- The post that started it all: Betty tries to get the internet to do her homework
- not quite a rant on drawing books
- that male as the norm thing feminism is always complaining about… [sites linked are NSFW]
- Rack ‘Em Up [probably NSFW]
- This just makes me want to kill everyone
- Dear Comic Book Guys – I Think We Have A Problem
- Men Stereotyping Men
- Men Stereotyping Women
- Sexist Language
- Well, Denial was fun…
- FIGHTING FASHIONS: A What Not To Wear While Superheroing Column
- Blinding Privilege
And here’s a link to one of the books in question: Wizard’s How To Draw Heroic Anatomy, published fall 2005. Apparently it reprints much of its material from a previous volume. Gee, couldn’t they get some real artists to fill out the book?
[I may add to this list as I find more posts. These were just what I picked up on WFA and thru following links from Rat Creature's journal.]
I'm a thirty something Supergirl fan from Canada who's been reading DC comics since 1996. If you don't like discussions of social justice issues in your fandom, this might not be the place for you!
I am curious as to whether you feel a well-written story can overcome objectionable art.
Does a favourite character, written by a favourite writer, diminish the effect of the art? For example, if Peter David were still writing Supergirl, would it be easier to endure the present artist? Did the change from Leonard Kirk to Ed Benes(an artist known for a cheesecake style) affect your enjoyment of the last arc of Peter David’s Supergirl series?
Depends how much it jolts you out of the story. The art is part of the story. I found Benes’ art okay on his Supergirl run most of the time (and quite liked some of the poses), but every once in a while he’d draw the characters in clothing or poses *so* out of character that it spoiled that moment for me.
The disconnect between art and story in Superman/Batman:Supergirl is much worse than that was. But enough posts have been written on the disconnect between the dialogue and what’s happening on the page in that story, so I won’t go into that =)
I have several follow-up questions I’d like your opinion on.
Given all the research, reading and cataloguing of Supergirl’s appearances from the Silver Age to the present you have done, what has been the most glaring problem with the Supergirl series through the years, the writing or the art? Is there ONE reason or is it a combination?
Do you think the series have gradually improved since the Silver Age to the pinnacle of Peter David’s series, then dropped again? Or were the series pretty uniformly average, spiked with Peter David series, and then plummetted back down afterwards?
Why, yes, I am a Peter David fan…why do you ask? :-)
I’m not sensitive to objectionable art, although reading around it’s starting to become and issue for me. But speaking in general I find bad art can really take away from a story no matter how good it is. I remember reading the Batman series No Man Land, and in two back to back issues in the middle of the series was done by “artist” D’Israeli. I hated these issues, the story was good, but I could not get over his “LoonyToon” style.
“what has been the most glaring problem with the Supergirl series through the years, the writing or the art? Is there ONE reason or is it a combination?”
I’m not sure what problem or problems you’re referring to. The Silver and Bronze Age stories were of their time; they had the same problems as any other comic if you compare them to modern comics. You can’t really compare the plots to today’s, and the art styles have of course changed a lot. I don’t think Supergirl comics were significantly better or worse than her cousin’s at the time.
“Do you think the series have gradually improved since the Silver Age to the pinnacle of Peter David’s series, then dropped again? Or were the series pretty uniformly average, spiked with Peter David series, and then plummetted back down afterwards?”
I don’t think it was a gradual improvement. Peter David’s series was miles above anything that had come before. The Silver and Bronze Age stories followed the trends of the time, but the 80′s treatment of Supergirl was a HUGE step backward for Supergirl. So there was no logical progression there. And things have definitely taken a turn for the worse since, but I’m hopeful they may turn around yet. Or maybe I’ve just become desensitized.
The one drawback with David’s Supergirl is that it wasn’t really written for young readers. I loved it, but I was old enough to be enjoy that kind of story. I wouldn’t have liked it if I’d been younger (my kid sister certainly didn’t; she stopped reading after the first few issues). DC seems to have forgotten how to put out comics that can also appeal younger readers. As cracktastic (and sexist!) as the old comics were, they had that going for them.
Yeah, I know what you mean about the maturity level of David’s Supergirl…some pretty deep concepts were explored, which is why I liked it…but I can see it not working as an ‘all-ages’ comic.
With the older Supergirl stories, I find I can’t go back; their ‘cracktastic’ nature no longer interests me and I can’t read them like I could as a kid. I’ve out grown them. It’s sort of what happened to me with Archie comics…as soon as I was older than the characters, the comics lost interest for me.
Just as I can read the occasional Archie, I can re-read a Superman Family or an Adventure Comic(when I can find one!), but I couldn’t see spending a day re-reading past adventures.
Whereas, with the Peter David Supergirl, I could get back into it with no problem.
Bottom line: Peter David spoiled me!!:-P
My thoughts exactly. Peter David set the bar for me, and I just can’t enjoy the old comics in the same way as an adult.