The Case of Two Manara Covers
Much has been made this week of the Milo Manara variant cover for Marvel‘s Spider-Woman #1. The issue has been covered by numerous comic focused blogs, but has also spilled over into the mainstream media including Time and The Guardian among others.
Many have made the excuse that the depiction of Spider-Woman by Manara matches his erotic style, something he’s known for. This is what he does, and should be expected. But, released today was another variant cover by Manara for Thor: God of Thunder #25.
They’re both below, side by side, and I think comparing the two, one depicting a woman the other a man, sums up the issue.
Clearly Manara can do more than “erotic” covers, sadly he only chooses to do that when a woman is not involved. Check out more covers of his below the jump.
Here’s more Marvel covers from Manara, more women, more of the same.
The problem with Manara is that he is not really a comic book creator. While he uses the medium to express the stories which he is interested in, they are not what most people would consider to be truly comic like in concept or design. Instead it is just a bunch of weird fantasies, which rely on women as props more so than as living and thinking people. In the introduction to his collections he makes the case that he is an artist and creator and shouldn’t be censored, similar to what we have heard from other pornographers in the past. Valid point I guess, at least as was upheld by the Supreme Court thanks to Larry Flynt, but the end result is laughable. His fantasy is just messed-up voyeurism of the worst kind, and where his ability to create fiction is bad, his art is pretty horrible. Anatomically speaking how Spider-Woman is anatomically incorrect and the guy needs to learn about perspective and shading. I am not at all sure why Marvel is keen on giving this guy any respect at all. The House Of Ideas struck out on this one. Male fans must have been puzzled at best and female fans (are there any left?) must have just found another reason to leave.