Thursday, April 26, 2007

Is This Gratuitous: 100 Bullets #76


100 Bullets #76
Originally uploaded by Heidi Meeley.

Talk about your symbolism here. Dizzy, one of the lead characters of the book is laying naked on the handle of a gun. Since she is a minuteman does this mean she is dangerous without her clothes on? Or is it just a tip of the hat to the guys in the comic reading audience that will entice readers to pick up this issue?

It is hard for me to pick on 100 Bullets as it is one of my favorite titles today. It is a Vertigo book with strong adult themes, so it isn't surprising that the cover is provocative. It also definitely evokes a kind of retro look. I admire artist Dave Johnson's clever cover work as a whole, but next time I want to see Cole or Victor naked on that gun. That would give the ladies some equal time, and God knows that I wouldn't mind seeing bad boy Cole doing a bit of a tease.


So here it is for this week- tell me, is this gratuitous?

6 comments:

Vaklam said...

I'm on the fence about this one but I'm leaning towards "no" due to the whole "is it art?" angle.

It's classier than a lot of the pure cheesecake covers and her pose makes her a cool part of the image rather than just saying "Hey! Lookit the nekkid babe!"

Swinebread said...

maybe sexist, in the classic James Bond kinda way, but not gratuious.

Lisa said...

Definately made me think of James Bond.

While it's not "over the top" sexed up, I'm not sure it's necessary for her to be naked. Technically gratuitous means it isn't necesary - and based on that I'm going to have to say that it is gratuitous because they don't really need to have a naked woman on a gun handle. Yes, it is "artistic" and all, but what does it tell me about the comic book inside? Nothing.

Heidi Meeley said...

Man, I am still really torn.

What do you think would happen if the cover had featured a nude guy?

Eaglewing said...

Gratuitous? The pose, no. The nudity, probably, but I'm so buying that book! :) [once I get to that trade anyway - only got the first 2 so far]

Anyway, I see a nude gal on a gun, I'm thinking 'femme fatale' of a noir type story and the men characters in the story need to be careful. I see a nude guy on a gun, I'm thinking 'what the?!' and likely saving my 3 bucks as I prefer noir over existential comedy. Shallow? Probably, but just sayin'.

Heidi Meeley said...

Eaglewing, I like what you said. Very true. As someone who is also buying the book, knowing it's content, it is hard to judge!