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DC has announced some new titles for their long-gestating original digital comics line, USA Today tells us. Several new projects are going to launch in addition to today’s launch for SMALLVILLE SEASON 11, by Bryan Q. Miller and the ongoing BATMAN BEYOND and BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED digital comics. Here’s what’s new:

• Ame-Comi Girls by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, a weekly series based on DC’s product line “featuring Japanese manga-style versions of Wonder Woman and other superheroines.”

• A new digital Batman series with work by Ben Templesmith, Steve Niles, B. Clay Moore, Nicola Scott, and Joshua Hale Fialkov, and a special issue by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire.

All of the comics are available via DC’s app, comiXology, and so on, for 99 cents an issue.

Commentary: Ben Templesmith on Batman? Finally.

AND, just so no one gets confused, DC cannot run kids comics featuring empowering female characters like Wonder Woman, Supergirl or Lois Lane, but they can run comics based on manga fetish statues that look like this:

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Yep, that’s the comics industry we know and love!

1 COMMENT

  1. Oh, good. DC is going to try their hand at titty-girl faux manga. Because that worked out so well for Marvel 10 years ago.

    I recently came into a copy of a lady samurai Punisher book from that forgettable era. It is CONFOUNDING.

  2. “DC cannot run kids comics featuring empowering female characters like Wonder Woman, Supergirl or Lois Lane, but they can run comics based on manga fetish statues that look like this:”

    Slow clap.

  3. Given that Misters Palmiotti and Gray are quality creators, perhaps we can withhold the outrage until we all know something about the project beyond that one sentence?

  4. There is a piece of art over at comicbookresources.com by Amanda Conner from the upcoming WW ame-comi series. It looks no more or less sexy than anything else DC puts out, and nothing like the statue above.

  5. DC has totally squandered any benefit of the doubt one would normally have. Picking a starting place to talk about the misogyny DC has made a stock and trade in would be the world’s most depressing drinking game.

  6. It’s not about giving them the benefit of the doubt. Based on the creators involved and the few pieces of actual art online (WW and Batgirl, so far) certainly makes it clear like this is not going to be borderline Japanese superhero fetish porn. I realize we live in a world where a comic anthology conceived and created entirely by women creates a firestorm when said women call it “Girl Comics”, but certainly there is enough to get properly offended by that we don’t need to rush to judgment based on a single line of a press release.

  7. “Given that Misters Palmiotti and Gray are quality creators, perhaps we can withhold the outrage until we all know something about the project beyond that one sentence?”

    There is that but it would be sort of weird to develop a comic based upon figures that look like they were designed for basement-dwellers to crack one off to and throw all that out… like deciding to make a nightmare on elm street reboot where freddy hands out ice-cream and puppies to children – why not simply start from scratch if it bears no relation to the original concept.

  8. I think your analogy is deeply flawed. I’m just speculating, but maybe they wanted a hook to the “digital only” comics besides just “here is another WW comic, but digital!”. Doing it in the style of Japanese manga is such a hook (as is the list of creators for Batman, the Beyond universe, the tie in to the Arkham game, etc), and theoretically would appeal to a younger demographic. Since they already have a manga branded line of merch it makes sense to tie it in even if they don’t intend to be slavishly faithful to the look of said merch.

  9. “theoretically would appeal to a younger demographic. Since they already have a manga branded line of merch it makes sense to tie it in even if they don’t intend to be slavishly faithful to the look of said merch.”

    A younger demographic would make the association between the comics and some spanker dolls that seem to be pretty pricey (for that demographic) and only sold in specialist stores?

    OK odder things have happened.

  10. I would think that the bigger deal here is that these digital comics don’t look very good and will probably not attract the imaginary “new readers” that are just waiting to read comics if only they could find them digitally for 99 cents.

    As for the misogyny, I’m not big fans of theirs, but have Palmiotti and Gray ever done misogynistic comics before? Is the manga style inherently misogynistic? Some of it is, but I know that a lot of female readers like manga with female characters who look very similar to that. . . . Or at least they did, about 6-10 years ago. (Way to be current, DC.)

    Also, I detest Rush Limbaugh, but I think that he’d be more likely to react by calling almost ALL versions of Wonder Woman “slutty”. So I don’t get the joke about how this is what he would do if he were running DC.

    So, yeah, basically I think most people here are reacting to the story based on their own weird “gotcha” pet-peeves, using it as an excuse to grind their own personal axes or whatever.

  11. Repeat after me:

    DC does not care about female characters.

    DC does not care about female readers.

    DC does not care about female creators.

  12. “I would think that the bigger deal here is that these digital comics don’t look very good and will probably not attract the imaginary “new readers” that are just waiting to read comics if only they could find them digitally for 99 cents.”

    There is an element of that plus it’s still got that aspect of “any story you like as long as it contains superheros”.

  13. Well, I did say I was just speculating. But if they already have a line of Japanese manga inspired statues, and are putting out a digital line of Japansese manga inspired comics, it seems to make sense they would tie them in, even if in name only. The people who like the statues may be more likely to check them out, and the people who have no idea the statues exist won’t care one way or the other.

    Anyway, I’m not interested in defending DC per se, I just thought the initial post (using a pic of what is maybe the worst example of that line of statues) and first few comments represented a pretty ill-informed rush to judgement, especially considering the creators involved.

  14. “DC cannot run kids comics featuring empowering female characters like Wonder Woman, Supergirl or Lois Lane”

    There’s an all age Wonder Woman comic coming in July. There’s also Lois and Supergirl in the upcoming Superman family comic, which is made by the people who did Tiny Titans, which featured plenty of female characters. Plus, the current Batgirl and Supergirl comics could be read by a younger age, just like kids are reading the Justice League. There’s also the World’s Finest in May.

  15. “DC does not care about female characters.

    DC does not care about female readers.

    DC does not care about female creators.”

    —who in this industry does, exactly? its such a tired trope to pretend this is a one company problem.

    and it’s such a load of nonsense. you don’t like something, don’t buy it. and god forbid you actually see something before you criticize it.

    but those baseline parameters are never enough for the bully pulpit here at The Beat who MUST have everything exactly as they prescribe it.

    i may not like much of DC’s output, but I would NEVER stop you from reading what you want to…

  16. Wow, and the DC bashing on this site continues. Amazingly different attitude when its Marvel.

  17. Jules, was that lady samurai Punisher book by any chance written by Peter David and drawn by Lea Hernandez?

    If so, you might want to read it. Its actually very funny/subversive.

  18. Do we really want to inflict Wonder Woman or Lois Lane on young girls, though?

    With nearly every iteration of the character being kind of terrible, I grow more and more convinced that Wonder Woman just isn’t that interesting a character and the only thing that keeps getting her dredged up is that she’s ‘The Girl’ which would be sorta fine except she doesn’t have a single interesting characteristic otherwise beyond the occasional delving into greek myths and why not just invent someone new to do that?

    Make new female characters because the ones we got just aren’t that good.

  19. I wish there was an actual Smallville season 11 tv show. Or even better? Call it Metropolis or Superman and make it a new season 1. The last few scenes of the last episode of season 10 were great (minus chloe reading to her son – which I thought sucked). Although did you notice we didn’t get a full body shot of him in the costume? (except for the far off CGI shots). Is men in tights to much for American viewers? …
    Instead, lets produce a new comic featuring women in bikinis!! Fucking hell! And do you notice how these traight men are so homophobic that the male heroes are covered up head to toe? Even their fucking necks are covered now?!! Martian Manhunter and Namor are 2 great examples. They used to be in briefs? Not any more. Quick cover them up! Put them in pants. We’re straight, we don’t want to see mens legs, thats just gay. Quick, lets have Star Saphire and Kory naked to show everyone comics are for straight under sexed males only!

  20. I’m not a basement dweller, or in any way turned on by the manga styled statues, but I thought that Pirate Barda statue was awesome and I proudly have it on my shelf beside my Mojo bust.

    Plus, the Power Girl statue’s costume is a million times better than the new she’s been given in the new 52.

    Plus, Jimmy and Justin wrote the best modern non-bitch Power Girl. (And yes, over confidence to the point of men labeling her as a bitch, is the most iconic aspect of PG).

    So really from the view point of someone completely unaroused by the idea, it sounds like a comic I want to check out.