I really should know better, but I clicked on a link to the DC message boards, topic of the new Frank Miller cover.

In summary... this is why I’m going to stay way the hell over here okay thanks. However, one exchange did catch my attention and would not let me shake it as it might have a sane person.

[livejournal.com profile] maelithil:
Depicting [women] as an ass, a pair of tits, some gorgeous thighs is doing them a disservice. Distilling them into nothing but their sexual attributes is objectifying. And that's exactly what this cover does.


Random Fanboy:
And notice that Superman's chest is OFTEN a whole panel unto itself. Not Superman fighting the bad guy. Not Superman standing full figure. Superman's chest. Just his chest. His huge, massive, S-draped, extraterrestrially muscular chest. Is Superman being objectified? Is he being used? Should I cry for Superman?


And. Just. What? This is the counterexample?

But! Maybe it’s not that his logic is just that scary. Maybe it's hard to understand what she’s talking about because it really, honestly is that there’s no comparable example featuring a male denizen of the DCU. I mean, even the occasional Nightwing crotch shot *tries* to have context.

Obviously, something had to be done. For The Good Of Fandom.

Luckily, much like Miller, I have no shame.

 
Totally Appropriate Covers (with bonus, never before seen script excerpts!)

 



Hal’s flying away from us through a generic starfield, nothing interesting to see except him. Have him wriggle around, giving us a good shot of his package. Add some details, something fancy for the fanboys to drool over, but don’t let it draw attention away from the point of the cover – that Kyle has nothing, NOTHING, on my boy Hal.

 



Be careful with this one – we don’t want Supes to come off as too powerful, too imposing. Maybe have him lean a bit, off balance, the better to show off his *well filled* briefs. He's fiddling with the waist line, such a cock *heh* tease. He knows he’s got what we want, and if we turn the cover, he’ll let us have it.

 



Well, we’ve done just about every variation on the theme by now, so let’s go back to the basics: Black on black, a full cover shot of Batman’s ass. Add in the utility belt for colour – give it that Sin City look. Show me thick, powerful legs under that latex or whatever the hell he wears. Clenched butt muscles. Make it obvious this is no BatGIRL we’re talking about.


free hit counter

From: [identity profile] blackdove24.livejournal.com


yeeeah... i was kinda thinkin that miller was just being satirical too, and i had to have an argument with someone before i saw the light, but yeah. he's just a huge. fucking. misogynist.
and bill sienkiewicz kinda came off that way too in stray toasters (well, also elektra:assassin, but miller wrote that, so i wasn't entirely sure where to assign the blame), which is sad.

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


He must be. All Star B&R is one of the highest selling books right now. I've never read any of it myself - the (Lee, actually) cover for #2 scarred me. Sin City I picked up after seeing the movie... and put down fairly quickly. But I *liked* DKR, so I was more or less giving him the benefit of indifference.

At least until I saw the script he wrote for AB&R #1 (http://img281.imageshack.us/img281/4435/asbrse01oroboros0280zr.jpg). And then the Wonder Woman thing. I have a *hard time* believing it's all satire.


From: [identity profile] blackdove24.livejournal.com


hm, and here i thought you were going to refer to the black canary cover i saw tonight, but no. wow.

and i would just like to say, HELLS YEAH! i might actually pic up an issue of action comics if it had the promise of such action in it ; )
also, i'm surprised that no one's mentioned this (http://www.comicartcommunity.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=4484&sessionid=d349c9de4bed635440a449cbc9b9870a) recent cover though. i mean, while not quite frank miller, my first thought when i saw it was "WHOA! ASS!" and i briefly thought about buying x-men again (partially due to a fondness for silvestri from days when he sucked less and my taste in comics sucked more).

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


Hee! This is the first time I've seen that cover - Marvel is confusing, all that continuity. *Nothing* like DC. ;)

I hadn't seen the Black Canary cover either, at least not until after I posted this. I still think the Wonder Woman one is worse, however.

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


You say this, but I have yet to see any evidence on the matter...

From: (Anonymous)


I played along for three issuse of AS Batman before dropping it. Do you know how All Star Superman is doing numbers-wise? That's a fine book.

From: [identity profile] scarfe.livejournal.com


I played along for three issuse of AS Batman before dropping it. Do you know how All Star Superman is doing numbers-wise? That's a fine book.

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


It's also at the top of the charts. I like that one - (almost) pure Silver Age fun.

From: [identity profile] sigelphoenix.livejournal.com


Here from a friend's LJ. Hilarious and biting commentary.

From: [identity profile] foomf.livejournal.com


WHOA! ASS!

And all those phallic towers in the background!

From: [identity profile] blackdove24.livejournal.com


ha, i didn't even think about that! though, granted, i'm not necessarily one to see phallic symbols everywhere i go... surprisingly.

From: [identity profile] pickledginger.livejournal.com


Yes! What is it with these (literally) spineless women on comic book and paperback covers?

From: [identity profile] pickledginger.livejournal.com


Yikes! I've looked at the girlie cover now - not only is her spine broken, but so are her ribs ... and is that an extra pair of breasts?

If you can't draw, apparently, then you're qualified.

From: [identity profile] pickledginger.livejournal.com


No kidding - it looks like a ... er ... toy convention.

From: [identity profile] bugchicklv.livejournal.com


Here by way of another LJ friend [livejournal.com profile] commodoremarie and I just have to say that if the comic covers actually looked like the ones you've created, I might consider buying one (or twelve).

OMG, especially the Green Lantern One. *lick*

(icon usage to objectify male...and cause he was hot).

From: [identity profile] greenstripes.livejournal.com


Hey, you don't know me, but as a girl who loves comics, thinks Frank Miller has lost his shit and is sick of explaining why these two facts are not fundamentally incompatible, I would just like to say that this is hilarious.

From: [identity profile] commodoremarie.livejournal.com


Wonderful, wonderful post. Especially love the Green Lantern cover you did. Definitely saving the link!

Ah, but have you seen the one cover that might, perhaps, strike back?

Image


From the recent Rawhide Kid (http://www.universohq.com/quadrinhos/2004/imagens/western_rawhidekidmarvelmax.jpg), a supposedly gay comic. Not that it was at all, mind, but at least it explains the cover art. The wonderful, I-want--to-frame-this-and-put-it-on-my-bedroom-wall cover art.

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


Thanks! And thanks for the image. That's really *something*. ;)

Is this the title that started the row at Marvel over gay characters? I've heard bits and pieces...

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


Thanks for stopping by.

It's *totally* valid to enjoy comics and still think they've got problems. Miller is just one of the more unfortunate examples.

From: [identity profile] commodoremarie.livejournal.com


Yep, I do believe it was. Quite silly, in my humble opinion. This cover is by far the most explicit thing about the comic, and yet they plasted it with warnings. You'd expect more than very vague one-sided flirting for a gay comic, but nope. You have to look to find anything. *sigh*

From: [identity profile] odditycollector.livejournal.com


Heh. Obviously DC should *take note* of this unexplored market. Who is that in your icon, by the way?
.

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