DC is a level-headed company that never shoots itself in the foot. Totally.

[Aldurin]

So DC is having a contest for drawing a page of Harley Quinn Issue #0, and the requirements for the page are pretty tame. (http://www.dccomics.com/node/305151)

Just draw four panels of Harley Quinn attempting to kill herself.

And make sure she's naked in the fourth one.

:wtf:

Not making light of suicide, and definitely not sexualizing it at all.

Fuck this, when's Mahvel?

---------- Post added at 05:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------

Between fucking up Superman and now this can't DC just die? I don't even want to bother with any more of their shit after finding out that this passes as OK for them.

[Magus]

I am confused and disoriented. I think this merits a full quote:

Read the following script page and give us your original artistic interpretation of what those four panels should look like on a single page:

PAGE 15

4 panels

PANEL 1
Harley is on top of a building, holding a large DETACHED cellphone tower in her hands as lightning is striking just about everywhere except her tower. She is looking at us like she cannot believe what she is doing. Beside herself. Not happy.

PANEL 2
Harley is sitting in an alligator pond, on a little island with a suit of raw chicken on, rolling her eyes like once again, she cannot believe where she has found herself. We see the alligators ignoring her.

PANEL 3
Harley is sitting in an open whale mouth, tickling the inside of the whale’s mouth with a feather. She is ecstatic and happy, like this is the most fun ever.

PANEL 4
Harley sitting naked in a bathtub with toasters, blow dryers, blenders, appliances all dangling above the bathtub and she has a cord that will release them all. We are watching the moment before the inevitable death. Her expression is one of “oh well, guess that’s it for me” and she has resigned herself to the moment that is going to happen.

Like it's not so much sexist or making light of suicide as positively inane.

[Satan's Onion]

...
Like it's not so much sexist or making light of suicide as positively inane.

I respectfully submit that it can be all of those things, especially if you have the creative power of DC Comics at your command!

[Krylo]

The best part is how cheery they are about talking about her character and this opportunity to be involved in it, right before they explain that you're supposed to draw her naked in a bath tub with electrical appliances hanging overhead ready to kill herself.

[tacticslion]

This is... disturbing. On a number of levels.

What the heck DC?! What is wrong with you?!

[Shyria Dracnoir]

They're bleeding out professional artists by the pint with a toxic culture, so they're subcontracting out to the internet. Just as toxic, but easier to exploit.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Hasn't this whole thing come about just before the start of some national suicide awareness week as well? I think that was a thing. Perfect timing DC. Real classy and shit.

And lets not forget that the writers of Batwoman recently quit in frustration over not being able to show her lesbian wedding on page, amongst other crappy editorial bullshit.

It's like everyone heard EAs Worst Company in America award was up for grabs and now they're coveting it for themselves, so now it's a toss-up between them, DC and Microsoft.

[Aerozord]

Well I love my dark humor so I dont immediately reject the concept. Not too bothered by the nudity. I'm sure it was selected for fanservice but its atleast logical for her to be naked and for that to be an attempt. Things like this depends alot on tone for me.

[Tev]

So...., and not to diminish the ridiculousness of this whole project, but why is Harley trying to kill herself again? Is there something going on in the Bat-verse that I missed or is this just DC going "We need to see your best Harley nudes. Here's some pretense about suicide as well to stretch your creative muscle."

[Dracorion]

Apparently Harley's going to be breaking the fourth wall throughout the issue.

Also, the thing with Batwoman's writers? They quit because of repeated instances of last-minute editorial meddling, which included changing the ending of an arc and, yes, being told that Batwoman and her fiancee couldn't get married, after they had to fight just to get her engaged.

Considering DC seems to be going out of it's way to establish that no superhero is married, not just Batwoman, it doesn't seem like a anti-lesbian thing.

[Amake]

If I had that kind of skill, I'd love to draw each of those scenes and make them like completely not sexy and really bring out the horror of watching and/or being a suicidal person about to die and no one can or will do anything about it and make whoever thought up this bullshit shit his pants and cry when he sees it and when they offer me the job just hold up the originals and tear them up and leave without a word.

[Bum Bill Bee]

Apparently Harley's going to be breaking the fourth wall throughout the issue.



So now Harley has become DC's equivilent to Deadpool personality/humor-wise?:ohdear:

[Dracorion]

Yes, but with more exploding gameboys.

[POS Industries]

Yes, but with more exploding gameboys.
Oh god that issue was horrid.

DC aimed for Deadpool and somehow wound up with Bomb Queen.

[Aerozord]

Oh god that issue was horrid.

DC aimed for Deadpool and somehow wound up with Bomb Queen.

or Hercule

[Dracorion]

You have to wonder how Gotham is anything other than a graveyard if the Joker, Harley, Killer Croc, Mister Freeze, Scarecrow, Zsasz, whoever else are constantly killing hundreds of people in order to prove that they're gritty and threatening villains.

[POS Industries]

or Hercule
Mr. Satan didn't use them to mass-murder children, so that's not exactly my point.

Or even remotely near my point.

[shiney]

Until DC offers an identical "artistic opportunity" with one of their male cast members, I am going to assume this is nothing more than a vehicle for sexist tittilation.

Tittilation. Hee.

[Aldurin]

Oh hey Coelasquid to the rescue!

http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r600/Aldurinian/2013-09-09.jpg

Also relevent to the "DC ruined Lobo" thread.

[POS Industries]

I don't think I know him. I've never even met him.

Sorry. Not sorry.

[CABAL49]

I am just going to pretend that DCAU Harley Quinn is the only version of her.

[Aerozord]

I miss the old costume. I know the nature of comics but, it was a good design and the opposite of sexualized

[Dracorion]

Skintight cloth wasn't sexualized?

[Aerozord]

Skintight cloth wasn't sexualized?

by comic book standards, no. I do not find the human shape inherently sexual. It was skin tight but the lines and shapes did not draw the eye to her curves and fully covered her up. So atleast to me I never found her design "sexy"

[akaSM]

I like that suit too and, when I first played Arkham Asylum I was expecting to see it. Oh silly me, you so silly.

[CABAL49]

Yeah, the costume change bothers me. How can Harleen Quinzel be Harley Quinn of she is not dressed as a Harlequin.

[Bum Bill Bee]

She could change her name to "Harlot Quinn" :P

[Dracorion]

Yeah, the costume change bothers me. How can Harleen Quinzel be Harley Quinn of she is not dressed as a Harlequin.

No, see, she's wearing a neck ruffle. She's totally a harlequin.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

I like that suit too and, when I first played Arkham Asylum I was expecting to see it. Oh silly me, you so silly.

Fun fact, her concept art actually shows her wearing an updated version of her old iconic costume.

Though to be honest, Most of the cast got sexualized to some extent in that game. Males and females.


Poison Ivy got the worst of it though. But at the same time that's debatable since nudity is the body in it's natural form. It can be associated with nature, matching her powers.

[tacticslion]

Poison Ivy got the worst of it though. But at the same time that's debatable since nudity is the body in it's natural form. It can be associated with nature, matching her powers.

Poison Ivy always seemed to get "the worst of it" in this case, though. I don't really ever recall a point when she wasn't supposed to be exceedingly sexualized.

Of course, I didn't play that game (I'm really out of date on my gaming - "Dragon Age: Origins" is my newest, for example) so I can't really say that it wasn't worse than normal in the game. Just that the trend sounds like it's consistent re:poison ivy.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Relevant (http://chezapocalypse.com/daanesbury-a-psycho-analyzes/)

[Magus]

What the--they show Batwoman kissing chicks all the time, why no lesbian weddings? They could have met in the middle and made it a lesbian civil union!

EDIT: Oh, I see, it was more that they don't want heroes to be married. Unless they're Superman way back in the day, I guess.

Never got the over sexualizing of Harley Quinn (I mean Bruce Timm was pretty into hot animated chicks and he never went that far overboard) but Poison Ivy's thing is sexuality so I don't think it makes sense to complain about that.

Catwoman is somewhere in the middle but the Arkham games didn't seem to go overboard with her.