You really just have to wonder what they were thinking …
The cover above for Heroes for Hire #13, by Sana Takeda, can be found in Marvel’s solicitations for August. And while it hasn’t quite reached the status of the Mary Jane statue, well … give it time.
Over on her LiveJournal, comics creator Lea Hernandez posts a letter to Joe Quesada about the cover:
Seriously, Joe, Marvel got a lot of “ha-ha feminists are stoopid the statue’s already sold out” coverage from the mainstream and tabloid press, and the sad fanboyishness of that staue was deflected into contempt for feminist bloggers and female comics readers.
But this week, Joe? Not to put too fine a point on it, you just blew your “Well, it’s not for you.” load.
Thanks for reminding me again of one of the reasons why I chose to stop seeking work in the “mainstream” (or is it “MANstream?”) comics.
J. Caleb Mozzocco also mentions the statue when commenting on the cover:
I love breasts. And I love tentacles. But for some reason, I don’t much care for them together. Perhaps it’s the whole helpless women about to be groped by slimy tentacle-having alien thing of some kind.
This had damn well better generate at least as much controversy as the MJ comicquette (at least within the comics blogosphere; I doubt anyone outside of comics to care, since it has nothing to do with a character who’s now a household name like Spidey’s girlfriend Mary Jane) because, if not, then Dirk Deppey wins.
Speaking of Dirk, his opening quote yesterday was from Abhay Khosla, who talks about the cover on the Image message board:
… seriously: whoah. Marvel’s putting tentacle rape on their covers. They’re not even allowed to SMOKE in Marvel comics but you can have tentacle rape on the cover? Then again, noone ever got second-hand tentacle rape….
And in the cleverly titled post “And the tits just keep coming,” Heidi talks about the cover and its artist over at The Beat:
Now, here is the SHOCKING TWIST ENDING!!! R U READY??? That salivating, salacious cover? It was drawn by an artist named Sana Takeda. Who is Japanese.
And a woman.
Yep, that cover was drawn by a woman.
Are you confused? Is she a gender traitor? Is hentai what girls really like?
I don’t know what went into that cover. I know the editor is Mark Paniccia, the father of a one year old daughter that he loves more than anything. I know Mark well enough to hazard the guess that he wasn’t trying to “oppress” women, “oppress” Misty Knight, or follow a secret agenda. He was probably just trying to sell more books. I imagine Sana Takeda wanted to sell more books. The really really sad thing is that inside the Biosphere, up on the mountain, probably nobody gave this a second thought. Nobody thought that “Misty Knight and the Black Cat and Colleen Wing shouldn’t be shown this way because it demeans them as characters.”
And you know what’s even sadder? That no one at Marvel or DC will ever say a word about any of this. The Mary Jane statue controversy had been going on for well over a week, and been on TV shows, with nary a peep out of an official spokesman at either company. Will anyone ask Joe Quesada or Paul Levitz about any of this? Will anyone remember?
And that, ladies and germs, is why we can’t shut up.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:08 am
Anyone calling this actual tentacle “rape” is an idiot. There are tentacles. There are hot chicks with anime-tendencies tied up. Do you see any penetration?
No.
This cover is, essentially, a goof on the genre, much like the Marvel Zombies covers are homages to classic covers with zombie features. I liken it to the “Loners” covers being takes on various John Hughes movie posters.
Did you look at the content yet? No, I’m sure you haven’t. Have you seen other issues of this series? The covers are generally somewhat goofy, and this is just one of many that “happens” to stand out to you all.
Me? I find the cover hilarious.
Am I picking up the issue? Probably not, but I might flip through it in the store and if I like it, I might get the trade to obtain the whole story.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 am
Is there any way to have our cake and eat it too? Sexuality has had a role in comics for quite some time from the bondage and spanking fedish that dominated early Wonder Woman comics to the tenticle bondage you see on this cover. Perhaps if the sexuality were more egalitarian? A few men tied up as well, some close in crotch shots, a sweaty well toned buttocks? It just seems to me that stripping comics of the sexual element would hurt rather than help the genere, so lets spread the wealth a little bit.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 am
Tentacle rape? Give me a break. That’s just stupid.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:42 am
This cover is, essentially, a goof on the genre ..
First, there is no tentacle rape genre. Which is why the zombie analogy breaks down right there.
Second, tentacle rape is porn. No matter whether you consider it more degrading because of the tentacles and the rape or less because it’s just drawn (yes, I know there’s live action, too) it is porn. And, with the exception of goofy and fairly tame sixties adult movies porn is generally not considered suitable material for reference in an regular comics cover.
Third, “goof” indicates a funny, humorous take. There is no evidence whatsoever that this is not meant to be taken straight so that’s the default until argument or evidence to the contrary appear.
So, that leaves us with a cover that is not readily distinguishable from a cover for tentacle rape porn. That, in a nutshell, is the problem.
Fourth, why would you suggest the content is relevant when everyone talks about the cover and the cover only? Are you dense, are you retarded or do you just pile on nonsense in the hope to distract someone?
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
It makes it difficult to bring in a new generation of readers especially young girls. When parents look at the cover and right off the bat another debate triggers off on the immaturity of comics and reinforce the stigma it has. Unfortunately, the ‘you can’t judge a book by it’s cover” arguement doesn’t apply much with comics.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:23 am
I wonder what “second hand tentacle rape” would entail.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:30 am
Am I dense or retarded?
No Markus, I’m not dense or retarded, but thanks for bringing up your own inadequacies.
What is that thing?
It’s a cover.
What does a cover do?
Exactly what the name implies; it COVERS.
What does a cover COVER?
Content.
What’s on the cover? Three buxom women who have been features on prior covers doing various things.
What are the women doing? They’re tied up.
What’s going on in the picture?
Looks like there are a bunch of aliens staring at them from behind bars.
What else is going on?
A couple of slime-covered alien tentacles are coming up from the bottom of the picture.
Are the girls being raped on the cover?
No, they aren’t. They’re just tied up.
Is this an homage to a genre?
If you consider “Hentai Tentacle Rape” (HTR) a genre, and as evidenced by places like 4CHAN.ORG, it certainly ***IS*** a genre, then yes. Yes, it is an homage to HTR without actually performing the act.
Will the act of tentacle rape be performed inside the issue?
A cover… covers CONTENT. And since we haven’t seen the content, I can only guess. And since this is being published by Marvel and not DC, the answer is likely NO; NO there is probably not actual tentacle rape in the content.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:13 am
“So, that leaves us with a cover that is not readily distinguishable from a cover for tentacle rape porn. That, in a nutshell, is the problem.”
You’re serious?
I see 3 heroines who have been captured and tied up and hung out over a pit with some kind of tentacled creature that is about to kill them or eat them.
I see a standard superhero cover that show the heroes or heroines in a trap that they can’t possibly escape from. That’s the lure to get you to buy the comic to find out how they escape.
You and others are making a mountain out of a molehill.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:41 am
Amen Jedifish.
I had seen this cover in the previews already and I hadnt had those thoughts come to mind at all about the rape stuff. I saw the same thing you did. And I’ve been collecting this series from the start. And they have had these girls in all kinds of poses on about every cover. All of a provocative nature.
I agree that sometimes covers/stories and the like have a male bent to them, but I think if you go out hunting this kind of stuff you WILL SEE this kind of stuff while others dont.
Again, not what came across my mind when I 1st saw the cover.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:42 am
What in the hell is tentacle rape?? What average/casual comic reader would make the assumption that the characters are being “raped” by tentacles based on that cover?
Everybody, please, just relax…
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Well said, Mike. The only reason I know what tentacle rape is, is because of blog@. Perhaps we need to stretch our legs beyong the walls of our own ghetto!
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Perhaps the reason for the outrage is that Marvel is paying homage/goofing on a genre it shouldn’t.
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:42 pm
HEY KIDS!
Wanna find some good reference pics on TENTACLE RAPE?
Go to 4chan.org ; click accept on the left.
Then browse the HENTAI section.
Be warned. NOT SAFE FOR WORK.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:03 pm
That quote from me doesn’t make something clear: I found the cover morally reprehensible. I may have made light of the situation, but I think this is all completely horrible. Just wanted to make this clear; thanks.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I think I need to cut back on my blog reading for favor of more Heroes For Hire comics.
The H is O, my friends… the H is O…
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
If this cover isn’t wrong to you, you might as well just buy a shirt that says “Yes, my sexuality stopped developing at age twelve”.
Superhero comics are the embarrassing soap operas of the comics scene.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
markus:
“First, there is no tentacle rape genre.”
Actually there is, and it’s ridiculous to suggest otherwise. It is the most visible fetish genres in Japam. Just because it’s a genre of pornography doesn’t make it any less a genre.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I would be embarrassed to read this in public. It looks absolutely vile. I don’t know what they were thinking; even without the tentacles, it’s yet another example of female charactes being victimised and degraded, and the tentacles and the fluids add a level of icky wrongness that’s beyond compare.
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:12 pm
JUST AN FYI…
You all *DO* realize that there is a set of MALE arms strung up next to Black Cat (that’s Black Cat, right)?
This picture is not exclusive to females.
JUST AN FYI…
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Silly females, getting all worked up about what you CAN see on the cover, because what you can’t see makes it ALL BETTER.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Right, Ugly American, there’s ONE set of male ARMS with the rest of Shang-Chi hidden behind the the pillar - while three women with distressed expressions, breasts popping out of their half-unzipped costumes, and tentacle slime dripping onto bare skin are prominently displayed on the rest of the cover.
Yep, that’s equal opportunity exploitation, all right.
May 24th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Live Free or Dan Coyle said: “I wonder what “second hand tentacle rape” would entail.”
PTSD flasbacks? Look up “wp ” on Wikipedia to get a brief overview. Basically it’s an uncontrollable resurgence of emotions from a past traumatic experience. Rape crisis organizations estimate that up to one in four women and one in ten men have been raped or sexually assaulted, so I’m sure there’s more than one person who didn’t just cringe when they saw this cover.
May 24th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Dude, helpless women are soooooo sexy.
No, wait, I meant the other thing.
May 24th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Shang-Chi’s hands are fisted as well - if you could see his face, bet money he looks pissed and like someone who is going to do something about this. The ladies’ hands are limp and helpless, and their expressions are passive, teary and terrified. The lady in red is supposed to be Misty Knight; since when does Misty Knight worry about chains and tentacles? She should look like she’s going to be causing some chaos right soon, because that’s what Misty Knight does, that’s who she is.
How anyone who claims to appreciate Misty Knight as a character can think this is a good cover is beyond me. I’m not pissed about the tentacle porn - I’m pissed that they’ve turned Misty and Colleen into frail females who just don’t know what they’re going to do, Oh Woe. If Misty and Colleen looked like they were getting ready to make some tentacle sushi the cover wouldn’t bother me.
Well, yes it would, because half the people who look at it have no idea Misty’s supposed to be black (the hairdo is annoying but not pertinent here), and rape is part of Black Cat’s reconned history so choosing to put her front and center on this particular cover was pretty reprehensible. But my main problem with it is that we’ve got frails in place of two characters known for kicking ass and tacking names.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Her name is Misty?
BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!
May 24th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
@RD
You’re right and I was wrong, apparently there’s enough commonalities and distinctive elements to speak of a tentacle rape genre. To me that still sounds a bit like the double penetration genre and it does not make the cover a “goof” in any way, but I was wrong to say there isn’t a tentacle rape genre. There is.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
To Ugly American,
Ms. Knight’s first name is Mercedes; Misty is her nickname.
It’s no different than how your parents named you something other than an offensive term like the Ugly American.
At least I hope that’s not your real name. If it is you have my sympathies.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
*yawn* Frankly, that cover is so lame I can’t even be bothered to get offended by it. I’m personally dreading the frothing female rage more…
May 24th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
To Nique,
I guess you’d prefer this cover:
http://community.livejournal.com/comics_fanart/243918.html
May 24th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Moving on, writer Tamora Pierce (White Tiger) weighs in on the H4H #13 cover; and it’s not pretty for Marvel or comics, period:
http://www.popcultureshock.com/tamora-pierce-just-became-my-favorite-marvel-writer/41834/
May 28th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Marvel can’t seem to do anything right these days. Unmasking Spider-Man was bad enough. Now they can’t see that a Japanese woman is trying to slip a Japanese porn fetish past them. Way to go Joe Q.
Please bring back Shooter and the code. Joe has to leave immediately.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Actually, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” applies ESPECIALLY to comics. Marvel has a tendency to put Wolverine on the cover, as the central figure, on comics in which he doesn’t technically appear. I’m not a fan of Heroes for Hire, so I don’t really know whats going on here, but it could very easily not be what it appears.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Don’t you get it? Nobody actually cares about what is IN the book, only what is ON the book. Double-standards are apparently a way of life these days. The first amendment doesn’t mean jack anymore. If it’s not being labeled as “porn,” it’s being labeled as degrading…
How many male characters have been captured and chained up? Hundreds, probably thousands.
How many of them have been scared and given up? Probably hundreds.
The point being that JUST BECAUSE they are females, and tied up, and in a hopeless situation, that it’s automatically degrading to women? That is a ridiculous and ignorant assumption.
Is there anything in this book to suggest even the finest inkling of the idea of rape? No, absolutely not (Unless you count Paladin dressing a wound on Black Cat while she was unconscious).
The only one in this book that was raped was (technically) Humbug. No one is speaking out that HIS rights were violated, are they? No one is saying that it’s degrading to people who talk to bugs.
Is there a tentacled monster? Yes, technically the Brood DO have tentacles (I would also be worried about the razor-sharp teeth and claws, as well). Look them up. The Brood are kind of all about rape if you think about it, but THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. Anyone who has actually READ the book can tell you that.
Just because someone has a dirty mind, it doesn’t meant that what they see is actually there.