Anonymous asked:

Why do you talk about how you are specifically marketing comics to women and girls, and then go and commission all of these cheesecake variant covers from an erotica artist? Because, that feels to me, like you're trying to alienate me and not market to me. I mean, you announce Spider-Woman at Women of Marvel (great!!!!), but you hire an interior artist that a lot of women dislike for his depictions of women, and on top of that, you hire your go-to cheesecake cover guy. It's not inviting at all.

brevoortformspring answered:

I think this all comes back to the fundamental concept that not every comic book is for every reader. It is possible for us to be doing more than one thing at a given time.

So yes, we are striving to do a greater number of titles that will appeal to women. But we’re also continuing to try to do a great number of titles that will appeal to other people as well.

Every book cannot be all things to all people.

I believe that the discussion about the depiction of women in comics is valuable, and that necessary change will only happen will only happen in the wake of such conversation. But I also believe that change of this nature is typically a long, slow process. Things do not improve overnight, and even after months or years or decades, there may still be further to travel. (Which is a depressing thought, I know, but there you have it.)

[briangefrich]

This is such an awful answer that it actually caused my stomach to twist up in a knot.

Those books you are mentioning, which appeal to other people - that’s the other 66 books you release every month. The four solo books with powerful, meaningful female leads are the only place where you have to make sure you don’t slap on an objectifying cover drawn by a porn artist.  That’s it, that’s all you have to manage.

The ENTIRE REST OF MARVEL gets to appeal to everyone else.

And “change takes time?” Really? You negate the very progress you are claiming to make when you give Spider-Woman a great book and then claim that sometimes it’s not going to be for women readers and they’ll just have to deal with it. That’s not progress, that’s just a more insulting version of what they’ve been putting up with for decades.

Instead of “girls don’t read comics so we won’t make comics for them,” it is now “girls read comics too so we’ll make some that seem to appeal to females but don’t you dare think this book belongs to you because we can make about male sexual fantasy any time we want.”

Here’s the thing, progress takes a lot longer when you aren’t actually dedicated to making a stand for it.

[stahscre4m]

"…We are striving to do a greater number of titles that will appeal to women, but we’re also continuing to try to do a great number of titles that will appeal to other people as well." Other people that aren’t women… maybe… do you mean… MEN!?!?!

And then: “Things do not improve overnight, and even after months or years or decades, there may still be further to travel.” Uhhhh, maybe instead of saying there’s nothing you can do about the process being slow, you can help speed it up…??? We only have a long way to travel because so many people think this way. “Oh, that’s the way it is so I’ll just go with it and someone else can try to change it but I’m good where I am.”