Tragedy In Writing: Whether Sexual Assault As Character Development Is Uncalled For Or Not

Atop The Fourth Wall reviewed a comic this week that implies that a supervillain forced Superman and Big Barda to do porn, thus raping them. A lot of arguments have flown from this, of course, both supporting rape in fiction and not supporting it. Obviously, in the comic, it was done purely out of poor taste. But, we're not here to dig that grave any deeper.

Instead, I'm going to put forth why I think that, done right, this "trope" can be effective, thus showing why we shouldn't just ignore it, and how it could go horribly wrong. Let's start with the second thing, since it's vastly easier. Other than that comic, how can rape be used wrong in a work of fiction? The Hills Have Eyes 2 has one of the most unnecessary rape scenes I can think of in modern cinema. It was all ready implied from the first five minutes (the infamous birth scene). Yet, to be edgy they showed one of the main characters being raped. I had just about walked out of the theater when that happened. When it's thrown in to be "thrown in," the context of what happened is lost.

If you're going to tell me that rape shouldn't be used at all, try telling that to Alan Moore as well. He has used rape at least twice to push a story along. The biggest one was Miracle Man when Kid Miracle Man was raped, and turned into a city destroying villain. The most well known example, though, would have to be the Comedian's attempted rape of the original Silk Specter. Even then, it wasn't blown off as something that just happened. It was a big deal, and more defined the second Silk Specter than the first. The event showed part of what molds both women into who they are. The survivor moves on to see another day, and forgives her rapist, while the daughter takes up a seeming crusade against crime, condemning the rapist. It shows that rape doesn't just affect the victim, but other people as well.

I have to admit, I have two characters in two different comics who do suffer this tragedy, and I assure you, it isn't just because I wanted to do it. I carefully researched the mental and physical effects, as well as talked to survivors. The first person is Jillian Dyer in "Goria." It may not be direct, but think carefully about it: Samael places Jillian in the porn industry, which she works in for two years. This is after he Infects her, making it so she Infects other people when she has sex with them. The thing is, Jillian, while at first blames herself (she was brought up in an abusive family, where Samael killed her father then kidnapped her for this purpose), as the character grows, the scar, while still there, begins to shatter. She lives through it, and still stays a bright, vibrant person. And while people will think that she then becomes a superhero from this, guess what? She doesn't. Not once does Jillian go out of her way to save people's lives.

In fact, a later story has her confiding in another member of TORAH, Bonnie. Jillian starts to feel that what happened to her wasn't rape because she did agree to be in the porn industry. She then starts to wonder that by Infecting the men and women she filmed with, if she's a rapist as well. The story isn't meant to make Jillian look bad, but get into the mindset of a woman who is raped, and feels that the only way she can connect with men is to have sex with them. This story is also based on someone I knew who went through a rape to suffer that very same train of thought, as well as an incurable STD. In the real life situation, she thanked me after years of talking to me for not once trying to make a pass at her. To her, it proved that she didn't have to sleep with a man to earn his respect. The last I heard from her, she's living a beautiful life and engaged.

This isn't to imply that all rape victims and survivors feel this way. Some are catatonic, while others just live on with their lives normally. Some may break down and be afraid of sex for the rest of their lives while other will seek help to fix this. Some women get pregnant and have an abortion so they don't think of the rape, while others keep the child.

It varies, which brings me to character #2, from, of all things, "Muzzle." This character is based on a person I've known for longer than most of my friends. She has worked as a rape victim counselor for three years, runs a rape survivor group, and, even though she works in a different job now, still takes on clients who were raped. As young as she is, she is compassionate and considerate to those of who she takes care. She's the type of person who would go out of her way to make the person feel safe and comfortable.

I was devastated when I got a phone call from her one night, saying that she was just raped. I panicked, and didn't know what to do. Frankly, I wanted to kill the guy who did it, but true to her form, she talked me through it. God bless her, she was the one suffering, but she talked me through my wanting revenge for what happened to her.

When I saw her, I did my best, as did some of my other friends in our group, not to break down. Her left eye socket was broken, the entirety of the left side of her face was swollen. Three of her ribs had hairline fractures that could've gotten worse if she ran or even spoke too loud (due to the lung expansion). Her right ring finger was broken, and her doctor didn't think she'd be able to play piano again. Two of her teeth needed to be capped.

Yet, when she saw us, she smiled. It's been two months, and she hasn't let it hold her back. All of us have been extremely supportive of her. The friendship we had has changed drastically, and for the better.

I'm not doing the story line where she was raped because I want to, or because it'll make my comic edgy. I'm doing it because she asked me to. She asked me to do the story because I wouldn't focus on what happened to her, but the what happened after. Yes, she was raped, but she survived and lived on. It has had an effect on all of us, but it brought us closer together as a group. She has grown, I have grown, and our friends have grown from this horrible event. That's the story that she wants me to cover, not "my friend was raped. Let's beat the guy up and forget about it."

In both "Goria" and "Muzzle," the characters who were raped do live with it for the rest of their lives. Neither comic follows the axiom of "characters never stay dead." Death has its scars in both of them, much like the rapes will have on the two characters given here. Or like Silk Specter's rape had on her daughter. Or Kid Miracleman's rape had on the entire city of London.

I'll admit, handling a topic like rape, or any sexual abuse or assault, is always going to be a tricky matter. I'm betting that, even if a person who was raped wrote a story about a character being raped, someone would be offended for the story being there in the first place. The ramifications would be less so if it is handled with the dignity and respect that a delicate topic like it deserves. I'll admit that I don't know if I'm completely qualified to do it, even after knowing rape survivors and talking with them. One thing is for sure, though: it isn't going to be as tasteless as forcing Superman and Big Barda to have sex and forgetting it. It is something that will have ramifications for those close to the victim has well as the victim. It'll be their story of survival and coping, not the story of "Hey, look! She was raped! Let's move on two stories later like this never happened!" Think about it: Would you act like that in real life?

Thoughts on Goria #5: Seriously? And Character Development 101, a.k.a. Why I Purposely Use The Models I Do

After having to show the last post to people, I finally got some feed back. All I can say is this: Really? I ask and I still get a split answer? I actually had one person tell me that neither of them would be good because they look like their going to jump into bed with someone. I had another person tell me "draw them both, and see which one fits." Seriously, I can't help how someone would read the pictures. The thing is, I have this weird ability to see something else when I look at pictures. I don't see, "Hey, look! She's horny and hot!" I see the facial structures, the proportions, and the basic shapes that make the person who they are, as well as a more human quality that most people don't see in the picture. I really wish I had a dollar for every time I saw a picture of someone who was "smiling," and I asked them why they were upset, and was right.

No, it isn't a superpower, but something I have acquired in my years of drawing, and learning to draw. It's something I acquired in the Army, no less, too. Attention to detail. It's really a basic thing to have for an artist, when it comes to art and photos. Other people have it in computers, engineering, or even math. So, I honestly, while I was upset by that bit of feed back (mainly because I took it as an insult saying basically that I only draw women because "they're hot") I realize that I'm probably asking the wrong type of people (read: over analytical for the wrong reason) when I ask everyone for their opinions.

I did get some very good feedback, as well though, and mostly of Model "A." The first bit was from Alexis, who mentioned that she'd be better because she doesn't look cheerful constantly, and there's more simplicity in her design that makes her more attractive yet more mysterious at once. While that seems a little off, let me rephrase that last bit: she's easier to draw and make into a character that would have a personality a spy would need.

Another, and even better feedback, was that Model "A" looks like she could get to a high class party to sneak into a secret lab by any means. Due to her needing to get a DNA sample from a person to change her fingerprints and retinas to another person, realistically, she'd need to be attractive enough to draw people to her, as well. Model "B" looks like she'd be chased out of the party, being mistaken as a street urchin or a teenager, and therefore would not be able to access high class or high security areas. Mimic needs to be able to get in, but not be sneaky (well, completely sneaky) about, all while having some basic combat knowledge to defend herself if need be.

An interesting bit, though, is that "A" seems to make for a good foil for Goria. Goria, on a first impression level, is very quiet, mild-mannered, and polite. It's only when people get to know him that they realize he's more stable than he really should be. Face it, two people you loved die before your eyes, one of them twice and the other coming back completely changed (the Infection is a bizarre thing), your father sold his soul to save your life, and is now a 4000 pound demon, and your skin is used as a grappling device and weapon. You're not going to be well adjusted without some sort of motivation, Goria's being that he's had a year before this hit the fan to get used to his new life. While the loss is painful to him, the fact that he can fight back motivates him to live a "normal" life. That's why he can be mild mannered and quiet.

Mimic is the opposite. She may have had time to get used to her abilities, but she hasn't had the situations Goria has had. Her father isn't now a demon, she hasn't lost any loved ones by the hands of an eyeless gunman, and she's pretty much relied on herself for years. It's only at her whim that she joins TORAH, because she wants the adventure. Due to her active nature, she does in fact create a good foil, and that may be, in fact, what draws Goria and her together.

See, that's something a lot of people don't understand about "Goria." The comic is scary and morbid, yes, and a little intimidating when you think about the central themes: Religion, Psychology, Genetic Manipulation, etc. But, the biggest draw in "Goria" is the character development. One of the most popular changes that people have heard is Gomorrah's evolution. She goes from being a protector, and an unwitting fighter, to nearly destroying the world due to losing her grip of sanity after Sodom is killed. After she realizes what she was doing, she tries to redeem her actions, all while questioning if Sodom was using her, and how much control she really had in the first place. What begins as an unwitting villain turns into a huge villain, and finally into a story of redemption and soul searching.

The minor characters aren't exempt from this. Personally, one of my favorite story concepts is when Angeldust, the seraphic member of Barnum's Circus, goes to see her mother's grave to apologize for losing her humanity. What we see as a mindless drone, in 32 pages exudes a sympathetic stance on what it feels like to not be human. It's story lines like this that make "Goria" on of the pinnacle works I'm attempting.

This goes to why I choose certain models for this. I usually hate doing the conventional comic character, i.e. the men are ripped and the biggest muscle a woman has are her breasts. Goria, while muscular, isn't exactly buff. He's tough looking, but not so much that he's an action hero. Instead, he relies more on the enhanced strength the Infection gives him, and his skills as a gymnast. On the flip side, when I needed someone for R.E.M., the psychologist whose fascination with nightmares makes him into a dream-manipulating madman, I needed someone who was quietly intelligent, more of a defensive fighter than offensive, and someone who could pull off a manipulative personality. Strangely enough, Michael C. Hall came to mind. Anyone who has seen him play Dexter can see why, too.

As much as I hate using the tried axiom of "bigger breasts is better," two female characters seem to bust that especially (no pun intended. Seriously.) Bonnie Carson was influenced by Playboy model Breann McGregor, not just because of her body, but her intelligence as well. Initially, I wanted Bonnie to be human, but when I decided to use Breann McGregor as a base type for a reference, I decided to give her some sort of "flaw." In this case, her Infection causes her to have a thin layer of skin, but her muscle is impenetrable. Her big scene where this is exposed has her coming out of a freshly exploded building with half of her skin missing, and she doesn't notice it. The other character that breaks my rule, is more out of necessity of design. When I first designed Mystery, I needed someone who looked at least half Asian, and had a, shall we say, artificially sturdy build. I stumble upon a picture of Julri Waters, and was stunned by how well she fit the sarcastic Mystery. Unfortunately, I thought she would be too bust until it was pointed out that Mystery's chest and stomach would actually be thicker due to the armor plating on it.

At the same time, consider this. Jillian Dyer, who is personally one of my favorite characters just for the fact that she's stronger than what she shows, starts her main arc as a porn star. Oh noes! A porn star in a comic! Whatever shall we do?

Well, consider this, her ability is to Infect people that have sex with her. This is a bad thing, for those of you out of the loop. There's also a moral here: There are consequences for using someone for your means. Given what Jillian Dyer starts off as, notice that her proportions are 34B-22-32. That's right, she's smaller than Bonnie (38D-26-36), Mystery (32G-24-36 including armor) and even the modestly built Sodom (34C-22-34). Surely, this must be an error, right?

Well, it's not. I did this for a very specific reason. The same reason Elaine Carver originally had a broad hip measurement (this was changed for realism and because I liked the Goth Elaine design a lot more). The same reason Sin was influenced by Devon Aoki, who isn't conventionally attractive, why Zeta is 6'2", and why Gomorrah has tattoos, scars, and a blind right eye. It's why I have a character who is "fat" but is still seen as beautiful in Goria's eyes. Hell, its the same reason I keep track of all of my female character's measurements! Each character is different, therefore, they should look different. It would be boring, and unrealistic, for every character to look the same. It would also be too typical to make the porn star character busty and vapid, as well. That, or giving some people what they want. No, instead, I'm not a moron, and would apt to give my female characters a brain (hint, hint, Frank Miller).

If this seems like I'm aggravated, it's because I am a little. This isn't the first time (nor will it be the last) that I felt like I was under attack for choosing the models I use. For the record, I do use some of my friends as bases for characters in "Goria" as well as in "Muzzle." But, I don't just go for the models who look like they're going to put out. For me, there is a whole different perspective on it that most people (mainly men) don't understand. As for my other projects, such as the Pin-Up Project, yes I've drawn from "questionable" sources for it (the first one was referenced from a picture of porn star Priya Rai that a friend sent to me), but at the same time, I'm doing it to learn, as well as to show a different vision. I'm not planning on selling the not-original-source-material Pin-Ups (and probably not the purely original ones, either) anyway.

What it comes down to is this: stop making assumptions. I know I've butted heads with a few people mistakenly who did appreciate what I was doing as art. But for those of you who still don't get it, I'm not the first, and I sure am not the last to do it, either. Live with it.

Thoughts On Goria #4: Mimic and Love Triangles

Where I last left off in my last TOG entry was a hint that Goria would have a future love triangle between Bonnie Carson, whose skin is extremely thin, but has impenetrable muscle, and Mina Ross, who was thought dead, but is now the Infected "Chronophage," who can absorb liquid from a person, virtually aging them. I left off with kind of a hint that not even I knew who he would end up with. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that neither would work.

Yes, in his future, Goria has at least on child, a daughter named Charla, who has a similar ability to his, except individual strands of muscle are used as tendrils, the can pierce objects for a better grip, and they're twice as strong as his skin tendrils. I figured that in order for her ability to work, she'd need two parents who are "Flesh Infected," seeing as the DNA alteration is embedded into the person's genetic structure. Chronophage is a "Liquid Infected," meaning this wouldn't work. Also, her ability would more than likely consume the child before birth.

Bonnie, on the other hand, has a different problem. Her muscle is pretty much a malleable but tough material. Certain muscles in her body would hinder the growth of a child, or crush it. On top of this, as much as I like Bonnie's character, she isn't a good match for Goria. He's a leader type that takes on his failures, and feels he needs to protect someone or something. Bonnie doesn't need protection because she pretty much cannot die from any outside means.

So, back to the drawing board for me. I couldn't figure out what ability a Flesh Infected could have that isn't a repeat of another character, when Patty hit me with a clever idea. Flesh Infection goes deep into the soft tissue of the human body, including organs. What is there was a character who could change her finger prints, and retina make-up to "disguise" herself as someone else to get into high security areas? If she can do this, she may also be able to form makeshift weapons as well, but cannot change her entire appearance. Thus, the concept for Mimic was born.

I only have one more issue. I try to use a reference for every character just to get a natural feel of how they'd look. Unfortunately, for Mimic, I have two possible candidates, and I don't know which one would work better.

The first one has a face I really like, and has a body that looks like she could hold her own in a fight, if she isn't distracting anyone first. While she's attractive, there seems to be more to her than that, especially when she has a feature I've used on another character, Jillian Dyer: her mouth never seems to completely close. For some reason, I like that, it gives a more human quality to the character. At the same time, I'm worried that she's too attractive to be taken seriously as a fighter and a potential romance for a character who uses his skin as a grappling device, even if she's Infected, herself.

The second one seems more reasonable in that case. Unfortunately, due to her smaller frame, she doesn't seem like a possible fighter. Even worse, in other pictures I've found of her, she is skinny, but her bust is fairly big for her size, while model A has some pretty good proportions for her size. Despite this, model B's face (the more hometown girl look) seems to be a better fit for realism.

So, in a move I rarely do, what do you, the readers, think? A or B? Or none? All I ask is that you explain in intelligent terms (i.e. not "She's hot!!!!11!!! LOL!!!1!).

Muzzle Development Journal 2: Pin-ups

This is a different meaning of the word "Pin-Up" than you might be thinking. At least, for now, it is. The picture to the right is my first Muzzle Pin-Up, one of our psychologist with a bizarre past and video game addiction, Jenna. I could go into the whole "she likes long walks on the beach" spiel, but I won't. Instead, I'm actually going to use this to talk about why I'm doing this style of Pin-Up, and why I'm only doing the "risque" style for certain characters.

Firstly, I'm doing this style (clean, humorous, and kind of biographical) mainly because it's a good way to get some concepts going for characters that are pretty much already designed. This type of pin-up is the comic book definition where its a decorative picture that shows the character or group. For the individual pin-ups, I'm throwing in somethings about the characters. For this one, we see Jenna in an office, twirling her hair, in a somewhat seductive pose. We can deduct that she works in an office (which she does), and that she does come off as being seductive (whether or not she means to is another question). The next one I'm working on in this series is going to be of Alexis (which should be fun), and then Binkin and Patty as well as the rest of the cast. Not all of them will be "seductive," but more of a showcase of the characters themselves (i.e. Alexis's could be seen as being seductive, but she's more playful than anything else, while Binkie is more "serious.")

Now, question the second: Why am I going to do the "risque" pin-ups, and why only certain characters? Well, lets get the first out of the way. Remember that I said this is going to be a more mature comic? While there isn't any senseless sex thrown in, keep in mind that A) I'm an artist who draws, more often than not, women, both clothed and nude (i.e. the Pin-Up Project). B) The comic isn't just about me, but the other characters as well. And C) This is a grown-up comic (not Hentai) with grown-up subjects, both funny and serious (in the case of the second chapter, very serious), and yes, sometimes something that involves nudity will pop up (again, me being an artist, and other matters as well).

When you have characters such as Jenna, Alexis, and Patty, its hard not to have people asking "are you going to draw her naked?" Case in point, this happened quite often when people saw both pictures of cartoon Alexis and real Alexis. Had I been more violent about it, I'm sure both of my hands and feet would be broken. The trick is, only a few of the female characters would want to be seen like this. So, yes, expect "actual" pin-ups of Jenna, Patty, Vanessa (Patty's girlfriend) and even Alexis (at her request), mainly to poke fun at my other project, and to get people to stop asking to "see them naked." I've found that if you want take away any imagination you don't want people to have, give it to them early.

On the other hand, don't expect me to draw some of the other female characters or any of the males in this manner. First thing's first, I hate drawing men, especially in a manner that, personally, I think works better for women. Read as "men don't have that nice, curvy shape that women have that is fun to draw and look at." Secondly, certain women in the strip are not meant to be seen like that, period. This includes Binkie, Heather, and some of Alexis' friends that will appear later on. Some of these are out of respect for the person's wishes (the ones I am doing requested it, or agreed to it of their own volition), to respect another's wishes (most unsaid), or due to it being unnecessary (well, most of them are, anyway, but it's meant to be funny). There is only one exception. If anyone asks why after this, I will personally pay them a visit to pin this next paragraph on their thick skulls.

I will not draw Binkie as a "risque" pin-up for the sheer fact that all of the above apply plus these two reasons: 1) I've known her longer than I've known anyone else in this strip, and I hate it when guys see her as a nothing more than a sex toy. 2) A huge part of the story would clash with this entirely, and it would be in extremely poor taste to do it in the first place.

Now, the question of "Why is your girlfriend getting one?" pops up. Well, that's simple: she requested it. By her words, it isn't like people are looking at her photographic nudity/lingerie in a comic. They're seeing a cartoon representation of her. Besides, according to her, its meant for fun anyway, so why not?

That's only a small part of what I'm working on. Stay tuned for more!

Muzzle Development Journal 1: Writing the Girls

Most people who know me know that I seem to have two groups of friends: the guys (Jim, Heather, Kevin, Joe, and Tim) and the Girls (Binkie, Patty, Jenna, and, of course, Alexis). Due to the fact that Muzzle is a fictional take on real life experiences, I do have to make some of these things up, but I realized something today. When it comes to the Girls (and the guys as well), I barely have to write their material.

A few examples:

1: Patty is a psychotic. Several times, Patty has done something, or said something, that makes no sense to anyone but her. This strip is actually inspired by her telling me that she was haunted by the ghost of Caligula before. Another bizarre Patty moment was a few years ago when her, the girl I was dating, and I were talking about Nine Inch Nails' album "Year Zero." Patty decided that when you mix government, religion, and music, you get butter. She was serious, too.

2: Jenna is throwing a costume party, and wanted to make sure Binkie would make it (and to make sure she was up for it due to her father's sudden passing). The following occurs:

B: What are you going as?

J: Why do you want to know?

B: So I know what not to dress up as.

J: Don't dress like me.

This isn't the first time the two have had unusual banter like this. Even when they were renting the same apartment (Jenna now owns a house that Bink lives in as well), they had some... interesting conversations.

3: As much as we all like Jenna and her Valley Girl attitude, it can yield unexpected results at times.

"Alexis: Jenna mocks and humiliates your attempts to--

Jenna: Yes! I'm famous!"

"Patty: As the toughest person in the game, I demand I go first!

Jenna: As the "smartest person in the world," I demand you go fuck yourself.
-Before playing "Arkham Horror""

"Jenna: You're right, Kate Gosslin goes have nice breasts. But you know who has better?

Bink: Kim Kardasian?
Patty: Chuck Norris!"

(While I'm trying to find a reference picture of Jenna) Jenna: You know, if you have a picture of me in a bikini, it may increase you're readership.

Me: ... You know, you're right.

Jenna: Or you could--

Binkie: No, he's not making you a French Maid.

Pause

Binkie: You're making her into a French Maid, aren't you?

Me: It's possible...

4: You know how most people have terms of affection for one another? Well, Alexis (as much as I love her to death) has one of the most bizarre ones I've seen. She acts like she's biting my arm, and calls me "taestee foods." That combined with her big brown eyes has to be one of the funniest and cutest pictures I have seen in my life.

5: Binkie's extremely conservative, Jenna and Alexis are extremely liberal, and I think both sides have no idea what's going one (mostly the liberals, but conservatives aren't exempt). You would think this would cause a lot of arguments. It actually doesn't. Unless, of course, you try to convince Jenna to move back to California, and tell believe that Alexis supports certain politicians due to her political affiliation.

6: Their fashion sense and personalities couldn't be any more different, but they get along like they've know each other for years. Well, Patty, Bink, and Jenna have, but Alexis grew on them fast. Yet, its funny when you see the professional dressing and acting Binkie, the Valley Girl Jenna, the crazy tomboy Patty and the feminine tattooed goth-girl Alexis in the same room together, and talking like they're sisters. It's surreal, but in a cool way.

Muzzle Year One Soundtrack

Because most of "Muzzle" is musically inspired (and movie line inspired, too), I felt it right for each year to have a soundtrack. The first year's should be as follows.

Who Needs Sleep? by The Barenaked Ladies

Want You Bad by The Offspring

Midnight by Novatone

Wounded by Third Eye Blind

Blood by Abandoned Pools

The Night I Punched Russell Crowe by Gælic Storm

Solvent by Charmparticles

Shine Your Cadillac by Evans Blue

Brown Eyed Girl by Everclear

Synchronicity II by The Police

Adam's Song by Blink-182

Icarus: Borne on Wings of Steel by Kansas

Less Talk, More Rokk by Freezepop

The Royal We by Silversun Pickups

Volvo Driving Soccer Moms by Everclear

Dirty Little Secret by All-American Rejects

Firefight by Jimmy Eat World

Under the Table and Dreaming by Dave Matthews Band

Into The Light by In This Moment

Company by Third Eye Blind

Catch and Release by Silversun Pickups

Someone Else's Dream by Youth Group

Quote by Evans Blue

Last Train To Awesometown by Parry Gripp

Vital Signs by Rush

This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars

Never by Abandond Pools

Better by Guns 'N Roses

Just Breathe by Pearl Jam