Can Male Illustrators Reflect Female Emotions in Their Comic Book and Graphic Novel Characters Without Hyper-sexualizing Them?

The domination of comic book and graphic novel images of women being drawn by male illustrators has often been a contentious issue with women and those seeking to moderate the Amazonian images being depicted by these artists. During the New York Comic Con, I interviewed the vast majority of both male and female illustrators at their booths and on the show floor, seeking to get a better idea of what they themselves think about the potential backlash toward what can only be called traditional female superhero images with extraordinarily large breasts, tiny waists, revealing outfits, perfect buttocks and legs such as BloodRayne and Red Sonja which are two characters that are perennially voted sexiest female lead in a comic book or graphic novel.

Comics have always been political and had something to say and in this discussion, there are strong opinions on all sides. A bold simple theme, images and visuals have a role to play as a metaphor and unfortunately, the way some of the characters are drawn, distracts us from the message . They aren’t as black and white as they used to be in the golden age of comic books and the artists at the New York Comic Con are a prime example of how things are changing. Now, the offerings include graphic novels, picture books, messages about psychological balance, activism in a variety of areas and so many other themes and the illustrations are as varied as the stories. This can be attributed to the increased number of women illustrators and non-white males doing the work that was traditionally the domain of white men.

There are also many competing business issues at play in the industry, from the demands of the license holders keeping the female images consistent (how they have been drawn in some cases for decades), to the fans of these female images (think Storm in X-men) as well as the powerful profit motive. Sex, after-all, does sell. Not unlike those individuals who drive Hentai Manga/Anime (for the uninitiated, it is Japanese cartoon porn), those individual fans and not all are men, prefer to have oversexed and scantily clad super heroines to ogle and fantasize about. All anyone has to do is a search online to see that within the top three references in a search for “female comic book characters”, the “sexiest” and “hottest” lists come up as number one and three.

In my moderate view of the world, I see nothing immediately wrong with drawing females with idealized body parts, not unlike the airbrushing that goes on in the magazine and celebrity photo world. Although, I do recognize the unrealistic images being portrayed and the damage that it can do to our younger female generations in their attempts to emulate this unattainable physical perfection provided by the media. I have five daughters after-all and I hear about a variety of physical laments on a daily basis. I can hear the arguments erupting now, but this article was meant to decipher whether male artists and illustrators could reflect the innermost feelings and emotions of females regarding personal relationships and other relevant issues, while balancing the competing demands of their employers (many times, they were working for their own titles) and their own needs, whether financial or artistic (integrity of the storyline).

It Is Difficult To Exclude Male and Female Artists Impressions From Their Characters

In general, it is statistically and physiologically evident that men and women see the world with two sets of emotional glasses. Men tend to be more uni-dimensional and women are involved with many emotions at the same time. Blame it on the hormone differences (yes, really!) and the way our brains are wired differently . When I consider these real issues, I find  it hard to believe that men could reflect these distinct differences between the way men and women think about relationships, intimacy, dating, break-ups and other emotions. As I walked the floor, I noted the traditional female images such as Rogue and Storm of X-Men fame as well as Power Girl and many others. I was curious, however, when I spied a number of other characters that while reflecting a powerful image, were immediately unique because they didn’t have the hips, busts, bared midrif and other stereotypical characteristics of the classics.

One such character created by Rebekah Isaacs in her Angel & Faith project, reflects more realistic proportions for a woman and also deals with a whole host of emotional realities as the script unravels. Ms. Isaacs doesn’t just draw women and their emotions well, there are many male characters who don’t seem to have the same hard edge as a stereotypical male protagonist. I asked her if she felt that female artists within the comic genre industry were better able to reflect female emotions than their male counterparts and Ms. Isaacs didn’t hold back. She made it clear that the opinions were hers and hers alone and that there are prejudices and inequalites in what is a primarily male industry. I noted that these same difficulties are faced by women in the professional  food industry as well as in many others such as Wall Street, where there are very few women who wouldn’t dare show their emotional and sensitive side to their counterparts for fear of appearing weak.  We discussed the likelihood that women illustrators better understood their female characters and were less likely to submit to female character stereotypes which also showed in the Hack / Slash series that she is also working on.  Ms. Isaacs art is second to none and her passion for the industry is as well.

It was easy to find a male counterpart to Ms. Isaacs in Jon Hughes. Mr. Hughes was of a similar age with more years in the industry. His sincerity could not be questioned and his position was very frank and honest as well as diametrically opposed to that of Ms. Isaacs. He outlined how the industry had now evolved to a 50/50 split in male and female illustrators and that everyone had their own specific goals in practicing their craft. His characters included revealing female heroines as well as more mainstream, realistic characters. Some people are in it to make money if they are any good, while others have a message to send, he explained. He made it clear that if he was commissioned to draw a specific character, he would have to keep the image as close to what the fans expected, whether that meant a low cut blouse or not. As for depicting emotions, he was quite capable of drawing them in the characters, if not specific subtleties that would be difficult for any mere mortal to draw.

Talent vs. Gender Isn't An Issue to Some Illustrators

Talent vs. sex isn’t even an issue, he noted. If the illustrator is professional and skilled, then he or she would be able to deliver the images that society buys, that are most popular at the time whether over-sexualized or not.  One such example is the affable and always smiling Amanda Conner who has drawn the super-sexy Vampirella, Power Girl and Gate Crasher along with other work for DC Comics, Mad and Marvel. As 

diverse a portfolio as anyone who has been in the industry for 30 years.  No issues here about whether Ms. Conner can effectively portray female emotions, love interests or provide a solid whooping to any male character. As for her skills at drawing males, there is no doubt that she exhibits the same flexibility here as with her female characters, no matter how large the cup size for Power Girl. Yet, when looking for a strong, sensitive female character displaying a range of emotions that is most often equated with Xena Warrior Princess, or even the more modern Wonder Women of the DC Comic Empire, we had to keep looking at the vast array of new titles and boutique brands on the floor. 

One standout that still looks like he is finding his style is Steven Harris, the creator of The Fringe with the strong and complex female character Jasira as a lead. As a husband and father dealing with an African American cast of characters, he has his emotional hands full.  Although Jasira is cut, slim and beautiful, she isn’t built on the Supergirl and Batgirl format of feminine to a fault and with some marketing and additional titles under his belt, may prove to be one of a new generation of men that can understand how to let their female characters share feminine emotions, while maintaining their power and keeping their clothes on.

Could that be a prerequisite to understanding how to portray strong, intelligent and sexy women without falling into the stereotype gap as is so often done with characters like the perennially sexy Lady Death (and other female characters in the series) illustrated by Matt Martin. That doesn’t take away from the skill Mr. Martin exhibits in his drawings and other work, nor can he be pigeonholed into a uni-dimensional illustrator without the ability to reflect true female feelings, the desire for love, companionship and intimacy without devaluing the characters.

I did in fact come across three couples who had become engaged. Two of the couples were both illustrators and Erik Jones had his girlfriend Maria by his side. She described him as her straight gay man (just as my wife describes me), suggesting that we understand women, while exhibiting those certain male qualities that they like. I get it, and through this sensitivity Mr. Jones was also able to draw the beauty that is sometimes difficult to portray if you don’t seem to have this quality.

One of the engaged couples I met included Josh Breidbart drawing Fenix Gear. The character Fenix, is a strong, younger female. She is sexy, but not overly and has a healthy sense of skepticism as well as a cranky and irritable side.  As a younger illustrator he may be less curmudgeonly than some of the other men interviewed, but he discussed how he was initially swept up into the industry and his fiancé Jenna reflected his softer side just as Maria did with Mr. Jones. 

Zombies Trying To Keep A Relationship and Angry Little Girls

Ray Fawkes is another male fine artist, illustrator and cartoon specialist. He has a daughter who inspired his Possessions Book 2. Tongue in cheek, he seems to “get” being a dad and having a woman in his life. He also has a very broad catalog of female images, not one, the standard super heroine body type and he likes it just fine that way.  His next project is a Zombie who is in love with a human female. They try their hand at dating, but the rotting flesh of the zombie just doesn’t help things out.  See what I mean by tongue in cheek? Apocalipstix, another of his projects keeps the same flippant style but with a younger femme fatale. He certainly has a whimsical and positive disposition which I found more important as a professional in this field as I delved deeper into the psyche of both male and female experts. I should mention, too, that the styles and settings that the artists choose, may also influence their ability to relate female romantic emotions as well as their sexuality.

One female illustrator that has a style incorporating a wide variety of emotions is Echo Chernik. Her canvases include art nouveau environments and women with a variety of expressions and body types. Yes, they are all beautiful by Western standards, but the variety of attitudes suggests a broader understanding of the female constitution than many of the men in the industry.

Diana Greenhalgh on the other hand, has produced works that include the standard buxom super-heroines but has a portfolio that includes a very broad array of body  types, sexuality and personality types. From working on Bloodrayne, to Good Girl art, pin-ups and the Comic Con Emerald City canvases, Ms. Greenhalgh, who is also engaged with a very supportive husband by her side, made it a point to note that she doesn’t draw senseless hyper-sexual characters. She prefers to include intimacy, passion, attraction and romance into her characters desires, rather than the simpler and base “me want sex” personality that so many characters exude. I believe her  drawing of Supergirl (small breasts, slim) poking fun at a clearly over-busted character by saying; “My x-ray vision is picking up some weird plastics in your…” before she is loudly cut off from finishing her comment.

Female Characters Are More Visually Appealing to Draw

Another artist who would agree with Ms. Greenhalgh is Mike Renzine, who’s Vampirella, Tigra, Psylocke and many other very sexually explicit characters share many powerful aspects to them, but they aren’t devoid of personality or, for the most part, emotions that reflect an understanding of the female psyche. Mr. Renzine noted that in his experience he feels the division between men and women in the industry is somewhere between 70 vs. 30% and finds that fewer women are drawing 

women, despite their innate ability to extract the extra details you might find in Suicide Girls and other emotionally complex groups of characters. He enjoys the challenge of drawing women because he finds them more visually diverse and appealing than male characters.

Of course, there were plenty of male artists who made no apologies for portraying women as ultra-sexual beings with limited emotions and a single mindedness in their missions no matter how scantily clad they were. Some of the artists above, noted that they wanted to reflect realism in their art. Where certain outfits that had little to no material covering the exotic elements of the female characters made no sense as they spun with a kick, or somersaulted to avoid a blow from an opponent. Imagine trying to breath in some of these outfits or trying to adjust the bustier every time you turned. It doesn’t make much sense in the real world. However, Brion Foulke  anime crossover in Flipside, the nymphomaniac is ideal for movies and books. It is his career, he noted and he enjoys portraying his characters in this way. His skill is obvious and he is very honest in his assessment of the industry, in that there is room for individualism, but in order to pay the bills, commissions often call to reflect women in the simply oversexed, bulging manner with a simple palette of emotions.

Female characters at the Z-girl booth and Neo Revolver similarly reflect what men want to see (and some women) when looking at female characters. They weren’t the only artists to say, "give the customer what they want". We cannot be critical of the artists for making a living from what consumers demand. If certain artists choose to pass on a commission or job because the specific character is unappealing or worse insulting to their professionalism and morality, then someone who is just as talented without the conflicted sensibilities will be happy to do the work. It is in no way comparable to inciting violence against women as some who are against explicit drawings or anything sexual would have us believe (I narrowly escaped a few arguments with this theme). Ultimately, I believe, it is the consumer of this content that makes a choice about what to do with it, just as people choose to follow certain careers, commit crimes or focus on philanthropy. The human mind is a powerful tool that sometimes goes down a dark path, which is what many of these illustrators portray in their stories.

I did meet a number of women illustrators who would fit this category. They were angry at the almost exclusive club created by male illustrators and the way that they portrayed the female characters. While most of the male characters were equally self-deprecating and stereotypical, this wasn’t considered since the perpetuation of females as being able to complete their missions because their bodies were so oversexed was the supposed message. What I saw, was that these women completed their missions in spite of the way they were drawn, using their cunning, strength and feminine wiles and why not? Use what you have available to you, whether as a man or a woman.

Sho Murase was one of these dark illustrators who simply said ; “I draw her that way because I like her” that way.  Similarly, Kimberly Benson whose blood soaked art of men and women romantically involved (never ending well) draws on the power of wielding death in your hands and the eroticism and sexual tension that it produces. Again, she draws the characters and lip/blood backgrounds because she sees it that way. So too does Rich Miller when reflecting bondage with scantily clad characters without the super-sexed bodies of the many heroines we’ve discussed. He just sees it that way. No apologies, no excuses. I haven’t even touched on the porn and Hentai (or any anime) for that matter, which is clear it’s objective, just as movies and video games have been over the last generation (think Lara Croft in Tomb Raider).

The lines of tolerance and acceptance have both moved in one direction as well as toward intolerance. A dichotomy that we in North America are struggling with while the old world sees very little issue in sexuality summed up in one artists comment, “women are women and men are men, why do we need to change that?” Or another who noted, “if you find my art offensive, don’t buy it and don’t read it, I won’t hold it against you, so why hold it against me?” Both very rational and matter of fact, not wanting to be drawn into an argument because they enjoy depicting images as they see them and providing them to the public with a certain sense of satisfaction (sometimes, as many of these artists are very hard on themselves and ultra-critical).

The Opinions Are As Varied as The Illustrators

Some artists like Shawnti Therrien, choose instead to draw asexual characters because she sees them being more sexy by depicting the face and it’s expressions rather than relying on other body parts. She laughed about how vampires are being depicted in books and movies as bleeding, oversexed humanoids instead of the living dead that they are. Rationally, with no heart beat and no blood flow they shouldn’t be able to have sex, be romantic or engage intimately with anyone. Medically, she is dead right (pun intended) but the entertainment industry uses a wide license to expand what fiction, fantasy and science fiction can portray to and for its fans. Another group of artists that tend to be more realistic in their depictions of women are those that choose the detective genre which would include Tim Seeley of Hack/Slash, Daniel Cooney of Valentine (who likes to draw "beauty, brains and bullets") and the male / female team of M3.

All of the women in these series are legitimately reflective of normal (albeit beautiful ) women. Their breasts are average in size, their waists aren’t tiny and their hips are average. They don’t stand in poses like you would find most fashion models (in four inch heels no doubt) and their faces aren’t cut in a pseudo anime style to bring out only the eyes and lips. Yet, they are all very attractive, real and intimate in their characters intensity and feelings. Perhaps it is the story line or that they are operating in our reality, but more likely they are reflective of their creator’s minds and aspirations.

Relationships With Super Heroes Can Be Normal Too

Not wanting to exclude the many other variations in character creation in comics and graphic novels, we also had a visit with Devon Deveraux creator of “The Littlest Bitch”, Agnes Garbowska of You, Me & Zombie”along with Thom Zabler creator of Love and Capes, Caroyn Belefski of Leyettes and Curls and finally Laurie B. who would appear to me to be anime/caricature based in her character creation and expression. What these artists show is a more whimsical, humorous side to their messages, in particular Mr. Zahler who noted he had a “chocolate and peanut butter moment” and “Batman and Catwoman” moment when coming up with his comic book series on Love and Capes. He wanted to show how strong the supporting women were in these relationships and how a normal life could be reflected without the typical super-hero(ine) stereotypes. They shop, they fight, they lead typical relationships that were not depicted between Lois and Superman or other love interests as back-stories.

There were so many more talented illustrators at the New York Comic Con to speak to and so many other genres that didn’t seem to consider the romantic, relationship elements to women in the imagery. I visited with Kathie Olivas, whose often darkly narrated female images have placed her in an elite art category, yet little is reflected in her art about relationships and in still images, it is that much more difficult to reflect a full range of emotions. Others such as Chrissie Zullo, recreating and reviving Cinderella as an erstwhile super-heroine with the requisite body, imagery and attitude, is a good story-line (taking on other fairytale characters and setting things straight), yet the audience for this revival must be conflicted, remembering what they knew as a child and having to accept Cinderella as a butt-kicking, super-chick with an edge and attitude.

It took approximately three days and dozens of interviews, but I can confidently say that this group of artists, illustrators, comic book and novel creators are a passionate group of talented people. Whether male or female, it seemed to me that they were both able to create powerful, confident women characters with the edge going to the women when reflecting subtle emotions and relationship issues, albeit some men being able to more than capably show these characteristics as well. The debate may go on about opportunities for women in the industry, but like most in North America, if you are talented, the doors are open to you and may only now be catching-up to the lop-sided domination by men in the past.  I did see a more realistic trend in depicting women with respect to the art nouveau, dark comics, and non-super heroine stories and I believe that more than one of the artists interviewed understands that the demands of the distributors, fans and titles will continue to evolve with professionals ready to take on the challenges for many years to come.

Ultimately, it is up to the readers to determine if they even want to see and read emotions of female characters, super-heroine or not. Some may pick-up the subtleties, while others may read right over them. Will these characteristics complete the story, or is it even important to the novel or comic to get that detailed about relationships and attitudes? Some opinions were shared while others were distinct and passionate in their delivery and I can only surmise that the consumers of these images would have a similar viewpoint. Suffice it to say, the talent and quality, especially from those male artists with daughters and in love (they can thank their female partners) are quite capable of delivering these details to readers. A slight edge does go to the women artists, but the perceptible differences would only be obvious to those who are looking. With all of the action, color and content, it isn’t that easy to perceive them and that may be a limiting factor in and of itself.

Romance, passion and intimacy are still very much alive in comics and graphic novels, but certainly not in the forefront. The heyday of romance comics was in the 1950's and 60's and those days are long gone. The days of Romantic Hearts have been replaced by a vast number of characters and situations ranging from comical to horror genre. This isn’t for lack of trying, or the inability to translate these emotions onto paper.  It seems it is not where the industry wants to go, leaving that category to romance novels and other traditional forms to satisfy consumers of these titles, just like soap operas once did in their prime. There is a very healthy and talented group available to deliver these story-lines and they are available to work and do on many titles. In the meantime, we’ll still have to wade through the traditional Over-sexed female super-heroines to get to more realistic portrayals of inter-personal relationships between couples, their struggles and emotions laid bare for readers to see and imagine. Yet they are there and becoming more important as women illustrators join the industry in ever increasing numbers. I expect we will be seeing far more substantial relationships and emotions developing in the next decade as women add to the scripts and illustrations beyond the various love interests that have been carried in and out of primary characters like Superman and Lois Lane.

Andrew Zar commented on 24-Oct-2011 10:14 AM

A topic of great personal interest. I've been trying to find sample art for "sexist male" comic characters. There are countless examples of the opposite, but really not many of that. It would be helpful in a discussion about sexualizing female characters
to really understand what is a *true* sexualized male - one that is attractive to females on a sexual level with exaggeration. Although my particular results are a bit different than you describe - my study and work with dozens of female writers and artists
is that the "sexist" part of female comic characters is their lack of depth and being real. As a dramatic example, we made a female dominatrix with pasties and drawn very exaggerated - but her story was deep, engaging and she was the prime character, the reason
for the story. The result? Loads of love mail from female readers. My take away so far is that focusing on the characters and story is the #1 thing with female readers.

cv writing commented on 25-Oct-2011 05:27 AM

I like these illustrations and I am sure that they illustrate the emotions very good.