"BC: There has been plenty of social media criticism of this. You’re painted as the worst choice for the series – embodying all that is sexist and skeevy about comic books. Is it possible your covers will put women off the comic, or simply send a wrong message about the book?
As a life-long liberal Democrat and advocate for free speech and equal rights, it fascinates me to see when ultra-liberals become ultra-conservatives where they see injustices everywhere and cease to see reason, and start oppressing people who they disagree with. Thanks to the social media, we have entered into a dangerous era of Salem witch trials where no one is safe. Everything is being attacked everywhere in this hypersensitive atmosphere: The movie Grease (Sexualizes teenagers), Road Runner cartoons (Violence against animals), Game of Thrones. (Promotes rape and injustices against women.) The list goes on.
I have a huge female fan base. They are absolutely wonderful and they don’t share the hateful political views of Mary Sue and Comic Alliance sites. If you look at the various message board postings, you’ll see multitudes of positive notes of support for me and my art, especially for my Wonder Woman cover project. Let’s face it, I was built to draw Wonder Woman. I’m a huge Lynda Carter fan. I fell in love with her when I first saw her Wonder Woman TV show as a kid. In many ways, Lynda Carter is still the main source of inspiration when I draw women.
It’s very intimidating following Adam Hughes, Brian Bolland, Dave Finch and other great Wonder Woman artists before me. I’m just super excited right now that I’m drawing her. I have so much love and respect for this character and her potential. My aim is to make Wonder Woman look powerful and beautiful, let everyone see why she’s a true superhero icon. And I hope I don’t let my fans and Wonder Woman fans down."
"BC: You’ve been a centre of controversies in recent years, criticized by everyone from Robert Rodriguez to The Mary Sue site over your drawing of Spider-Gwen and last week Cammy: Street Fighter in that infamous Manara’s Spider-Woman pose.
CHO: Yes. I’m still surprised and amused at the outrage over nothing. I’ve been a professional writer-artist for 19 years and I’ve never had any major problem until 2 years ago when some comic “journalist” decided to single me out and tried to scapegoat me into censorship over a drawing of a pretty woman requested by a fan.
BC: Have these scandals hurt you in any way?
CHO: Oh, god no. Quite the opposite. It blew me up into the stratosphere. The traffic on my webpages have tripled, interest and awareness of my art have gone way up beyond the normal comic community, and people treat me like a rock star at shows. I’m getting more job offers than I can physically handle, and getting constantly invited as a guest to various comic conventions, domestic and foreign."
"BC: So you’re not bothered by all the personal attacks online?
CHO: Naw. I actually enjoyed them. It spotlights the hypocrisy, unrealistic views and the victim mentality of these people. In my case, these critics of mine like most extremists and religious types, advocate mind control and censorship. They simply want to control what other people can and can not see. It’s similar to what the Republican party does to the LGBT community. They bully and shame people into what they should like or don’t like. I’m simply fascinated by how these few critics came riding in on their high horse and tried to paint me into a monster. In their eyes, I went from an artist who writes and draws strong independent female characters to a morally bankrupt pervert overnight simply because I drew a comic book character for a fan that they found offensive. It’s scary if you think about how much power the social media have given to these fringe voices. The comic book market is a vast and bountiful table. There’s a place for everyone. One group, because they don’t like something, should not dictate what others can see and enjoy. That’s simply wrong. If they don’t like something, then don’t look at it or buy it. As matter of fact, they should take all that hateful energy and create comics they want to read and art they want to see. Again, there’s a room for everyone at the comic table."
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