Batman comic cover pulled

[gunnarthor]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/17/entertainment/feat-batgirl-joker-cover-pulled/index.html

 

I might have read 3 batman comics in my life and had never even heard of "The Killing Joke" before today but apparently Joker may have sexually assaulted Batgirl?  And DC apparently knew this and went ahead with a pretty bad cover - to celebrate the Joker's 75th anniversary - that they pulled today.  I guess they got publicity out of it but that seems pretty cruddy way of going about it.  

[Willihammer]

http://media.giphy.com/media/TbRXNJJJbgIkE/giphy.gif

[TheLeviathan]

Not a good choice to celebrate a brilliant story by Alan Moore.  Easily one of my favorite graphic novels of all time.

[Zachary]

I think people are too sensitive. It's a fictional story with fictional characters. Changing the cover doesn't change the content of what happens in the story. If you don't like it, ignore it. You can't force the authors to not publish what they want to publish.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I think people are too sensitive. It's a fictional story with fictional characters. Changing the cover doesn't change the content of what happens in the story. If you don't like it, ignore it. You can't force the authors to not publish what they want to publish.

Except that's not what happened at all. The creative team decided the cover wasn't appropriate for a book that's light-hearted, fun, and about a teenaged girl. Pretty much everybody who actually reads Batgirl agrees that the cover wasn't in line with the tone of the book.

 

I thought the cover was meh. Even if it fit the tone of the book, comic creators need to be acutely sensitive about how they portray women because they've done a piss-poor job of it for half a century and there's a vocal segment of the reading population that is sick and tired of it. This wasn't the most egregious example and it's unfortunate that it received such scrutiny but it largely brought it on itself.

[gunnarthor]

 

 

 

I thought the cover was meh. Even if it fit the tone of the book, comic creators need to be acutely sensitive about how they portray women because they've done a piss-poor job of it for half a century and there's a vocal segment of the reading population that is sick and tired of it. This wasn't the most egregious example and it's unfortunate that it received such scrutiny but it largely brought it on itself.

And a cynic might suggest that Batgirl comic sales increased as a result of all the media attention.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

And a cynic might suggest that Batgirl comic sales increased as a result of all the media attention.

It probably did but that surely wasn't the intent. It was an homage to one of the most highly-regarded Batman storylines of all time, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Joker. It was an homage, nothing more.

 

If the Spider Girl cover fiasco didn't happen 6-8 months ago, nobody pays attention to this cover, which was much less provocative than that cover. It was very bad timing.

[gunnarthor]

 

 

If the Spider Girl cover fiasco didn't happen 6-8 months ago, nobody pays attention to this cover, which was much less provocative than that cover. It was very bad timing.

Never heard of that (haven't read comics in 15 years, sadly).  Googled it at work. Might have been a mistake.

[Brock Beauchamp]

That Spider Girl cover was atrocious.

 

It's kind of like the Rice/Peterson situation. Peterson did something wrong but had it not been preceded by something even more horrific that put the topic at the forefront of everyones' minds, it probably blows over with minimal controversy.

[Zachary]

 

Except that's not what happened at all. The creative team decided the cover wasn't appropriate for a book that's light-hearted, fun, and about a teenaged girl. Pretty much everybody who actually reads Batgirl agrees that the cover wasn't in line with the tone of the book.

 

I thought the cover was meh. Even if it fit the tone of the book, comic creators need to be acutely sensitive about how they portray women because they've done a piss-poor job of it for half a century and there's a vocal segment of the reading population that is sick and tired of it. This wasn't the most egregious example and it's unfortunate that it received such scrutiny but it largely brought it on itself.

 

It is blatantly obvious that you have more content knowledge than me regarding this subject. I guess the point I am trying to make is I do not like the fact that the team must have sat down and discussed the cover art to some length and came to decision and then afterwards they were coerced into pulling it because an outside source doesn't like it. If their intent wasn't to objectify or disrespect women, then it is not their fault for someone else portraying it that way. On the other hand, if they were to publicly announce that was their intent, then that is definitely not okay.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

It is blatantly obvious that you have more content knowledge than me regarding this subject. I guess the point I am trying to make is I do not like the fact that the team must have sat down and discussed the cover art to some length and came to decision and then afterwards they were coerced into pulling it because an outside source doesn't like it. If their intent wasn't to objectify or disrespect women, then it is not their fault for someone else portraying it that way. On the other hand, if they were to publicly announce that was their intent, then that is definitely not okay.

I'd mostly agree if the comics industry hadn't spent half a century portraying women as objectified characters. While I don't like all the outside influences weighing in on the subject, there is an increasingly large segment of the comic reading population that is fed up with female portrayals in comic books. Depending on the study you find, women are between 40-50% of the comic buying market now. Batgirl itself is a very popular title among women.

 

If comic creators hadn't spent 50 years crapping all over women, this wouldn't be an issue in the first place; they'd get a lot more leeway in situations of this kind but the creators themselves are the ones who created the environment and the public - both comic buyers and not - are telling creators "enough is enough". I have no issue with that, even if I don't think this particular cover is an egregious example of a one-dimensional portrayal of a female character.