“why are all the girls in
A question a friend asked me over MSN.
A fair question.
And although the issue has not yet come up, I’m sure that at some point down the line, I’m going to have someone (well, most likely a woman) bring up the whole “unrealistic portrayal of women in comics” issue. And possibly express disgust in my comic. And possibly threaten to cut my balls off.
Well anyway, Ninja Shizatch is a satire. It’s a satire of gaming, a satire of pop culture’s view of martial arts, a satire of comics, a satire of characterization, a satire of classic heroes, a satire of storytelling… hell, it satirizes a whole array of subjects. Sometimes, the satire is very obvious. Other times, it’s subtle – sometimes subtle to the point of going unnoticed.
So how does this tie into my semi-nude dames?
I believe I covered this in the 4th page of the comic, as well as the ensuing commentary:
“Hey, if it looks cool, why not? Screw realism - to look as badass as possible, men have to have the coolest accessories, and women have to have the least amount of material covering them as possible.”
Now, to be fair, women in most mainstream comics generally have much more cloth covering them than those in my comic. But look at this:
Catwoman here is covered from neck to toe in cloth – but if the colorist would have made that purple outfit skin-colored, she would be nude. Clothed or not, she is essentially naked. Would keeping only a bra and panties on this pic really make a big difference? I don’t think so.
But that’s the thing – artists will draw the female body as shapely as possible, with unrealistic, form-fitting outfits – but then they have scruples when it comes to how much skin is being exposed.
Well, I’m just taking this traditional concept of the sexy comic book chick and satirizing it by pushing it to the extreme with outfits that can have no purpose other than showing off as much skin as possible without going into an 18+ rating.
Your thoughts? Did you “get” why my females are so scantily clad? Does it offend you? Does it amuse you? What makes Jade and Sapphire sexy?
7 comments:
Heh, I was waiting for this to be brought up. Yeah, I can see an "unrealistic protrayal of women" issue coming up.
I've been reading this since basically the beginning, and ever since Jade's costume change, I automatically got the whole joke. I understood it was basically an exaggeration and parody of how women look in comics, anime, movies, video games, etc.
And it's funny, and I don't think anyone should be insulted.
I can't say I really sat down and felt I needed to analyzed the subject. This says 2 things - I didn't really get offended by jade's dress(disclaimer I am a guy so... lols) and that I take it as par for course for comics and this sort of genre (mortal combat specifically). Most importantly - I don't read the strip for commentary on women's lib (I go to salon.com for that) but rather come for the satire of all things popular culture. If this was a normal action or dramatic comic strip I may have found Jade's dress a little awkward - I wouldn't be able to take her seriously. But because this is a satire and nothing in it is supposed to be taken seriously - its awesome. And it definitely makes her sexy - total eye candy. Same way the male characters respective badassness and stupidity is both cool and hilarious.
Yeah, I agree with you guys – I think overall, it’s a non-issue, really. I don’t expect anyone to be offended – but there’s always that one person that wants to spoil the fun. Personally, I don’t even think the physical portrayal of women in comics is a big deal – men are portrayed unrealistically as well. Comics are a form of entertainment – and eye candy is part of that entertainment. It contributes to the fun.
I think the real issue has to do with the fact that women are generally the victims, the ones that need to be saved, the ones who are less powerful than men, etc.
And yet, it's sapphire kicking Silver in the balls....
Right - I make sure the lead women in my comic kick as much ass as the lead men. One of the main themes of NS is ass-kicking - no way am I gonna have weak women (or men, for that matter).
What makes the ladies sexy?
The fact that they will kick an annoying man in the rhinestones without hesitation, and not feel guilty aboutit. That's what defines a truly sexy woman.
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