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JJ and his amazing friend Elizabeth are a little late this week due to an illness in the family, (meaning they were both sick) but have recovered enough to share this week’s tales. Elizabeth tells us of her recent encounters with naked people, and JJ informs us of David’s tale of a naked hula hooping man. Not just nude tales, but the nakedness is out there people. Sometimes it seems to offend, and sometimes it goes unnoticed, but it is there waiting to strike…

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There is a rather wonderful little project going on over in Tumblr-land. Steve Payne is using the 329 portraits of Russian generals painted by George Dawes and changing the faces.

He started out using his friends and family but has gone on to use some slightly more famous faces for his art.

Some look oddly out of place but others could convince you they’ve led armies to war. Have a look at some of my favourites below and check out the Replaceface page for the full compliment.

I buy at least one trade paper-back comic book every week. On average. I don’t usually buy single issues due to the money factor so every Wednesday I’ll pop into the comic book store on my lunch break at work and see what’s new and usually there will be one I want.

This week, two books I follow came out in trade format. They were, coincidentally the two X-Men books I read, Astonishing X-Men and Uncanny X-Men.

Because I buy these books on my lunch break, I will often read them in the office canteen. Considering I’m a creature of habit, it means for the last 4 years that I’ve been in my current job, my co-workers have seen me reading comics every week for a long time. I’m not embarrassed to be reading my comics in front of my peers and bosses. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. They often strike up conversations with me about what I’m reading too. I’ve even gotten a female co-worker addicted to The Walking Dead.

Comics. Grown-ups read them.

However, there are a few occasions when I am embarrassed to read a comic in front of other people. And those times occur because of predominantly crap like this:

The “sexy” female pose.

Now folks, there is no need for Emma Frost to be giving us the notorious “boobs and butt” pose on the cover of this. For several reasons. My main reason being it looks absolutely ridiculous and demeaning for all involved.

And you know what it says to people who see me reading it? The impression they get is “that guys is perving at cartoon ladies”. FACT. We can all dance around the subject and say that it’s expressive art and that there is a style to how and why she is posed like this but in reality the average person who looks at this will think she is posed like that for perverts who want to beat-off to a drawing.

Lets be real here.

She is not posed like this for the female readers. Nobody is being empowered by Emma Frost’s butt. Women will not protest if they stop posing Emma Frost like this. Nobody wants it other than sexually frustrated boys.

I hate to be the guy who has to say it so plainly, but I’m really getting fed up with seeing this crap in the stories I enjoy.

Take for example this panel from the same comic.

What the hell is going on with her breasts here? Seriously? And what is the point of drawing it? It has nothing to do with the conversation and isn’t spoken about in any way. There is no “what the hell are you doing with your boobs in my face, Emma?” line to follow. In fact, the conversation they end up having is about crime in Africa and the history of certain real-life political leaders. It’s a fascinating scene but will anyone ever remember that? Nope, just the boobs. They’re there, haunting us.

And don’t even try to throw the “but no guy really looks like Superman, these are super heroes, their bodies are extreme” argument. Bullshit. Nobody has big boobs as a super power. Yes, the men are steroid fueled behemoths but they also don’t have their penis being waved in my face.

I’m not even arguing about how skimpy some of the female superhero outfits are (but don’t be surprised if I come back for that fight another day) because what really bugs me is the way a lot of comic books artists find a way to sexualize them in their poses and figures.

It’s not a universal problem though. Check out the cover for the other comic I bought this week.

Two women on the front cover here and both are realistically proportioned and posed as unsexy as their male counterparts. Even Emma Frost is dressed reasonably!

Do you see the difference? I didn’t feel the need to hide this cover. However. I currently have a cup over Emma Frost on the Astonishing cover while it sits on my desk.

And this is not just my prudishness, it’s a problem with the comic book industry as a whole. Comics will never be taken seriously, or put on full view, as long as this sort of sexualisation continues because both retailers and the public will feel uncomfortable being seen with it.

So please, comic book artists, sort this out. Because nobody needs to see this:

Nobody.

JJ and his amazing friend Elizabeth discuss her recent trip to Rome. Many churches were viewed, many amazing pieces of art were seen, and all of it in one of the most amazing cities on the planet. At first JJ tries to keep some semblance of linear storytelling, but that goes out the window as some stories demand to be told!

Some things we promised we would link for your pleasure-

The Power of Art- Bernini

The second oldest library in Italy, the Biblioteca Casanatense

Capuchin Ossuary (decorated with the bones of Capuchin Monks)

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For those who don’t know, The Hero Initiative is a wonderful charity organisation designed solely to help current or former comic book creators who find themselves ill and in need of medical help or in grave financial straights. As so often is the case these days, many people find themselves in trouble without a support net and the Hero Initiative try to be that support net for those in the comic book industry.

As Stan Lee has said “When you give whatever you can spare to HERO, you mustnt think of it as just a donation. Think of it, instead, as a small payback to talented and deserving comicbook creators, now down on their luck, who have brought all of us so much reading pleasure for so many years. Its far more than charity. Its a way for all of us to say — Thanks.”

As an ardent reader of comics over the past few years I thought I would follow their blog in hopes of at some point finding a moment I could contribute. That moment arose last month when I saw this article and read about artist Josh Medors. He’s battling a rare form of cancer in his spine and the treatment is incredibly expensive. In order to help pay for the treatment he, along with help from the Hero Initiative, made a limited amount of prints for a piece of art based on one of my favourite Spider-man moments of all time.

In Amazing Spider-Man #33 (released all the way back in 1965) he finds himself trapped underneath massive machinery as the building caves in because of his fight with Doctor Octopus. His aunt May is dangerously sick and being cared for by Dr. Connors but her only hope of survival is a canister of syrum just out of Spider-man’s reach.

Exhausted and battered, he somehow finds the strength to carry on.

More than anything I’ve ever read of the character, this is the core of who Spider-man is. Yes, his origin lies intertwined with radioactive spiders and a tragic end to his uncle but that’s how Peter Parker became Spider-man. But this is who he is. No matter how bad things get, he finds a way to keep going.

And this story couldn’t be more appropriate for Josh to use as his inspiration. Because the cancer is affecting his spinal column he has suffered numbness in his extremeties and yet he has still managed to create this amazing interpretation of Steve Ditko’s original cover (and betters it, in my opinion).

After a couple weeks waiting it finally arrive today! I’m so happy to be able to buy this signed print from Josh and it will take a proud place on my wall for many years to come. I hope to hear some good news about his condition some day and pray that things get better for him soon.

For more information on the good work The Hero Initiative does and to donate please visit http://heroinitiative.org/. We all get endless amounts of joy from comics so please give back a little to the folks who need it from us now.

And while I’m at it, go back and read Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s run on Spider-man in the 60s. It makes you remember why you got into comics in the first place.

JJ and his amazing friend Elizabeth try not to dwell on current events too much, but let’s face it, there is much to talk about. The good and bad of American reactions, and the fallout of what has been a crazy week get explored. The duo bring it back to normal, however as Elizabeth relates a tale of how a small group of students can mess it up for the whole class. Plus Elizabeth shares her theory on how one painter’s work portends doom for the masses…

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JJ and his amazing friend Elizabeth have a late night chat about art. All forms of art, really, as they start by talking about the play they started working on, and then move into other forms as Elizabeth begins to look forward to a future class that has one heck of a classroom. Plus, Elizabeth brings a children’s book of jokes! Knock, Knock…

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