What comics did you buy today?

[starscape]

The readership is overwhelmingly male though. It's playing to their audience. I can remember Blue Jeans and the rest being dominated by topless male pop stars, as their demographic was overwhelmingly teenage girls.

[Raven]

The readership is overwhelmingly male though.

That's not really a good reason to justify it. And do DC want it to remain that way? Can they afford to shut female readers out by portraying women, as Laura Hudson says in my link, like "creepy fan fiction drawings", rather than being defined by strong character?

As Hudson wrote:

"But this is what comics like this tell me about myself, as a lady: They tell me that I can be beautiful and powerful, but only if I wear as few clothes as possible. They tell me that I can have exciting adventures, as long as I have enormous breasts that I constantly contort to display to the people around me. They tell me I can be sexually adventurous and pursue my physical desires, as long as I do it in ways that feel inauthentic and contrived to appeal to men and kind of creep me out."

Why not be inclusive to female readers as well?

And not every male wants to see women portrayed that way, either.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Women [especially nice looking ones] are always way more fun to draw than drawing guys.....[more difficult as well, in the estimation of many artists: some really good artists even appear to avoid drawing them!]-----so much 'more to work with' if you get my drift. It's not surprizing that many artists get obviously so carried away drawing ladies.

Getting paid to draw attractive women seems almost too good to be true, but many artists manage to attain this. Nice work if you can get it!

But yes, restraint in depicting women in much comics imagery often goes out the window---from 55 storeys up.

[starscape]

But women were never big superhero comic readers. Might as well complain about Mills and Boon having only strong rugged men as heroes as that would turn off the male demographic. I suspect that would turn off more than they would bring in.

But yeah, not everyone does like it. Nor does everyone like the more feminist The Cat or Ms Marvel, including current series. Different strokes and all that.

Comics teach men that to be good, they must be colossally well built, handsome, young and wear skin tight garishly coloured clothes. If they are not good looking and tall but they are intelligent, then they must turn to evil.

Offensive? Not to me. It's only comics.

[philcom55]

Women [especially nice looking ones] are always way more fun to draw than drawing guys...

...Tell that to Michelangelo!

- Phil R.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Ironically, in light of what we have been discussing regarding the depiction of women in comics, here's a cut-n-paste reply [just recieved today] from someone interested in my cartoons:






Hi Robert,

thanks so much - I really like your pencil sketch and possibly would consider just using a sketch like look to the cartoons. I do however find the woman to be a bit big bossomed and saucy for a stressed mum in a playpen !

I would like to know how much you would charge per parenting funny quote. I have about 20 I will need illustrating eventually, but can start with 4.

thanks
Kathy

[geoff42]

received 14 Bullet comics from 1977 and very happy with condition. The only problem with a number of them was that interior pages were protruding from comic edge and obviously frayed. I did the unthinkable and snipped at these pages in order to remove these unsightly blemishes. Is that acceptable? Any British comic collector will know that a lot of DC Thompson titles had this problem were the pages were invariably uneven. Strange, isn't it? I will not accept any graffiti on a cover of a comic or within, including newsagent name or filled in puzzle, but will take my scissors to frayed edges ( with a steel rule and pencil, of course) and basically distort the original condition of said copy. Am I a monster or simply tidying up an aberration?

[Phoenix]

received 14 Bullet comics from 1977 and very happy with condition. The only problem with a number of them was that interior pages were protruding from comic edge and obviously frayed. I did the unthinkable and snipped at these pages in order to remove these unsightly blemishes...../.....I will not accept any graffiti on a cover of a comic or within, including newsagent name or filled in puzzle, but will take my scissors to frayed edges

I have been collecting story papers (I refuse to call Bullet a comic) for over 30 years now, Geoff, and I can confidently state that if I were as finicky as you I would still be searching for a sizeable number of the ones that sit happily in my collection. A pristine copy is a joy to behold, but I have never lost sight of the fact that story papers and comics were originally bought by children, the people that Thomsons (no 'p', please notice) were targeting, from newsagents, and that said newsagents often delivered them, a process that necessitated a name or an address to be written on the front cover. Thomsons did not intend the puzzles and competitions inside their periodicals to be some sort of internal decoration, either. Children recognised that fact and did the puzzles, often in ink, and even cut the puzzles out to post to the company if there was some sort of prize on offer. Indeed, sometimes they were encouraged to cut things out, a perfect example being the last page of Bunty, which for years had Bunty's Cut-Out Wardrobe in colour on the rear. I don't suppose you collect Bunty, but if you do you will know just how difficult it is to find intact copies from that period. I have plenty of those defective issues.

Personally I want the story papers for their story content, so I want them in a complete run. You don't say whether your copies of Bullet are in a run, but I think you would agree with me that we wouldn't want a novel if somebody had cut out a few chapters here and there. So, where I have gaps in a run I will fill them with copies in any condition on an any port in a storm basis, but I still leave those issue numbers on my Wants List, and I am certainly prepared to upgrade them as and when I see better copies. Your approach though, Geoff, could well mean that you will either be waiting for years to come across acceptable copies of your missing issues, or you will never get them. What exactly is the point of that?

[geoff42]

Yes, I guess I am somewhat fastidious over my collection but patience is a virtue... all good things come to those who wait. Last year, I managed to obtain a complete run of Roy of the Rovers from its first issue to the end of 1978 - all in immaculate condition, no folds, no stains, interior pages free from scribbling, no cut outs. The only thing missing were the free gifts. You're right about Bullet - they are difficult to get hold of - can go months without seeing any great copies and then, last week, managed to get 14 in one lump, which means I have around a third of the complete run now in great condition, and another third of lower grade copies which I will upgrade in time. It's a labour of love, I guess, as to the question of what's the point. I love collecting, even better when I can obtain high grade copies.

[Lew Stringer]

I agree with Geoff to an extent, although I don't mind the odd puzzle filled in or name in the margin, and I wouldn't trim the comics for neatness. However, if a comic looks too tatty, browned, or dirty, I won't buy it.

I think I've mentioned before that in my experience I've found that second hand comics from the 70s and 80s are generally in worse condition than those I've bought from the 1930s to 1960s. The declining quality of newsprint is partly to blame, but not for the dirtiness. I've bought some seventies comics that went straight in the bin when I received them as they were in such poor condition, but most 1930s - 50s comics I've bought were still clean, flat, and almost as good as new. Was it because kids back then looked after their stuff more because they appreciated what they had, I wonder?

I bought a 1937 issue of Mickey Mouse Weekly the other day. Wonderful condition. It cost me ten quid but I still think that was a bargain for a comic that's 77 years old.

[Bethanys grandad]

I'm now getting rid of most of my British 70s and 80s comics due to the poor paper , also I'm now only keeping a few key 60s comics as the paper on many are getting brittle and I keep mine in a small comic room Not a loft or shed, mostly I am now keeping pocket library's , Alan cass comics and silver age American DC and WDL comics as these seem to store and last.
At a very overcast bootsale in essex today I got 4 starblazers and 5 detective pocket library's from the early 60s all for £4 , saw lots of 2000 ad comics but I just can not get into them .

[Phoenix]

Yes, I guess I am somewhat fastidious over my collection but patience is a virtue... all good things come to those who wait.

In a way we are all singing from the same hymn sheet. We like our story papers and comics to be nice copies, so it's the degree of fastidiousness that seems to be the issue. It is a reasonable, but not absolutely true, assertion that all good things come to those who wait, but then what is a good thing for one person is not necessarily a good thing for someone else, and I imagine that one good thing I am waiting patiently for, Bolton Wanderers winning the Premier League, will not only not happen while I am still alive to enjoy it, I fear it will not happen at all.

Where my story paper collection is concerned, I obviously have a Wants List, which I have talked about on the forum fairly recently, and I also have a Replacement Wants List. There are only 35 items on that one, all text story papers, which I will replace as and when, and if I never manage to get them all, well I won't be losing any sleep over the matter. I did win Adventure 1149 (Dec. 29 1945) in Phil Shrimpton's recent auctions. That replaced a fairly tatty one that had been removed from a bound volume, which I must have had for twenty years, and its first replacement that I bought about a decade ago, so as you can see, I'm not in any great hurry. I'm happy with this recent acquisition, and pleased that Phil's description of it clearly overestimated its faults. I have no intention of looking for replacements for any of my picture story papers for boys or girls. As I've said before, I'm only really interested in the story content, hence my any port in a storm comment in my earlier post.

[geoff42]

Yes, Phoenix, I agree with you in that respect: one man's VFN is another's VFN-. Don't get me started on what certain individuals grade as near mint - we've all been there, I'm sure. Let's face it, we would all love copies of every available issues in the condition that they were originally issued. But... and this fact really surprises me... someone, somewhere has always an immaculate copy of a certain issue of any title stored away. In my days, I had no knowledge of acid free backing boards or bags and storage boxes: and yet, there are a vast amount of 70's comics (or storey papers) still available in brilliant condition that's never seen an acid free anything. I'm sure that applies to issues from 50's and 60's and even earlier. That is why I'm so patient: I know there's a high grade copy of virtually any British publication out there. And I love the challenge of obtaining everyone that I possibly can. (I know it's impossible, but let me down gently, please)

[geoff42]

I meant to say: story papers in my last post - I know: storeys is a reference to architecture - oh boy, I've had too much cider.