Marvel, Batgirl, and other female-led books are evidence of how the increased visibility of women in comic fandom is essentially “ruining” the spirit of superhero comics. As the drama unfolded, the prevailing argument I noticed coming from fans in Larsen’s corner appeared to be that titles like Ms. Naturally, fans, journalists, and industry professionals took to Twitter to debate the validity of Larsen’s criticism. Marvel (who, need I remind you, is a fifteen year old girl), Batgirl and Spider-Woman. Which appears to be men, who are suffering for the more “practical” costume choices of characters like Ms. (Personally I wouldn’t put on bicycle shorts and a tank top to fight crime, but that’s just me.) However, the ultimate point of his criticism is far less concerned with aesthetics:Īccording to Larsen, recent costume designs are not only “bulky and ugly,” they are a sure-fire sign of DC and Marvel shortchanging their core demographic. The sheer physicality of being a superhero calls for similar costume choices. There’s also an element of truth in his sports analogy: runners, gymnasts, and swimmers wear sleek, form-fitting, often revealing clothing due to the conditions they perform in. Their costumes don’t have to adhere to realistic convention. Some of his criticism, on face value, seem reasonable enough:Īfter all, yes, superheroes are fantasy. Taking to Twitter earlier this week, the Savage Dragon creator aired his grievances with female costumes, specifically calling out heroes like Ms. In the case of Image co-founder Erik Larsen’s criticism of recent female costume designs, it also raises a lot of questions about the state of the industry. While it’s common for fans to debate the merits of costume changes (as seen with DC’s recent costume reveals for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman), seeing industry professionals come out to publicly criticize costume designs warrants attention. Designs come and go with trends and tastes, some more successful and enduring than others. Comic books are no exception, and this is especially true of comic book superhero costumes.
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