I do my best to keep the webcomics conversations around here as positive as possible, but the folks over at Comics Worth Reading have taken a special interest in Zuda winner, The Black Cherry Bombshells, particularly the (perceived) desire to alienate all women from the Zuda brand.
Taking a look at the promo art for the strip (which CWR also notes is “non-representative of what it’s supposed to be selling”) it’s hard to argue with the over-sexed, scantily-clad images of the women who are admittedly nothing like the cartoony depictions seen in the comic (the actual content style can be seen on a small film strip, surely meant to invoke the recent, overly-indulgent Grind House double feature).
However, writer Johanna Draper Carlson goes further to posit that this supposed deficiency in the character of the Zuda-born women is indicative of the overall vibe of DC’s main line of comic books. If that’s the case, is the behavior of the Bombshells simply a product of the society that nurtured them? And in much the same way, is it not the case that DC Comics routinely feature cover art that is drastically different than that inside the cover?
Carlson also hypothesizes that comic books, specificly superhero comics, in monthly form are a dying breed, and with their digital brethren echoing so many of the same character traits and possible pitfalls, can the Zuda format be far behind?
Well, comics in general have always been a medium that seems to appeal more to and is aimed more at males rather than females. I’ve heard comics described as “Male Power Fantasies” so that’s the perspective I think they’re created from. And webcomics can be viewed as kind of a ‘cousin’ of comic books. So that perspective may carry over.
And as far as whether printed media is dead? Well, remember the argument in the movie Big(1988)? Where Tom Hank’s character pitches the idea to the toy company of an “electronic comic book”? But they shoot it down because it’ll cost too much at retail, something like $10-15 bucks? The sad thing is, comics have gone up in price substantially since that movie made that argument. So rising costs may force them to go digital in the end. But don’t forget the nostalgia factor. That alone could keep comics in print for years. Print may go away eventually but who knows if it’ll happen in our lifetimes or not.