Letter from reader

Hi there, I am really enjoying reading through your blog and (as an aspiring illustrator) it's giving me some food for thought. Question: I notice that you mostly call out newer comic art -- is that because you feel that today's comic artists are more guilty of distorting female anatomy than artists in say the 60s and 70s? My sense has been that in the 90s there was a push toward more 'extreme' comic art, and that some extreme anatomy was part of the package. Anyway, great blog!

Hi!  And thanks!

To answer your question: I mostly show newer comic art because that’s the art I find to post, and that is given to me.  I’ve been told by my friends who read a lot of older comics that the art is better back then, especially where it relates to anatomy and that there is less focus on porny poses in every panel, so that could be it.  It’s also possible that there just isn’t as much older art to find online and it’s a matter of sample space.  But I just post what I find or is given to me. :)

Definitely, the 90s I think changed comics a lot though, and gave us the “women must be posing in every panel” thing and the big boobs and giant pelvises, and the “bad girl” comics, and even though it’s no longer as extreme, I think a lot of our comic art now has been affected by that time period, and a lot of the artists grew up with that art as their inspiration and it shows in their art now.