Secondlina's Panels

Time and time again, i’m defending the point of view of someone who hates the way women are treated in the media, especially comics. Mostly because comics are where my expertise lies. And often, especially discussing with male readers, I have trouble making my point. I tell them I dislike how women are objectified and most of the time background characters, or “lesser” characters. Often, women aren’t heroes. They are part of the hero team and are even sometimes the main character, but it still doesn’t make them the hero. They are still relegated as “the team chick”. And usually when i’m saying this, the usual replies I get are :

1) If you don’t like comics, then don’t read them.

2) Guys are sexed up too.

3) What, girl’s aren’t allowed to be girly?

Response to #1 - Actually, I love comics. Comics are amazing. There’s a lot of really good comics out there, and, as time goes by, more comics that treat women characters well. This isn’t about bitching about the medium. This is about making it BETTER. Constructive comments. I’m not saying “we don’t want sexy girls anymore in our comics”. No. Actually, I love sexy girls. I love hot, confident, sexually active characters. What I actually want is for these characters to be 3-dimensional. A woman can have a nice bod and even still have a lot of flattering shots at the same time as she has dreams and aspirations. Sexuality, like everything else a character does, is a part of the way they express their personality. Use a character’s sexuality as more then eye candy. Use it as a way to develop a character. Some people are sexy. And you can be sexy in several ways. And the way you are sexy is linked to the way you act. What bothers me is that all comic girls seem to act the same nowadays in badly written comics. So it’s just the same person in different costumes. I loved the Black Widow in the Avengers because she was damn hot in her own way. It’s not about the sexy. It’s about how the sexy is used. Use it badly, and all you get is a empty jello lady.

Response to #2 - Again. This is all about how sexuality is used. Guys are sexualized, yes, but in an extremely flattering way for the male ego. Muscles. Flawless action sequence’s, big penis packages, and of course, female characters all over them. When a female reader sees a girl that looks like a blow up doll, she does not feel valued. However, have a girl look like Asami or Korra in the new Legend of korra, and heck yeah, that is our type of hot. Realistic but awesome bodies. Realistic and awesome personalities. Dick Grayson is awesome because he’s Dick Grayson. The fantastic abs are just a bonus. The sexual aspect is not the main aspect of the character. It’s just a sweet add-on.

Response to #3 - God yes, girls can be girly. And not girly. And jewish. And green. And whatever you want. Girls can be anything. The point is, if you pick a personality, do it well. A female character can be jealous and catty. Yes, female jerks exist. But if that is her personality, keep it together from beginning to end. In my own comic, Namesake, the main character, Emma, rarely smiles. And if that changes, it’s going to plot-related. Not happen magically because the males in the plot demand it. If a girl is girly, keep her that way unless the plot has her evolve away from it over time. Same with all the personalities. Male characters have character development arcs. Girls need them too.

This message has been brought to you by my annoyance.

So there.

Discuss.

I finished this commission a while ago. Someone had asked for a portrait of their nieces as Oz characters, so I dressed one as Ozma and the other as a Wicked Witch. Needless to say the kids and the commissionnee loved it (I hear the eldest is quite the fan of witches). I though it was a bit of a shame that I never shared this commission with anyone else because it was really, really fun. I really like when people ask for portraits or OCs. I like drawing new stuff and getting to be creative about it.

In other news, I think I might be too emotionally involved with the Legend of Korra show. I really love it. I kinda missed the boat for the first show, so it's nice to be excited at the same time as 5 million other viewers. Only 3 episodes left!



I was proud of myself yesterday. For a little more then two weeks, I was happy. Like, fully happy. No depression or odd thoughts or anything. Today broke the good streak, unfortunately. It was kindoff a bad day. I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Thankfully, Link is a good boyfriend that provides hugs and chocolate fondue. I just need to stay focused on good things.

Bleh.

Oh, as another random note, my tiny yokais were a roaring success in class, especially because I gave then away at the end. I was asked to make many, many more for the next class. The next class is also the last, so i'm thinking of heading to Chinatown to find a special little something to have a raffle for at the end of the class. These kids deserve it. Good kids.



- Isa

These are my final character designs for Ember and Jack the Sparkgobbler, a graphic novel project I want to start soon.

It’s a youth graphic novel created from an inspired mix of the fairy tales of Cinderella, Donkeyskin, Andersen’s Shadow and the tale of Jack-o-lantern. It kinda sounds confused, but it flows really nicely in my mind. I look forward to doodling these guys. I'm really motivated to create stuff for kids and teenagers. It's always in those age groups that I find my favorite stories...

Speaking of kids and teens, I drew these tiny chibi yokais for my manga classes. It’s a Shinigami, a Kitsune (Fox), a Hebi (shape-shifting snake) and an Harionago (aka person with evil hair). I’m using these to teach, and at the end of the class, I give them away… hence why the drawings aren’t too detailed. I only have two classes left (one is next week). I'm kinda happy it's almost over. I liked giving them, and the pay is nice, but holy crap, getting 20 teenagers to sit and listen to you is freaking difficult. 



Today is a day off. I pretty much screwed around and watched Korra. A strong Migraine prevented me from really focusing. Oh well. It happens. 

I'm on the fence about Snowwhite and the Huntsman. A part of me is intrigued and wants to see it. Another dreads it and is convince it's horrible. Reviews aren't really helping since it seems to be half and half. 

- Isa

My little brother is a brony. We live kinda far now, but I still wanted to make something for him to give to him when he visited me today. So I drew Queen Chrysalis and Princess Cadence as humans for him. I’m pretty proud of this!

My family visited, brought me flowers, cake and presents as a late birthday thing. Then we played King of Tokyo. It was a good day! :D

I'm a bit behind on art stuff. Yesterday the electricity kept going out due to the storm. So me and Link turned off our computers and played Magic : the Gathering. 

So far, quite the relaxing week, I gotta say...

- Isa

 Avengers! Avengers! AVENGERS!

IT WAS AWESOME.

I really liked it. It was a nice fast-paced, hilarious movie, with good characters and good effects. it's the type of movie that would have been impossible to make without all the so-so prequels they had for all the characters. I think it worked well also because they had Joss Wedon write it. What made the Avengers awesome was the interactions between the characters. And Joss Wedon is pretty good at that sort of thing. He thrives on the funny and subtle interactions and witty dialogue. He also made Black Widow less "I'm the hot chick" then in Iron Man two, which is awesome. So, long story short, if you like superheroes, do see the avengers. Worth it.

Also, everyone has amazing butts. Seriously. So much spandex made me realise that everyone has a flawless ass.

I wish my ass was that flawless. 

I've been drawing really crappily these past few days. Might be time for another doodle break. 

Tomorrow, i'm off to the Cirque Du Soleil. They have a permanent show every year in Montréal. I think they test their new shows here or something. But it's my first time seeing them. Should be fun. 

I drew the twins from Namesake. I love drawing those two. Book 2 is almost completed on Namesake. That's pretty much 300 pages. I can't believe I drew 300 pages of this comic. Time sure flies.



I also sketched tiny sailors. I want to draw cute Sailor Moon fanart again. :D



Oh, and I got my artbook from Brave. It's awful pretty! It does reveal almost all of the story though, so fans beware!

- Isa

I call this comic “how I got an Appa plush yesterday” or “How my boyfriend is the best boyfriend I think I might wed that son of a gun he gave me a plush of a mythological animal featured in a kid’s cartoon I love you dammit”. 




He gave me my present way in advance because it's hard to hide a giant box in our apartment. Also, I always collect the mail.

Now i'm off to clean my kitchen because it smells like nuclear toxic waste and it might generate super heroes. Like the Mighty Banana.

Many thanks to yukinoomoni for linking me to "Of Monsters and Men" that Icelandic music is awesome, I am seriously a fan. 

Posted to both Lj and Dreamwidth.

Leaving tomorrow, bright and early, for Toronto. I'm going to be at the TCAF (Toronto Comic arts festival) all weekend. Here's the floorplan if anybody is seeking me out :



In the most predictable of twists, I have developed a huge, evil zit on the side of my nose. Of course. Right before a date with comics. Nevermind that I never usually get zits. *laughs*

I'm going to buy so many comics. Oh my god.

I'm a bit sad i'll miss this week's Korra episode. So I drew some art to tide me over.





I ship Makorrasamiolinscarfy.

So does Pabu.

So should you.

Sorry this post is kinda short, I can't think of anything to say because my brain is already in Toronto. It's waiting for my body at the airport.

- Isa

No joke, today was one of those "I have a million things to draw so i'm staying at home and wearing stinky pajamas" day and my hair was FABULOUS.

- Isa

On Sunday night and for most of Monday, the whole staff at the bookstore has been doing the thing all library folks dread - INVENTORY *crash of thunder*. It was long and hard work (hahaha), but everyone was diligent and awesome, so it went well. We all got divided in teams of two and got stuff done. Booyah. 

I felt a bit heartbroken because a lot of the books that have been around for a while are rather damaged. The book displays we have aren't too great for large-format comics. See, European mainstream comics kinda come in  3 sizes. The displays were designed for the smaller one, that was originally the most common size (aka TinTin size). The bigger format is now the norm, so the books are always criss-crossing and hitting each other. And now we also have graphic novels and other random sizes, so sometimes, placing books can feel like a Tetris game. 

In other news, i'm really getting into Yokais (aka Japanese folkloric monsters/ghosts/WTFness). I wrote an article for the bookstores (French) blog about them. I got some really cool reference books to write said article, and got back into reading a lot of manga series featuring Yokais, including the infamous Inu Yasha. I never finished reading it because it was long as hell. Now I can read them quietly for free in book format. I'm not gonna lie, borrowing books is definitely the biggest perk of this job. In any case, I love me that folklore. I kinda like this. I love diving back in fairy tales and stuff like that. Brings the flame of love I have for these tales back to burning hot.

Drew some more Korra. The premiere was this weekend. Apparently, Canadians can watch Korra off Nickelodeon's website if they don't mind waiting a day or two. HOT DAMN. I'm happy about that. They probably won't stay long, but long enough to be viewed, and that's good enough for me.



Drawing from to this sorta spoiler-ish and vulgar comic. Be warned. 

- Isa

I drew a lot of silly Korra stuff. Honestly, i'm fangirling like crazy. This series will be the death of me.

I was disappointed to see the Legend of Korra was available on itunes for Americans, but not Canadians. Seriously Nickelodeon, why don't you want my money?

Today I went to the dentist to get a clean-up (I love the feel of clean teeth) and a doctor to do some more tests about the lung thing. Surprise, surprise, 200$ later I was told my lungs were fine, so that the asthma was probably just stress. Awesome. They can't give me a pump because they haven't found a medical problem. They told me it was probably panic, so I could breathe into a paper bag next time it happened (you know, to get more carbon monoxide in the body and therefore make the breathing more regular). Urgh. This is the third doctor, so I guess i'm going to have to accept that whatever is making me feel sick is apparently all in my head.

Maybe taking a vacation to an exotic location may help. I have been wanting to go back to Disneyworld. Or Hawaii. Yesssss.

ON TO THE ART.



This drawing isn’t really about feminism. But it kinda is at the same time. I guess this is about perception. I’ve been enjoying some shows with a lot of great ladies in them. I even drew a top badass of 2012 drawing. I love my ladies. I love them all.

I’m a bit disappointed that a lot of people out there take some of these badass ladies, like Korra and Katniss, and draw/write fanworks where the characters are weak and dominated by their significant other. It’s like, as soon as their significant other kisses them, their uterus quivers and suddenly they can’t remember how to toss a punch.

Now, I don’t have anything against dudes being the dominant energy in a relationship. I tend to prefer relationships where both parties switch sides at being the dominant one, but at the same time, girls being the lovey-dovey ones that are cared for most of the time doesn’t bother me in itself, when the character’s personality works with it.

Some girls are more… for lack of a better word, the stereotypical “girly”. They speak softly, are graceful, like cooking and cleaning and being pretty. This does not make these girls less badass. What makes a girl badass is her determination, her ability to be true, to live well, and to be generally awesome at whatever motivates her to be herself. Fluttershy is shy, but she is still badass, as badass as Korra, as Rainbow dash. A housewife is as awesome as a time traveling girl from the future with a gun (i’m looking at you, River Song). As long as both stay true to their hearts and have a sharp mind and clear motivations.

It takes all girls to make the world, and all girls are magnificent. Just like all boys are awesome. May they love sports or anything else.

What bothers me is when fanworks take a character’s personality and tosses it out a window to fit a fantasy, to fit what is right according to a stereotype. I’ve seen a lot of great Legend of Korra fanworks, but also a few that made me sad. Because Korra was acting as a damsel in distress. Not that Korra will never need to be rescued, or helped. We all need help once in a while. But she certainly won’t throw herself in the guy’s arm and praise the gods that he’s around to fight the big bad equalists and top her in bed. We all need comfort, we all need help, and guidance. But we don’t magically change personalities when we get it.

So, fans, when a girl is strong, keep her strong. When a girl is introverted, keep her introverted. A good artist should be able to identify and expand upon a character’s personality.

That said, I had fun drawing Korra swooning the crap out of Mako.

Hehehe.

The next two drawings are just silly things I drew because I was tired and practising bodies and poses.





- Isa