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What is Marvel on about?

Mister Six, whom all the girls

13:05 / 14.08.03

15 Love

From CBR's Rich Johnston

"The cover to "15-Love" was also a popular conversation starter. Previews of the book at the marvel booth by Andi Watson and Tommy Ohtsuka showed what seemed to be quite a refreshing manga-esque story set in the cut and thrust world of junior tennis. The photo-style cover, featuring a young girl bending over in a tennis costume seemed to remind too many onlookers of those photos their Uncle Freddy used to collect before he was taken away by the police. However, maybe it's just that filth is in the eye of the beholder… "

Regrettable Juvenilia

13:42 / 14.08.03

"It's interesting to consider the ontological implications of the neo-paedophilic imagery presented in this comicstrip..."

CameronStewart

13:50 / 14.08.03

I had a flip through 15/Love (and I DO love that title) at the Chicago Con and dodgy cover aside, the interior seemed quite innocent, at least from my quick skim. It's a soap-opera for young girls set on and off the tennis court, written by Andi Watson.

I was talking with some Marvel folk in the interest of doing some work for them and they said that they are looking to expand in this area - they're trying to target the teenage girl market so look for more books of this nature coming from Marvel over the next year or so. Tennis comics are also quite popular in Japan (the shops I visited had dozens of tennis-related manga titles).

Having said that, yeah, the cover does seem like it's going to pique the interest of horny men rather than girls, and given that they'll still probably be sold only in male-dominated specialty comics shops, it's likely that's who will be buying it...

I still really love that title.

Ray Fawkes

14:17 / 14.08.03

The title seems like the dodgiest part about it to me. It's clever, but also pretty sleazy...I can't imagine that it would do anything but turn off most girls.

Professor Silly

15:19 / 14.08.03

I agree with Cameron--unless Marvel works at putting these books in stores that young ladies are likely to visit (like Claire's) then how will they even know that these books exist? If instead they're sold in comic book stores, then mostly guys will see them...and I don't know--the title's play on words seems a bit disturbing to me, as I know how most young men will interpret it. I don't think the title would give the same impression to young ladies (at fifteen many girls feel like they're ready for "love" without fully realizing all the implications...I think they associate "love" with the feeling, not the act).

Bottom line, it seems like Marvel wants to use the covers of this and Trouble to dupe young men into buying a title geared towards girls, which might boost sales short term....

sleazenation

15:33 / 14.08.03

Just because the initial market for this comic will be comic shops (the better ones, I can assure you, are visited by women these days) does not mean that A) it shouldn't have been published and B) it won't reach its teenage girl target audience better as a collections sold in book shops, a fate that surely awaits it.

CameronStewart

15:43 / 14.08.03

>>>Just because the initial market for this comic will be comic shops (the better ones, I can assure you, are visited by women these days) does not mean that A) it shouldn't have been published<<<

Who was it that suggested it shouldn't have been published? Not me.

>>>The title seems like the dodgiest part about it to me. It's clever, but also pretty sleazy<<<

>>>I think [young girls] associate "love" with the feeling, not the act).<<<

This is why I like the title so much, it's open to so many different interpretations and it works with all of them. Very clever. And yeah, I don't think that the intended young teen audience will assume that "love" means "fucking."

Much like the early preview of the first Trouble cover, the 15/Love title is an interesting little Rorschach blot.

You filthy bugger, Ray.

Ach! Soxed again...

hasn't there been a long tradition of teen romance literature (dating back to 1954) and comics with titles like "teen romance" or "young love" which didn't imply pedaphilia? fiction about teenagers who have relationships doesn't imply something creepy.

unless YOU'RE creepy...

sleazenation

19:48 / 18.08.03

I'd agree that teen romance comics do have a long and interestng history, but unfortunately, as Alan Moore suggested in Promethia, a large section of teen romances were written by middle-aged men. Meanwhile is it just me or does the cover of Trouble appear to bear an uncomfortably unironic resembelence to the film poster's for Lolita?

finger n' thump

09:47 / 19.08.03

the cover resembles a 'shit cover'.

ergo: (gag)

the cover is a shit cover.

houdini

20:37 / 19.08.03

Paul O'Brien makes a decent point about this in Article 10 over at:

http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=641

To wit, why is it everyone is all het up about these photocovers (naff as they may be) but seems okay with the kind of softcore S&M typically draped across the covers of eg. Elektra?

Regrettable Juvenilia

21:08 / 19.08.03

Whoever said they were "okay" with the Elektra covers?

sleazenation

21:15 / 19.08.03

I'm not sure they are necessarily OK with electra covers - on aesthetic or technical grounds. And while i think photocovers can be made very interesting and bring a different audience in (while remembering of course that photocovers are not new and have a long and distinguished history) I remain unconvinced that these covers work to sell the contents - but then again -I'm not in the target market for 15 love - i'm not even sure what the target market for trouble is - i just know that i haven't felt much desire to pick it up from the shelves based on its cover...

Haus of Mystery

21:53 / 19.08.03

I'd be embarassed to. It reminds me of Look-In.

houdini

22:03 / 19.08.03

To clarify, I don't think O'Brien is necessarily saying that Elektra covers are A Good Thing. In fact, reading his articles I get the impression that he's not a big fan of Greg Horn (who does a lot of those cheesecake covers).

I think the point is that, in wider circles than that of the Barbelith Comics Forum, Marvel's photo-covers have been a big deal in terms of people feeling that they maybe carried overly sexualized subject matter. Which I think is strange, given that the general comicsfan public doesn't seem to be up in arm about cheesecake covers on books like Elektra.

Anyway, I think reading the article whose URL I gave above probably makes the point more clearly than I'm doing right here.

Krug

08:18 / 20.08.03

Greg Horn is bizarro/porno Alex Ross.

Haus of Mystery

11:43 / 20.08.03

And his Elektra looks like Danni Minogue for fucks sake.

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