Hypothetical question regarding comics

[Noah Johnson]

Say there was a comic book out, something in a black-and-white, from one of the more indy presses. Say Oni for argument's sake. Five-issue miniseries, assume it'll be collected in a trade.

And suppose it's a love story set on a pirate ship, between two women. Lots of pirate action, but basically a very human story of emotional relationships. And suppose there's some lesbian kissing, off-panel sex, a couple off-panel threesomes with a guy, references to male homosexuality, and a few panels showing breasts in a tasteful manner. Nothing gratuitous, just consenting adults dealing with their interpersonal issues. Think Strangers in Paradise for tone.

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid? Would your answer be different if there were no panels with nipples?

[Michael P]

Yes and no, respectively.

[StoneGold]

Depends. Is it something that I would let my kid have? Maybe. Is it something I would try to sneak if I was a kid? Probably. I bought Sin City when it first came out and I was in Jr High.

[i_mmmchocolate]

It depends.

...

Honestly, I can't answer the question.

I felt so guilty reading 'Clumsy'.

[K'Nort]

I'm pretty uptight, but that sounds fine for teens to me.

[Fabian]

Depends who is drawing it. If it's a Campbell or Hughes type artist, they're going to be masterbating so hard

If it's an Cooke or Alred, not so much.

[Brandon Hanvey]

If it was Oni, I'd bet they rate it O "Older Audience". Their T "Teen Age 13+" rating is mostly for books like Blue Monday and Scott Pilgrim.

[Spike-X]

Yeah, why not?

Unless their parents are uptight about stuff like that. Then tell them to make sure they have a good hiding spot.

[Iangould]

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid? Would your answer be different if there were no panels with nipples?

I'd say yes and no.

BUT I know a good number of my fellow retailers, specifically the ones in the more conservative states of the US who'd say "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second - because its a lot easier for an undercover cop skimming stuff to pick up on visual signs of naughtiness than on less blatant stuff and because it's lot easier for a DA to get a conviction when they have naughty pictures to tittilate the jurors.

[Noah Johnson]

BUT I know a good number of my fellow retailers, specifically the ones in the more conservative states of the US who'd say "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second - because its a lot easier for an undercover cop skimming stuff to pick up on visual signs of naughtiness than on less blatant stuff and because it's lot easier for a DA to get a conviction when they have naughty pictures to tittilate the jurors.
Darn good point.

As you can guess, this relates to a project I'm working on, and I just want to test the waters a bit regarding the issue. It seems a little moot, as ultimately it will be up to whatever company we can convince to publish the damn thing. I mean, if there's trouble, it's them getting sued, not me, so if they say "No hooters", I can work with that.

It's just showing off the boobs is actually integral to the story, dammit...

[Spike-X]

That's what they all say.

[PatrickG]

Say there was a comic book out, something in a black-and-white, from one of the more indy presses. Say Oni for argument's sake. Five-issue miniseries, assume it'll be collected in a trade.

And suppose it's a love story set on a pirate ship, between two women. Lots of pirate action, but basically a very human story of emotional relationships. And suppose there's some lesbian kissing, off-panel sex, a couple off-panel threesomes with a guy, references to male homosexuality, and a few panels showing breasts in a tasteful manner. Nothing gratuitous, just consenting adults dealing with their interpersonal issues. Think Strangers in Paradise for tone.

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid? Would your answer be different if there were no panels with nipples?

No and yes.

We don't need pirate literature corrupting the youth away from the path of ninja wisdom.

A bit of sexing up might offer some redeeming qualities to an otherwise morally bankrupt attempt to promote the enemy of ninja holiness from corrupting youths to sail the seas on the course of scurvy damnation.

Seriously...

Huh. I might be inclined to avoid the actual nudity which might give fundamentalists some fodder to attack on. (It might be different if an attack would yield publicity but check out the CBLDF website and tell me what comics there are on your pull list as a result of the attack. Furthermore, my local shop which is currently being represented by CBLDF has been legally advised to pull certain titles from the shelf and from giveaway promotions.)

As for the book itself, I'd push for a label that says something like, "All-Ages Content, Mature Themes".

[Gaz]

If it was Oni, I'd bet they rate it O "Older Audience". Their T "Teen Age 13+" rating is mostly for books like Blue Monday and Scott Pilgrim.
That doesn't sound really more mature than Blue Monday, apart from the nudity.

[venuscameback]

Say there was a comic book out, something in a black-and-white, from one of the more indy presses. Say Oni for argument's sake. Five-issue miniseries, assume it'll be collected in a trade.

And suppose it's a love story set on a pirate ship, between two women. Lots of pirate action, but basically a very human story of emotional relationships. And suppose there's some lesbian kissing, off-panel sex, a couple off-panel threesomes with a guy, references to male homosexuality, and a few panels showing breasts in a tasteful manner. Nothing gratuitous, just consenting adults dealing with their interpersonal issues. Think Strangers in Paradise for tone.

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid? Would your answer be different if there were no panels with nipples?

Strangers in Paradise tone, from what I've read about, I'd be fine with it for a teenager/fairly mature kid.

I feel less comfortable with nudity in comics but if it's not blatant sexploitation I'd still be okay with it.

Personally I would prefer for comics and erotica to be kept separate but i'm fine with comics exploring all kinds of interpersonal issues. not that i'm equating a nipple shot with erotica.

venus

[Gaz]

Strangers in Paradise tone, from what I've read about, I'd be fine with it for a teenager/fairly mature kid.

I feel less comfortable with nudity in comics but if it's not blatant sexploitation I'd still be okay with it.

Personally I would prefer for comics and erotica to be kept separate but i'm fine with comics exploring all kinds of interpersonal issues. not that i'm equating a nipple shot with erotica.

venus
Huh? A medium and a genre kept seperate? :confused: Comics can explore all genres, at least, that's what I believe. Now if you want erotica comics to be seperated from the general stuff, then fine, but otherwise I'm very confused.

[west3man]

Say there was a comic book out, something in a black-and-white, from one of the more indy presses. Say Oni for argument's sake. Five-issue miniseries, assume it'll be collected in a trade.

And suppose it's a love story set on a pirate ship, between two women. Lots of pirate action, but basically a very human story of emotional relationships. And suppose there's some lesbian kissing, off-panel sex, a couple off-panel threesomes with a guy, references to male homosexuality, and a few panels showing breasts in a tasteful manner. Nothing gratuitous, just consenting adults dealing with their interpersonal issues. Think Strangers in Paradise for tone.

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid? Would your answer be different if there were no panels with nipples?
Depends on the kid. Depends on the kid's parents.

Really, I'd seen a ton of pixel-tits before I became a teenager and I know of plenty of other youngsters are experience (or have) the same thing*. If you can see breasts in movies, I don't know why comics shouldn't be okay.

So, my "yes or no" answer would be "Yes." That includes nip-scenes.


* - Not always a good thing, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing -depending. I prefer some type of labelling system that lets parents/consumers know what they're in for. That way they can make an informed decision, as opposed to getting blind-sided (-sighted?).

[venuscameback]

Huh? A medium and a genre kept seperate? :confused: Comics can explore all genres, at least, that's what I believe. Now if you want erotica comics to be seperated from the general stuff, then fine, but otherwise I'm very confused.

sorry, that was badly phrased ...

I meant i'd rather see erotica kept as a separate genre of the comics medium

and in case someone hasn't read my previous post, i'm not suggesting the odd nipple shot is of itself 'erotica'.

I wouldn't say nipple shots necessitate even a teenage label either, depending on how they're illustrated & the context. There's no reason why there shouldn't be tasteful nipple shots in All Ages books, to my thinking.


venus

[Charles RB]

Would you consider that appropriate for a teenager or fairly-mature kid?

Yes. They're likely off reading & watching much worst stuff anyway.

[Brandon Hanvey]

That doesn't sound really more mature than Blue Monday, apart from the nudity.

The nudity is the sticking point. If there was no nudity, then it would probably be labeled either T or O depending on how the rest of the "mature content" was handled.

Also of note, Oni's O rating is for 16+.

Here is how they describe their ratings

T - This rating indicates that the material may contain some harsh language and/or mature situations not appropriate for readers under 13.

O - This rating indicates that the material is geared more towards adults and may contain harsh language, mature situations, or partial nudity which may not be appropriate for readers younger than 16.