The Whole Mary Jane Mess

I don't really comment on this sort of thing, but I notice that the brouhaha over Showcase's recently released Mary Jane statue has even gotten a mention by Gary Susman over at EW.com's PopWatch earlier this week, and, from what I've read, Fox.com also. It got me thinking about a lot of things that I have had on my mind for a while. I honestly think this whole thing has gotten a bit out of hand. Yes, I do think it's sexist, but there are worse things out there. Maybe I'm just desensitized to these things from being a lifelong comics fan though. I don't know. It's not something I really feel the need to get into. Plenty of people already have, but I would like to point specifically to this post at The Beat. Of everything I've read, which is far less than is actually out there on the issue, Heidi MacDonald has detailed the issue, and the problem, the best. I just wanted to say that considering how much attention this has gotten in the non-comics community, it would be nice if Marvel and DC really put a bit more thought into how they present themselves.

Both companies claim that they want to appeal more to female readers, and to this end there has been at least some effort made by both companies. DC especially has made strides with the Minx line, appealing to female readers to start reading Supergirl and actually making changes to the title based on complaints by female readers (the costume could use some more work though, I'm just sayin'), and trying to put more female superheroes at the forefront in general. Marvel, not as adept at this apparently, publishes Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (and that alone should have clued them in to the problem with the Mary Jane statue), is pushing Ms. Marvel, and had that Laurel K. Hamilton vampire series. Oh, and they did a tie-in with a soap opera. I'm not certain how effective any of this has been for them. I just think that they have to realize that as long as the image they present is one of nothing but cheesecake imagery for horny teenage boys, girls are going to look at the big two companies and assume that they don't produce anything that is for them. I'm not talking about girls being offended or thinking that the comics industry is sexist. I'm just saying that girls look at the image that is projected through the covers on the comics, the merchandise they produce, and the major magazines that promote the industry and assume that nothing either Marvel or DC produces is anything that they would be interested in.

I am not saying that all cheesecake has to be done away with. I am also not saying that I want all comics to have unattractive women in them. Believe me, I don't want to see that any more than any man does. I'm just saying to be a little more careful where the cheesecake is used and on what characters. By all means, keep the naked Shanna the She Devil, but maybe keep the overt sexualization out of the mainstream comics. Does Justice League #10 really need that horrible Michael Turner cover to sell? Is it really appropriate to release that statue of Mary Jane when she is a character that not only does Marvel use to target young female readers, but is also the leading lady of such a hugely successful summer blockbuster as Spider-Man III thereby guaranteeing that it is going to get a lot of attention. (And how did it not occur to them that a significant amount of that attention was going to be negative?)

If DC and Marvel really want to widen their readership, I think that part of that has to be changing their public image. It's like the cigarette industry. Back in the days before filters were on all cigarettes, Marlboros were considered a milder cigarette and marketed towards women. Once the industry changed, Marlboro wasn't the milder option anymore. They had to change their image in order to appeal to a new demographic. That's when they came up with the Marlboro Man. Well, the comic book industry is changing. Girls are reading comic books. They're just not reading Marvel and DC. I know that there are comics out there that a lot of women might like. These companies produce Manhunter, Birds of Prey, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane and Alias. Marvel and DC are capable of producing the product when they actually try. They just really need to work on their image if they want to actually get the girls to buy the product. As long as Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Ms. Marvel, etc. are nestled on the racks between a bunch of images that are obviously going to turn girls away, there's no reason that any girl should venture over from the Manga section to check it out with any reasonable expectation that the content is going to be any different than everything else they see over there. I'm not even talking about anything nearly as drastic as what Marlboro did, because it's not about trying to change your entire demographic. It's simply about nt conciously alienating an entire group of potnetial readers. And wouldn't everyone benefit from that kind of image change? Marvel and DC might sell more comics, and male comics fans might not be so stereotyped.

Also, I would be lying if I didn't admit that, as a personal favorite of mine, I'd prefer not to see Mary Jane Watson treated like that. She may be a supermodel (and that's a rant for a different post), but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be treated like a person. And if you keep looking at her like that, Spidey's totally going to kick your ass, and you really do not want that. He's Back in Black now and he's throwing people out windows. ETA: What am I thinking? Screw Spidey. Mary Jane'll kick your ass. You ever see what she did to the Chameleon?

Anyway, everyone knows that Mary Jane doesn't hand wash Spider-Man's laundry. If anyone's doing Spidey's laundry for him, it would be Aunt May. Now do you really want little old Aunt May to hurt her back by bending over that much? I didn't think so, so let's get a higher table for that bucket. OK?

[Edited because a very good point was made that I didn't even think about. I apologize for that.]