This post was inspired ozoneocean's forum thread about sexism, as well as a recent update by JustNoPoint. (Quick note: none of my comments about fan service are directed at JNP's work! It was just his joking about fan service that had me thinking about it.)
“Fan service” can mean a few different things, but what I'm talking about today are the gratuitously busty, half-naked ladies that comics are notorious for.
Personally I can't say that fan service bothers me all that much, but it certainly causes a bit of eyerolling when it's excessive. I think I generally do assume that comics with an abundance of ridiculously curvaceous women are not to be taken seriously. I don't go into those comics expecting deep philosophical meaning - not that that's a bad thing! Goofy, campy superhero comics have been one of my great loves since I was a preteen.
Admittedly, though, I would appreciate it if the average comic included as many sexy male characters as they do female characters. Excessive fan service (when it exclusively features women) does sometimes give me a niggling feeling that I'm not the target audience, and that female readers have been forgotten.
What are your feelings on fan service? Do you find it sexist, or titillating, or maybe both? Neither? Do arbitrary half-naked ladies affect how you view a comic?
For those of you who like to include said half-naked ladies in your comics, what are your thoughts? Are you trying to please your audience, or maybe you just enjoy drawing the female form? Do you feel as though fan service means your comic is taken less seriously, and do you care?
Comment below!
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Fan Service in Comics
HippieVan at 12:00AM, June 26, 2015
4 likes!
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usedbooks at 4:45AM, June 26, 2015
Fan service doesn't affect me one way or another, no hate, no love. Like nude scenes in movies, if it fits with the plot and is in character, it's fine. If it's forced, I will roll my eyes the same as I do for any non-organic art/writing decision that is transparently made to gain hits or spark discussion (like adding a sassy kid to a sitcom, a graphic rape scene every other episode in a drama, a new token minority character, or killing someone off with no plot function). That said, I find nudity hilarious when done right. In drama, it's distracting at times (partly because I want to giggle), but it can create great comedy. I might have a weird mind, but I never get "sexy" from nudity, not on men or women. I do feel there is a gender bias. Nudity in women is usually played up as sexy, in men as comedic. I'll forgive random comidic nudity, but it's okay to laugh at naked women too, you know?
KimLuster at 4:37AM, June 26, 2015
I'm afraid to comment...!
bravo1102 at 3:56AM, June 26, 2015
I am on record as saying that I do not do fan-service. I do nudity. I do nudity because I got sick and tired of cop-out fan service where certain parts should be more than visible but because of some unwritten prudery there is always some strategic mist or magical bits of cloth and/or hair that stick only to nipples and crotches. Ah yes the magic of double sided tape. Amazing how every heroine in certain genres just happens to have a ready supply. So I just put the nudity out there. Attack of the Robofemoids was intended as a satire on the whole concepts of fan-service and gratuitous nudity. Read it with that in mind and it becomes a different story. My subsequent work has given more equal time to the guys and I intend to keep that up now that I've gotten more skilled and comfy with filling out the figures' anatomy.
MOrgan at 2:53AM, June 26, 2015
I do think fan service should be equal opportunity, although it seems like it's easier to draw a sexy woman than a sexy man. There is a general consensus on what a sexy woman should look like, but men tend to think the masculine ideal is big, buff and muscular, while women seem to like skinny and androgenous guys. *shrug*
MOrgan at 2:47AM, June 26, 2015
Seriously, though, it depends on a variety of factors: Setting, women in bikinis at a tropical resort, okay, women in bikinis at Antarctica, no!; Personalities, a shy woman won't normally be running around in a bustier and thong; Type of Story, a children's story shouldn't have any fan service at all.
MOrgan at 2:36AM, June 26, 2015
Half-naked? I do an adult comic. If I have half-naked women running around my readers accuse me of trying to be family friendly. ;-)