Frank Cho’s Manara-inspired Spider-Gwen art causes uproar, responds with Harley Quinn art

The nerd community is a vocal and critical bunch. Now add sensitive people to the mix, and you get nerds shouting from all kinds of directions. Right now we have Frank Cho in the spotlight for his recent parody of Milo Manara’s Spider-Woman cover.

It all started when he released his Spider-Gwen art that parodies Manara’s Spider-Woman cover. Let’s just say that a few sites and people weren’t too pleased with it, especially The Mary Sue. Here’s what Sam Maggs from the site had to say in the article titled “Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should”:

Here’s the thing: yes, Cho has always drawn some cheesecake stuff, and there will always be a place for that in comics. It’s why we don’t write daily articles about stuff like this and this. But by taking a shot at this particular cover, one that caused so much discomfort among lots of comic book readers, it shows a clear disregard for the perfectly valid outrage over Manara’s original Spider-Woman variant; an incident that, we should note, made our list of the “Worst Moments in Female Fandom in 2014.” Aside from being an obvious poke at “those angry feminists” who “overreact” to things, the cover is also an unfortunate but elucidating look at what some men think about women who are trying to carve out a space for themselves in the frequently misogynist world of comics – where they feel objectified and overly-sexualized on a regular basis. What makes this sketch even more inappropriate is that the Spider-Gwen book is clearly aimed at a teen audience, meant to entice new, younger female readers to Marvel comics. Plus, Gwen herself is a teenager.

Instead of replying to all the different bloggers out there in regards to the “scandal,” Cho has instead drawn another parody art featuring Harley Quinn and the Joker on his blog. This art is simple response that saves him time while also getting the message across:

Wow. What a crazy couple of days it has been. My parody cover sketch of Spider-Gwen aping the infamous Manara Spider-Woman pose sent some of the hypersensitive people in a tizzy. To be honest, I was amused and surprised by the uproar since it was, in my opinion, over nothing. It’s essentially a small group of angry and humorless people ranting against my DRAWING of a pretty woman. It’s utter nonsense. This world would be a better and a happier place if some people just grow a sense of humor and relax. Now, I’m getting bombarded by various bloggers asking for an interview addressing this “scandal”. Instead of me wasting my breath and precious time over this non-issue replying to all the interviewers, I’ve drawn another cover sketch in response which will, hopefully, answer all the questions. Enjoy, everyone.

Do you think people are making a big deal out of this, or do you think Cho is in the wrong for creating art that is poking fun at the sensitive people?

Via The Outhousers