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TRUE FICTION #5
by T. Motley
($3.00 from T. Motley / 1532 Elm St. / Denver, CO / 80220 USA or
Squid Works.
E-mail)
Reviewed by Henry ChamberlainTrue Fiction #5, by T. Motley, is the result of a 24-hour comic marathon — you know, the Scott McCloud challenge. Motley does take some care in providing info on 24-hour comics and makes a dedication to "Elizabeth". But it's the actual comic that gives me pause.
This is the premise: it's the eve of an English Lit exam but young Amelia must find time to pose as a nude model. As laughable as this is, unfortunately this is not meant to be comedy. The art class seems endless as does this comic. Herein lies the first problem — an ill-conceived theme, which ties into another problem: the art work.
The book revolves around a nude woman, which, like it or not, opens the artist to a higher level of scrutiny. In most of these cases, we're dealing with guys drawing naked ladies. But the roles can be reversed: mostly in response to countless years of guys drawing naked ladies. Anyway, things are always interesting when dealing with issues of sex. I have no problem with erotic art, per se. But there is a problem when an artist creates depictions of women as mere sex objects. That's what Motley's up against. Can he justify it?
This sort of debate can get murky, but it looks clear to me that Motley is pushing some pretty hot buttons when he has his model hitch up her rear end to where you can see her vagina from behind. And why is she doing this? Oh, right, she's a nude model, with a proclivity for provocative poses while she studies...what? Oh, yeah, Motley has her memorizing lines of poetry for a college exam. Memorizing poetry like a little school girl. Come on.
In one panel, the model is contorted to the point of physical impossibility. If you're going to draw erotica, and if you're focusing on a form of realism, you really want to do it right. And, most importantly, you want to be upfront about it. That way, you might be called an erotic artist and avoid being called a misogynist.
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