Tits Up: A Comic Shop

Tits Up: A Comic Shop

Mar 29

Tits Up is a recurring feature where I will chronicle gratuitous T&A and the objectification of women throughout fandom and the geekverse at large, especially in mainstream superhero comic books.

Months ago, in my ongoing exploration of the seedy underbelly of Orlando’s strip malls and shopping “centres,” I came across A Comic Shop.

It is exactly what its name implies. Except it’s actually a pretty GOOD comic shop–they had an impressive selection of indie titles, displayed in an appealing fashion. I was tempted to buy a lot, but settled on a few back issues of Local that I was missing.

Cut to MySpace, circa recently. I’m poking around, looking to “friend” places of interest in my locality, when I stumble across A Comic Shop’s MySpace page. Cool enough, I think.

Until I click around, and discover their “Girls of A Comic Shop.” They’re immortalized on the MySpace page in both video and photo form. Basically, it’s fake-breasted models posing in skimpy outfits and superhero costumes. Here’s a PERFECT example.

marisa10.jpg

So, okay. We have here what appears to be a very cool comics shop, with a very discriminating product assortment along with all the typical spandex fare, that insists on selling itself by appealing to the ABSOLUTE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR OF DROOLING, IDIOT FANBOYS.

In other words, if you think it’s TOTALLY HAWT to see a CHICK WITH NO TOP with OHEMGEE BOOBIES using OHEMGEE AN ISSUE OF INFINITE CRISIS AS A SHIRT I THINK I JUST SOILED MY SPIDER-MAN UNDEROOS, then come on down!

And trust me, it gets worse. Fanboys, grab the kleenex!

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I believe those are what you’d call “stripper heels,” right there.

Of course, if you visit the actual website belonging to A Comic Shop, it takes some clicking to find the “Girls of A Comic Shop,” meaning they clearly think they can have their smutty cake and eat it too–that they can appear to be a discriminating comic book store that also happens to be willing to shove mega-hooters in your face if it will get you in the door. Which says many pathetic things about both the proprietors of that store and the state of modern comics fandom.

This was a tough one to write, because us geeks should all be supporting good comic book stores in any part of the country as much as we can. But the blatant chauvinism and objectification on display here…well, it was just too much for lil’ ol’ sensitive me.

A Comic Shop, you have gone…TITS UP.

Previously:
Tits Up: Buy the Cheerleader, Be a Creep
Tits Up: Ex Machina
Super Titties

274 comments

  1. Honestly, I have no idea how that sort of advertising works in the first place :O

    At most guys would be like “wow she’s hot” and that’s it right? >.>;;

    I mean, I can’t believe that they’d actually believe that the comic store would have this woman (or another woman like her) standing around rdy to jump them or something right? :O

  2. Matt

    Ami, I have no earthly idea, and I myself am a card-carrying male with a healthy appreciation for what some call “the fairer sex” and others call “hooters.”

  3. Jack King

    Is this whiney article written by a chick?

    I mean, no self-respecting GUY would whine about hot chicks being used in advertising — for comic shops or anything else.

  4. Matt

    Dude, I totally hear where you’re coming from! Whoever this guy is, he’s a raging pussy. Let’s go engage in some totally-not-homoerotic-at-all touch football.

  5. Matt

    ps the flag is on my ass

  6. Jeff

    Just in the interest of full disclosure, our friend Jack found this post by Googling “comic book tits.”

  7. Links all broken. Took away their cheese cake ad strategy and their business collapsed! Gee, now I’m worried about what kinds of work those girls will be able to find now that the comic book shop fan boy market dried up. I wonder if they could find work in the lucrative, “reach things on top shelf” industry. Those shoes would be a big help.

  8. Saul David Abreu

    I think this is a pretty off-base review. Basically, this place is awesome, but they have attractive females marketing them, so their value is now null and void?

    So you don’t mention their plans for the Geek Easy? An entertainment center/bar/drawing area? At the time of this writing, it’s completed.

    Their Fan Fix rental program?

    The Zombie Emergency Defense Command?

    “A Comic Show” web series?

    Please, don’t be ridiculous. If you’ve got a problem with the females dressed as the characters, shouldn’t you be judging the characters’ creators and artists for their design? Maybe instead of attractive women, we should have the least attractive women we can find who look nothing like the idealized images that the characters *are*?

    The high and mighty egotistical connoisseur image is an over done cliche.

    Sincerely,
    a casual A Comic Shop fan who appreciates the staff, aesthetic, events, and independent comics selection not found elsewhere.

  9. Danielle

    i have been to this comic shop. i love it because it is different then any other type of comic shop i’ve been too. i’m not to big on the Girls of the Comic Shop, its a bit sexist. however comics are usually are, pretty much if your a girl in a comic you have to have DD size breast. i know A Comic Shop was trying to find males to do Guys of the Comic Shop. girls want i candy too!

  10. Comic Reader

    You people are all idiots. Before the girls of a comic shop, these guys would stand on the side of the road in super hero outfits to wave people in. When I say guys I mean poeple of the male gender. They still do it. So it’s not just women they’re using for advertising. I’ve seen the girls of a comic shop and they aren’t any less clad than the super heroines they’re portraying. They also aren’t posed all a** up, or spread eagle. Sounds like you just needed something to rant about to get hits to your little blog here. A Comic Shop isn’t the only company to use this type of advertising. Turn on your television sometime. By the way, aside from the author, how many of you have been to A Comic Shop?

Leave a Reply to Danielle