Escher Girls is a force for goodThe latest page of The Young Protectors included this panel of the Commander. Creator Alex Woolfson said this about it:
Coupled with her expression, I find it really heroic. And yet, thanks to y’all turning me on to the Escher Girls blog, I’m now also noticing that we get a very good view of her butt as well. Hmm. Now, perhaps because I’m a gay guy, that part of her anatomy didn’t catch my eye at all. When I saw the completed art, my mind was all like: that fierce expression! That shoulder! Those fists! (And I’m certain it also wasn’t Adam’s goal to sexualize this pose either.) But as I publish this comic, there are many ways that I learn from all of you and based on the intelligent discussion in the comments about the history of these kinds of poses, the posing of our female characters is something I will pay a lot more attention to. If a female character is deliberately trying to strike a provocative pose (as a future character will do), that’s one thing. But is that Commander’s vibe? Not so much. The art for this scene is already complete, but this is something I’m going to pay a lot more attention to when she is onscreen in future scenes and I thank you all again for being such a great, smart community of readers who continue to be great teachers as well.
Thanks for sharing this! This is a really great response and I tip my cap (if I wear caps, which I don’t, but I do wear cat ears hats, so I tip that), to Mr. Woolfson for listening to reader feedback. :) I think she does look quite strong, but I think she would look even stronger if her entire body was turned like the men. I think, sometimes, a lot of this is subconscious also, because we see these poses so often in comics. When women face a threat, they’re almost always turning towards it while their butt faces away, as if they’re surprised from behind. I think a lot of artists just do it because that’s just the pose we see women in when they’re fighting, facing a threat, talking, or anything else in comics, and it just looks “right”. It doesn’t mean he necessarily did it because of that, but I think that’s often why it happens.
Either way, kudos to him! :)