Comments on Wizard World Los Angeles--Comics vs. Soft Porn???

[Kramerica]

I can imagine how parents feel and if I had kids I'd feel the same way. However, no one in charge will change it. The mass media pop culture atmosphere the tarts and hos and other forms of media have brought to the old stagnate comic con has been huge money wise. It's been good for the exposure of comics and the comics related industry. I'm not surprised that it's worse at a Wizard show though. The guys who run that mag have been trying to "Maxim"ize their product for a while. For all of our arguments though I feel it is a million times preferable to booths showing authentic pictures of war. I'd rather have 13 year old scrambling to get laid than itching to get a high powered rifle in their hands and kill someone. I'm a little more desensitized to it though as I worked ASR (action spots retailer) shows for years in SD and at the AVA's in Vegas twice. The mainstreaming of the Porn Industry has been going on for years and it was only a matter of time before it started showing up at cons once video games and other media showed up. Anywhere you can find teenagers the porn industry will try to find its way in. It's #1 on their agenda to gain more acceptance for their industry. For them it's simply good promo. For parents it's a nightmare. Personally, if I was a parent I would prefer to explain sex to my child rather than why people find amusement in killing each other and how people can actually have the capacity to take another's life. I'm not taking sides by any means and I totally sympathize with the parents. I just thought I'd add my two cents.

[justiceleaguer]

I can imagine how parents feel and if I had kids I'd feel the same way. However, no one in charge will change it. The mass media pop culture atmosphere the tarts and hos and other forms of media have brought to the old stagnate comic con has been huge money wise. It's been good for the exposure of comics and the comics related industry. I'm not surprised that it's worse at a Wizard show though. The guys who run that mag have been trying to "Maxim"ize their product for a while. For all of our arguments though I feel it is a million times preferable to booths showing authentic pictures of war. I'd rather have 13 year old scrambling to get laid than itching to get a high powered rifle in their hands and kill someone. I'm a little more desensitized to it though as I worked ASR (action spots retailer) shows for years in SD and at the AVA's in Vegas twice. The mainstreaming of the Porn Industry has been going on for years and it was only a matter of time before it started showing up at cons once video games and other media showed up. Anywhere you can find teenagers the porn industry will try to find its way in. It's #1 on their agenda to gain more acceptance for their industry. For them it's simply good promo. For parents it's a nightmare. Personally, if I was a parent I would prefer to explain sex to my child rather than why people find amusement in killing each other and how people can actually have the capacity to take another's life. I'm not taking sides by any means and I totally sympathize with the parents. I just thought I'd add my two cents.

 

 

[Mr. Zipper]

I understand that there are kids at these events, which is great for the future of the hobby, but the majority of the patrons i've seen at cons were over 18, so unfortunately majority rules.

 

 

I never see stuff like this at baseball card shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at "regular" autograph shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at the Creation Star Trek shows.

 

All of these events have the same audience demographic that a comic book show has... yet only the comic con has rows of [not so soft] porn guests. And do the little dots really disguise the penetration shots, etc.?

 

Really, what kind of person thinks that COMIC BOOKS and PORN is an appropriate mix?

 

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

[mlovest]

AMEN!

 

[mlovest]

Scantily clad women bending over in a thong right in front of my boy constitutes smut. Just move it to a controlled area and we can all be happy! 'Nuff said?!"

 

V/R

Mike

[Red Hook]

Personally, if I was a parent I would prefer to explain sex to my child rather than why people find amusement in killing each other and how people can actually have the capacity to take another's life.

 

Well, actually, as a parent, you get to do both. And a whole lot more.

 

As the father of two girls, 14 and 17, I take full responsibilty for making sure they are equipped to interpret the messages, both positive and negative that society and the media bombard them with. Sometimes it feels like a losing battle. Sometimes my daughters shock me with their perceptiveness. It's certainly more complicated than it was for my parents generation.

 

You can't screen it out, you can't put your kid in a bubble, but you can be involved.

 

That said, I think there are massive differences between the kinds of messages presented by a Princess Leia (empowerment-leadership-decisiveness) and some of the figures I've seen at the cons, which seem to promote the objectification of women. We certainly don't need more of that.

[greggy]

Prude

[supapimp]

Really, what kind of person thinks that COMIC BOOKS and PORN is an appropriate mix?

 

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

 

have you seen the covers to modern comics and all their well endowed females?

[october]

I understand that there are kids at these events, which is great for the future of the hobby, but the majority of the patrons i've seen at cons were over 18, so unfortunately majority rules.

 

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

 

Yep, the reason I don't ever talk about comics in public....and the reason I don't tell anyone about my hobby. I really don't need to be immediately stereotyped and pidgeonholed as soon as I mention it, but i guess that is a whole different discussion.

[Red Hook]

Prude

 

Nooooot really. I don't expect the softcore porn to disappear from the cons... a kid-friendly zone seems practical.

[mlovest]

I really think it's easier for a parent to understand this than for someone without kids. I've only been a parent for four years, but you really look at the world around you differently. You have to watch what you say and do. You can't just watch whatever you want on TV. You want the best for your kids inspite of the many things around us that we don't want negatively impacting our kids. Yes, you can't lock your kids up in the house, but you can try to delay their seeing bad things until they are old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong. And soft-porn at a comic convention is a "wrong" for kids, period.

 

V/R

Mike

 

[mlovest]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. My wife still doesn't "get it," and when friends find out, they usually thinks it's a wierd hobby.

 

V/R,

Mike

[justiceleaguer]

I understand that there are kids at these events, which is great for the future of the hobby, but the majority of the patrons i've seen at cons were over 18, so unfortunately majority rules.

 

 

I never see stuff like this at baseball card shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at "regular" autograph shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at the Creation Star Trek shows.

 

All of these events have the same audience demographic that a comic book show has... yet only the comic con has rows of [not so soft] porn guests. And do the little dots really disguise the penetration shots, etc.?

 

Really, what kind of person thinks that COMIC BOOKS and PORN is an appropriate mix?

 

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

 

 

Ok....i didn't want to have to say this, but i see now i have no choice. The porno/sexy models are all part of an evil and diabolical plan conceived by the comic dealer collective. They are there to distract the finiky collector. Think about it....your standing at a dealer table, looking over a lovely silver age specimen, when suddenly, a Double D Supergirl comes into your view, distracting you from that 3/4 inch tear on the back cover. As the drool oozes down your chin you utter the words....I WANT IT. We have ourselves a sale. Cha-Ching!!!

[jordanscott]

 

Really, what kind of person thinks that COMIC BOOKS and PORN is an appropriate mix?

 

 

 

i guess that would be the actual comic book artists and the companies that hire them.

 

we can only cast the stone so far when we're the ones that buy the books with the super buff guys and the ultra babe babes...

 

i mean, i've seen porn flicks where the leading lady was wearing more than, say, Fairchild from Gen13.

 

change supergirl's skirt from solid to a plaid and you've answered any number of fantasies out there.

 

we're the ones that support the link between porn and comics because we buy the comics that blur the line a little bit more each year. i mean really, if an artist starts to draw Wonder Woman's boobs a bit bigger and her LITTLE outfit a bit smaller, well...there won't be anything left to wonder about...

 

everybody has looked towards the cons and the organizers, but i think as a group, we have to look at ourselves too. i recall reading the artist notes for a Crossgen book and the artist said in response to a question on his female characters, these are his ideal women.

 

as somebody above said, the con organizers need to know of the community's displeasure, but you can't say don't show us live scantily clad women, we just want glossy paper ones. the con organizers are just giving us what they see us read every month. tell DC/Marvel/Image/whatever that reality is somewhere between the art of 1955 and 1995 and get them to meet in the middle.

 

i don't want to see censoring, but when the splash page or front cover of a book shows a woman with jigglies that are, proportionally, larger than my head would be, then i wonder if i'll even let my kids read superhero comics when i have them. at least not until they've gotten to the age when i can sit them down and explain that comics, like tv and movies are not real and what you see/read should not be considered a valid reflection of the world.

 

seacrest out!

[Kramerica]

I understand that there are kids at these events, which is great for the future of the hobby, but the majority of the patrons i've seen at cons were over 18, so unfortunately majority rules.

 

 

I never see stuff like this at baseball card shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at "regular" autograph shows.

 

I never see stuff like this at the Creation Star Trek shows.

 

All of these events have the same audience demographic that a comic book show has... yet only the comic con has rows of [not so soft] porn guests. And do the little dots really disguise the penetration shots, etc.?

 

Really, what kind of person thinks that COMIC BOOKS and PORN is an appropriate mix?

 

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

 

You're correct. You never see these things at the shows you mentioned because they do not lend themselves to the mainstream like comic books. Comics are now formly entrenched in the mainstream. The big summer event films are comic movies. Couple that with all of the other media (video games, TV, film, toys) that you see at a comic con and it is the perfect venue for smut presence. Star Trek and Baseball card conventions are just that: you don't see any other multi media presence at these shows. Star Trek conventions are in a league of their own in a (dare I say it) fgalaxy far far away. Baseball card shows do not lend themselves well to scantily clad trollops. There's no crying in baseball? There are no hot chicks either. Besides, baseball is about to start carry a very, very huge stigma that no one would want to associate themselves with. Attendence had been declining very, very rapidly as it was. Now the general public is going to think drugs when they think of baseball. It may have been America's favorite pastime but I really don't see baseball doing anything except dying a long slow death in the next 20 years.

[500]

I really hate to be lumped into the comic book collecting crowd, and this is a primary reason why. And we wonder why we get no respect...

 

 

Win a date contest at WW Chicago

 

Anyways, I think they should be confined to a certain section of the convention halls as well, but right now, it would just cause more problems. At WW Chicago, the most popular tables in Artists Alley were these soft-porn tables.

 

Anyone that has someone to sell/exhibit can buy a table there, and they are popular tables. They have a pretty strong argument for staying where they are since restrictions would probably move them to a rear corner with no traffic and some of those other tables look hard pressed to sell six books.

[UnrulyAppendage]

Some people have been comparing the sights you see at the beach with those in the cons and it is not a valid comparison. You know what to expect at the beach, and even then, the dress is not as bad. Unless there are no dress codes, you know you will see more than pasties and thongs.

 

It's all about the context of the setting. A bikini at the beach is appropriate. A bikini in the boardroom is not. If soft porn becomes the norm at comic cons, then that is a sad commentary on the current state of comics and will further ensure that it will remain a sub-culture and will not be taken seriously. I hope we don't get to a point that we have to have a kid friendly zone instead of an adult zone.

 

I don't care how "smart, intelligent" a female comic character is supposed to be, when she is drawn bent over or spread-eagled in an unnatural pose, it is still catering to the male fantasy. Comics have always been geared towards the male fantasy, but when it becomes so overtly apparent and embarassing for even comic book collectors to take their kids to the main floor of a con, it is only proving the stereotype of the comic book collector. I am glad some collectors feel this is not the imagine of women they want to expose their kids to.

 

Some people get the idea that those of us that would like restrain are prudes or think the human body is evil. That is not the case. It's all about the context and setting. If comic-cons continue this trend, they will continue to lose audiences. If they want to cater to the soft porn aspects, just be honest about it so there are no suprises.

[Excelsior!-migration]

I personally like the young buxom vixens walking around the convention and think of it more as a costume party. Though some might be dressed provocatively you have to keep in mind that is exactly how the characters are portrayed in the comics. I mean look at the way the White Queen, Lady Death, and the new Red Sonja are drawn in X-men etc... How can you be offended if some wannabe porn star is dressed like the White Queen on one hand, but then let your kid read X-men on the other? Bottom line is that parents who don't want their kids exposed to people dressed like characters in the comic books shouldn't take them to conventions. Though there will be guys walking around in Spider-man and Batman suits, there also might be women dressed like the Black Cat as drawn by Dodson and Red Sonja as drawn by Cho.

[UnrulyAppendage]

Bottom line is that parents who don't want their kids exposed to people dressed like characters in the comic books shouldn't take them to conventions.

 

Be careful of what you ask for.

[DiceX]

I'm willing to bet that almost all the people posting that seem to have no problem with it have no kids.

I'd also bet that almost all the people that are complaining do have kids.

 

It's not appropriate for kids of ALL AGES to see HARD CORE PORN, period.

The fact that they hide *some* of it with dots, means nothing.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be there. Just move it to a restricted room, or even behind a curtain.

A picture of a woman with a rubber [#@$%!!!] shoved in her [#@$%!!!], point of entry hidden or not, should not be viewed by CHILDREN.

You dumbarses that think differently, probably do not have children.

 

There's nothing wrong with it being viewed by adults. Just show some decency and don't flaunt it to the kids.

 

Funny how the parental advice comes from people that don't have kids.