You can't tell me THAT wouldn't sell.

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There has got to be some artist out there who could draw this.

(Cap can be "holding" his shield with you-know-what)

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People need to lighten up on this site. If you hate what Marvel is doing then don't buy their stuff. Boycott them. But regardless now or 10 years later, women are probably still gonna be drawn this way.

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This is why people keep saying that you're missing the point. Something isn't less retarded because there's a more retarded version of it somewhere. What does this have to do with Maxim? Do you think that the people complaining about the shittily exploitative art on these comics are NOT aware of Maxim, and how much airbrushing goes on in it? Of course we are, we just didn't mention it, because brining it up would be stupid--it is not, in any way, relevant to the discussion.

And what the hell is this moronic argument that we shouldn't be allowed to criticize things? Is the only way I'm permitted to register my displeasure with something now by not buying it? This site exists to register people's opinions about things like this--something that must be essentially good, right, because Denton makes a fortune on it, and if someone's making money on it, then it must be good. Why do you idiots keep acting like no one's ever allowed to criticize anyone else for being a shithead?

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Secondly, I keep hearing that I'm missing the point. So then, what is it? I thought the point was that these are terribly unrealistic depictions of the female form, and it might give young boys the wrong impression about what real women look like. Right? Well, MY point is that if this is your gripe, it might also be appropriate to point out that young boys could also get the wrong impression about kryptonite, x-ray vision, and being able to fly.

I understand that the comic book industry is oversexed. I also understand that you have every right to complain about it. I too have the right to express my views, which in this case, is that most commenters here are overreacting.

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Yay Hyperboles!

Super powers are easily distinguishable as fiction. Showing sexist versions of women isn't so easy for a kid to identify. Now knock that argument off.

No one is really arguing that the problem is that these girls are of an unrealistic proportion. That is a PART of the problem, but not the issue. The issue is that Marvel feels that they can produce sexist comics and not hold any responsibility for it. The "our comics are the way they are" argument does not hold. It's evasion of responsibility for such a blatantly offensive comic that's pissing people off.

@jmg134: What braak said.

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Second of all, human beings don't really work the way you seem to imagine they do. It's not like you look at a thing and say, "Oh, there's a laser in that comic, therefore nothing is at all like reality!" Because, if people were like that, then they wouldn't be at all bothered if Cyclops shot lasers out of his eyes and then turned into a giant jar of nuclear marmalade.

Maybe you wouldn't be bothered by that. Go ahead and tell me that you'd read a comic like that and not think to yourself, "That's fucking stupid."

But if you would, then you have to acknowledge that SOME parts of what you read ARE expected to form some accordance with reality. EVEN THE MOST FANTASTIC FICTION! In some places, the expectation is that they will divert, and in some places, it is expected that they will not. Moreover, we're talking about a comic that exists in situ, not divorced from all of history and society. And the fact of the matter is that Joe Quesada has purposefully chosen to make a comic of masturbatory fantasies for men who still wish they were fourteen years old, ignoring repeated cries from all corners that his company contribute less to the shitty portrayal of both the appearance and women in comics, and has done so in a way that simultaneously pretends that he has no agency to change it, and that even if he could change it he wouldn't because it's actually empowering.

I am exercising my right to complain about it. While I am at it, I am also exercising my right to complain about you.

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Btw, "sexy" does not have to be a women whose proportions would realistically make her snap in half at the waist. Newsflash, you can be sexy and not look like that cookie cutter sex bombs displayed above.

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@Evlsushi: In the example you provide sexism is 'generally bogus' because for every DD breasted woman in videogames and comics there's an overmuscled, chisel-chinned manly man. While I agree both mediums should try and steer away from that, why be suprised when the ridiculous fiction of 'saving the world with superpowers' have equally ridiculous protagonists regardless of gender?

Or...when was the last time you saw a guy bitching about Superman or Solid Snake having abs that don't meet realistic standards?

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Just because this exists in a fantastical world does not give the medium an excuse to be blatantly sexist. It has nothing to do with the comic world and all to do with the artist wanting to cater to a horny 12 year old.

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Cool, are we post-racial and post-gay too? We've got equal rights on ladies' night!

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@ggodo: He has what I refer to as "Long Crotch."

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And a British Betsy would be HEAVEN. She was absolutely wonderful in her old body.

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And well there's always X-23. She is a bit Psylocke-esque.

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"OHMYGODIMONFIRE" is a more serious issue than some would admit.

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[www.smbc-comics.com]

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But the market is an aggregate of individual spenders who all think things, and whose choices and decisions are influenced by a vast network of information that they have access to. So, this idea of, "let's all just shut up and let BUYING decide what's good" is kind of crazy, because we decide what to buy based on what we think about things. Talking about, analyzing and even criticizing something, without specifically buying or not buying it, is actually an essential aspect of this "free market" thing people are always going on about. Moreover, even people who are smart don't know everything--and, in fact, the smarter you are, the more likely you are to change your opinion based on discussion. This means that it's worthwhile even for most comic-reading women (who are smart) to talk about issues like presentation and representation of women in comics.

And I think it's more than a little disingenuous to suggest that the entire problem that folks have with this comic is that the women have big boobs. Yes, certainly, if you simplify the complex relationship of women, art, comics, and the publishing industry to "Women with big boobs = sexist," then surely the position sounds kind of ridiculous. But I think we can both agree that it's not as simple as all that.

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Just googled Jim Balent.

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