Fancy Pansy Nancy

Normally, I wouldn't bother with devoting much attention to Nancy, a comic I consider so bland that it barely musters attention.  I can't even find it in the online Newspaper archives, and there's a LOT of lame strips out there.  But the latest revision of Nancy has shown a surprising amount of humour that while still sub-par, is decidedly better than the previous iteration.  It's still bad, but in a kind-of-amusing-bad way, not so-bad-it's-ironically-good.

Compared to the previous run, of which I only saw a smattering of, this slightly snarkier version is a vast improvement, but then, considering the source material, that's not a very high bar to clear.

If anything, I suspect what a lot of people are really protesting isn't that Olivia Jaimes, the only woman working on a Legacy strip starring a female character since ever, but that former Nancy artist Guy Gilcrest's bombshell Aunt Fritzi isn't around anymore.

Frankly, a lot of their comments seem self-determined to show just how badly the new Nancy artist is living up to the legacy, but I suspect those complaints are railing against change that they're not accustomed to.  Another annoyance factor is that Nancy seems to be relying more on recent technology than her previous iteration ever did.  Using Ipods and computers just like everyone else!  What would the World think?


Though there was a Gilcrest comic where Fritzi used a cell phone, and no one complained there.  Funny, that.

The contradiction, not the comic.

Another new addition is that Nancy now seems to be allergic to pollen.  This is probably the largest defining characteristic for what's pretty much a blank state.  I don't think she's ever had this trait before, and can't be bothered to do a search beyond "flowers" and "pollen", though what little I saw didn't yield very much.  (Check out the very first comic in this post)


Probably the best addition (so far) is the inclusion of a nameless teacher who clearly takes no guff with the known boundaries of the Nancy Universe.

An example of a joke that's bad, but awesome in just how BAD it is.

In the midst of schooling Nancy, we get to see our first rendition of Jaimes' Aunt Fritzi, and it's a much more reserved version compared to her earlier incarnation.


If anything, going through the Nancy comics and learning about the Nancy Card Game method certainly showed how they influenced the Randomized Garfields that'd been floating around.  Considering the sheer amount of odd occurrences in a dadaist Nancy strip, any configuration could wind up creating a comic that kind-of-but-almost-sort-of makes sense.  To all those haters hating the latest new Improved Nancy, I present to you a relevant page from Cracked Magazine:

Even back then, Aunt Fritzi was a looker, but for entirely different reasons.

How to Draw S-hero Comics

So far, the recent decisions of DC's plans to reboot all their issues to attract new audiences don't appear to be working. They seem to be regressing back to the 90's where comics sold in the millions, hyped events were the mainstay of the day, and first issues sold gangbusters. Trouble is, those issues were only selling multiple times to the same people. If you're selling the same issue to the same person, that doesn't really count. It's keeping those sales consistent after the first issue that's been a problem.

What's sad is that this Cracked article which exaggerated the Liefeldian poses and Image layouts is even more relevant today. Before Cracked became a site for immense trivia, it was known as MAD's weaker cousin. The jokes and satires weren't always up to the high standards of MAD, but when they were funny, they were funny. Sadly, this was extremely rare.


































I would've combined the two images together, but I've found that when I've uploaded large files, the pictures shrink to compensate. Just read from one side to the next page, otherwise you'll suffer from reading incomprehension.


































Next up is a hallmark of S-hero comics - incomprehensible page layout. You'd think this kind of thing would've died out by now, but you'd be wrong.


































This post was inspired in part by a recent criticism of the new DC costume designs with the simple premise that Jim Lee's characters look ridiculous if done by anyone other than Jim Lee.

"In one of my blogs I mentioned how in order to tell if a design was strong or not, an easy way to do that was to draw the character in a neutral pose. That way you can look at the design itself and not let the pose distract you from the design. And that sometimes, an artist would try to save a poor design by putting the character in a dynamic pose to distract the eye into looking at the strong pose, and not seeing the weak design. That is in part what Jim Lee does."

Fat is Phat

There's been a lot of (righteous) indignation over the downsizing of Amanda Waller, a rather imposing short stocky woman. She's always managed to intimidate people stronger than her just by sheer determination alone. In addition to the sudden weight loss, she's apparently gained a height boost to show off her new figure. Chances are, even if she goes back to her former impressive figure, the argument still won't be over. With Hollywood's self-imposed style of beauty, there'll still be a crusade against fat people. (And yes, I'm going to use the derogatory term. Obeisity is the last discrimination.)








However, Amanda Wallers is not the only woman in S-hero comics to suffer from a bout of reductionism. There have been other women who've had a serious reduction of the waist, such as Gail Simone's version of Etta Candy, and She-Hulk's partner, Weezi. In the world of S-heroes, It's rare to find women who've fattened up rather than slimmed down. Big Bertha from Great Lakes Avengers is a case of having her cake and eating it too, since due to being able to control her metabolism, she's able to become a fat S-heroine during emergencies, and a Supermodel during breaktime.

The difference is, when it comes to fat figures on the comics page, they tend to gain back their weight rather easily. Any rapid change from their usual look would alienate long-time readers, and a demand to revert back to the status quo.








Below is something that would be considered blasphemous and impossible if the original artist hadn't done it himself - a thin Fat Broad. Maybe this might inavertably inspire artists to do Rule 34 versions of the old gal in a similar vein to Velma Dinkley. Though with that dorky haircut, I doubt it.


































Remember Bertha, Jon's date with a fat woman?











She later returned for a Sunday strip, looking considerably toned down.






















This could be seen as the female equivalent of dorky nerds becoming rich millionaires, spurning the ire of every jock and cheerleader who ever bullied them during High School. Now that their persistence and hard work paid off, their new figures would make them the envy of every man (and woman) who ever passed over them in real life. It's the ultimate revenge fantasy - being more successful than the people who once scorned you.









A recent study shows that preschool girls as young as three have already typecast fat people as undesireables. While most people would consider figures D and E to be perfectly acceptable, 69% of the participants wanted to be figure A. Considering how heroes and villains are portrayed in popular media, these young girls are picking up on these subtle cues very quickly. One wonders what their perceptions would be like if their worldview were reversed.


































A look at fertility goddesses and Rubenesque art shows that the standard of beauty was different back then. Indeed, being fat was a sign of being healthy, since these girls were eating enough, and getting plenty of nutrients throughout their body. In another embarrassing factoid, guys find women hot when they eat a lot during meals. This makes it difficult for self-conscious women on diets to break from their habits of eating salads in front of their love interests - they don't want to scare them off.

For some people, an extra bit of poundage can be considered attractive. The claim that a pregnant woman "glows" during her later stages may not just be the hubby blowing airs to make his spouse feel better - he actually finds her attractive. Of course, this could be down to personal preferences... some of which may not always be very flattering as some recent artwork has shown. One could say that its the imperfections in people that make them notable. Not everybody needs to be a Bruce Timm stylized girl.


































Even so, the desire to become perfect beings in the face of overwhelming odds is a scenario that's not going to go away anytime soon. As long as there's an unattainable standard to reach for, people will continue to clutch at it with their stubby fingers. "Man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's heaven for?” Robert Browning

In closing, here's some parting words from the Fat Broad that aren't repeated as often:

















In fact, let's have her do it again.