You Leifeldians might want to put your shields up because MY bashin’ stick ain’t going away anytime soon. Sorry.

And you’ll find no argument from me that big breasted, scantily clad women are, in fact, the norm in comics. Rob’s Hawk and Dove is about as non-sexual as they come, it’s true, especially when considered to Starfire, and the comic itself appears to be pure popcorn. The sentence “having an overmuscled action hero and his impossibly proportioned femme-sidekick save America’s favorite phallic symbol makes perfect sense” was more a comment on the book’s action movie tropes, and, after reading a few other books from the relaunch (Red Hood and the Outlaws), Dove is hardly a blip on the radar.

That being said, I guess I look at what I read, watch, and listen to as a reflection of myself, just as much as looking into an actual mirror. Do I mind Quinn’s drastic overhaul? No. Millions of people who’ve played the two most recent Batman games would easily associate her with that look, and if a fraction of that audience picked the book up, it’s a good day for comics. Having played through Arkham City, I guess you could say the same for Catwoman, too. I’m fine with changes wherever as long as the character remains a character. One issue into Catwoman, it’s too early to tell. One issue into Suicide Squad, and Harley almost has a major breakthrough. Starfire’s just bad though, and I guess time will tell if sex really sells. I hate to predict doom and gloom, and I don’t usually check Diamond sales charts, since those things are kind of B.S., but if I had to guess, the D.C. books that’ve focused the most on cheesecake–Voodoo and Red Hood–will be the first ones out the door. Maybe I was premature in saying that Hawk and Dove will be right out, but I dunno. I haven’t been a regular reader since 2006, and last I saw him, he was primarily stuck doing two and four issue runs.

Again, thanks for stopping by.

Also, I meant to continue the creativity section with: He is hardworking, makes his deadlines, and does everything he can to take care of his fans. I, as a fan, appreciate that. Not that other artists don’t do that, obviously, I was just making a note of it. *Not sure how I left the rest of that out… post fail. Also, looking back, that didn’t really belong under creativity… ah well, moving on…

To respond to your concern of being outshone: remakes, remixes, and tribute pieces occur in ALL mediums of art. In a lot of cases, the second version ends up being better than the original due to many factors. The new artist has an opportunity to look at it with a fresh set of eyes, pick out and fine tune the details, and work it with their own new and different style. Whether or not the original artist is “outshone” by this remake, the simple fact remains: without the original, the new artist would have nothing to work with. Without Rob’s Deadpool, you and I would not each have our favorite renditions of Deadpool. The fact that your art has been done by someone else should not mean that you yourself are not creative. In fact, if your artwork inspires others, I would argue that that is the best kind of art one can make. As an artist myself, I believe sharing ideas is one of the best and most productive parts of the artistic process.

You say we’ve come a long way from the backbreaking breasts of the 90s, and you give very valid examples. I would also support your statement by agreeing that there are plenty of examples of normally proportioned women (and men for that matter) in comic books. It would be ignorant to say otherwise. But you have to admit that the common stereotype of a female comic book superhero is as described previously: large breasts, long torso, tiny waist. The comparison to magazines was purely to relate idealization, and state that I believe it is awful in magazines, but acceptable, if not encouraged in comic books.

That said, have we really come all that far? Not being a “hit and run” commenter, I read a few of your other reviews, and your distaste for similarly done female roles is a common theme. The poor clothing style choices in Birds of Prey, or Catwoman’s use of sexuality “lazy and unconvincing,” or the overall sluttyness of Starfire and her skimpy costume. Even down to your disappointment in the fact that Suicide Squad’s Amanda Waller is now hot and has boobs. To be fair, I agree, the old character was more… well rounded… yeah, couldn’t pass that up. Anyway, I agree to an extent, that there is an importance in (to use your words) “portraying [female characters] without salivating over [them].”

I do believe, however, that there is a difference between “idealization” and “objectification.” I’ll refer back to myself wanting to look at a comic book rather than a mirror. They are idealized and interesting to look at. Idealization is a style choice and, when used properly, looks awesome, and in my opinion, Rob achieves that without pushing into the objectification side. However, the bottom line is: in an industry where the target audience is predominantly male, sex sells. It’s why Harley Quinn has a corset now, it’s why Catwoman is half dressed flying out a window, and it’s why Starfire is a slut.

Basically, I write all of this to say that style choices are loved and hated, art of any kind builds and grows constantly, and we should never downplay innovations by one simply because they were built upon by another. Rob has done and continues to do amazing work for the industry.

Also, I have my issues with the originality of the Image launch titles that probably aren’t worth airing out in a thread that people are just going to keep hit and running on. I’m also of the opinion that creating a character means little if your work with said character is ultimately outshone. Nearly all of Rob’s creations have been done better by others, and his best independent work had the aid of one of the best comic writers of all time.

Your points about Maxim and People are well-taken, of course, but I’m not running a blog about celebrities, even when I write a movie review. Not that Rob’s art doesn’t have a place in the world, but we’ve come a long, long way from the backbreaking breasts of the 90s. J.H. Williams’ work on Promethia and Batwoman, Frank Quitely, Cliff Chiang’s current Wonder Woman run, etc. all prove that comic books can feature women as characters, not merely the nubile sexpots of adolescent fantasy. God forbid that ever happens in a comic book.

About his creativity, I have to back Chris Flowers on this one. Cable, X-Force, Deadpool, Image, and recently The Infinite… the list continues to grow. I’m not sure how you can go about saying that Rob is not as creative as others… He is hard

It’s been repeated here that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I can respect the fact that you dislike Rob’s style, but the bashing and name calling is one-sided, and totally disregards all his hard work and everything he has done for the comic industry as a whole.

Thanks for your comment!