Support NeoGAF

[Spike Spiegel]

The cover in question, by artist Mimi Yoon:

The Story (Comics Alliance)

Short version: Cartoon Network commissions Mimi Yoon to produce a subscriber variant for their licensed Powerpuff Girls comic series at IDW Publishing. Yoon creates the image above, which receives approval from all parties involved and gets solicited and promoted as the variant. Comics retailer Dennis Barger goes off when he learns about it, calling the piece "perverted" and decrying the sexualization of characters who within the context of the show and comic series are young children. This creates a back-and-forth discussion/argument between multiple parties over the internet about whether or not the cover is child-exploitative or simply artistic license, empowerment or sexualization. Cartoon Network and IDW catch some heat and decide to pull the cover, and now the artist herself is getting involved and defending her work against its detractors. You can read more in-depth coverage at the CA link above.

So, what does GAF think? Was pulling the cover justified, or an overreaction?

 

[Nilaul]

They look like 18 year olds.


Dunno is there a comic where they are all grown up?

 

[mjc]

I'd say it was an overreaction. They look aged up a fair bit obviously but you can probably find much worse.

 

[Ferrio]

Overreaction. But the art is pretty damn bad IMO.

 

[strafer]

Sad monkey is sad.

 

[Rentahamster]

Doesn't look perverted to me, but my standards are very high. I demand at least grape jelly and a ball gag for my perv-o-meter to even register a tick.

 

[Nilaul]

movie time...

 

[Exotoro]

didn't even bat an eyelash
people overreact to everything these days

 

[massoluk]

They look like Barbie dolls, that's about it.

 

[depths20XX]

It has a bit of that face sitting fetish vibe. Her ass is directly on his head.

 

[Chuckl3s]

Doesn't look perverted to me, but my standards are very high. I demand at least grape jelly and a ball gag for my perv-o-meter to even register a tick.

Same here but I stop at Mason jar in the butt guy.

I also didn't know they did a variant on the series?

 

[The Faceless Master]

are they still in kindergarden in the comic?

 

[jgminto]

I'd say it just looks creepy, those faces, yikes!

 

[bengraven]

Reminds me of this, which is much better anyway:

 

[bigmf]

Someone named Dennis Barger, Jr. doesn't seem like the kind of person that is harmed by the sexualization of preteen fictional girls. Perhaps if there is an actual victim in this situation, that person could speak up and let us know the problem.

 

[Kinvara]

This reminds me of the Powerpuff Girls episode "Collect Her" and Bronies who think a show for little girls should cater to them instead.

Also, the art creeps me out so I'm glad it was pulled.

 

[firehawk12]

The art itself is the thing that makes it look weird. It's like a 40s pinup, but not quite.

 

[SystemBug]

Reminds me of this, which is much better anyway:

Yeah but in this one they actually look like adults

 

[FoneBone]

So, what does GAF think? Was pulling the cover justified, or an overreaction?

I'm wondering why, given the presence of a controversy, you still felt the need to put "controversial" in derisive quotation marks.

The artist has done way more cheesecake-y stuff than this, but acting shocked, SHOCKED that anybody sees this as sexualized (those facial expressions, all the latex... come on) is way disingenuous.

 

[border]

I think it looks bad but I don't think it's offensive or that it's child exploitation.

I just hope this doesn't lead to censorship of future alternate covers. I love the alternate art styles on the Adventure Time comic book covers.

 

[ReiGun]

are they still in kindergarden in the comic?

Yes. The interior art uses the same style as the TV show.

Gonna have to call overreaction on this one. Nothing really sexual about outside of maybe Blossom showing a little too much thigh. It's more creepy than anything.

 

[JDSN]

They look a bit high.

 

[Kinvara]

I think it looks bad but I don't think it's offensive or that it's child exploitation.

I just hope this doesn't lead to censorship of future alternate covers. I love the alternate art styles on the Adventure Time comic book covers.

I don't think it well. The Adventure Time alternate covers are actually well-done and don't feature freaky plastic doll-looking people on them.

 

[Filthy Slug]

This is embarrassing and Dennis Barger is an idiot. It's a completely safe variant cover for a completely safe comic. Also, in his dumb letter, he says he won't go into the dumb reasons why he found it offensive.

IDW and Cartoon Network should now dump the thousands of copies of books with that cover in his house and see how long it takes before he cranks one out to 'em.

 

[Rentahamster]

The first thing I thought of when I saw this was "Sectoids".

 

[Mesoian]

People will find controversy in anything.

 

[Village]

I can see why one would think this way. I don't think it is though, I am mor concerned about actual quality of art. This artist give them girls wonk brats doll face. And its the quality of art I think is what people a lot of the time think is sexualized.


Here is some better art IMO, of the girls for the fusion fall game. FUN FACT: fusion fall has amazing versions of cn characters

 

[terrisus]

To be fair, it's a pretty horrible-looking design, which bears little to no resemblance to how they appear in the cartoons.

 

[kingofthedead45]

There really isn't anything perverting about it, besides maybe them look older I guess. What it is though is just plain bad looking though. the art style looks horrendous to me.

 

[Zoe]

Reminds me of this, which is much better anyway:

I would say this one is more gratuitous.

 

[Sadsic]

buttercup's shoes

 

[akira28]

It looks like some grrl art I've seen before in art mags. The style, I mean.

Doesn't look too bad to me.

 

[Krauser Kat]

thats yoon doing her thing. Glad they picked a great girl artist to commemorate PowerPuff. Too bad this controversy is lame.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

If Mimi had painted them as children wearing rubber, it'd be uncomfortable, but she didn't. They look like Bratz or Monster High dolls.

 

[And_Gignac]

The absolute horror. They look like Bratz.

 

[CountAntonius]

They over sexualized characters based on Kindergardners? Yeah I can agree with the dude in the OP. No it's not the worse thing I've ever seem but why do that to them at all if they are supposed to be that young?

 

[Kusagari]

They're basically Bratz as has been said.

The art itself is the only offensive thing here.

 

[Mistel]

I don't think it's that bad, I quite like it.

 

[spandexmonkey]

Glad that man got that woman's art pulled to protect young women.

 

[dan2026]

Wow good thing they have never seen any art from Japan.

 

[Bread]

The faces remind me of the girls in this music video

 

[Hagi]

Wow what a whole load of fuss over nothing

 

[besada]

It's probably important to consider context. In most comic stores, this book is going to be shelved with the all-ages kid-friendly books.

 

[Mesoian]

Wow good thing they have never seen any art from Japan.

On the real, this comes off as someone who's never had something they grew up re-interpreted by alternate artists; the outrage being so hot but misplaced. It brings me back to the reboot redesigns when that show had rumblings of being restarted a few years ago and how vocal and vitrolic the feedback was.

Hell, even the reboot that aired last week was universally panned because it was simply different.

Ultimately, it feels like the reason why most of this stuff doesn't get rebooted is because the vocal minority is SO vocal and SO on the forefront of the media gateway to mass consumption that it actually DOES have the ability to bury projects before they start.

It's probably important to consider context. In most comic stores, this book is going to be shelved with the all-ages kid-friendly books.

Yup. Right next to the Bratz, Barbie and Monster High comics, which are across the aisle from the translated manga.

Lines in the sand. This ain't one. This just feels personal.

 

[Kinyou]

It's probably important to consider context. In most comic stores, this book is going to be shelved with the all-ages kid-friendly books.

Isn't it just for subscribers though?

 

[Fuzzy]

It's probably important to consider context. In most comic stores, this book is going to be shelved with the all-ages kid-friendly books.

Since when do limited variant covers get placed with everything else? They would've been separated and the price marked up for maximum profit for the store.

 

[Burli]

Overreaction. But the art is pretty damn bad IMO.

didn't even bat an eyelash
people overreact to everything these days

The avatars you guys are using don't exactly mask your obvious bias for sexualised female cartoon characters.

Regarding the picture in the OP, not only have the girls been sexualised physically (long slender legs, shapely and largish breasts) they've had any real expression stripped from them and replaced with dead features including lustful eyes. They even all share the same expression/features apart from their clothes/hair/accessories. Powerpuff Girls was all about showing how girls could be tough, full of character, unique, varied and bad-ass in equal measures to boys and most importantly so without being objectified - that image doesn't exactly support it and I'm glad it's not being run on an official publication. I do however think this image is fine as a fan-art piece that won't be put in front of already established younger fans.

I'm a little disappointed and surprised to see nobody else in the thread feels this image leaves a bad taste in the context it was chosen for. It's incredibly off brand in a way that could effect young girls negatively.

 

[besada]

Isn't it just for subscribers though?

No. It was a retail variant cover.

Since when do limited variant covers get placed with everything else? They would've been separated and the price marked up for maximum profit for the store.

All the time when you're talking about kids comics.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

I'm a fan of the original and really liked this look!

 

[Mesoian]

I'm a fan of the original and really liked this look!

Me too. But if you go by the thread that was in OT a couple weeks before it aired, this was, quite literally, the worst possible direction they could have gone in, the failed anime being better than this.

You can't listen to the unwashed masses if you want to stay true to any sort of vision you have because they don't know what they want.