Reconsidering Shadow Hunters
Huh, scans_daily has a bit from Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter up and...
Honestly, it looks pretty good.
I think it probably says something about my internalized prejudices that I see the name "Jenna Jameson" and figure the product has to be pretty...well...tasteless. I have nothing against pornography, but I suppose I don't really have a lot of respect for it either. And when I see a name so associated with porn, I think "Oh, well, this is going to be one of those soft-core porn type comics."
I figured at best, the comic was going to be something like a possibly less inflated version of Tarot. The cover didn't help much.
For the record, I don't mean that as an insult or as a criticism of that sort of comic. I have no interest in reading it, personally, but that doesn't mean I think people don't or shouldn't enjoy it. (And heck, I'd much rather see that sort of gratuitousness in a comic like Tarot than say Birds of Prey or Wonder Woman)
Looking at the scans in scans_daily though, honestly, it looks NOTHING like what I expected. The art is pretty and the plot, what little is shown in the post anyway, looks interesting. It's very possible, I suppose, that these scans are out of context and the rest of the book is all soft-core porn, but going strictly off the sample here...
It actually looks kind of cool. It looks like something I might be interested in reading. I just wish it had a different cover, because that one'll be a bit embarrassing to be seen purchasing at the comic shop...
Honestly, it looks pretty good.
I think it probably says something about my internalized prejudices that I see the name "Jenna Jameson" and figure the product has to be pretty...well...tasteless. I have nothing against pornography, but I suppose I don't really have a lot of respect for it either. And when I see a name so associated with porn, I think "Oh, well, this is going to be one of those soft-core porn type comics."
I figured at best, the comic was going to be something like a possibly less inflated version of Tarot. The cover didn't help much.
For the record, I don't mean that as an insult or as a criticism of that sort of comic. I have no interest in reading it, personally, but that doesn't mean I think people don't or shouldn't enjoy it. (And heck, I'd much rather see that sort of gratuitousness in a comic like Tarot than say Birds of Prey or Wonder Woman)
Looking at the scans in scans_daily though, honestly, it looks NOTHING like what I expected. The art is pretty and the plot, what little is shown in the post anyway, looks interesting. It's very possible, I suppose, that these scans are out of context and the rest of the book is all soft-core porn, but going strictly off the sample here...
It actually looks kind of cool. It looks like something I might be interested in reading. I just wish it had a different cover, because that one'll be a bit embarrassing to be seen purchasing at the comic shop...
posted by kalinara @ 4:23 AM
8 Comments:
At January 30, 2008 6:11 AM,
LurkerWithout said…
Something to keep in mind. Its S_D which means at most half the issue. And if others are like me they try to post the coolest bits...
And Jameson is from what 2nd hand information I've heard (from a friend who worked as a receptionist/file clerk for her Phoenix offices) a decent person and a pretty cool boss. And she's always seemed to have a lot on the ball when it comes to marketing herself...
At January 30, 2008 11:37 AM,
tavella said…
I wonder if it isn't one of those things doomed by a mismatch between market and contents. Because the people that buy "Jenna Jameson's" anything are going to be expecting porn, or at least titillation. While people who might be sold by plot and decent writing will be embarrassed to pick it up.
At January 30, 2008 7:17 PM,
R.Nav said…
Just judging it by face value I'm expecting it to be something I might find in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine, but with the sex to be a bit more explicit.
I'm totally not the target market for a swords+sorcery+sex comic, but I do support the concept and hope it's not a waste of precious shelf space at my local comic shop :)
At January 30, 2008 8:00 PM,
Ferrous Buller said…
Well, at least she'll be a pleasant change of pace from all those unrealistic over-sexualized body types and ridiculously skimpy outfits you see in superhero comics... ;-)
And am I the only one who thinks this would be Greg Land's ideal series?
At January 30, 2008 10:40 PM,
Ami Angelwings said…
There was a Shadow Hunter preview thingie in my comic store and I thought it looked pretty good :)
At January 31, 2008 11:54 AM,
zhinxy said…
Judging by the approximately 53 seconds of interaction I had with her, she's a pretty cool person!
And you know, I'm pretty tempted to pick this up now that I've seen some of the contents, but I do fear that people will be looking for pr0n and end up disappointed, and people who want something more "substantial" won't pick it up because they're not looking for pr0n.
(Assuming that what I've seen is representative of the work as a whole blah blah blah)
At January 31, 2008 2:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
First time poster, long time reader here. It's weird you're talking about his now, because I just read the previews for this too.
I've recently read some Virgin Comics material, and I found that they are often too obsessed with concept, premise, and celebrity endorsement than actually making a good comic. See: Masked Magician. Yeah, that magician from FOX that revealed all the magic tricks. They made a comic on that guy, and it sucked.
But yeah, this Jenna Jameson comic took me by surprise as well. I really thought it was going to be a Top Cow T & A thing, but the art was... my vocabulary isn't big enough to critique the art, but it had a level of mysticism and just plain prettiness. I'm still wondering where the story is going (it could become cliche very fast), but it still has promise.
What surprised me is that Jenna Jameson is actually a fan of horror films, and actually seems to have a level of involvement with this comic. The comic itself actually interviews the author, and has introductions describing the creation of the comic.
I'm going to repeat a level of concern other people have mentioned here about the mismatch of market and contents. This is a comic I would like to try out, but I also don't like the perceived stigma of picking up "porn lite" comics. Buying a Witchblade comic for me is be just as skeevy as buying an issue of "Juggs." I know from reading the previews that "Shadow Hunters" will at least initially not be like that, but what about people that don't read the previews? They just see Jenna Jameson and come to their own conclusions.
Virgin Comics just seems to be making a lot of weird gambles with their celebrity line of comics, and I fear this comic is already a forgone conclusion of marketing.
At January 31, 2008 7:46 PM,
notintheface said…
The interiors read more like Buffy than Tarot. Which was pleasantly surprising, given the comic's title and the Greg Horn cover.
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