Heh heh.

Well done, sir.

Fascinating. It’s refreshing to hear a publisher admit to intentional ‘sexing up’ of covers to sell books, but at the same time it’s good to see the analogies to other forms of entertainment media making with the sexy to sell. Equally nice to see Filip not apologising for this approach, and why should he?
An intelligent, rational insight into the world of Top Cow. And some of those covers are just hilarious…..

Top Cow publishes TnA comics…mmm..I don’t see any cover wtih Kurt Angle Holding 10 titles at a single time there..LOL

ALL the publishers are guilty of using women/female super heroes as ‘eye candy’. While I ‘understand’ the business behind it, I think it is an artistic/sales device being used a little too much lately.

With respect to Witchblade, Witchblade’s outfit has made her an easier target for criticism than other’s. I think the Cow can do a lot if it gets away from those earlier style covers and focus on story, which they seem to be doing.

Marvel recently annoyed me A LOT with their Amazing Spider-Man solicitations for September that featured the return of the Black Cat. The solicitation was juvenile, sexist and embarrassing. It read in full:

“Look out Spidey! Hot on the heels of his old girlfriend’s trip home, the Black Cat’s back (and front), sexy and more dangerous than ever! The deck is STACKED as the one woman who loves Spider-Man more than Peter Parker is up to some devilish shenannigans…And nothing bugs Spidey more than shenannigans! BRAce yourself for danger, Spidey! It’s gonna be…umm…sexy?”

I sent a complaint about it to Marvel. No response. Imagine a kid’s parents or a woman reading this? I felt dumber after reading it. Plus, all of the covers for this particular arc amped up the ‘sexy’ factor. Oh, and they wrote Black Cat like a “skank” as opposed to an empowered, independant (yet slightly off-kilter) woman who is a unapologetic flirt. Big difference.

SO, yes, it is not just the Cow that is guilty, they all are. I know I am embarrassed to bring home those ‘sexed up’ covers as it illicits eye rolling from my wife and probably justly so. I think ALL publishers could and should THINK of what goes in their solicits and use the ‘sex factor’ more sparingly.

A good story and art will sell more books than cheap gimmicks.

That is all.

Funny…thought he would added a link to the marvel costume line as part of his defense.

I’m gonna be honest. I love boobs.

When it’s obvious a comic artist is trying to arouse someone with their artwork, I get a little creeped out. Cheesecake or beefcake. I just think it’s weird because in a way it’s like: “Hey, jack off thinking about my work!” and it’s an illustration.

I agree with what was said in the first comment. I think there’s a difference between “sexy” and “vulgar.” A lot of comics tend to move towards vulgarity with how they portray women. Just look at how many covers feature ridiculously arched backs as if the female character is a baboon ready for mounting.

If Top Cow doesn’t want to be seen as a “T and A” publisher, maybe they shouldn’t utilize the tactic as often as they do? Especially with Witchblade, their most well-known title. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image all have far less “T and A” covers in proportion to the other covers they put on their publications.

I would also say look at the big events that receive the most coverage. With Marvel, House of M, Civil War, and Secret Invasion all had covers that leaned towards highly stylized or painted art to draw people in. Witchblade had an event and there was not only loads of cheesecake, but a ton of news about all the “sexy” variants Top Cow was going to be putting out.

I think cheese-caking also makes you question the talent of the artist because it seems diversionary in nature and doesn’t really celebrate the story. Okay, so they can draw a woman with boobs. Big deal. Any teenage boy with a Sharpie and a bathroom wall can do that. Are those @$$-cheeks hanging out of a thong to distract me from how flat things are? How few panels there are? How non-expressive the face is? Is this issue all about her finding the rest of her clothing?

So, if this kind of T & A sells books, why do I only have two customers who even care about Witchblade? Why do I have copies of every one of those comics sitting on the shelf with no one buying them? I think that it is because the books that sell really well, the ones that people tell their friends about, are the ones that are written well. Top Cow has never accomplished that feat. A company like Top Cow relies on the T & A on its covers to stay afloat. I am glad it works for them. However, to make the claim that it actually sells books…that is a stretch. Good books sell books. Word of mouth sells books. People liking your stuff (for more than just cheap thrills) sells books. Top Cow has a healthy little audience, its no Image or Dark Horse though. Certainly not even in the game with Marvel and DC.

I’m a big proponent as long as it doesn’t descend into softcore porn. Not that I’m an anti-porn guy. I just don’t think it has a place in mainstream super-hero comics.

I think the sex appeal is great. Super-heroes and heroines are idealized. As such I think it’s totally cool that we have these hot, sexy superheroines who also kick bad guys’ butts. I’m not some basement virgin either. Married father of four here so not like I’m getting my jollies off comic book covers. I just love the colorful, idealized and yes, sexy imagery of super-heroines.

I have my limitations. I’ve always found the fact that Witchblade’s costume looks like a bony creature fondling her breasts pretty distasteful. Or Vampirella’s ridiculous costume that in no way would be able to stay on her during a fight. But I don’t and never have bought those books. On the other hand, I love the way Adam Hughes, Greg Land and other artists illustrate hot super babes without going over the top.

I find all these condemnations pretty funny. Are you guys like nerdy milquetoast librarians or something? I just can’t see why you’d want your super-heroines so plain vanilla. They should be the Greek goddesses of the modern age.

Ironically enough, my Internet connection at work popped up the following access denied error message:

Your request was denied because of its content categorization: “Entertainment;Provocative Attire”

LOL, considering the subject of the blog post, and the fact that I can go to Image Central, Newsarama, Marvel.Com, and DCComics.Com from my work computer… apparently someone in the Internet security community has decided not to get over their preconceptions!

Top Cow is a T&A comics publisher. If it’s looking to be a publisher of quality comics, they have a long way to go. They would have to take a good hard look at what other publishers are doing if they want to turn into something else.

@Maddy
You say that the male characters in comics are ‘sexy without trying’…but that female characters have to be ‘stretched and contorted’ before being seen as sexy… do you really think real-life guys look like that? Not the last time I looked in the mirror… And however much they make male characters ‘sexy’, it’s a very limited sex appeal.

@ Matt: I ain’t buying it. Because not only are there publishers inside the industry doing this as well, but there are people OUTSIDE the industry doing it. Videogames, movies, etc. I believe there are things the comics industry needs to do to attract people besides the typical nerd, but “stop making the girls so sexy” isn’t one of them. (Though, a case can certainly be made for doing it anyway.)

@ComixxBoy: I really don’t care about these covers one way or the other. Whether they show attractive men or attractive women. I never spend more than a second or two on a cover anyhow. HOWEVER, I did see Maddy’s point. Its not that guys don’t really look like that–its that when you see a guy being portrayed as sexy, its in a pose that he would easily do even if the artist wasn’t going for that. He’s sexy in a heroic pose, or in an action pose, or whatever. But when its a woman and they’re trying to make HER look sexy? We always get her posed in some odd contorted view that’s got only one purpose: To get the guys to go, “Hey, hot chick!”

Which is kinda strange, as I find little more attractive than a heroic woman that can kick butt on a cover, but, I’m a very strange guy.

Maybe I’m just a poor judge of what “too sexy” looks like, but barely half of those covers seemed all that scandalous to me, and only six really stood out as “ew”-level cheesecake. The rest of them look pretty classy. The main audience of superhero comics is men, and if publishers have figured out that “babe with a gun” is the kind of cover that sells, more power to ‘em.

(And even if superhero comics don’t play up the looks of their male characters, take a look at the covers of shoujo manga volumes. Anything that’s not the heroine dolled up in a cute outfit is bound to feature one of her fashion-model-lookalike love interests.)

Is it a bit sad that some publishers resort to putting out the sleaziest covers they can get away with? Maybe, but the point of a cover is to draw eyes fast, and it’s hard to depict “intellectual maturity, a good sense of humor, and a nice personality” in one image, male or female.

What the hell is going on with the breasts of that woman (it’s a woman, right?) on the cover of “Sky Doll”?

Is “Sky Doll” a series about bondaged breasts?
If it is, then the cover is appropriate for the material inside.
If not, then I have no idea what’s going on there.

A well-written character can be a lot sexier and more arousing than some vaguely human female form with cantaloupes taped to her chest. This stuff appeals to adolescents only.

But I do love boobs.

Reason why D.C. and Marvel don’t seems to have to try as much is because they can operate solely on the strength of their intellectual properties. These are well-known franchises, so they can just sell it in whichever way they feel like doing, and there’s guaranteed patronage.

Dunno with Top Cow, ‘coz the company seems to have evolved to a considerable extent. Nonetheless, the company seems to operate within very defined parameters when it comes to their Witchblade character. Stephan Seijic and Ron Marz are trying; however, even their efforts don’t seem adequate enough to pull the whole thing out of its basic fantasy-sci-fi ‘FHM’ template. I look at those covers, and can’t shake the underlying feeling it’s about a buncha bikini models posing. It seems stilted like that. The characters are based around a specific design sense, a mandated template, which, to me, limits story possibilities. It’s where the money seems to lie, sure. But the whole thing could be so much more than that. At the very least, it could be something ELSE. The live-action TV incarnation, for instance, was a very good precedent.

And I do find ‘sexy variant covers’ ABSURD.

First, I must applaud Mr. Sablik for having the courage to start a dialogue with comic fans about the issue of using sex to sell comics.

That being said, there are important points he made that I must respectfully disagree with.

The argument that men are as objectified as women in comics is one that I have heard often from comic fans, professionals and industry pundits.

This premise is faulty. Yes, the drawings of male super-heroes are idealized, but not sexualized like their female counterparts. That’s a BIG difference.

How often do you see male super-heroes in porn star poses? Or drawn with exaggerated emphasis placed on their groins?

Yes, I do agree that Top Cow should be judged based on the actual content of their comics.

However, as stated in an earlier comment, if the company wants to overcome their “T & A” image, just stop using images of that nature. Period.

As the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words.

I know this is not going to be popular but has anyone thought that sex covers might even sell more copes to women? I am not saying it is turning them on or anything but I find it telling how often attractive women showing lots of skin show up on the cover of books that are mostly sold to women.

im the artist on witchblade, love the comic for the fact is is now a truly character driven read , i vee read alot of hipocricy here, but couldnt care less, thing is many people are whining and many have a solid point, those who dislike the sexy variants, i happen to agree with them, true some of the most recent ones were really well done,

but … those who claim the comic is about tits and ass have obviously never read it in the last few years, i for one hate tna, i refuse to do it, if guys at top cow decided to go back to the old metal bigini that magically removes all articles of clothing, id leave the title and never look back,

for me witchblade is a title with alot of potential for truly epic stories, villains and heroes that are greater than life.

tna is a relis of the nineties and thats where it should remain,
now i know there are anal people who will complain that the characters look sexy… to them here is an auztomatic response, try finding golden girls the comic

i mean i get it, you dont like the sexy variants, ill allways flat out say that i hate them and they stand against all that im trying to do with the art direction but from some of the comments here im getting the feeling pope and his cardinals are visiting these forums quite often

loosen up people, ull get yourself a cardiac arrest

Just like to put out there that I’m a girl and I love the Witchblade title. I will admit that comics do tend to over-sexify its characters but that’s just the way it rolls. As impossible as it is to fight in a tube leotard without it falling down, Wonder Woman won’t stop wearing it in favour for a tank top. As hard and painful it is to run and kick ass in high heels, female characters still will wear them.

Witchblade is no longer a T&A title. Yeah at the beginning Michael Turner may have over-sexified Sara but the story was strong. Later writers and artists may had temporarily turned it into a T&A title with *blink* and Sara’s lost her shirt again which has no relation to the plot but Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic’s current run has done a complete turnaround. It’s a character story that doesn’t involve naked Sara – unless relevant of course – which just proves that Top Cow is evolving.

A bit of T&A will always be present somehow in comics but sex sells. Living in this age, one would think that most people would’ve become immune to it to an extent and concentrate on the stories rather than the hot semi-naked chicks that are seemingly everywhere – from our magazines to TV to music.

Frankly I’d rather see the strong (sexy) female lead kick some ass within a great story rather than the pretty and conservative, apathetic girl waiting on her man to save her (Why does Twilight exist?). Why not save the world with style?

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