Drawing a DC Superhero: Batgirl (And a Note on Sexualized Women in Comics)

How did come to draw Batgirl with her legs spread far, far apart?

A great question--and a valid one. I've spent a lot of my adult life writing about feminism and critiquing portrayals of women in the media. Comics, honestly, were so far gone with women that I didn't even try to create write ups on it--it's basically a foregone conclusion that comics will always feature women in sexually provocative poses, for no other reason that gawking.

Still, that doesn't mean that comics aren't phenomenal mediums for storytelling (personally, I'm in love with Saga right now), and there are plenty of feminist comics to choose from. I consider myself a casual observer, willing to roll my eyes if a good story comes by.

Few comic publishers are guilty of invoking the male gaze as Zenescope, who have triumphantly made children's story protagonists into sexy playthings.

Just look at what they did to poor Red Riding Hood, Alice, and Mowgli:

But with that said, I didn't know that Zenescope had that reputation.

In fact, all I knew was that they retold fairy tales with an all-female cast.

Sounds feminist AF, right?

You can imagine my surprise when I got my first issue. Lots of butt cheeks and bent-over babes.

But in the spirit of sunk costs, I decided to read it... and I kept reading it.

Zenescope doesn't write phenomenal comics, but they do offer a fresh take on old stories. I found myself enjoying many of their stories, while guiltily also enjoying the artwork.

I found as I read, though, that there were times where the protagonist's sexualization was actually appropriate: when a character used her sexuality as a tool, or just because she wanted to.

Yes, I was uncomfortable in the many ways the girls were "accidentally" contorted into sexy positions or managed to lose there clothes, but that doesn't mean that those women needed to be entirely de-sexualized. There's no need to swing so hard in the other direction that women lose their agency to become sexual beings.

I mean, women are more than welcome to love sex and appreciate their bodies--and show it off if they want to.

How does that bring us to Batgirl?

@deveerei posted a fun competition where participants were asked to draw a DC Superhero.

My first thought was: What DC female superheroes are there other than Wonder Woman? I'm sure she's overdone right now and I never got into her.

And my second thought was: I want to draw a Zenescope-style comic.

I was surprised about that impulse--I hadn't read Zenescope in a while--and upon reflection, I was more afraid of retaliation than making the art I wanted to make. Drawing a woman legs-spread is sure to invite commentary, and often not the best kind.

So I went on a mission to find the right female superhero for the pose: someone who is playful, enjoys her sexuality, and who would probably enjoy showing off her body--if she were real.

Which brings me to Batgirl.

Batgirl is feminist AF

A bit of research quickly demonstrated that Batgirl is worthy of more attention. She was originally introduced to appease the feminist movement back in the 60s, and has since been rebooted, loved, and rebooted again.

(There's plenty I can say about her as Oracle, but that's best for another post.)

As of now, she does cool missions like snuffing out revenge porn rings instead of being a dull, tokenized sidekick.

I fell in love, and quickly began drawing.

The process

There are a bunch of images here, and I'll be happy to comment on them in the comments if you have questions.

Which version do you prefer?

As a final step, I had the option to apply a comic filter.

This is the original (shown as the cover image):

And the lines added in.

Which do you prefer?

More about sexualization of female characters and comics?

I'm curious to know Steemit's opinion--about the pose, the artwork, and about comics. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

All content is original.

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