Strange Comic Trends: Women Lying Down on Strange Backgrounds

trends001This is not so much of a comic only trend, but it is one which is evident enough in popular culture, specifically music videos.  As a design element it is common enough to find in music videos a female singer lying down on an eclectic background as she sings, with the camera panning around her, usually with them squirming a bit on the background as they sing.  For some reason this has been an influence in music videos long enough that it was evident in some of Britney Spears earlier songs as well as recently showing up in videos for Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande.  Certainly there are only so many inspirations that can exist for music videos, but this is one which is evidently very female, as no male singer has ever been shown to do it.  As such it would seem to be sexual in some way, even if there is no real implied sexiness associated with it.

Since the introduction of Grimm Fairy Tales from Zenescope it has perhaps been the covers which have gotten the worst press for the company.  While the covers do often depict its female characters in suggestive poses it is also a series which is noted for the abundance of mostly well written strong female leads.  As such over time the covers have taken on different context.  While there are still some which are sometimes exploitative and even overly sexual, there are lots which also just pay homage to iconic imagery of women as presented in the media, whether that be a woman waiting at a train stop or an updated depiction of Rosie the Riveter.

wonderland035aOne of the three main covers for Wonderland #35 depicts Calie Liddle in the previously mentioned pose, though in this case it would seem to be almost a bit tongue-in-cheek.  Although this trend of using female stars lying down on different backgrounds is not really fully described as a concept, it evidently exists enough in the public consciousness that this title could almost be said to be lampooning it.  At first sight the image doesn’t look too different but when looked at more closely it is very much not the norm.  Instead of a background which is normal, Calie is instead lying on the scales of what appears to be the neck of a dragon, an abnormal place for this as compared to the pop stars who more often than not are lying on a carpet with a strange design.  In so doing it takes this design element and removes part of the hidden sexuality of it and replaces it with strength, incidentally something which Zenescope is known to with its female characters.