| | Templar (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small} templar46_2) wrote in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.2){kind=small} women_n_comics, |
May 25 2007, 23:14:23 UTC 5 years ago
And isn't Misty Knight supposed to be black?!
I've been talking about this a lot but not here.THEY WHITEWASHED MISTY KNIGHT ON THE COVER OF HER OWN BOOK!
Ahem, sorry about the capslock attack but it felt appropriate.
May 26 2007, 13:57:08 UTC 5 years ago
Re: And isn't Misty Knight supposed to be black?!
I did a remix of the cover and made Misty's skin the right color and fixed her hair.http://pics.livejournal.com/divalea/p
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May 25 2007, 23:16:37 UTC 5 years ago
And to answer your question...
drawn by a Japanese woman... does that change your perception any?No.
May 25 2007, 23:24:56 UTC 5 years ago
Ok, 1) I object to it regardless, but I especially object when they try and suggest that it's ok for 9 and up! I mean c'mon! Really! It should be the Parental Advisory 15+ level at least.
I think the newsaramablog post summed it all up pretty well. These are strong characters and we're not only putting them in an abhorrent situation, but they're being put in the situation and shown as weak and helpless.
So does the artist being female change my perception? No. Not really. Frankly I've always thought of that as being even worse. I don't pardon men drawing this sort of thing just because they're men, but when it's done by a woman it feels like I'm being betrayed by my own gender.
May 25 2007, 23:36:48 UTC 5 years ago
Newsarama: How about the Heroes for Hire #13? This has caused some controversy of its own, with some people likening it to a very unsavory recurring element in some more adult-themed manga?
Joe Quesada: This one I can answer to. First, I think people are reading way too much into that cover than was ever intended. I heard terms such as “tentacle rape” being thrown around when that in no way is what’s happening, nor does it happen in the book. Those tentacles are the arms of the Brood who appears in the issue and is a major story point, the Brood have tentacles, sorry about that.
Secondly, the concept for that cover, soup to nuts came from a female artist. Thirdly, not being a deep follower of manga, I have no idea what recurring theme people are referring to or concerned with. While I appreciate the sentiment and the feelings that some may have about this, I honestly feel that there is way too much being read into this cover.
Also, HFH is a book that features two strong, lead female protagonist who kick major ass; somehow folks have forgotten to focus on that.
May 26 2007, 02:22:04 UTC 5 years ago
and... uh... the two strong, lead female protagonists who kick major ass... that's what bothers ME!!! gah!
Anonymous
May 31 2007, 06:02:31 UTC 5 years ago
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May 26 2007, 13:14:36 UTC 5 years ago
I saw that quote too...
HFH is a book that features two strong, lead female protagonist who kick major ass; somehow folks have forgotten to focus on that.Yes, Mr Quesada, the cover artist and the Marvel editor clearly forgot to focus on that. Which is exactly what people have been objecting to.
May 27 2007, 16:33:17 UTC 5 years ago
Superman parody of Joe Q's responce
May 25 2007, 23:47:30 UTC 5 years ago
No. All it means is that woman and the editor in chief have their heads up their asses.
And I say this as a person who doesn't have a problem with hentai, but that has to do with the audience it is aimed at, amongst other things.
May 26 2007, 00:02:11 UTC 5 years ago
Also, to be honest, though I have to agree that it reminds me of "tentacle rape", I've shown that cover to folks that have NO idea what hentai is or whatever and though a few felt it seemed suggestive, most of them were more put off by the attire of the characters depicted (cheesecakeish, don't you know) or they simply notcied that first. My wife noticed the "slime" and made a comment about how it looks like "something from a porn".
Do I think the cover is bad? Depends on how I look at it. Since I read a lot of manga right now it seems bad, because I look at it from that angle. I'm not overly put off by it, but I think that's because I don't read the title. I'm also not a woman, so I obviously don't feel the intense outrage that many of the women I know are feeling over this.
One thing is for certain, I know that some folks got a good laugh out of this choice for covers, as well, and Marvel has hit another publicity home run. That's like 2 in a week or so? Wow. That MJ Statue Flap was quite the hubbub and although people denounced Marvel over that too, it sold out very, very quickly.
I guess we'll see if this all hurts Marvel in the long run. The way I've seen this stuff usually play out is people cry foul and go crazy over it for about a month and then they move on or become disinterested. Until the next great controversy. Maybe this will be the time when those who are outspoken against this kinda thing can make a difference... But, as I and many other people in / near the industry privately and publically think, that's doubtful.
Here's to hoping, though.
May 26 2007, 00:08:46 UTC 5 years ago
This. Is aimed. At READERS OF ALL AGES.
Content be dammed, how the fuck can anyone think that this image is "too much being read into"? Is he fucking retarded, or simply incredibly self-deluded and arrogant? Sure, not everyone knows what hentai is, but the knowledge about the genre has certain increased with the advent of the internet. Even if you never heard of tentacle rape, the cover art sure as hell still implies a lot.5 years ago
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May 26 2007, 15:20:58 UTC 5 years ago
I think the concept got nibbled at in meetings. I'd lay money on it. Also, they likely did not even tell her what the age rating of the comic was. It's probably not in her contract at all.
May 26 2007, 00:53:09 UTC 5 years ago
What bothers *me* about the image is the breast popping poses with the nearly popping out of their clothing breasts.
and I am totally down with breasts on the whole. I have them, I like them, they are generally entertaining.
This cover is inappropriate for the age of the printed intended audience.
May 26 2007, 00:56:10 UTC 5 years ago
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Anonymous
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May 26 2007, 00:54:13 UTC 5 years ago
Here's a mentality we should be encouraging in 9 yr olds.
May 26 2007, 01:17:14 UTC 5 years ago
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May 26 2007, 03:52:28 UTC 5 years ago
Anonymous
May 31 2007, 06:17:58 UTC 5 years ago
May 31 2007, 16:02:14 UTC 5 years ago
pay attention!
what part of "nine year old children" are you failing to understand? Do i need to link dictionary entries for each word for you? NINE... YEAR... OLD... CHILDREN!additionally, grow a pair of testicles and start signing your fucking posts.
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May 31 2007, 17:29:13 UTC 5 years ago
bellevillenewsdemocrat.typepad.com/cultu
July 31 2007, 20:04:18 UTC 4 years ago
Face the Facts
Sorry to say this, but this comic (or at least it's cover) was made for men. End of Story. So they messed up the rating, why care? If you don't want this to happen again, don't buy it and that's "THE BOTTOM LINE" (money). I on the other hand am a guy who is willing to give it a chance, mainly because of the sexy cover and everyone talking so much about it (and you can't go wrong with the Brood). -LaterJuly 31 2007, 20:08:59 UTC 4 years ago
Re: Face the Facts
lolBINGO!
doofus.