The Collector Comic

As a kid growing up, before the internet became as big as it currently is, comic books were a big part of my life although I didn’t know it then. The whole reason I became an artist is because I was always fascinated by my older brother’s illustrations. Little did I know that his inspiration came directly from comic books. Artists Like Stan Lee and Rob Liefield drew in a strikingly similar way to my brother, or rather the other way around. Anyway, when I started reading comics on my own I’ve always noticed something rather odd, most heroines in comics were idealized, meaning they always looked perfect with huge breasts and a skinny waist. What I suspect is that the male gaze indoctrinates young readers with false senses of what beauty is. Speaking from personal experience, I know I can’t look at a heavy-set woman and say she’s cute, as shallow as that is.

 Here, we have the super heroine Powergirl (which I must admit is a really lame name) from the DC universe. In this image the guy can be seen as a direct representation of the comics actual audience. Just as he completely ignores the fact that he was just saved because of the giant chest of the heroine, the audience forgets there is an actual plot to the story. Most comics that feature female protagonists follow this same formula. That is, any significant female character in a comic is usually there just as a sex symbol.

  

Initially, I intended to make a comic book in the same style as one of my favorite comic artists, like Jim Lee. I quickly realized that I wouldn't finish the first page by the time the project was due. Below is a link to his Facebook page and you will see what I mean.  And in case you're too lazy to click the link, to the left there is a sample of his work. Instead I chose to make a comic in my own little style that points out the . I ended up using a computer program called Corel Painter to render the comic instead of handrawing it and scanning it. https://www.facebook.com/jimlee.fanpage

 Being the ego-maniacal person that I am, the story follows an unnamed caricature of myself going through his Art and Women class in a careless manner, ignoring the facts that the instructor talks about. For his insolence, a terrible curse has been placed on him were his comics come alive. Now he searches for a way to break the spell. To do so, he must find a certain made by a female author.  The story features a few subtle messages intended to get the reader to think about the objectification of women. For instance, when the comics first begin attacking the main character, the first thing that comes out of the comic is a giant female fanny.

The point behind this is to illustrate that some comics  are giant advertisements for sex when it comes to females. During my research I had encountered an article regarding how low the percentage of established female comic book artists there are. The link can be seen below. 

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/comics/news/?a=54975

I decided to reference this towards the end of the comic. The fact that the comic is "Super-Ultra rare" alludes to the notion that female artists are pretty much non-existent. 

Without further a due, here's the link to the PDF file on scribd.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/115467429/Comic-Book1