While this video by Movie Bob came out relatively long ago, in anticipation for the first pics of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, it still tackles some meaningful issues for our blog: how adding pants and/or covering skin on a female character redesign doesn’t yet fix the problems inherent with her old, more revealing costume and in-story presentation.

That’s why we ridiculed J. Scott Campbell’s outrage over Wonder Woman’s new shoulderpads

pauldrons, but didn’t go so far to praise the covering new costume he hated so much. 

image

It’s an adequate superheroine outfit and has Diana’s iconic elements intact, but its supposedly biggest change, the skin-covering catsuit, seems indeed like an uninspired, colored-in afterthought.

While, as Bob points out in the video, there will always be a crowd unsatisfied with the changes (especially for such a popular character), I say it’s crucial to just PUT AN EFFORT into a redesign. Only then things can begin to work out.

See, for the record, BABD’s favorite re-imaginings of Wonder Woman:

~Ozzie

As Bob said, there’s a lot to unpack and while we’ve seen that it’s certainly possible to cover  female character head-to-toe and still have her be ridiculously sexualized.  I also feel that arbitrary statements like “makes her less like the other two” are at least as responsible for bad re-designs.

Ironically when it comes to characters like Diana, a large part of this is that the comics industry is influenced by unhealthy amounts of nostalgia so instead of doing completely fresh re-designs they tend to insist on homaging the original.

And when the outfit was as ridiculous as Wonder Woman’s original outfit it’s kind of hard to make something that looks credible.  Particularly since people aware of her origins tend to go with “sexy pinup dominatrix” rather than “genuinely intimidating and dominant woman”.

I will say this though, if you really want to take the stance against “modesty” approach and tell people that it should all just be allowed to hang out – there’s someone who should be wearing a lot less than Wonder Woman.  No. Really.

– wincenworks

Tidy Up Tuesday #17


We would like to kindly remind all our fans and readers that BABD (as well as many of its related blogs, especially @eschergirls) focuses on criticizing commercial artwork made by industry professionals.

We encourage everyone interested in doing similar critique to ours to not bash on amateur/hobbyist/fan content

For-profit indie projects, though, while they’re not as mainstream as AAA studios, are not free from criticism.


It appears Ubisoft has recognized the awesome of Evie Frye and the first Assassin’s Creed Syndicate DLC focuses on her going up against Jack the Ripper.


The fact that some archers use asymmetrical breast straps and that mythical Amazons (supposedly!) cut off one breast for better aim with the bow, doesn’t really change how badly designed is Phoebe’s half-boobplate in Indivisible!

TL;DR:

image

second image’s source [x]


Other buff warrior ladies who we were glad to cover on BABD:


– wincenworks & ~Ozzie

Tidy Up Tuesday #17


We would like to kindly remind all our fans and readers that BABD (as well as many of its related blogs, especially @eschergirls) focuses on criticizing commercial artwork made by industry professionals.

We encourage everyone interested in doing similar critique to ours to not bash on amateur/hobbyist/fan content

For-profit indie projects, though, while they’re not as mainstream as AAA studios, are not free from criticism.


It appears Ubisoft has recognized the awesome of Evie Frye and the first Assassin’s Creed Syndicate DLC focuses on her going up against Jack the Ripper.


The fact that some archers use asymmetrical breast straps and that mythical Amazons (supposedly!) cut off one breast for better aim with the bow, doesn’t really change how badly designed is Phoebe’s half-boobplate in Indivisible!

TL;DR:

image

second image’s source [x]


Other buff warrior ladies who we were glad to cover on BABD:


– wincenworks & ~Ozzie

Now, originally I found this company via a post about

(link is nsfw due to nip slip)

 a new upcoming figure. However, upon looking I discovered that this company does kind of reflect everything that’s wrong with the tabletop wargame scene in terms of depictions of female characters.

If you exclude the female characters, their shop looks pretty much like a serious wargaming miniature shop.  it has iconic characters, scenery bits, armies, etc.

However, not only do they have the problem that they stock female characters purely for over the top titillation value, and are promoted as though as relevant to  but they also have the fanbase who try to rationalize this with baffling excuses:

image

I don’t think that it’s a very reliable trademark given it’s basically what every single wargame minature studio seems to doonly some make actual warrior minatures as well.

Let’s just be straight about it – they do what everyone else does but more blatantly and with exposed nipples.

– wincenworks