Posted in: Comics | Tagged: graphic novel, whore, zenescope

A Whore By Any Other Name Would Smell So Sweet

The other week I got into a minor twitterspat with a few people, including Kieron Gillen, over a new graphic novel by Jeffrey Kaufman, Whore. It was being eviscerated because of the title. I argued than rather than using a word in an insulting way towards women, it was being used as a juxtaposition for the work of a hitman, doing morally dubious actions for money, stripping away the glamourisation of that career. And that it was hardly the first time that mercenaries or hitmen had been referred in this fashion, though some disagreed.

It was pointed out that it was hard for me to argue that when the cover had a man in a suit using naked women as a chair.

And indeed, a number of retailers are refusing to order it on this basis. What was conceived of as a clever title and marketing seems to have backfired to a certain degree. And stores that are happy to stock the likes of Dicks aren't so minded towards Whore.

Even publisher Zenescope are backing off. This is outside their usual naked women as naked women approach. They are publishing as a contractual obligation to Kaufman and have removed their name from the headline of press releases and from the allegation that they may be "presenting" the graphic novel.

Now, I'm a fan of the provocative headline or title for a comic (Iron Muslim anyone?) but even I have to confess that this time, a name change – and possibly a cover change – may have been beneficial to the project, financially at least…

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