Comic Books and Pornography

While it is fairly obvious to any one that I am a fan of comic books, I must also admit to being a fan of pornography. I know it is normally taboo to admit that but it seems such a taboo is becoming less and less prominent in our society as porn becomes more mainstream. More former adult entertainers are making the transition into legitimate TV and film. Serious documentaries and college courses are based upon the subject of study. Even the award shows for porn are broadcast on actual cable channels and treated like a real media event. 

But while porn is becoming a bigger part of the recognized media, I specifically want to look at the relationship between comic books and pornography. Certainly comparisons between the two have been made in the past, but usually with a negative connotation. Usually the comparison between porn and comics is that they both corrupt the minds of innocent youth, and tend to be demonized by the same groups when searching for a witch to burn. An idea I consider to be complete rubbish, and will not give any credence to here. No, I want to compare comic books and porn in a positive and nurturing way. There is a clear relationship between these two forms of entertainment and I am curious as to why.

The initial inspiration for this essay is Twitter. I follow a lot of pornstars on Twitter. As such, I feel I get a unique bit of an insight into the day to day lives of pornstars. Not what (or who) they do on the set, but what they do when they are in their civilian lives (similar to the dual identities of most super heroes). And I was both surprised and delighted to see how many of my favorite stars love graphic novels. Not just the simplistic super hero worship which has become chic in our current society, but really deep and complex comics that you need to be a true fan of the art form to really seek out and enjoy.

While I am not shocked to find pornstars who enjoy comic books, I am a bit surprised to find such a high number of them. I would easily say nine out of ten of the porn stars I consider myself to be a fan of are also fans of comics. What sort of correlation does comics have with the porn profession? Would I find the same number of comic book fans if I were to poll any other profession? Are there as many comic book fans among dental hygienists as there are among porn stars? These are the questions I ask whenever I see a porn star posting about what their plans are for Comic Con, or how much they are looking forward to the next Marvel movie, or how much they enjoyed the latest work from Mr. Garth Ennis. In many ways I find such talk far more of a turn on than the anatomical acts of erotica for which these women are famous for.

One could perhaps believe that I have simply lucked out and followed the small percentage of porn performers that like comic books. That in reality most individuals in the porn industry view comic books with the same disdain as the general public. I find this rather unlikely. If you look at most porn films that are distributed in America you will see that just like Hollywood, there is a trend towards making films based on super heroes. In the porn industry these films are labeled as “Parodies” which allows them to use the images of licensed characters. Of course where Hollywood’s motivation for making such films is monetary, I suspect the porn industry is a bit more innocent in its choice to make such films. They are parodying these properties not solely to cash in on a popular title, but because they have a genuine love of the property.

Comic books, like porn, are a form of fantasy. And fantasy is a form of wish fulfillment. While comic book heroes show us a vision of idealized morals and noble heroes, porn shows us an idealized sexual world. Every one is good looking and endowed and always succeeds in their romantic endeavors with little to no effort. Certainly the viewing audience who seeks out both comics and porn is doing so for some form of wish fulfillment.

There is also the simple truth that both comic books and porn revolve around sex. Certainly the bizarre anatomy of most women drawn in comics can only be duplicated by porn stars with both the massive breasts and accentuated hips. Primarily due to the fact that the main audiences for both porn and comics are young men, though both comics and porn have been attempting over the past several years to reach past their core audiences to a wider clientele. In essence the two entertainment mediums are reaching out past their hardcore fanbase, to the more casual and pedestrian audience.

The past few decades have seen a rapid evolution of entertainment. Huge leaps in technology have caused those in the media to rethink not just the distribution methods of their products but the way those products are produced.  While comics have changed little in their production methods, with the idea of online comics only recently become popular in the past few years, pornography has always been on the forefront of technological advancement in entertainment, many times shaping the direction of such advancement. And while comics may not have influenced the entertainment industry technologically, it certainly has influenced how stories are told the past few years. Nearly every studio in Hollywood is developing some cinematic offering based on either a graphic novel or an ongoing comic book series.

In truth, comic books and pornography both have their origins in the earliest pictographic languages of man. Cave paintings are themselves the first sequential pictorial storytelling and it was not long until eroticism would be added to the mix. Certainly in the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt or the painted vases of Ancient Greece one can find images that could be both attributed to sequential storytelling and/or pornography. The two mediums were birthed together, and yet would not truly gain a place in mainstream society until modern times as the ability to distribute both became commonplace in our society.

What should link comic books and porn together is that both mediums have been strong battlegrounds for the right of free speech. The Comics Code Authority nearly stamped out any sense of expression in comics in the 1950s. Likewise one could say that the MPAA gave birth to the porn industry by regulating sex out of mainstream films and forcing a separate industry to develop to produce such content. They are both constantly under fire from censorship even today. Despite the fact neither porn, nor even comics, are aimed at a young audience, the constant rally cry against them is that they must be eliminated in order to protect the children.

I’m sure some people read that last sentence and thought I was out right wrong for making that statement. “Of course comic books are for children” those people are saying to themselves. Well the sad truth is that they are not. Most comic book readers are young adult males. In fact the comic book industry has been struggling for years to rope in new and young readers. The films and product tie-ins certainly make children aware of many of the characters, but actually buying comics? Sadly they are not showing much interest. Most of the most popular characters have been around since the sixties (some even from the forties) and thus have a long a varied history that is tough for new readers to absorb.

And the argument to censor porn to protect children is simply ridiculous. Children are not being constantly exposed to porn, despite what members of the Christian Right may claim. People who view and enjoy pornographic videos have sought that material out. Porn is not market to children. It was NEVER marketed to children. Despite all the violent and crude entertainment that IS targeted to kids, people choose to single out and attack porn.

When one considers the multitude of things out there that could be harmful to children, comic books and porn rank very low on the list. In fact I would argue that the main opponent of these two forms of entertainment has probably done far more harm to children. By that I am talking about religion. Religion has been used to justify and conceal pedophilia, to condone corporal punishment, to deny children access to proper education and medical care, and a myriad of other accusations. That first accusation I find rather ironic since Dr. Fredric Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent (the comic book hater’s how to guide) condemned the characters Batman and Robin of having an inappropriate pedophilic relationship.

Certainly comic books have never been used to justify any sort of horrific act. Despite all the people who wanted to link school shootings to violent video games and comic books, there just isn’t any evidence. And while there may be a connection between pornography and sexual predators, it is most likely a case of such individuals seeking pornography out, rather than such content influencing their actions and personalities.

The truth is, for every person who condemns comic books and/or pornography, there are far more people who celebrate these mediums. Nearly every major city around the world has annual conventions devoted to comic books and pornography (not together of course). Thousands of people attend these huge convention halls to meet their favorite stars and/or creators and also to connect with people with similar interests. Awards of various fashions are given to people in these particular fields to show appreciation for their work. Both comic books and porn have an equally devoted fanbase.

The problem with the shaming of both porn and comics is that both of these forms of entertainment seem to be mysterious to the outsider. Comic book shops are almost designed to keep people out, putting up large displays and posters to let everyone who enters know exactly what they are getting into. And porn has a taboo of being something enjoyed in private, never talked about in polite conversation. So both have a problem seeking opinions from the outside.

But while comics and porn are both vilified from outside forces, they also both find their strongest critics among their own ranks. There is no greater hater of comics than someone who is in fact a rabid comic book fan. It is because of their rabid fanaticism that they feel they are most worthy to comment on a particular subject. Their way is right and anyone else’s way is wrong. Similarly performers in the porn industry are the first to callout the negative attributes of their fellow performers. Perhaps simply because they are the ones who are most exposed to those negative attributes.

The real interesting thing to look at is the intersecting between these two worlds. The area where I have seen the most crosspollination between the worlds of comics and porn is the area of Cosplay. For the uninitiated, Cosplay is a combination of Costume and Play. Fans of comics, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. dress up as their favorite characters or sometimes as a creative reinterpretation of a popular character. Regardless of the type, this requires a particular comfort with one’s own body, as most comic book characters tend to have skin tight and scantily clad costumes. Since it requires a complete comfort with one’s body to be a porn star, this makes porn star’s perfect for Cosplay. Why feel self conscious in skintight spandex when you’ve made a living exposing yourself on video?

As I continue to mature, and my appreciation of both comic books and pornography matures with me, I am sure I will continue to note more and more similarities and symbiosis between these two forms of entertainment.  As the popularity of super hero films increases and the sexual taboos of our societies diminish we shall see comic books and pornography as more and more common place as forms of entertainment.