By Eden Miller
On Sunday, a woman won the Oscar for best director for the first time ever. This award has been given out since 1929.
I am glad it happened, certainly, but I also know I’m not the only one who thinks it was long overdue.
But this isn’t about the film industry. This is about comics. This is, specifically, about Girl Comics.
The first issue of this limited series came out on last Wednesday, as part of a larger, yearlong “Women of Marvel” initiative, but it’s been causing a stir since it was first announced last December.
People hated the title. They didn’t see the point of showcasing female creators. They didn’t get why such a thing was necessary. “Can’t they just make comics for people?” was a common question.
Well, yeah, they do make comics for people. It’s just those people are generally white and male.
Now, I love comics. I love comics of all types. I am absolutely not a snob when it comes to comics — I will read everything from someone’s stapled together mini-comic to some literary graphic novel. I love superheroes. I love children’s comics. I like collections of comic strips. I like manga. If it’s a comic and you hand it to me, I’ll probably read it.
But that’s absolutely not to say I don’t sometimes feel a little alienated. Things have gotten so much better for women who read comics in the past few years (in the past 10, certainly, but even just in the past five. I’ve noticed a marked change at cons since I started going to them and I haven’t been going to them for very long). When Fangirls Attack has become quite a force in the industry (I’m completely serious — I’m never surprised when I find out a pro is reading that blog, and if there are comic pros that aren’t reading it, they need to start). The industry is noticing that women are reading comics and are interested in them. But that’s not to say they always know how to do it, and it’s often a matter of one step forward (like, the aforementioned Minx) and two steps back (wrapping a lovely, fun comic like Marvel Divas in that name and this cover).
One of the questions that has come up repeatedly with Girl Comics is that of “Who is this for?” Having read the first issue, I can say without a doubt that it’s for me, and fans like me.
Yes, as an anthology, Girl Comics #1 is probably trying a little hard to please a broad audience, but I like that. I like that there’s a diversity of stories here. I’m probably the most partial to Colleen Coover’s beautiful intro image and Lucy Kinsley’s Doctor Octopus story, but my tastes do usually run to indie comics, so that makes sense. Other people have had high praise for the Punisher story by Valerie D’Orazio and Nikki Cook (I think it’s effective, but I was never a Punisher girl). Other people like the artiness of Ming Doyle’s and G. Willow Wilson’s Nightcrawler story. I’m not quite saying that every comic fan will fall in love with something here, but I think it does move beyond “comics made by a bunch of women” and into “comics made by people.” Because, you know, women are obviously people.
I personally love it. I love the issue itself and I love that it exists. In all the years I’ve been reading comics (which is going on decades now), reading this comic is one of the first times I feel like the mainstream comic book industry has treated me like I exist. And that’s a pretty awesome feeling. It feels like a big “Thank you!” from Marvel, if that makes any sense.
And I’ll be right back at the comic book store buying Girl Comics #2 next month. And then #3 and then probably the collection when it’s out.
[Image from Marvel.com.]
Thanks for this article Eden. I’ve only gotten into comics in the past three or four years myself, and I do get the feeling of gendered resistance, but I can sense the shift in the culture. I teach Watchmen at community college and Danny Fingeroth’s Superman on the Couch, and my girl students do get into them too, but there’s sometimes a barrier of comics being “boy stuff” that takes some of them longer to buy in. Though I did just have a girl outgeek me in class the other day which was awesome, and she already has her wondercon ticket
Yes, I hate the connotations things have when you specify the gender. I like your writing, so I’ll be reading!
Thanks!
I do think we divide too many things into “for men” or “for women” or whatever, but at the same time, I think the distinctions can be important. At least if we’re willing to look past them. I think men have more that trouble than women, though.