THE WANG - In Previews Now!!
Author: Stephen Gerding
July 6th, 2004
I thought that this press release was just funny enough to warrant a mentioning here on the 4CR blog. The things that get corporations like Diamond all in a tizzy are a neverending source of amusement for the those of us with, well, better things to worry about. If you want to read more about The Wang, click here.
IN THE FACE OF CENSORSHIP CONTROVERSY, THE WANG: THE BIG ONE SET FOR SEPTEMBER DEBUT.
What happens when Denver-based humorist, Stan Yan puts an image of a vibrator on the cover of the soon-to-be-released graphic novel? It raises more than a few eyebrows.
Diamond Comic Book Distributors Inc. (Diamond), the world’s largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise through its Previews catalog recently extended Yan a distribution contact for his debut graphic novel release, ?The Wang: The BIG One? (96 pp., tpb, $9.95 US), a story about the misadventures of Eugene Wang, graduating college student and the spiritual, neurotic, and erotic awakening of he and the very few other people in his lonely life.
Shortly before going to press with its July 2004 Previews, Diamond refused to run the listing with the actual cover image citing that they wanted to maintain a ?PG? environment within the catalog, and the cover image was ?too PG-13.?
?I respect their decision as a private business,? says Yan, ?but in a catalog that is rife with images of scantily-clad women in suggestive poses, I?m frankly surprised that this is where they chose to draw the line. It?s not like the image on my book is an anatomically correct sex toy, and it?s not in any sexual context whatsoever. I think what they have done is a disservice to retailers? ability to make an educated buying decision based on the actual cover art.? The 2001 Denver Comic Art Festival award winner has already received accolades for this book, but worries that confusion or backlash could harm debut sales.
Stan Yan works as freelance illustrator, does a daily financial web cartoon for MarketWise University?s Innerworth.com, and runs distribution for Squid Works, a Denver-based comic book creator cooperative at www.squidworks.com.
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2 Responses to “THE WANG - In Previews Now!!”
July 7th, 2004 at 8:42 am
well, the wang isn’t any worse than seeing half naked women in the catalog or than what they both imply. Its that the vibrator is too sexually overt too show for the sensibilities of the mass public and the people that run the catalog.
July 7th, 2004 at 6:52 pm
Oh, I absolutely hear what you’re saying, but in a world where primetime network television - which is rated PG at best - can have entire episodes of sitcoms based around the wackiness that ensues when a vibrator goes off in someone’s luggage, I hardly feel that Yan’s cover was all that shocking or offensive. Smacks to me more like some suit at Diamond pushed the panic button just a touch too early.