Less Tits n' Ass, More Kickin' Ass

Art and Superheroines: Psylocke as Drawn by Greg Land vs. Jerome Opena

We got a big response to my last piece on sexualization in superhero art, and I’m back today with another look at the same premise: that comics art tells a story, and on a certain level, you can judge it according to how well it tells the story it’s trying to tell. This week, we’re going to compare and contrast how a female character is depicted in cape comics, what stories are being told by the art, and how effective different artists and styles are at telling those stories. Specifically, we’re comparing Greg Land drawing Psylocke in Uncanny X-Men #5 from 2012 and Jerome Opeña drawing Psylocke in Uncanny X-Force #4, from early 2011.

I’m actually preparing a post about this subject, acting in comics. Of course, given that the first subject is Greg Land and the man can’t draw an original pose from his mind without copying it from somewhere, this was no big competition. Still, well worth a read for anyone who wants to understand the idea of story expression through drawing.