Emma Rios Maneiro is a comic book artist and illustrator based in Spain. Her first work in the U.S. market was for the BOOM! Studios title Hexed. Rios has gone on to illustrate several Marvel Comics titles, including Strange (a 2010 miniseries featuring Dr. Strange), which was my introduction to her work. Below is some of her delightful artwork:
You can check out more of Emma Rios’ work on her Flickr page.
More than once in my life I’ve had someone remark “I didn’t know you were gay” or “There’s nothing gay about you. I’d have never guessed.” Statements of that nature reflect the biases about gay people held by that individual. There is no visual characteristic defining all gay people. We’re not a monolithic entity all acting the same. We are human beings with a diverse background and beliefs who express their sexuality in a variety of ways (with some choosing not to express their sexuality). Being surprised that I’m gay or saying there’s nothing gay about me is saying “Your expression of sexuality does not comport with how I think gay people act” (it’s also treating heterosexuality as the default). It’s that thinking right there that needs to be challenged. Gay people don’t “act” in any specific way that would allow someone to recognize their sexuality (just to be clear, I’m talking about engaging in everyday activities like going to the gym, the grocery store, or interacting with employees on the job. I’m not talking about holding hands with a significant other, kissing them, or otherwise acting in a way that signals one’s sexuality).
I’ve also had some personal experience with implicit racial biases. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told “You’re so well-spoken” or “You are eloquent”. Rarely have I heard those words directed at others, so what made me so special? For years, that question lingered at the back of my mind. Then I learned that many people hold unconscious beliefs about black people, and one of those beliefs is that African-Americans don’t speak correctly. While I’m not entirely sure what speaking correctly means, I know it involves enunciating words and speaking clearly (to be honest, I suspect it’s a criticism of black people for not speaking like white people). Here’s the thing though: all black people don’t speak the same. Shocker, I know.
It’s implicit biases like those above that need to be shattered so that people can come to view TBGL people, women, and People of Color as people, rather than a collection of stereotypes. In a recent post, I wrote about the importance of diversity initiatives in combating racial stereotypes. One of the suggestions I had was for Hollywood to cast more PoC in non-stereotypical leading or supporting roles. Whether a live-action movie or television show or an animated series, presenting People of Color in a positive role can help shatter unconscious racial stereotypes. What type of positive role?
How about a wealthy globe-trotting black woman who becomes a superhero after acquiring a mystical amulet that allows her to channel the abilities of any animal on the planet?
It looks like DC’s team of TV heroes is growing by one more: Vixen. According to KSiteTV CW a Vixen animated series which will debut this fall on its digital-only channel was announced by the CW at the Television Critics Association event Sunday. The project is being headed up by Arrow‘s Marc Guggenheim, and will reportedly be tied into the DC television continuity shared by Arrow and The Flash.
Originally created back in 1978 by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner, Vixen is primarily known as a team member of books like Justice League and Suicide Squad. In current comics continuity, she has been a member of both Justice League International and the main Justice League team. She’s made several appearances in various DC animated shows, from Justice League Unlimited to Batman: The Brave and the Bold and even a cameo in Teen Titans Go!.
Guggenheim explained to CBR that the series is initially planned for six episodes, and will be set in Detroit as a homage to the Justice League in the 1980s. The writer/producer said Vixen will be an origin story with heavy magical elements, in constrast to Arrow being crime-based and The Flash being science-based. Arrow writers Brian Ford Sullivan and Keto Shimizu will be joining Guggenheim on Vixen, but said the voice-casting of the title character hasn’t been finalized. Guggenheim did say that The Flash‘s Grant Gustin and Arrow‘s Stephen Amell would voice their own characters in the animated series.
While I envisioned more roles for People of Color on the big or small screen rather than digital (I worry that a digital-only series won’t reach many viewers, but I really don’t have anything to base this feeling on), this is still a step in the right direction.
Who’s going to be ‘The Wall’?
Viola Davis has been all-but cast as Amanda Waller in the upcoming big-screen adaptation of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad. Along with Oprah Winfrey and Octavia Spencer, the star of How To Get Away With Murder was on the short list of actresses up for the role of Waller.
According to sources, the lovely Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder) has bagged the role of major DC Comics villain and Prison Warden Amanda Waller in David Ayer’s upcoming Suicide Squad. In the comics, Amanda Waller is a former congressional aide and government agent often placed in charge of the Suicide Squad, a semi-secret government-run group of former supervillains working in return for amnesty.
Now, the key here is that the role is hers provided that the filmmakers can work out her TV schedule, which will be no small feat considering how big of a hit How To Get Away With Murder is. If it works out she will be joining Jared Leto as the Joker, Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Tom Hardy as Rick Flag, Jai Courtney as Boomerang (or Captain Boomerang), and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress.
I wrote previously that I really wanted a plus-sized black woman cast in the role bc Waller’s size is an important part of her character (I just had a nightmare flash of the role going to a white woman…shudder). At least it was prior to the 2011 reboot when DC decided to make the Wall slimmer and sexier (which was at odds with the intent of her creator, John Ostrander). Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that a black woman has been cast in such an important role (remember, Waller is one of the most badass characters in the DC Universe), especially since Hollywood is nowhere near as diverse as it ought to be. But still…
* * * *
USA Today has revealed that after 37 years, Jessica Drew will finally receive a costume overhaul (she’s tweaked her costume a little over the years, but nothing significant). Debuting today in the playable mobile game ‘Spider-Man Unlimited’, the new Kris Anka-designed costume will debut in Spider-Woman’s ongoing book in March.
“As much as I’m a fan of spandex and it has its time and place, I felt Jess as a character could move away from that for a good long while,” says Spider-Woman editor Nick Lowe.
And series writer Dennis Hopeless hopes both changes cement her as one of Marvel’s A-list personalities. “You’ve seen her as a superspy and Avenger and soldier. Now let’s see this person as an old-school hero.”
Spider-Woman, Spider-Man and other various Spider-centric characters are currently embroiled in dimension-hopping battles in Marvel’s Spider-Verse crossover, and in a bit of synergy between the publishing and game sides, the expansive story is a part of Spider-Man Unlimited, an “endless runner” game published by Gameloft for iOS, Android and Windows platforms with more than 30 million downloads since its September launch.
Spider-Woman’s appearance also arrives with an in-game event that features her new wardrobe in action for the first time.
Instead of head-to-toe spandex, Jessica Drew’s do-gooder couture now includes a lot more leather, black pants, two-toned gloves and a jacket that goes from streetwear to spider-bedecked superhero gear in just a few snaps.
“As a woman myself who loves games and comics, I love to see that functional, cool stylish look. It’s like a jacket I would want to wear daily,” says Tatiana Nahai, product manager for Gameloft.
“She’s sexy but not in a spandex way — in a modern, unique way.”
There are a few throwbacks to the old costume she first wore in 1977 — the familiar triangles are there as well as large spider-eyes, though now they’re yellow-lens glasses that become a facemask when one click. Spider-Woman also has the same type of web gliders that spread out under her arms — to slow a fall or swoop in on a bad guy — though the new ones are engaged from the back of her jacket.
Since Lowe took over the Spider-Man titles as group editor in February, he says he had been planning a new Spider-Woman solo series — her first was in 1978 and ran 50 issues — and also a more contemporary outfit since “frankly I don’t love the classic one.” (The new design was already well underway when Marvel came under fire in August for a variant Spider-Woman cover by artist Milo Manarathat was deemed too hyper-sexualized by many in the comic community.)
Working with Hopeless and Anka, Lowe wanted a costume that walked the line between superhero-ready and something a woman would wear in the real world. “But for the most part,” he says, “they’re clothes to kick ass in.”
They also make sense for Hopeless’ plans for Jessica Drew in the comic, according to the writer.
In recent years, she’s led a notably insane life, even for a Marvel superhero — Secret Invasion revealed that she’d been replaced for years by a shape-shifting alien Skrull, she’s gone through a number of crazy superspy missions, Infinity threw her and the rest of the Avengers into an intergalactic battle to save Earth, and in Spider-Verse, the character’s been tasked with keeping various newbies safe in the middle of a conflict involving several parallel universes.
However, Hopeless says, “she’s just fed up with it: ‘I have nothing normal and I’m risking my life all the time to do stuff that’s so crazy I can’t even explain it to people.’ “
I’m quickly warming to the new costume (which will see an in-story reason for its debut). Here is Anka’s redesigned Spider-Woman costume:
I like that creators are making an attempt to create unique, functional costumes for comic book characters (as seen in the new designs for DC’s Batgirl and Marvel’s Captain Marvel). I grew up on superheroes. I’ve loved the spandex set all my life, but I have no problem with the idea of redesigning superhero costumes. The idea seems to be to retain the superhero elements while creating a costume that’s practical for a person to wear. Oh, and boy oh boy is this new Spider-Woman costume perfect for cosplaying (for men and women-this isn’t a gendered costume)! Fan art featuring Jessica Drew’s new costume is sure to be forthcoming, and in fact, has already begun:
* * * *
In the comic book world, sexual objectification and sexualization of women is common. It’s a rare day when fictional male characters are sexualized, so it’s noteworthy that DC Comics has produced an alternate Justice League cover featuring the (all-white) guys in a Magic Mike inspired image (apparently DC is releasing a swath of movie inspired cover variants on their March shipping titles).
When progressives talk about how women are sexualized in comics, this is what they’re talking about. On a regular basis, readers are invited to view female characters in a sexual light (the cisgender, heterosexual male gaze), but so rarely are male characters presented in a similar manner. This is a welcome sight bc it is clearly marketed to women and gay men. An added plus is that the image presents the heroes in a sexualized manner that makes sense (i.e. the JLAers are stand-ins for the Magic Mike strippers-they’re supposed to be sexualized).
* * * *
Super Heroes Book of Opposites is a kids book aimed at teaching kids about opposites such as right/left, up/down, and over/under. Important concepts for kids to learn of course. There’s another lesson the book imparts and it ain’t pretty.
Notice anything?
The male characters are portrayed heroically while feminist icon Wonder Woman is presented in a maternal role…a role that is gender essentialist as all get out. Because obviously there were no other images they could use to show Wonder Woman pushing something. Hell, they could have flipped Superman and Wonder Woman. This is one of the insidious ways that socially approved gender roles are reinforced on children. On his Facebook page, writer Micah Ian Wright expresses his displeasure:
Wonder Woman doing that heroic stuff that the Patriarchy allows female heroes to do. Ever wonder why we’ve never seen a Wonder Woman film? You’re looking at what this company thinks of their own character.
If I’m not mistaken, the art is by José Luis García-López. The characters look like images DC used back in the 70s and 80s for licensing purposes. There’s nothing wrong with repurposing those images, but it looks like DC didn’t stop to think about what message this sends to kids.
(hat tip Bleeding Cool)
* * * *
In a deal with Marvel Comics, Netflix is bringing the Defenders to the small screen in a few years. Before that however, they will produce four series highlighting the members of this upcoming team. With production on the Daredevil series having begun, the hunt was on to find an actor to portray Luke Cage. Lo and behold, they’ve found one:
I haz a sekrit.
I’m a comic book fan (no, that’s not the sekrit) who enjoys animated adaptations of comic book properties (that’s the sekrit). As a child of the 80s, there were two shows I enjoyed more than anything.
This is one:
This is the other:
When the 90s hit, I enjoyed a few more superhero animated series, such as:
Post-2000, I really loved watching the Justice League & Justice League Unlimited shows
and I thoroughly enjoyed Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (though I don’t care much for its successor):
I got to watch the Avengers show earlier this year, when I was jobless for 4 months (it was agonizing). During that time, I’d subscribed to Netflix and watched the entire first season of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Having awoken my slumbering love for superhero shows, I decided to watch the Green Lantern animated series (I’ve since cancelled Netflix, bc I’m not impressed with their inventory of movies and tv shows).
I also watched the latter half of Season 1 of Young Justice (a Cartoon Network show featuring the young protegés of various Justice League members as they sought to prove their worth as heroes).
Both shows had season-wide, overarching stories, which I tend to prefer in my shows (stand-alone stories are fine here and there, but I like the connective tissue provided by a serialized story format; sue me, I like continuity). I quite enjoyed both series (though I liked YJ more–it had more mature stories, had emotional resonance, had strong & prominently featured female characters, and featured a black male not just as a lead character, but the team leader), and was eager to watch subsequent seasons.
Guess what I found out? Cartoon Network cancelled Young Justice and Green Lantern! TV shows, whether live-action or animated, are cancelled all the time, so no big deal, right? That’s what I thought until I learned that Cartoon Network executives felt that too many girls and women were watching the Green Lantern and Young Justice. Apparently, the executives wanted those shows marketed primarily to boys. From io9:
Vi at agelfeygelach transcribed part of Dini’s conversation with Smith on the Fat Man on Batman podcast, during which he talks about the cancellation of Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Tower Prep. He explains that studios are looking to capture younger male viewers, “boys who are into goofy humor, goofy random humor,” and that they aren’t interested in the older Young Justice audience.
The key quotes come when Dini starts talking about the problems that he says executives perceive with female viewers (emphasis is Vi’s):
DINI: “They’re all for boys ‘we do not want the girls’, I mean, I’ve heard executives say this, you know, not [where I am] but at other places, saying like, ‘We do not want girls watching this show.”
SMITH: “WHY? That’s 51% of the population.”DINI: “They. Do. Not. Buy. Toys. The girls buy different toys. The girls may watch the show—”
SMITH: “So you can sell them T-shirts if they don’t—A: I disagree, I think girls buy toys as well, I mean not as many as f***ing boys do, but, B: sell them something else, man! Don’t be lazy and be like, ‘well I can’t sell a girl a toy.’ Sell ’em a T-shirt, man, sell them f***ing umbrella with the f***ing character on it, something like that. But if it’s not a toy, there’s something else you could sell ’em! Like, just because you can’t figure out your job, don’t kill chances of, like, something that’s gonna reach an audi—that’s just so self-defeating, when people go, like… these are the same fuckers who go, like, ‘Oh, girls don’t read comics, girls aren’t into comics.’ It’s all self-fulfilling prophecies. They just make it that way, by going like, ‘I can’t sell ’em a toy, what’s the point?’
DINI: “That’s the thing, you know I hate being Mr. Sour Grapes here, but I’ll just lay it on the line: that’s the thing that got us cancelled on Tower Prep, honest-to-God was, like, ‘we need boys, but we need girls right there, right one step behind the boys’—this is the network talking—’one step behind the boys, not as smart as the boys, not as interesting as the boys, but right there.’ And then we began writing stories that got into the two girls’ back stories, and they were really interesting. And suddenly we had families and girls watching, and girls really became a big part of our audience, in sort of like they picked up that Harry Potter type of serialized way, which is what The Batman and [indistinct]’s really gonna kill. But, the Cartoon Network was saying, ‘F***, no, we want the boys’ action, it’s boys’ action, this goofy boy humor we’ve gotta get that in there. And we can’t—’ and I’d say, but look at the numbers, we’ve got parents watching, with the families, and then when you break it down—’Yeah, but the—so many—we’ve got too many girls. We need more boys.'”
SMITH: “That’s heart-breaking.”DINI: “And then that’s why they cancelled us, and they put on a show called Level Up, which is, you know, goofy nerds fighting CG monsters. It’s like, ‘We don’t want the girls because the girls won’t buy toys.’ We had a whole… we had a whole, a merchandise line for Tower Prep that they s***canned before it ever got off the launching pad, because it’s like, ‘Boys, boys, boys. Boys buy the little spinny tops, they but the action figures, girls buy princesses, we’re not selling princesses.’”
If the decision to cancel both shows were based on ratings, or rising costs in animation, I could understand (if not like) the decision. But if what Dini says is true, Warner Brothers executives cancelled both shows (as well as Tower Prep) bc there were too many girls and women watching and they think those girls and women don’t buy toys. Though connected, those are really two separate issues.
Looking at the first, I can’t see the problem. For any product, whether it’s an animated television show or a vacuum cleaner or a car, it’s a good idea to market to multiple demographics because the more people a product appeals to, the greater likelihood that more people will buy the product. So it’s a good thing that girls and women were watching Green Lantern and Young Justice. Take them out of the equation and I wonder how badly the ratings would have declined. There’s no such thing as “too many people are watching this show”. No, what this translates to is “the wrong kind of people are watching these shows”. That’s a great message to send to fans (read that last sentence with oodles of sarcasm).
Looking at the second issue, I’m left thinking ‘so what?’ If girls and women don’t buy the toys they want, why not find out what they will buy and market to them accordingly? Don’t they have a marketing department for just that type of thing?! While not a perfect counter-example (and a different company), in 2013, Hasbro’s sale of boy’s toys fell by 35%. Their girl’s toy sales? They rose by 43%. Look at that! Girls buy toys! News at 11. Oh, and I’m gonna need some evidence before I’ll believe that girls and women don’t buy superhero action figures. I suspect Warner Brothers execs meant that girls and women don’t buy enough superhero toys. In which case, again, find a way to market those toys to them, or find another product based on the shows that girls and women will buy in the numbers they want. Puzzles. Books. Video Games. Hell, T-Shirts…like Kevin Smith suggested. But no, instead of doing that, Warner Brothers has sent a clear message. They’re ok with girls and women watching their shows, but they aren’t their primary concern. Boys and men? They’re the important ones. Because toys sexism.
I haz a sekrit.
I’m a comic book fan (no, that’s not the sekrit) who enjoys animated adaptations of comic book properties (that’s the sekrit). As a child of the 80s, there were two shows I enjoyed more than anything.
This is one:
This is the other:
When the 90s hit, I enjoyed a few more superhero animated series, such as:
Post-2000, I really loved watching the Justice League & Justice League Unlimited shows
and I thoroughly enjoyed Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (though I don’t care much for its successor):
I got to watch the Avengers show earlier this year, when I was jobless for 4 months (it was agonizing). During that time, I’d subscribed to Netflix and watched the entire first season of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Having awoken my slumbering love for superhero shows, I decided to watch the Green Lantern animated series (I’ve since cancelled Netflix, bc I’m not impressed with their inventory of movies and tv shows).
I also watched the latter half of Season 1 of Young Justice (a Cartoon Network show featuring the young protegés of various Justice League members as they sought to prove their worth as heroes).
Both shows had season-wide, overarching stories, which I tend to prefer in my shows (stand-alone stories are fine here and there, but I like the connective tissue provided by a serialized story format; sue me, I like continuity). I quite enjoyed both series (though I liked YJ more–it had more mature stories, had emotional resonance, had strong & prominently featured female characters, and featured a black male not just as a lead character, but the team leader), and was eager to watch subsequent seasons.
Guess what I found out? Cartoon Network cancelled Young Justice and Green Lantern! TV shows, whether live-action or animated, are cancelled all the time, so no big deal, right? That’s what I thought until I learned that Cartoon Network executives felt that too many girls and women were watching the Green Lantern and Young Justice. Apparently, the executives wanted those shows marketed primarily to boys. From io9:
Vi at agelfeygelach transcribed part of Dini’s conversation with Smith on the Fat Man on Batman podcast, during which he talks about the cancellation of Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Tower Prep. He explains that studios are looking to capture younger male viewers, “boys who are into goofy humor, goofy random humor,” and that they aren’t interested in the older Young Justice audience.
The key quotes come when Dini starts talking about the problems that he says executives perceive with female viewers (emphasis is Vi’s):
DINI: “They’re all for boys ‘we do not want the girls’, I mean, I’ve heard executives say this, you know, not [where I am] but at other places, saying like, ‘We do not want girls watching this show.”
SMITH: “WHY? That’s 51% of the population.”DINI: “They. Do. Not. Buy. Toys. The girls buy different toys. The girls may watch the show—”
SMITH: “So you can sell them T-shirts if they don’t—A: I disagree, I think girls buy toys as well, I mean not as many as f***ing boys do, but, B: sell them something else, man! Don’t be lazy and be like, ‘well I can’t sell a girl a toy.’ Sell ’em a T-shirt, man, sell them f***ing umbrella with the f***ing character on it, something like that. But if it’s not a toy, there’s something else you could sell ’em! Like, just because you can’t figure out your job, don’t kill chances of, like, something that’s gonna reach an audi—that’s just so self-defeating, when people go, like… these are the same fuckers who go, like, ‘Oh, girls don’t read comics, girls aren’t into comics.’ It’s all self-fulfilling prophecies. They just make it that way, by going like, ‘I can’t sell ’em a toy, what’s the point?’
DINI: “That’s the thing, you know I hate being Mr. Sour Grapes here, but I’ll just lay it on the line: that’s the thing that got us cancelled on Tower Prep, honest-to-God was, like, ‘we need boys, but we need girls right there, right one step behind the boys’—this is the network talking—’one step behind the boys, not as smart as the boys, not as interesting as the boys, but right there.’ And then we began writing stories that got into the two girls’ back stories, and they were really interesting. And suddenly we had families and girls watching, and girls really became a big part of our audience, in sort of like they picked up that Harry Potter type of serialized way, which is what The Batman and [indistinct]’s really gonna kill. But, the Cartoon Network was saying, ‘F***, no, we want the boys’ action, it’s boys’ action, this goofy boy humor we’ve gotta get that in there. And we can’t—’ and I’d say, but look at the numbers, we’ve got parents watching, with the families, and then when you break it down—’Yeah, but the—so many—we’ve got too many girls. We need more boys.'”
SMITH: “That’s heart-breaking.”DINI: “And then that’s why they cancelled us, and they put on a show called Level Up, which is, you know, goofy nerds fighting CG monsters. It’s like, ‘We don’t want the girls because the girls won’t buy toys.’ We had a whole… we had a whole, a merchandise line for Tower Prep that they s***canned before it ever got off the launching pad, because it’s like, ‘Boys, boys, boys. Boys buy the little spinny tops, they but the action figures, girls buy princesses, we’re not selling princesses.’”
If the decision to cancel both shows were based on ratings, or rising costs in animation, I could understand (if not like) the decision. But if what Dini says is true, Warner Brothers executives cancelled both shows (as well as Tower Prep) bc there were too many girls and women watching and they think those girls and women don’t buy toys. Though connected, those are really two separate issues.
Looking at the first, I can’t see the problem. For any product, whether it’s an animated television show or a vacuum cleaner or a car, it’s a good idea to market to multiple demographics because the more people a product appeals to, the greater likelihood that more people will buy the product. So it’s a good thing that girls and women were watching Green Lantern and Young Justice. Take them out of the equation and I wonder how badly the ratings would have declined. There’s no such thing as “too many people are watching this show”. No, what this translates to is “the wrong kind of people are watching these shows”. That’s a great message to send to fans (read that last sentence with oodles of sarcasm).
Looking at the second issue, I’m left thinking ‘so what?’ If girls and women don’t buy the toys they want, why not find out what they will buy and market to them accordingly? Don’t they have a marketing department for just that type of thing?! While not a perfect counter-example (and a different company), in 2013, Hasbro’s sale of boy’s toys fell by 35%. Their girl’s toy sales? They rose by 43%. Look at that! Girls buy toys! News at 11. Oh, and I’m gonna need some evidence before I’ll believe that girls and women don’t buy superhero action figures. I suspect Warner Brothers execs meant that girls and women don’t buy enough superhero toys. In which case, again, find a way to market those toys to them, or find another product based on the shows that girls and women will buy in the numbers they want. Puzzles. Books. Video Games. Hell, T-Shirts…like Kevin Smith suggested. But no, instead of doing that, Warner Brothers has sent a clear message. They’re ok with girls and women watching their shows, but they aren’t their primary concern. Boys and men? They’re the important ones. Because toys sexism.
You can check out more art from Steve Rude on his Facebook page.
Over the last few years, artist Mike Maihack has written and drawn a series of comic strips involving Batgirl and Supergirl. Apparently, this one is the last for a while. I haz a sad.
Look at that. Bats is a big ole softy.
I only include this image bc the art is really good. I really don’t like Deadpool any longer. I think he’s massively overused and pretty one-note as a character. At one time I liked reading his exploits, but that was back when Joe Kelly wrote his book, and later, when Gail Simone wrote it.
These are just the tip of the iceberg. You can check out more of Reilly Brown’s astounding artwork here.
You can check out more of Kevin Wada’s excellent art at his Tumblr.
