Seldes Katne
Site mom
So....
After much internal debate and reading of opinions around the Internet, I picked up Marvel Divas Issue #1 yesterday. Without giving too much away, the mini-series revolves around four of Marvel's super heroines: Patsy Walker (Hellcat), Felicia Hardy (Black Cat), Monica Rambeau (Captain Marvel) and Angelica Jones (Firestar). The issue outlines how they first met, the problems they're having in their personal lives, and ends with a fairly heavy-duty announcement about Firestar's health.
There have been a lot of bloggers talking about the sexist angle they see in a series like this. Since I really can't pass judgment on something I haven't read, I finally decided to buy the first issue. (Because I like the people at both my LCS's, and refuse to rip them off by reading the issue in the shop. Besides, I didn't have time to stand around in the store yesterday, and I do have a job, so $4 isn't a huge piece of my disposable income this one time.)
On the one hand, the cover art was an embarrassment. Honestly, I took a brown paper bag into the comic store with me so I could hide this issue for fear someone would see what I was buying. It was like picking up a copy of, I don't know, Hustler or something. Besides being misleading about the issue's content (sadly, a frequent problem with Marvel, I think), the cover represents many of the problems I have with the portrayal of super heroines in Marvel titles.
On the other hand, I have to say the interior art was a pleasant surprise. No super-tight clothing that looks as though it was spray-painted onto the characters. (In fact, Patsy Walker's clothing was all downright sedate.) No one looking as though they're about to spill out of their costumes or civilian wear. Women drawn in modest proportions. Only one shot of a woman's rear end, and that was relatively understated.
I think there was an actual attempt at a plot in this issue, although some of the ideas made little sense to me. (A super heroine speed dating evening? Really? Does the phrase "secret identity" mean anything to anyone? And didn't Firestar "retire" during the Civil War event? Why would she even be at something like this?) I've seen at least one reviewer draw some rather pointed comparisons between these characters and those in Sex in the City, but since I've never seen the latter, none of it makes an impression on me.
My biggest problem with this is that I don't have any emotional investment in any of these characters. I know Patsy Walker mostly from the Kathleen Immonen mini-series of last year, which I enjoyed. However, she doesn't act the same way here that she did in that mini. I don't know any of the other characters at all: Rambeau I remember from a brief guest appearance in Dr. Strange during a vampire arc in the 1970s, Firestar appeared in Frontline: Civil War for a few pages, and I'm aware that Felicity appears in the Spider-Man series but haven't paid much attention to her (other than to note that, like Emma Frost, she seems to have to glue herself into her costume).
I'm also not really sure who the audience is for this. The guys who are buying this for the so-called "hot girls" on the cover are, I think, going to be disappointed by the interior art and the plotline. I'm not sure there's going to be enough content in only four issues to pull in women who don't normally read superhero comics, and as someone who's not a big romance fan, I think I'm going to be disappointed by the lack of super heroics.
I was surprised to see that two or three other people here at UC included Marvel Divas on their pull list for the week. What did everyone else think of this issue?
After much internal debate and reading of opinions around the Internet, I picked up Marvel Divas Issue #1 yesterday. Without giving too much away, the mini-series revolves around four of Marvel's super heroines: Patsy Walker (Hellcat), Felicia Hardy (Black Cat), Monica Rambeau (Captain Marvel) and Angelica Jones (Firestar). The issue outlines how they first met, the problems they're having in their personal lives, and ends with a fairly heavy-duty announcement about Firestar's health.
There have been a lot of bloggers talking about the sexist angle they see in a series like this. Since I really can't pass judgment on something I haven't read, I finally decided to buy the first issue. (Because I like the people at both my LCS's, and refuse to rip them off by reading the issue in the shop. Besides, I didn't have time to stand around in the store yesterday, and I do have a job, so $4 isn't a huge piece of my disposable income this one time.)
On the one hand, the cover art was an embarrassment. Honestly, I took a brown paper bag into the comic store with me so I could hide this issue for fear someone would see what I was buying. It was like picking up a copy of, I don't know, Hustler or something. Besides being misleading about the issue's content (sadly, a frequent problem with Marvel, I think), the cover represents many of the problems I have with the portrayal of super heroines in Marvel titles.
On the other hand, I have to say the interior art was a pleasant surprise. No super-tight clothing that looks as though it was spray-painted onto the characters. (In fact, Patsy Walker's clothing was all downright sedate.) No one looking as though they're about to spill out of their costumes or civilian wear. Women drawn in modest proportions. Only one shot of a woman's rear end, and that was relatively understated.
I think there was an actual attempt at a plot in this issue, although some of the ideas made little sense to me. (A super heroine speed dating evening? Really? Does the phrase "secret identity" mean anything to anyone? And didn't Firestar "retire" during the Civil War event? Why would she even be at something like this?) I've seen at least one reviewer draw some rather pointed comparisons between these characters and those in Sex in the City, but since I've never seen the latter, none of it makes an impression on me.
My biggest problem with this is that I don't have any emotional investment in any of these characters. I know Patsy Walker mostly from the Kathleen Immonen mini-series of last year, which I enjoyed. However, she doesn't act the same way here that she did in that mini. I don't know any of the other characters at all: Rambeau I remember from a brief guest appearance in Dr. Strange during a vampire arc in the 1970s, Firestar appeared in Frontline: Civil War for a few pages, and I'm aware that Felicity appears in the Spider-Man series but haven't paid much attention to her (other than to note that, like Emma Frost, she seems to have to glue herself into her costume).
I'm also not really sure who the audience is for this. The guys who are buying this for the so-called "hot girls" on the cover are, I think, going to be disappointed by the interior art and the plotline. I'm not sure there's going to be enough content in only four issues to pull in women who don't normally read superhero comics, and as someone who's not a big romance fan, I think I'm going to be disappointed by the lack of super heroics.
I was surprised to see that two or three other people here at UC included Marvel Divas on their pull list for the week. What did everyone else think of this issue?