DC Comics Wants You To Draw Naked Female Suicide

[Soulrender95]

I'd Say Inmates running the asylum but that ship has set sailed hit an iceberg and exploded.

I have honestly got no idea what DC are trying to accomplish with this 'Contest' there casual disregards for characters, women in particular and lionization of Frank Miller whose treatment of women in comics is some of the worst in the mainstream, the stuff they let him get away with in All star batman and Robin is insane.

So I'm out until they can convince me that there are sane human adults running the comics division again.

 

[faefrost]

This is weird. But I really can't make out anything of this without context as to "why" she's doing this shit. Accusations of sexualizing or misogyny is a wild leap.

Not for this group of editors and marketing people sadly. The recent history of the Harley Quinn character at DC and Warner brothers has been really really disturbing. The character was created by Bruce Timm and company for the Batman animated series and she became wildly popular. The character design was striking and developed a huge fan base among women. She was sexy, without being slutty. She kept her clothes on but still drew the eye. While a villain she was fun and vivacious. She was smart (clinical psychologist) and Sheba held her own in the testosterone world of comics. She remains one of the all time most popular cops lay subjects among women. (At least this version of her). She was so popular from the TV show that she found her way into comics as well. And that's where the trouble began.

Enter the new 52. DC's massive reboot of everything from a few years ago. Harley get's a makeover. She is no longer the short cute fully dressed maniac with the cheery laugh and big hammer. She is now a hooker. Her outfit is perhaps the worst incident of comic book misogyny ever committed to print. Gone is the cute harlequin and fools cap. In its place is big boobs in a barely there bustier and a thong. To say it was awful is being too kind. They basically took a well loved well dressed female character and turned her into some editors twisted alt girl/ suicide girl fantasy. The safe assumption is he lives in his mothers basement . This new twist of "naked suicide" is just more of the same. This just makes me glad that I have not given DC comics one dollar since they pulled all of this crap. It will be a cold day in hell before they get anymore of my money.

 

[Exterminas]

Of course the title is misleading.

Someone being about to kill themselves is not the same as someone killing themselves and sitting in a bathtub with the body being covered by water is not the same as being naked - not when we are talking about a picture in a comic book. No nudity is supposed to be depicted, as far as that description goes.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

... Goddamnit DC! *Facepalm* This is why we can't have nice things!

Seriously, this is pretty tasteless. I am kinda offended for a lot of little reasons like Harley Quinn being a great character, to the suicide attempts, and such. It doesn't help that DC's obviously going to get some rule 34, here.

I really hope there's a point to this to help the bad taste it's leaving behind.

It's really hard to articulate the desire to deliver a massive headbutt to the person that thought this was a good idea.

It doesn't help that the new 52's screwed up a lot of characters.

 

[Mr.Cynic88]

Look, it's not that I don't see where you guys are coming from, but I completely disagree with the sentiment in this thread.

What's wrong with sexualizing suicide any more than sexualizing violence or otherwise glorifying detrimental behavior. I'm assuming this anti-DC attitude stems from the fact that many in this forum have struggled with suicide in their lives, but we can't start trying to censor art just because it strikes us personally. I can't say I follow the comic book world, but I assume the series carries umpteenth themes that emotionally relate to the reading audience. From what I understand about the series, it's carried some dark themes over the years.

I've dealt with suicide and suicidal thoughts in my lifetime, so I get how striking this kind of depiction could feel, but I kind of like the artistic idea of a emotionally disturbed woman trying to leave everything behind, being in her weakest possible state, repeatedly trying to escape her mortal pain. I'm not saying it's a nice thought, but it's a powerful one that I'd love to give artists a chance to depict. It's a world full of deranged serial killers, which fans clearly think is pretty cool, but suicide is off limits?

I don't get it.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

It doesn't help that DC's obviously going to get some rule 34, here.

Just being in a bathtub doesn't qualify as r34 yet. For that, she'd have to impale herself with a dildo or something.

Oh God, I hope I'm not giving them ideas here...

Not that I'm one to want to talk porn, but I've been around the net. There's people who've prolly gone well past the dildo stage by now. Maybe their entries will show DC that this was a dumb idea. >.>

Nothing like getting way more and way worse than the bad stuff asked for to sober them, I figure.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Enter the new 52. DC's massive reboot of everything from a few years ago. Harley get's a makeover. She is no longer the short cute fully dressed maniac with the cheery laugh and big hammer. She is now a hooker. Her outfit is perhaps the worst incident of comic book misogyny ever committed to print. Gone is the cute harlequin and fools cap. In its place is big boobs in a barely there bustier and a thong. To say it was awful is being too kind. They basically took a well loved well dressed female character and turned her into some editors twisted alt girl/ suicide girl fantasy.

I only know two versions of Harley Quinn: the animated one with the jesters cap and the one from the Arkham games. Is the latter one the version you condemn or is the one from the comics even more of a harlot?

She's been getting worse over time:

Spoiler: Animated Series

Spoiler: Arkham Asylum

Spoiler: New 52

Look, it's not that I don't see where you guys are coming from, but I completely disagree with the sentiment in this thread.

What's wrong with sexualizing suicide any more than sexualizing violence or otherwise glorifying detrimental behavior. I'm assuming this anti-DC attitude stems from the fact that many in this forum have struggled with suicide in their lives, but we can't start trying to censor art just because it strikes us personally. I can't say I follow the comic book world, but I assume the series carries umpteenth themes that emotionally relate to the reading audience. From what I understand about the series, it's carried some dark themes over the years.

I've dealt with suicide and suicidal thoughts in my lifetime, so I get how striking this kind of depiction could feel, but I kind of like the artistic idea of a emotionally disturbed woman trying to leave everything behind, being in her weakest possible state, repeatedly trying to escape her mortal pain. I'm not saying it's a nice thought, but it's a powerful one that I'd love to give artists a chance to depict. It's a world full of deranged serial killers, which fans clearly think is pretty cool, but suicide is off limits?

I don't get it.

What I think gets people angry (it's what gets me) is that it's not being done artistically. The first 3 pictures they ask for are black comedy: tempting alligators, lightning rods, even getting inside a whale's mouth. The last one is utterly different. There's no inherent comedy or anything else resembling the tone of the previous cartoons; in the words of the contest, "We are watching the moment before the inevitable death. Her expression is one of "oh well, guess that's it for me" and she has resigned herself to the moment that is going to happen."

If they wanted an artistic depiction, they should ask for it. Throwing in a humourless picture with the rest trivializes actual suicide. The fact that they're using a mentally unstable character known for wacky comedy, and deliberately asking for her to be naked (rather than let people draw their own ideas, and maybe leave the costume on to facilitate identifying her), makes this seem like some kind of sick joke, rather than anything artistic.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Enter the new 52. DC's massive reboot of everything from a few years ago.

.

Harley has been on her way to stripper since 2008.

Ever since Brian Azzarello's Joker graphic novel, DC didn't come up with the idea themselves they just decided to run with it, new 52 was just the best time to complete the transition.

Which is also ironically a comic in which Joker plays Russian Roulette with himself.

Clowns and Suicide. Clowns and Suicide.

 

[Odinsson]

Enter the new 52. DC's massive reboot of everything from a few years ago. Harley get's a makeover. She is no longer the short cute fully dressed maniac with the cheery laugh and big hammer. She is now a hooker. Her outfit is perhaps the worst incident of comic book misogyny ever committed to print. Gone is the cute harlequin and fools cap. In its place is big boobs in a barely there bustier and a thong. To say it was awful is being too kind. They basically took a well loved well dressed female character and turned her into some editors twisted alt girl/ suicide girl fantasy.

I only know two versions of Harley Quinn: the animated one with the jesters cap and the one from the Arkham games. Is the latter one the version you condemn or is the one from the comics even more of a harlot?

Spoiler: New 52 Harley Quinn

It's pretty bad, which is why I have the cynical expectation that the submission that displays her naked in a bathtub in the sexiest way possible (malleable spines and all) is going to be chosen. If this was being done by someone else, I could expect something funny, or tasteful, or disturbing, but this is DC, so they don't get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to these kinds of things.

Gods be good.

Y'know, I've never been that into DC, and even when I did foray into it, said forays were limited. I've picked up enough from others to get something of an understanding.

New 52 I'd heard basically nothing about, so when I saw the stuff about the Lobo redesign I was rather unpleasantly surprised. Looking at this, it makes so much more sense.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

This is weird. But I really can't make out anything of this without context as to "why" she's doing this shit. Accusations of sexualizing or misogyny is a wild leap.

Not for this group of editors and marketing people sadly. The recent history of the Harley Quinn character at DC and Warner brothers has been really really disturbing. The character was created by Bruce Timm and company for the Batman animated series and she became wildly popular. The character design was striking and developed a huge fan base among women. She was sexy, without being slutty. She kept her clothes on but still drew the eye. While a villain she was fun and vivacious. She was smart (clinical psychologist) and Sheba held her own in the testosterone world of comics. She remains one of the all time most popular cops lay subjects among women. (At least this version of her). She was so popular from the TV show that she found her way into comics as well. And that's where the trouble began.

Enter the new 52. DC's massive reboot of everything from a few years ago. Harley get's a makeover. She is no longer the short cute fully dressed maniac with the cheery laugh and big hammer. She is now a hooker. Her outfit is perhaps the worst incident of comic book misogyny ever committed to print. Gone is the cute harlequin and fools cap. In its place is big boobs in a barely there bustier and a thong. To say it was awful is being too kind. They basically took a well loved well dressed female character and turned her into some editors twisted alt girl/ suicide girl fantasy. The safe assumption is he lives in his mothers basement . This new twist of "naked suicide" is just more of the same. This just makes me glad that I have not given DC comics one dollar since they pulled all of this crap. It will be a cold day in hell before they get anymore of my money.

Yeah, seeing harley's makeover into wearing less and less clothes over time really bothered me, too. It made sense in Arkham Asulym, but her comic depictions even before new 52 were getting more and more worrying with her suicide squad look. Her Suicide Aquad look was a bit of a wtf to me going from Batman TAS to, well, street walker. It's pretty jarring, even still.

Her name doesn't entirely make sense anymore since her name came from the jester's outfit which she was well known for wearing.

Harley Quinn really is a great character. I think she deserves better.
She had great runs in comics in her B:TAS incarnation. Secret Six, and Gotham City Sirens to say the very least. She didn't need to change.

 

[major_chaos]

Spoiler: New 52 Harley Quinn

You know I actually like the face and hair but christ that outfit is just... lazy for lack of a better word. What is it with new 52 turning characters I like into sex props?

OT: I'm not even going to argue about whether or not this contest is sexist, simply because I find it much easier to attack on two other levels:
1. Its a horrible idea, and the timing could not possibly be worse. Seriously, who did no one think this was a bad idea? are DC, MS, and EA all hiring their PR people from the same place? and is that place secretly dedicated to bringing down big corporations? Come to think of it, that would make an interesting comic.
2. Should I interpret this as meaning they want to kill off Harley Quinn? Wouldn't that just be the rotten chery on top of the shit sundae that is most of new52.

 

[Tony2077]

i haven't been that interested in comics and this doesn't help

 

[The Funslinger]

But hey, if they think it's an equality issue, then maybe people should draw sexy naked Batman killing himself, and send those in too.

Calling it, I bet that's already somewhere on the internet.

 

[Ryan Minns]

Sorry since I did just get off work but where in the article it mentions sexualising suicide? I see many people have mentioned it but I can't see any part where they're asking to sexualise it?

 

[Callate]

Y'know, I could see most of those images being done in a way that was kind of slapstick and perhaps even funny. Harley's insane, and certainly some of the things that have done with her teeter right on the edge between funny and horrific. Suicide isn't exactly out of character, bad timing or no.

But, "naked"...? They really could have avoided whole worlds of hurt if they had left out that one single word. Suddenly it looks like they're sexualizing suicide, and encouraging artists to submit something that would almost certainly never make it past DC's editors if it was submitted in an actual comic. (And let me be clear, when I say "looks like", I'm not suggesting that anyone who thinks that's what they're proposing is wrong!)

Have DC's PR staff been having a cultural exchange with Microsoft, or something?

 

[DaWaffledude]

... This is just a really weird dream, isn't it? It's the only explanation I can find.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I don't see how this can be that much different from, say, bunny suicide comics.

I can't get angry at DC Comics because I love bunny suicide and other similar comics.

 

[wulf3n]

Ah, self-righteous indignation how I've missed you. It's interesting how people talk about DC, it appears as though they [escapists] believe DC considers them to be the target audience.

I'm curious how many offended people here actually buy the comic series in question?

 

[vun]

I don't know what to say about this, it's just baffling on so many levels.

Not sure if what they're trying to do can be done tastefully at all, but if it can; this is not the way to do it.

 

[wulf3n]

Given the folks I've seen around here so far, the average Escapist user actually IS the target audience. Namely young adults interested in fiction.

Perhaps, I'm still curious as to how many have actually invested money in the series.