NUDITY in comics -- do you wanna see Batman's Batpole?

[Comic-Reader Lad]

It seems that the upcoming Black Label comic "Batman: Damned" will feature full frontal of Batman (the digital version shown below will be somewhat censored). This begs the question of whether nudity SHOULD be shown in comics.

It's not as simple as objecting to nudity on moral/puritanical grounds. Some people may feel that all of a sudden seeing Batman's or Superman's genitalia comes under the heading of "too much information" in that it would be such a distraction that it would take them out of the story.

https://static1.cbrimages.com/wp-con...tman-penis.jpg

So, what are your thoughts on nudity in comics?

Do you have a different opinion about nudity in the following circumstances:

- for a lead male character
- for a lead female character
- for a supporting character that is well known (e.g. Lois Lane, Steve Trevor, Alfred, Perry White, Cat Grant)
- for a character created just for a particular story

For me, I think that the more I know the character, the more I DON'T want to see them naked. Also, if they are old, I don't want to see it: no sex scenes between Ma and Pa Kent for me.

Finally, I think that Superman is kind of in a class all his own and that nudity in a Superman story seems more wrong than nudity for any other character. I don't know if the character lends itself to stories with adult content, and I don't know if it's worth finding out.

So, what are your thoughts on nudity in comics? Take the pole and post below.

[Korath]

I really don't care one way or another. I'm a French, our B.D. are full of naked peoples, and it's not something that teenagers can't read (i.e., porn), just peoples being naked. I really think it's cultural however.

[starduck]

hmm... I don't know? wasn't there a huge controversy about that sex scene between Batman and Catwoman

[Jon Clark]

As if we don't have enough people complaining about Power Girl's build or Diana's costume now. I can just see the news stories done if they had the option to draw characters nude. Even if it was in a limited separate label I'd expect the stories to make no distinction between that and the average issue of Teen Titans.

[astro@work]

No problem with it, if it fits the story for some reason. But it should also carry warning on the cover just so the reader is aware.

[Lee Stone]

Nudity, in itself, isn't bad.
Especially not as bad as graphic decapitations, impalings, dismemberings, exploding brains and other extreme scenes of gore.

And as we've seen in PBS documentaries and in Watchmen, nudity can be done tastefully.

The problem is that there's a lot of creators (particularly artists) take would exploit the freedom and push the envelope too far.

There would be an over-abundance of appearances of Power Girl, Harley Quinn, Zatanna, Starfire and Wonder Woman in comics just so artists could draw them topless.

'And in this comic, Batman investigates a murder in a museum where the Joker is suspected to be the culprit... oh, and Power Girl just happens to be in the museum when the fire sprinklers go off...'

'In the JLA, Darkseid's forces make their way to Earth... and in this scene we see the reactions of various onlookers on alien planets, where on one planet, Starfire has just surfaced from a moonlight bathing, with the water droplets glistening off her golden skin...'

[SneakyLookingSort]

hmm... I don't know? wasn't there a huge controversy about that sex scene between Batman and Catwoman

That tends to happen when you try to make sex the selling point of the book, especially when it's first book of the series. The more tasteful sex scene in King's Batman didn't cause any controversy at all.

[Robanker]

Leave it for the fanart, male or female. I don't trust the big two not to exploit it and cast tasteful nudity aside in favor of sales.

[Ascended]

Voted "yes" but I have a few caveats.

First off, I don't need some sort of T&A sleeze-fest designed just to set off the immature fans among us. It's drawings. There's nothing sexy about two dimensional inked fictional characters. And I find it disturbing that someone would want to go find their nude people in a comic book rather than just Googling their porn like regular people lol

I don't need nude scenes to be the crux of a story. I am not buying anything just for the chance to see some cartoon character naked or having sex. That's f*cked up.

And I don't need stuff like this in the regular, mainstream titles. Put it behind a "Matures Readers Only" sign and it's all good, but anything a kid might randomly pick up off a shelf? Hell no, that's not cool. I thought the rooftop sex scene between Batman and Catwoman was taking it too far back in the New52 and that didn't actually show anything.

If it can be done tastefully and in a way that makes sense and is locked behind a imprint that requires a photo ID to buy? Cool. I have no hangups about it. Seeing what a character has under the cape isn't going to destroy any illusions for me. I mean, Ive never seen them, but I assume Superman has a penis under his trunks and Wonder Woman probably has nipples. I don't need to see them but I'm not going to riot if an adult-only story happens to show them. If the story sounds interesting I'll read it, but it'll take a lot more than T&A or cartoon porn for me to even consider the purchase. Actually, something like that would make me question whether the story is worth reading, or if it's just an excuse to draw naked people.

[Robotman]

I don’t have a problem with nudity but this just seemed like a way to be “edgy”. It’s seemed pretty pointless.

[kjn]

hmm... I don't know? wasn't there a huge controversy about that sex scene between Batman and Catwoman

I think it was far more about the way that sex scene was written, and in which context. This was in the first issue of the relaunch of Catwoman, which was far more concerned with showing off Catwoman's body, showed her witnessing a sexual assult, and then had her sexually assaulting Batman after her home was blown up.

I'd have found a single fully nude Catwoman on camera far more tasteful than what we got in that issue.

As for the original question: Yes, provided it makes sense within the story. Just showing $RANDOM_FEMALE_CHARACTER in the bath or in the shower (with or without strategically placed lather) is far too often just used gratuitously.

[kurenai24]

I voted for the first choice despite the fact that the title, the post, and the poll are asking 3 different questions.

For the title question, do I want to see Batman's batpole? If the artist's wants to draw it, then draw it, if they don't then don't; I've personally never put thought around Batman's batpole.

For the poll question, is nudity ok in BlackLabel? Well this imprint was already advertised as being mature, nudity falls under that, so it's not like I had some negative feelings before about it, in which case, yes it's okay.

And last, for the question in the post, what are my thoughts on nudity in comics? I have no problems with it for any character, and yes that means main, supporting, recurring, and guest.

Saying all of this, if comics in general decided they were okay with nudity instead of just some mature imprint, I don't trust any writer or artist not to exploit it ...specifically on female characters.

[Nite-Wing]

What's the difference between someone(maybe a fan,maybe an artist,etc) drawing a nude Superman and DC publishing a book with a nude Superman
You are getting super dong both ways
Reality it means very little but I do tend to hate seeing female characters objectified like that
For example there didn't really need to be a sex scene in The White Knight series but we got one everything else in the book would make the content on par with your average batman story but that sex scene bumps it to a mature readers only kind of thing

In fact its funny how violence is treated less seriously than something like sex
For instance Super boy prime can be an evil dick and rip people apart on panel but you show superman or WW post coitus and its "inappropriate"

[BohemiaDrinker]

Needs an "I don't care" option.

It's a penis. About half the world's population has one, and a good proportion of the other half will be exposed top one at some point. No one should care, really.

[starduck]

But how will DC control their artists? Even now a lot of female character's costumes become a lot skimpier than their original designs.