Sex In The Comix: The History of Erotic Content in Sequential Art. (Tessa Luicart)

For this post, I watched “Sex In The Comix: The History of Erotic Content in Sequential Art.” This documentary discussed early underground erotic comics, interviewed some important names in the scene, and talked to a range of artists all the way from the USA to Japan. It talked about how sex can be found in almost every genre, from purely erotica, to auto-bio, to horror, especially in the present. As for the history of these comics, I’ll admit, it was a little disappointing how little the documentary seemed to cover, and it seemed more focused on interviews from creators. As for what it did do, though, it covered how erotic comics have been around for longer than you might think, and that some of the first erotic comics from the USA were made in the 1930’s, entertainment for a depression-era country. Then, of course, it covers the Comics Code Authority, as anyone would have to when talking about the history of any kind of comic. The CCA was a code made to censor comics and what was found in them, as the media was usually thought of as ‘for kids’ and prohibited any kind of “sexual perversion.” The response to this was just to move the sexual content somewhere else, and in this case, to underground comics, a community that practically exploded with zines and comic books in the 1970’s. The documentary also discussed how comics can, quite frankly, be better than other erotic media, as the reader can play a part in the comic by filling in the blanks in panel borders and actively using their imagination when it comes to what they’re seeing on the page. This, along with being able to draw literally whatever the artist wants to or finds hot, even if it's not very realistic means that comics can be very, very powerful. One of the works that stood out to me was the artist Aude Picault, as her work seemed to be much more down to earth than the others, whilst still being incredibly explicit.

https://www.audepicault.com/, Aude Picault Website As previously mentioned, I was a little disappointed by this documentary. I went in hoping to learn more about the nitty-gritty of the underground comics scene during the 70’s, and while they did talk about it a little bit, it was nothing that I didn’t already know from being in comic classes here at CCAD and my own outside research. I wanted to see more of the ins and outs of everything, and instead it was a very surface level history. I was excited to learn more about queer history in the form of comics, too, but the most I got from this documentary was a quick discussion of AIDS and how that appeared in some people’s work. This doesn’t mean it was necessarily a bad piece of media if someone wanted to learn about sex in comics, but that it just fell a little flat for me. There are some things I agree with from this documentary, of course, and some things I found off putting. I agree with the idea that comics are so powerful, erotic or not, because of the power of what a drawing can do. This ability to draw whatever you can think of benefits the media in general, and is used to its fullest in erotic comics. As well as leaving space, both in the literal and metaphorical sense, between the panel forces the reader to interact and fill in the gaps, are strengths of the medium no matter how you use it. There were, however, some things in the documentary that just didn’t quite sit right with me. During the documentary, the people being interviewed were talking about how they used to get off on what they draw, which isn’t that big of a deal. Of course, when you’re talking about sex in comics, that is to be expected. Some of it was just... gross, the way the artists in this film talked about their own creation, and it didn’t help that there were only two women, besides the host, that talked on the matter. There was also an issue of censorship that came up, and some artists said that, since they were just drawings, delicate issues like incest or pedophilia were alright to draw and discuss. I have to disagree with this as some of the images that were in these comics, or storylines the artists talked about making, were deeply uncomfortable, no matter if they were just lines on a page. All in all, this was an alright documentary, although it left me with some questions, and things I want to know more about. I want to know more about the queer facet of this comic scene, more than just the AIDS crisis. I want a closer examination of this time in comics history, more than just surface level stuff. I thought the way these people talked about their work, recognizing how it’s seen as taboo or improper but still going, was interesting. While I still have to disagree with some points- especially when it comes to some of the more sensitive topics- it was a semi-informative documentary that worked to remind me how broad comics can be.