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.

As long as this doesn’t effect the original X-Men, I just don’t care. If Marvel wants to experiment with a genre they don’t understand, it’s their money.

Seriously, I’m still waiting for “Watchmen Babies”.

*Hope.