DC Comics has a small battle on its hands between the writer of the new Wonder Woman ongoing series and its cover artist.
Greg Rucka, who writes for Wonder Woman, recently accused Frank Cho, the title's variant cover artist, of the Amazonian princess showing "too much skin" on the third variant cover of the series, referring to it as "vulgar."
The image featured a muscular Wonder Woman in a skintight leotard deflecting attacks with her bracers. Although this image doesn't vary much from how the superheroine has previously been depicted, it seems that Rucka might have taken issue with Wonder Woman's pose on the cover, which is slightly sexist: the art depicts Diana's breasts and bottom stuck out at exaggerated angles, something all-too-common in comic book depictions of women.
The comic books industry has spent the last few years trying to redefine how women get portrayed in books, so Rucka probably isn't just paranoid: Wonder Woman is DC's most well-loved female superhero, and getting her right for female readers is important.
Because of the feud, though, Cho resigned from working on future covers for the title, with the sixth issue being his last.
Comic book writer Gail Simone recently took to her Facebook to comment about the situation. She points out that those speculating about the events that unfolded have no idea what it's like actually working in the industry.
"The story so far is one understandably upset artist who feels censored," Simone wrote. "While the writer is a good friend of mine, and I don't know the artist personally, this is an unfortunate situation. I'm a fan of this artist (I'm not using names because this is not a singular event). I don't like to see talented artists put in this position. But beyond that, it all goes into a black well of details we don't know."
"What these self-appointed experts are unaware of is, this stuff happens ALL THE TIME," Simone stressed. "Covers go past a LOT of eyes before approval. A-list writers are ROUTINELY asked for input on the covers. And a misstep between how a book is meant to be portrayed and the artist's freedom is common. Beyond that, the writer has not spoken up, and DC WILL NOT speak up. They don't talk about behind the scenes stuff and that's good, in my opinion."
This isn't the first time Cho's artwork has faced criticism for being sexist. He's drawn everyone from Princess Leia to She-Hulk in provocative dress and unrealistic poses.
"Cho is capable of drawing almost any permutation: breasts in profile, breasts under T-shirts, breasts amplifying superhero logos and so on," the Washington Post wrote in 2010. "And they all have one thing in common: their disproportionate size."
It seems, though, that the line gets drawn when it comes to the most iconic superheroine of all, Wonder Woman.
