FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE AMAZONS OF GOR, and SECRET SEVERING

[jlroberson]

So I'm reading through the various absolutely wonderful DC FLASHPOINT event series that I have absolutely no complaints about. I think it's a great idea to spend the summer turning over your whole line to people from DCU Online who can't draw anatomy without Poser. For this is the 21st century, and no more Grandpa Pencils. I for one welcome our tracing overlords. And besides, how best to make sure people BEG for your relaunch?

That said, I felt I really needed to bring your attention to the standout achievement of the bunch: LOIS LANE AND THE AMAZONS OF GOR. I think they put it out under a slightly different title. It's just that, especially as someone whose business it is to draw women, I found so much to learn from in this expertly-wrought master class in female anatomy, perspective, and how clothes drape. Behold these four pages drawn by Eddie Nunez, and love them. LOVE THEM.

As you can see, Howard Chaykin has NOTHING on Nunez when it comes to realistic treatment of dresses on the body.

I especially find her incredible disintegrating paper dress to be clever. Best of all, nothing causes the ripping. She merely runs. Look at the page before and the page after. And look at that thigh in the first panel! Is that a muscle? Does he think there's anything between a woman's front and back?

And that pose in panel 2: DRAMATIC. EVERYBODY DO JAZZ HANDS! Her, and the little boy in the exact same pose in the panel below her.

And I really love the sense of mystery. Like how exactly it's clinging to her crotch. As it does in each and every panel.

Also, where does she keep her phone? A question no one wants answered.

Because Nunez has the genius to realize that clothes are just a few more lines you draw on a naked female body.

And the last two panels! WOW. SHE KNOWS BOTH HIS NAMES. It's like at first she was calling out to another Jimmy drowning, and then wanted to avoid confusion.

But here is the crowning achievement.


Look at the Amazon dressed up for a GOR cosplay party. DC, at the least, there are plenty of competent artists who know how to draw sexy women, if that's what you want, WITHOUT making me vomit. Yet you have the genius to not employ them.

And I am absolutely sure there's no reason to even think about a female readership with a Lois Lane book of any kind. KUDOS. Lois Lane fans, REJOICE!

I am full of admiration and my heart is filled with love.
And please, do not call it Trashpoint, because that would be rude. It should not remind you of ULTIMATUM. Not at all. hate them or despise them, never let it be said DC lacks the courage to ruin its characters. The problem is that only produces a sales spike when those characters are well-known, and the kind of ruining isn't...this kind.
And please don't take anything I say to mean that FLASHPOINT all has the quality of an afterthought, carelessly dumped on the market for...what exactly? To provide some new toy designs?
SPOILER BELOW:

And DC certainly loves their female readership, as we all know, because over in SECRET SEVEN, sadly written by the great Peter Milligan, they also give us this image of a murdered and mutilated character specifically designed for young girls--a character who herself is twelve years old inside(and says so in this story, so this isn't even an adult version; I also submit that even though this is an AU, the otherdimensional nature of both characters makes that a little irrelevant). A character they haven';t bothered to use for years. A character who has innocence to her. Oh, you know she had a target on her face at that moment. Look, it was Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, here in bed with Dext--I mean Shade.

Total genius, this. I don't think it's stupid, or vile, at all. And certainly not any kind of deciding moment for me, leading to me not wanting to look at DC Comics at all.

(all artwork (c)2011 DC Comics)

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Comments

[thebigapricot]

We talked about this on the last 3 Chicks podcast. Not a good book and putting Nunez on it, who draws every woman with same giant boobs, was a poor choice. I was really looking forward to Lois having her own mini, but outside of the first few pages with Lois barking at Perry, this was not their finest hour.

[jlroberson]

Link to podcast? I'd like to hear this. (no, I've never heard the podcast, my apologies, I mostly just listen to Deconstructing Comics and Mindless Ones, so thanks for letting me know of another)

[ashez2ashes]

I'd like a link as well. I'm a podcaster too and its annoyed me that I haven't had any fellow female podcasters on my reading list. I even asked on girl wonder once and no one knew of any even there...

[thebigapricot]

Sure. Maddy and I used to post it here regularly, we'll start doing it again.
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/06/27/3-chicks-review-comics-episode-020/

[ashez2ashes]

Thanks! Wow you're on CBR and everything. Fancy.

[nezchan]

Best thing on iTunes, that's for sure.

[jlroberson]

Thanks! I'll let you know what I think once I listen.

[darkknightjrk]

I can get not liking the art, but isn't Lois in deep undercover to expose the Amazon's action in England? What's wrong with that?

[thebigapricot]

I'm not sure of the point you're making, What does Lois' being undercover have to do with the quality of the story?

[darkknightjrk]

It's saying that the mini-series isn't Lois' finest hour for her actions in the first third or so of the issue, but didn't she spend the rest of it in deep undercover with the Amazons? How does that mess with her character there?

[thebigapricot]

I didn't say HER finest hour. I said THEIR finest hour in reference to the creators. DC and specifically Abnett and Lanning.