I hadn't scrolled to the bottom to see your other slightly less idiotic examples.
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Rafael Albuquerque reveals controversial variant cover for Batgirl #41
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Angelus Errare
Banned
It'd be the best that Barbara-Batgirl has ever been written.
I'd read the fuck out that.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah, that definitely looks more in line with this cover.
My first post was a single sentence. You just spent more text summarizing and twisting it when you could have just quoted it. Here, allow me:
"I don't imagine we'd ever see." does not equal "You'd never see."
"Batman with a terrified look in his face and a tear coming out of his eye no matter what situation Joker managed to put him in." does not equal "crying because afraid."
I was very specific.
Coffee Dog
Banned
Does this help you feel better?
not_so_special
Banned
Byakuya769
Member
Pretty evocative. Standing behind her, gun pointing toward her center, "lip stick" and the her tears...
Ehhhhhhh... I don't know... It's not too much of a stretch.
Ehhhhhhh... I don't know... It's not too much of a stretch.
Slightly.
What? How could a female be shown in a compromising position with a villain?! Batman and Robin have clearly failed in their manly mission to protect her!
And it's totally our job as manly men on the internet to prevent women from seeing one of their own in a temporary state of weakness, right guys?
...Right??
And it's totally our job as manly men on the internet to prevent women from seeing one of their own in a temporary state of weakness, right guys?
...Right??
all the /s possible
He DOESN'T? :O :O
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
people really get worked up about comic book covers, huh?
Bobby Roberts
Banned
The problem, it seems to me, is that the cover is trying to be dead-serious and scary, on a book that isn't known for that. You can do this concept and actually play it a little more... jokey, I guess, instead of Joker-y. Have her giving him the side-eye and a skeptical look, with her arms folded, and turn the lights up a little bit. Have a stupid fuckin' "bang!" flag sticking out of the gun he's draping over her shoulder or something like that.
I mean, the Superman variant is spoofing "Can You Read My Mind" from Superman: The Movie - and that's a book that doesn't have the tone Batgirl does for the most part. So why is the Batgirl variant an intentionally disturbing reminder of how Joker FUCKED her up back in the 80s?
This is an image that wants to be nightmarish and twisted, attached to the front of a book that isn't that at all, referencing a part of the character's history that not even the writer of that specific event (Alan Moore) thinks is very tasteful.
It's a more lighthearted sort of book - the image should reflect that. Joker doesn't HAVE to be the malevolent psychopath he CAN be in this image. He can be goofy, and he should have been. There's a way to pull off this idea in a much more goofy way, and that it wasn't even attempted is a problem, and why you have some of the people who read the book and care about the character reacting to the variant cover in the way they are.
I mean, the Superman variant is spoofing "Can You Read My Mind" from Superman: The Movie - and that's a book that doesn't have the tone Batgirl does for the most part. So why is the Batgirl variant an intentionally disturbing reminder of how Joker FUCKED her up back in the 80s?
This is an image that wants to be nightmarish and twisted, attached to the front of a book that isn't that at all, referencing a part of the character's history that not even the writer of that specific event (Alan Moore) thinks is very tasteful.
It's a more lighthearted sort of book - the image should reflect that. Joker doesn't HAVE to be the malevolent psychopath he CAN be in this image. He can be goofy, and he should have been. There's a way to pull off this idea in a much more goofy way, and that it wasn't even attempted is a problem, and why you have some of the people who read the book and care about the character reacting to the variant cover in the way they are.
not_so_special
Banned
well here comes the cavalry
TheGreatDirector
Banned
He does know in the New 52.
Fair, enough. It got a bit mixed up with GringoSuave89 comment "Nope. Crying is apparently a girl thing."
So I apologize, you were fairly clear.
As I previously mentioned, she had been retired for a while before Joker ever shot her.
Angelus Errare
Banned
I just realized Batgirl is on issue #41. Ugh.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
I get it. The outrage is Batgirl shown in a vulnerable and frightened position and why there aren't similar covers for Batman. Well, since the ones with Scarecrow apparently don't count because terror that is caused by hallucinations isn't real, just comparing their two characters shows why we never see Batman in such a position.
His entire character is getting over his fears. Batman, as a persona for Bruce Wayne, is literally about conquering his fears and channeling them in a way that frightens whoever he's going after. I mean, it would be uncharacteristic of him to show such vulnerabilities in the face of villains he's soundly beaten. That's why his moments are vulnerability are reserved for traumatic events, such as when Todd died, or his parents died.
Batgirl's character isn't like that, nor has that ever really been how any of the Batgirls have been characterized.
Now, if you want other male superheroes in similar scenarios on covers? Look up Spiderman covers. There are a number of them
It's a variant cover. Sometimes they're not even remotely related aside from having the characters on them
His entire character is getting over his fears. Batman, as a persona for Bruce Wayne, is literally about conquering his fears and channeling them in a way that frightens whoever he's going after. I mean, it would be uncharacteristic of him to show such vulnerabilities in the face of villains he's soundly beaten. That's why his moments are vulnerability are reserved for traumatic events, such as when Todd died, or his parents died.
Batgirl's character isn't like that, nor has that ever really been how any of the Batgirls have been characterized.
Now, if you want other male superheroes in similar scenarios on covers? Look up Spiderman covers. There are a number of them
It's a variant cover. Sometimes they're not even remotely related aside from having the characters on them
Osu 16 Bit
Member
Well I do read the book and you're right, it is fairly lighthearted, but even it recently had the scene where Batgirl saw the painting of her in the wheelchair. That was creepy and dark as well. Plus it's a variant cover.
It's variant cover. Scottie Young does variant covers of "serious business" comics all the time.
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
It's not. It's sad to see them to try to browbeat artists on social media.
not_so_special
Banned
thats they funny thing with this kind of people
they have and argument in a forum ,they want proof,covers etc
people give them these covers and when they a realise they are wrong them they get into "insult" mode
its sad but its always the same
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
nice cover
I am.
StormyTheRabbit
Member
Was Batman ever sexually assaulted by a villain? was he photographed while it happened? were those photographs used as a cheap sadistic plot device to hurt a man rather than focus on the female victim herself? If so, is there a cover of Batman that reminisces on that scenario?
Femmeworth
Banned
Artists thrive under limitation. ¯\_(ツ
_/¯Bobby Roberts
Banned
I know, I'm just trying to present an alternative that maybe should have been considered (or maybe it was and they said "no, we don't wanna do that") that not only would have fit the book's tone a little bit better, but would have staved off the negative emotions the variant seems to be engendering.
People like to like the Joker. People like to like Barbara. Playing Joker as an annoyance to Barbara in a variant seems like a much more fun thing to do than playing Joker as being so scary Barbara is reduced to a frozen, crying thing. Often variants are a chance to play around and have fun.
Hell, Bolland (the artist of Killing Joke) has Joker dancing with Wonder Woman and holding a bomb in his hands, while Wonder Woman has a "not this shit" look on her face. Going through the variants right now - this is the ONLY one that seems to be not going for either "funny" or "cool-looking," and is instead going for "scary"
I know it's a variant cover, Slayven. And Skottie Young doing variants of serious business books is neither here nor there, as taking something serious and subverting it is completely different from taking something more lighthearted and trying to make it fucked up and scary. Hell, that stupid Power/Rangers thing was entirely about pointing out how empty-silly it is to go out of your way to kick dirt on generally good-natured things solely for the sake of being "cool."
I think it's well done, and it absolutely evokes the emotions it's meant to. I'm just pointing out the ways in which that approach could have been shifted a little.
edit: I mean, I'm sure the google-fu will be strong, but can anyone post serious/scary/fucked-up variants to lighthearted books as a comparison point? Because I can't even come up with a good example or two right now off the top of my head.
Cassandra fucking Cain and don't you forget it!
Discotheque
Banned
Talia pulled a bill Cosby on batman
Parallax
best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
he was raped, then raised the child of said rape
not_so_special
Banned
i think in almost 70 years of batman comics he have been shoot,killed,back breaked by bane,destroyed,punched,RAPED BY A WOMAN etc etc
but its easy to insult me...thats the easy way
Angelus Errare
Banned
Who?
WrenchNinja
Member
Coffee Dog
Banned
Batman was raped by Talia, but they never tried to push a trauma angle with it like they do for barbara. Dick was raped by Tarantula, but, yet again, they didn't push a victim angle with it after it happened. It just happened and was swept under the rug.
Who?
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
He was date raped by Talia.
Jorok Goldblade
Member
There's a lot going on in this image besides "oh noes! She's crying!"
Joker's "I'm going to enjoy this" grin
His arm wrapped around her, pulling her up against him
The bodily fluids smeared around her mouth.
when you combined that with her look of terror and the fact that Joker has sexually assaulted Barbara in canon, it definitely comes together as an extremely rapey image.
Joker's "I'm going to enjoy this" grin
His arm wrapped around her, pulling her up against him
The bodily fluids smeared around her mouth.
when you combined that with her look of terror and the fact that Joker has sexually assaulted Barbara in canon, it definitely comes together as an extremely rapey image.
Both Batman and Nightwing have been drugged and rapped.
Supermanisdead
Member
i like the cover. the killing joke was a really provocative and shocking moment in comics.
These don't answer my questions except for the first one. Maybe that should tell you something
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