Lakshman: Now with Angst! But why is every female character on this website described as "sexy"?

[nenena]

Via goldenflames:

Check this out. Virgin Comics (yes, THAT zaibatsu Virgin) is apparently the new kid on the block... And they're launching with a whole line of Hindu-based comics. One of which is a retelling of the Ramayana.


Ram, Lakshman, and Ravan






An untitled image from the online gallery, but YAY it's got HANUMAN!



BTW, on the Virgin Comics website there's also discussion about "Virgin Animation," and it seems like the same creative team on the comics line is working in the animation branch, and again there promises to be a focus on Southeast Asian stories, so... could the above possibly be character designs for an animated series? I honestly have no idea - the picture has no title or description on the website - but I'm guessing that's the case.




More Hanuman, because the world can never have enough.






Devi




I'm a bit nervous about the female characters in these things, though. Well, I was never a fan of Sita, Ms. Penultimate Damsel in Distress, to begin with. Devi should by all rights be full of rock, but the blurb on Virgin's website describes her as "a sleek and sexy seductress." Uh, what? And there's another title, Snake Woman, about a reincarnated Naga. Now I know that Nagas are supposed to be eroticized as all get out, but alarm bells are going off in my head when the blurb on Virgin's website has to go out of its way to describe the Naga heroine as getting aroused by killing someone. Er.

In fact, every single female character on this website is described as either "sexy" or "seductive." (*headdesk*)

This whole thing? Needs some Draupadi, please. I'm convinced that there's something out there, maybe the spirit of Draupadi herself, that thwarts every attempt to reduce her to a passive sex object. I mean, just look at the DVD commentaries on the Peter Brooks version of the Mahabharata. Apparently in the original version of the script, Draupadi was totally lame and passive. But the actress that they hired to play Draupadi stood up to Brooks and Carriere and said, "Look, you've got this all wrong." Then they went back and totally re-worked everything so that Draupadi could be portrayed as the strong woman that she is.

May the spirit of Draupadi give Virgin Comics a swift kick in the ass if they try to reduce someone like Devi to just another Lady Sexhole.

EDIT: I'm dumb. I totally missed the free preview comic on the website. Well, y'all should check it out. Devi doesn't look too bad, actually. I'm a little WTF over the spelling of "Laxman"'s name, but whatever. The last page of the comic has a statement from the creators about how and why they're doing the Devi and Ramayana projects, and it's interesting reading.

Comments

[atelierjoh.livejournal.com]

I find it funny how a company named Virgin is tackling this.

Some of the drawings are cool, but yeah... the majority of this will have to be determined by the writers, /and/ how faithful they stay to their inspirations.

[furikku.livejournal.com]

I picked up a preview set from my comics store a while back on these guys' stuff, and was really bugged at Devi. It was just so generically sexful, and the writing didn't save it at all.

[nenena.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads-up. Last night I also read a review of Devi on another blog, and it seemed like it was all about her being sexy, men trying to kill her, and men trying to save her, and then her lying around and being sexy.

Based on this info I should avoid spending my money on Devi. BUT I'll probably check it out anyway, because... It's Devi. And I want to see for myself what it's like. (Sometimes I think that I *am* the mythical consumer that marketing execs think about when they say "Bad press makes people want to buy our stuff even more!" Because it so totally works on me.)

[goldenflames.livejournal.com]

As it does on me. =) I'm yet another subscriber to the theory that even bad press is good press, as long as it's press. Then again, I am the girl who loves action movies and books, the campier the better, so it's not that much of a departure, I suppose.

[goldenflames.livejournal.com]

True, but it's a start. There are so few modern retellings of these myths, that frankly, I'll take something sexful over nothing at all.

Call me indiscriminating, but I'm somehow a fan of the sex-angst-violence type of stories. Snake Woman did seem over the top, but I like that the premise behind it is that an Anglo person is a reincarnated Naga, because quite frankly, it's not as if Hindus have a monopoly on reincarnation.

I'm also a fan of historical/mythological/epic fiction, which makes me appreciate the fact that authors are finally combining my two loves, Hindu mythology and fiction, into a book or a comic.

But I definitely agree with you about Draupadi. Draupadi is simply the epitome of womanhood, in all its strength and glory. =)

[nenena.livejournal.com]

...Dunno if you're interested, but my major writing project for the past year (and probably for the next ten years at this rate) is a science-fiction retelling of the Mahabharata. Which is why I was a little bit floored when I saw Virgin's version of the Ramayana, because I was like, wow, somebody out there is on the same wavelength that I am!

I don't think there's anything indiscriminating about liking sex-angst-violence, because I happen to like it a lot too. ^^ I just wish that the sex appeal weren't limited only to the female characters. Or rather, I wish that not EVERY female character by default had to be a sexbomb. Snake Woman I can understand being sexy, because Nagas are sexy and violent. But it makes me uncomfortable that the writers had to sexualize Devi so much. I mean, she's supposed to be a warrior goddess, not a prepubescent Playboy fantasy.

Draupadi is amazing. My favorite part of writing my Mahabharata story is being able to write Draupadi. Especially when I put her in a modern setting, where she can be more proactive and powerful.

[goldenflames.livejournal.com]

oh i am interested! how is that going?


That makes sense. But then again, Devi (at least, the "original" one) had men running after her right and left. In fact, that was the hallmark of the majority of goddesses, I think, the ability to stand back and chuckle while all these men throw themselves at her.

I think it's also a hero thing. Heroes, by default, are usually strong, good-looking, etc., unless being weak (compared to others) or average-looking or ugly is their special "thing." Comics wouldn't sell as much as the regular ones if the heroes were average joes (or janes).

If your Draupadi is going to be as awesome as I think she will be, then I will definitely be looking forward to you finishing your project.

As for finishing, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think any author has had published a retelling or a translation of the Mahabharata in their lifetime. The only exception to that rule is Ashok Banker, whose Mahabharata, God willing, is going to be published starting next year, and will be completely published without affecting his lifespan. =)

[nenena.livejournal.com]

I hope that my Draupadi is awesome. I really need to get a good chunk of this thing finished so I can start getting it beta'd.

In the end I don't think that it will be any longer than, say, Krishna Dharma's version of the Mahabharata. So I do intend to finish it. Within my lifetime. Hopefully.

[goldenflames.livejournal.com]

Just how long is Krishna Dharma's version of the Mahabharata? That's one version that I haven't read yet.

[nenena.livejournal.com]

My edition of the book is 950 pages with wee print.

You should totally read the Krishna Dharma version! It's my favorite of the novelizations available in English.

[goldenflames.livejournal.com]

I shall definitely look into it then.

Ooh, 950 pages, I'm about to drool, I adore long, fascinating stories.