Over at Crisis/Boring Change there's a good review of All-Star Batman and Robin up to the third issue.It has pictures (like this one) to better comment on Jim Lee's cheesecakey art.
It's in that interview that I noticed something very important about the picture to the right.
Look around the stomach area.
Try it without distractions.
Do you see it now?
Ladies and Gentlemen, that stomach is convex.
Vicky Vale has a pooch-belly.
A small fat deposit over her abdominal cavity.
A gut.
Not just curves, actual fat. That's several notches above a lot of pinup artists. That's a few degrees away from a realistic woman. That implies Jim Lee finds pot-bellies sexy.
And he's willing to draw them.
Wow.
You know...I've never really had a problem with the art in ASSBAR. I mean, it's gratuitous cheesecake, but as we've seen most of that's in the script.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really don't like Miller's drawing style, so I'll take anything else.
But yay for a woman with flesh. :-)
I've mentioned before that Jim Lee is actually a good artist...
ReplyDeleteHe just usually chooses not to draw well.
I work for a newspaper ... one of our clip-art/stock photo services has a photo of a woman ... blue jeans, white top, slightly exposed tummy ... she's pointing upward to something. She's got a slight tummy. Looks pretty sexy.
ReplyDeleteWomen's tummies (and guys tummies) needn't be washboard flat ... I often find that not too appealing. When a model is too skinny, I can't help thinking that he/she needs a good meal.
Does this mean that Vicki Vale is walking around in her undies, talking to no one in particular, in the THIRD issue as well? I originally thought she was speaking into a tape-recorder, for a story, but she isn't. Maybe she (and Frank Miller) need psychotherapy.
You know what's even worse than lack-of-tummy? Visible rib cages. Ick.
ReplyDelete"You know what's even worse than lack-of-tummy? Visible rib cages. Ick."
ReplyDeleteUgh. Sad to say, I saw a woman in an airport once ... and I saw practically every bone in her hands, arms, shoulders, her spine. Had to be anorexia. The thought still gives me chills.
"I mean the whole first few pages of issue one is Vale in her underwear..."
ReplyDeleteOrdinarily, Miller would write the same dialogue, but phrase it as narrative. And the panels would depict her, preparing for the date, meeting Alfred, etc. Miller could/would impart the same exposition as narrative, but the visuals would actually move the story forward. Why waste the three pages with her in underwear? Aside from pandering, I suspect it's his page rate. Drag the story out, make more money. Lots more.
ASSBAR! Ha!
ReplyDeleteHey, I think a lot of guys would say that a girl with a little belly on her can be very attractive. The only people with zero body fat should be athletes, and they make up for it be being, you know, actually healthy instead of just stick-thin.
I'm a guy and I'll admit a little around that area isn't bad, in fact I would call it attractive for the most part. However, I wouldn't quite call that much a 'pot-belly' - at least by my idea of what that means.
ReplyDeleteOh, great! Thanks for pointing this out. Now overweight women will feel "objectified" by this image, and "skinny" women will feel insulted by Lee thinking them having a belly is sexy.
ReplyDeleteNo good will come of this, I tell you. No good at all. :(
I don't feel bad about it. Guess I'm just perfect. :)
ReplyDelete(Oh, and Jer-el78 -- You're not the only one blaming Miller for this book. Check around. I've heard of people defending it as parody, but I'm not seeing them)
ReplyDeleteI think it's good for women to have some shape to them. And yeah, it's absolutely appalling to see someone with their ribs completely showing. *cough*Supergirl*cough*
ReplyDeleteIf there's one thing Jim Lee is known for, it's the realistic depiction of the female body.
ReplyDeleteWait. What did I just say?
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