*snort*

[yendi]

Comic book artist Tom Hodges -- a friend of Adam Hughes, he of the infamous Mary Jane Statue design -- defends his buddy:

If you actually knew the artist and the reputation that follows him, you'd know he was a gracious man who respects women and has only been someone to show women who are strong and independent.

Well, I for one, am just happy to hear that. I'm also sure that Tom is happy to have blocked out lots of squares on his Bingo card.

Comments

[yendi]

"Abrasive" definitely seems to be the appropriate word for him.

[lokilokust.livejournal.com]

oh, i see.
well, i'm convinced!

[not-hothead-yet.livejournal.com]

MJ has been everything from a stage Actress to a Lingerie model in the comics.

wow, she's really a multitudinous persona! I had no idea.. from stage to lingerie? Gadzooks, how impressive.

Maybe they've changed a buncha stuff but the MJ I recall was "girl next door"

[yendi]

In fairness, she has been a model, and it's entirely possible that MJ the model might have posed for a shot like this. It's not likely that MJ the wife would be doing this, however. Nor should this be the primary way MJ is represented in statue form.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I wasn't as pissed off by his defence of the statue as I was by the fact that he's also blocking comments on his lj.

Considering that he was complaining that the media were only reporting one side of the story, and I was responding to someone who'd pointed out that Sideshow had done the same by censoring our complaints on their website, this strikes me as particularly irksome.

[yendi]

t I HAD to disable my comments, it was just getting out of control.

Actual comment he made in his next post.

Of course, his entire post, a defense of Adam Hughes, who hadn't been the subject of the initial attacks (which were almost universally aimed at Sideshow, especially once they started deleting comments), is essentially a (possibly deliberate) misdirection anyway.

[amokk]

Oh my god. "I did it for the lulz" as an actual, real-life defense of something done in the real world, not just trolling on the internet. Holy shit. FTL, my friend. F. T. L.

And it just. keeps. getting. better.

1. MJ has been everything from a stage Actress to a Lingerie model in the comics. You obviously don't or haven't read Spider-Man in the past 20 years or you'd know this.

You just don't know. You're not a true fan. True fans get it. You're just a poser.

3. If you're upset she's not portraying MJ like Dunst in the movies... then you obviously have no idea who the MJ character really is. She's a supermodel, not some whiny waive thin tone deaf little girl. She's supposed to be stacked.

Show me a comic book female who's not stacked. Why is that? The X-women are like 44XXX chests, for christ's sake. Do you think this belief that comic books are made for preteen boys is made-up with no evidence to back it up in the images? And again, "you're not a True Fan" defense.

Now I may be wrong, but ANYONE who complains about this piece obvious does NOT read Superhero comics. If you did, I'd consider you a hypocrite. I enjoy the Indie stuff (SiP and Lenore) but without Spider-man, X-Men and other comics, they wouldn't exist. Do you think Terry Moore is offended by this piece? I HIGHLY doubt it!

Again, not a True Fan. Go back to your silly cartoons and movies, you don't read the real comic which is the One True Source and only those who've read it for 20 years can count as a One True Fan.

If you actually knew the artist and the reputation that follows him, you'd know he was a gracious man who respects women and has only been someone to show women who are strong and independent.

You guys just don't have a sense of humor. He did it for the lulz. If you knew him, you'd know he wasn't a misogynistic jerk that his actions show him to be. Actions do not speak louder than words, do what I say, not what I do.


What a jackass. Both of them.

[yendi]

Yep. That's why he's an artist, not a writer.

[darth-spacey.livejournal.com]

Anyone who has any find of strong opinion about this figurine needs to stop wanking and go outside for a while. You know, the really *big* room? There's all sorts of stuff in there, and some of it's almost as much fun as second-hand indignation.

[asim.livejournal.com]

I'll give this much -- I've seen the sketch that Hughes drew for the statute, and it is noticeably less offensive. For one, her underwear isn't showing. So, for me, it seems that it's a case of someone (likely higher-ups) ordering something that wasn't a hot idea to begin with to be made Even Worse.

Having said that, I've avoided the discussion, and am avoiding reading this response. Hughes works in an industry where such art is more and more par for the course, and thsi makes me sad, as I have a lot of respect for his work. I recall, for example,

The Maze Agency

, where he did sexy without a hint of sleaze.
I think there's more to this than simply Hughes suddenly deciding to be a sexist asshole for the money, and we'll likely never know the full story. You and I both know that the "professional" comics community can be a very closed, and closed-minded, world.

People wonder why I stopped buying comics. This statue represents why, in no small part.

[yendi]

Good point there; I've always held Marvel and Sideshow accountable here (especially considering the ways they've run their forums), but I've also been tacitly assuming that Hughes did draw the image that we've been seeing.

People wonder why I stopped buying comics. This statue represents why, in no small part.

Me as well, although the writing and editing are both big factors as well; our order gets smaller each month (with the only mainstream Marvel/DC books we're buying written by Willingham, Waid, McDuffie, David, and Ellis), and I find that every time I check out Wikipedia to see what's happened since I left, I walk away more disgusted than ever.

[thelastrobot.livejournal.com]

I find that every time I check out Wikipedia to see what's happened since I left, I walk away more disgusted than ever.

Man, you said it. Although for me, it's usually more confusion.

[amokk]

Actually, if you look really close at the original drawing, it is visible, just not very prominently. But the rest of it, it's like they took the image and inflated her curves 1000% to make the statute...

[trochee.livejournal.com]

yay, I knew that bingo card was a useful meme to spread.

[shimei125.livejournal.com]

Oh I love all of these! Especially because they are so simple and beautiful yet have a cool edge. And I love the idea of adding a studded accessory to a feminine outfit- pandora beads (http://www.jewellery4love.com/pandora.html) I think I will try that soon!