via The Telegraph
Recently, popular Marvel artist J. Scott Campbell found himself in hot water with a lot of Iron Man fans for his depiction of Riri Williams, who is the new face of the series, after Twitter user @Steph_I_Will questioned how she was drawn. Riri was originally drawn with dark brown skin, yet William chose to draw her significantly lighter and with a much more sinewy, curvy body.
via CBR
While Campbell became defensive and continued to miss the point, insisting that his art was almost the same as the original, the issue in comic book culture is bigger than him. Marvel, in a bold move, decided to pull Campbell’s cover as a retail exclusive, but this isn’t the first time the representation of a comic book character started a firestorm. Often, young girls in comics are extremely over-sexualized and drawn with bodies most grown women don’t even have. This prompted fans to start the hashtag #TeensThatLookLikeTeens, started by user @MizCaramelVixen, to encourage artists to stop drawing girls as 25-year olds. See some of the awesome illustrations below:
Oh boy I can do this #TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/pcblpxv4dV
— Maddi GonzAAAHHHlez (@maddigzlz) October 19, 2016
@noribearr and I are working on a comicbook about a 18 year old with super powers. #TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/Ee4YRvu4gU
— jordan renee (@JordanSaidSo) October 19, 2016
@MizCaramelVixen @TessFowler Riri warm-up sketch. #TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/8Ak7TPu7c6
— anthonyharris (@anthonyharris) October 19, 2016
#TeensThatLookLikeTeens
Jonesy is a great example! I want more comics like this one! pic.twitter.com/BvYfHMbtg6— JAYsey Devil (@truebuggy) October 19, 2016
@MizCaramelVixen
I think America Chavez is the only teen I've drawn in a while…#TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/KjEonxsvFb— Merry Death ? M (@IniquitousFish) October 19, 2016
More #TeensThatLookLikeTeens, it's a good thing. pic.twitter.com/P0ZttDlfJr
— Adam Masterman (@Adam_Masterman) October 20, 2016
Alice from my YA fantasy, drawn by the amazing @what_eats_owls
Teens can be kickass without being sexualized. Mk?#TeensThatLookLikeTeens pic.twitter.com/7itoz6CvoN
— SkELLEton McKinney (@ElleOnWords) October 20, 2016
You can check out more of the art on Twitter and Instagram. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction for children to be drawn as children instead of adults. Also, kudos to Marvel for pulling Campbell’s cover.
