Now my inner manga otaku and my inner comic book geek get to have a Thunderdome battle to decide once and for all who is more disturbed by this. This is going to be difficult, as they’re the same person.
*has no brand loyalty and will go anywhere there’s decent writing and pretty art*

Obviously I’ll give them a chance, because I like to think I’m a reasonable chick. Yeah, it’s an obvious outstretched hand for my money, but so what? I’m an anime/manga fan; once you’re hooked you lose all respect for your wallet anyway. Besides, the thought of X-Men as a reverse harem is hysterical – every female-authored fanfic EVER regarding that school seems to fall into the love-quadrangle category anyway, so it’s nice to see them acknowledge that part of the fanbase ! ^_^

Bishie Logan, however, makes my brain hurt. *taps the artist on the shoulder* Pardon me, sir/ma’am, but *I’m* a female and (mostly) straight manga reader, and I have had a crush on the gentleman in question since I was *five*. Just what about that says “scruffy and masculine = unmarketable to young women”? Have you never read Hellsing? Or, heaven forbid, Lupin III? It IS stylistically possible in this medium to have an attractive male character who isn’t *pretty*, ya know.
And, did mine ears detect the word “shounen” floating about (not here, but definitely somewhere in relation to this topic)? Seriously? ‘Boys comics’? The repository of youthful optimism and trust in the honour of your friends? And you want to make *Wolverine* the main character?

…

*headdesk*

He’s a “seinen” (intended for guys 17+) character if I ever saw one! Snarky as hell? Check. Chainsmoker? Check. Heavy drinker? Check. Loner (and I mean a REAL loner, not “angsty barely-post-pubescent fangirl bait in ‘edgy’ black clothes”)? Check. Tends to kill people a helluvalot? Check. Still a (semi) decent guy in spite of all this? Check. Hell, make him a priest and you’ve got Genjyo Sanzo of Saiyuki fame (admittedly a ‘josei’ [chicks 17+] title, but also a violent-as-hell crossover success of which aspiring manga-esque writers/artists should take note)! What were you thinking?
– Crazy-lady rant complete -
*wanders off to stuff Nick Fury in a closet before they decide to ‘manga-fy’ him, too*

Not all manga translations are bad though- The guy who drew Wolverine: Snickt! did a good job, and Kia Asamiya did retain the super-hero factor when he drew for X-Men. Personally, I think they should get better artists, those who can actually portray character rather than just say, “LOOK AT ME! I LOOK PRETTY!!”

Pull the other one, Quesada.

You want to capture the female market? Write believable female characters, hire female writers and artists, and let it rip. Stop marketing what you think young women want and, you know, ASK THEM. Simply changing the aesthetics is only going to drive dedicated female comic book readers (since they are the best source of advertising by word-of-mouth to other girls, who knew) farther away. Stop patronizing and assuming the nature of the demographic. Stuff like this only convinces me that no research is really being done.

I don’t want sparkles. Try again.

Sure, this might hit a few very young girls who have just read Angel Sanctuary, but what about the hardcore female manga readers with the disposable incomes to really make an impact on the sales? They’re too well-read to fall for this cheap imitation of the genre they enjoy, which has been the problem with female-orientated ESL manga in all its forms since the US decided to jump on board the ship. And still marketing it as “YA” and “shoujo”, when the attraction of manga to Western audiences from the get-go has been the fact it caters to all ages and genders in society? Not a smart move. This sort of rubbish just puts the genre in the West about 20 years behind (both in writing and in art) what’s being released in Japan right now, and what the hardcore big-spending women are importing themselves and stealing off the internet and loving here and now.

Maybe, if Marvel really wants to attract some young female audiences (or at least their wallets), maybe it should start writing some decent young female superheroes in it’s normal range. It was something it wasn’t terrible at, a long time ago, it’s just now it’s lost it’s way and has forgotten how to address a female audience in a form that isn’t patronising or downright insulting.

Unless Marvel’s also going to release the required tie-in love game with the clear harem manga that this is. ;)