Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: dc comics, Robin Eisenberg, Rooster Teeth, variant covers, wonder woman, Wonder Woman 1984

Robin Eisenberg Responds to Wonder Woman 1984 Rooster Teeth Reaction

Over the weekend, DC Comics posted the previously-listed variant cover of the Wonder Woman 1984 #1 partial-reprint comic. They tweeted;

Only one word for the Wonder Woman 1984 #1 @RoosterTeeth variant cover by Robin Eisenberg: rad. Out September 29.

Rooster Teeth Productions began with the production of Red vs. Blue in April 2003. The company later branched out into live-action shorts, series, comedy, Let's Play videos, and full animated productions. Other projects include reality shows, video game development, entertainment news programs, and podcasts. In 2015, Rooster Teeth released its feature-film debut Lazer Team, a science-fiction action-comedy. The company hosts an annual convention, RTX, in several cities around the world. Rooster Teeth's primary YouTube channel has 9.47 million subscribers and including all of their other channels, maintain over 45 million subscribers. So a variant cover by a Rooster Teeth regular like Robin Eisenberg might have gone down well. But this, of course, is the internet.

The post received extremely negative reactions, including accusations that DC Comics was destroying comics with this cover, that Wonder Woman was being recreated in this form, and blaming this cover for, as far as I can tell, the downfall of Western civilisation. Robin Eisenberg replied to this response on Instagram, saying

Sooooo… Due to the subject matter of my art, I'm often asked to draw characters inspired by iconic women. Recently I was asked to create a piece inspired by Wonder Woman, in my own style, for an upcoming one-off artist collab. I love drawing aliens with realistic body types, living their lives, comfortable with themselves. So, I drew an alien character with a realistic body, wearing a more everyday version of the Wonder Woman outfit. DC decided they wanted to use this piece for a variant cover in addition to the collab. I didn't realize that featuring a Wonder Woman-inspired character with a realistic body type would be controversial. Apparently it is! 😂💕

The DC Nation posted their cover on Twitter, and it was immediately met with hundreds of comments hating on her body (as well as on the non-traditional art style… and on me personally 😎). I think one of the reasons I was asked to do this is that I'm not a traditional comic book artist, so I would present something from a different perspective.

The fact that this was so controversial just makes me want to continue to draw diverse body types and create more art that people can hopefully see themselves in. Strength and beauty can come in lots of awesome forms! I don't think one form negates the others? 😘

THESE ARE MY THOUGHTS

Of course, that no retailer is forced to order any cover they don't want to seems to be by-the-by. However, Conservative comic book retailer Larry Docherty of Larry's Comics countered criticism of the cover by saying "I can't ignore the 9.6 million fans on @RoosterTeeth YouTube. Maybe they get it? I get George Perez, but maybe they eat this sh-t up… Rooster Teeth has 9.6 million followers. I like my chances of seeing new faces for this very odd cover. It's smart. A down vote counts as much as an up vote. You know this." Which is why some retailers are taking advantage of the controversy and selling them online already.

Wonder Woman 1984 #1 will be a partial reprint comic, sold first in mass-market stores like Walmart before coming to comic shops. The lead story is written by Wonder Woman 1984 associate producer Anna Obropta. and Louise Simonson. and draw by Bret Blevins, with Wonder Woman dealing with a hostage situation at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The second story will be Marguerite Sauvage and Steve Pugh, that will document a villain's attempt to steal Diana's lasso for nefarious ends. Probably more than just getting Aquaman to sit on it.

Wonder Woman 1984 #1 will be released in Walmart stores on September 20th, with copies available via comic book stores and digital retailers on September 29th. Wonder Woman 1984 the movie is currently scheduled for a theatrical release on October 2nd – but we will see, shall we?

Here's the solicitation – and the main cover by Wonder Woman rebirth artist Nicola Scott.

WONDER WOMAN 1984 #1 (ONE SHOT) CVR B ROBIN EISENBERG ROOSTER TEETH VAR

Written by: Anna Obropta, Louise Simonson, Steve Pugh
Art by: Bret Blevins, Marguerite Sauvage
Cover Art by: Robin Eisenberg

In these tales that tie in to the upcoming Warner Bros. movie Wonder Woman 1984, when a failed burglary attempt causes a hostage situation at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Diana Prince is forced to leave her teenage tour group behind so that Wonder Woman can save the day! But will Wonder Woman be able to bring 10 gunmen to justice and get back to her tour group in time? And in a second story, it's the eighties, and greed is good—as long as you already have it all! Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor hunt down the reckless mastermind who makes the ultimate power move by stealing Diana's golden lasso!

Release Date: 9/29/2020 FOC Date: 9/3/2020  Retail : $3.99

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