Girl Power: 741.5 Women in Comics Creators, Readers, Characters March 2017— No
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FROM POWER GIRL TO 741.5 GIRL POWER: 741.5 WOMEN IN COMICS CREATORS, READERS, CHARACTERS MARCH 2017— NO. THREE PLUS...25 YEARS OF IMAGE COMICS! The Comics & Graphic Novel Bulletin of of the first collection of Mock- ingbird surged, as those who support the new age of woman writers, artists and editors vot- ed with their dollars. Marvel has been at the forefront of diversity in comics, with many of their best-sellers taking older concepts and reviving them with female leads. From distaff twists on legacy series such as Thor: Goddess of Thunder and Spider-Gwen to revivified takes While women working in the Barbara Yelin after the death She Changed Comics: The Untold Story of the Women on established characters such comics mainstream often deal of her grandmother. Irmina Best-selling author Chelsea as Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman Who Changed Free Expression in Comics — Betsy Gomez, Editor with a hostile audience, that’s follows a young German girl in Cain gave it her best shot. and the new Captain Marvel, (Image Comics) not the case with female crea- the 1930s, first in England Her first work in comics, tors working in the so-called where she takes up with an Marvel’s secret agent book Carol Danvers, Marvel Comics 741.5 Sh31—Central & Eastside “alternative” market. Probably African American émigré, then Mockingbird, was critically ac- has been living up to their old claimed, but sales were such tongue-in-cheek nickname, the The history of women in comics is long, but too often overlooked because said “alternative” is to Nazi Germany, where Irmi- that the series was cancelled House of Ideas. Most of the and diminished. Now Image and the Comic Book Legal Defense closer to the actual market for na slowly but surely bends to with the eighth issue. Cain publicity has been garnered by Fund team up to present this volume which acts as both chronicle books, which has long been the harsh winds of history. and the book’s artist, Joelle Danvers’ replacement as Ms. driven by women writers and Those winds blow ill indeed in Jones, decided to end things and guidebook. It’s a deep and diverse selection, from the creators readers. The variety of genres Julia Gforer’s Laid Waste (Fanta with a joke: Bobbi Morse, Marvel, Kamala Khan, a Paki- of the Kewpies, Rose O’Neill, and the Campbell Kids, Grace Drayton, stani American teen from Jersey and styles of the regular mar- -graphics). The tale of a wom- AKA Mockingbird, on a beach, to underground trailblazers such as Diane Noomin and Trina Rob- in a t-shirt reading “ASK ME City. But the next big hit should ket is also present in “alter- an trying to keep her family ABOUT MY FEMINIST be Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, bins (whose own history of women in American comics, Pretty In Ink, native” comics. Real life come- together during the ravages of AGENDA.” Some people did which updates one of Jack Kir- is available from Central). New attention is given to older cartoonists dy can be found in Gina the Black Plague, Laid Waste is not laugh—specifically, the Wynbrandt’s Someone Please drawn in a simple, sketchy legions of fanboys whose by’s goofiest ideas with a hero- from the Golden Age of newspaper comics, including Dale (Brenda Have Sex With Me (2Dcloud), hand perfect for the homespun dudgeon over the growing ine who is black, nine years old, Starr) Messick, African American rebel Jackie Ormes and Tarpe a drily licentious look at the world of the late Middle Ages. number of female characters smarter than Tony Stark and Mills, whose self-inspired crimefighter Miss Fury, featured on the and creators in the comic has a big red T. Rex for a pal. trials of a plus size gal looking In contrast, Vertigo’s Clean book industry was the butt of book’s cover (left), was the first female superhero, beating Wonder Meanwhile, the proudly ridicu- for love. Travel cartoonist Room, written by Gail (Birds of the joke. Their reaction was Woman to the newsstands by a few months. Alt-comix troublemak- Lucy Knisley details her DIY Prey) Simone, is all too mod- so fierce, so ugly, that Cain lous Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat wedding in her latest, Some- ern, yet just as dirty, as sci- was forced to delete her and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl ers such as Jessica Abel, Sue Coe and Julie Doucet join modern car- Twitter account. She was not, showcase what really sets these toonists like Fiona (Saga) Staples and Noelle (Lumberjanes) Steven- thing New (First Second). And ence, sex and the supernatural how! The book’s 302 pages conspire to unravel reality. sad to say, the first woman to series apart from their dudely son. Plus lots of info on international artists, as well as the women endure such abuse. But the counterparts — they’re FUN! long, but Knisley’s sleek Surreal is the word for Cathy future of comics will most behind the scenes such as DC’s Jenette Kahn, Diana Schutz of Dark brushwork and warm colors (Percy Gloom) Malkasian’s up- likely be defined by the reac- Go to lexpublib.org to find Horse and Vertigo’s Karen Berger. She Changed Comics...for good! make it a joy to read. At the coming Eartha (Fantagraphics), tion against the reaction: sales them and place a reserve now! other end of the thematic and one woman’s boat ride to aesthetic spectrum is Mon- Dreamland. Reserve one now! stress (Image). Gorgeously Below: detail from Monstress. rendered in a lush, baroque style by Sana Takeda and writ- ten by Marjorie Liu, Monstress is a steampunk fantasy with undertones of horror. Fear of a less fantastic sort infuses the watercolor panels of Irmina (SelfMade Hero), based on actual papers found by author horrifically dire. Unlike the MEANWHILE.... original assortment of Image Image Comics turns 25 this projects, though like many year. The story began in 1992, recent Image series such as when a gang of superstar The Wicked and the Divine and artists led by Todd McFarlane, Warren Ellis’ Trees, The Beauty Eric Larsen and Rob Liefeld is similar to a Vertigo title, in became fed up with making that the art is secondary to the millions for Marvel Comics story. The first volume of Kill Six while earning only basic page Billion Demons is more like the rates and then-unimpressive Image of old, in which insanely royalties. Once Marvel refused detailed art is the story. their demands for more money Collecting the popular web and creative control, these comic, Kill… comes on like artists and others formed Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Image Comics, an umbrella ketamine, the art by Tom aesthetically and politically. organization under which Parkinson-Morgan a hybrid of Founded as a boy’s club of Frank Quitely’s hyper-realism “rock star” comics dudes, Image is now one of the leaders in the new market of comics made by women and read by women. The surprise hits Saga and Sex Criminals have made such an impact in large part because of their female readership, while the break- through book of 2015 was Bitch Planet, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, a two-fisted polemic on bodies, gender and power disguised as a cross between Rollerball and The Handmaid’s Tale. Image con- tinues this trend with the series The Beauty, co-written and and the visceral dreamscapes each artist’s personal studio of Jim Woodring. Elsewhere, drawn by Jeremy (Batwoman) (eg. Jim Lee’s Wildstorm and demons both supernatural and Hahn, in which physical perfec- Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow) would everyday haunt the subject of produce creator-owned and tion becomes a transmissible The Abominable Mr. Seabrook operated content and titles. disease, at first delightful, then (Drawn & Quarterly). A stone The results quickly upended the drunk and avid fetishist who funnybook business, as Image introduced voodoo to the wider became the third most power- world, the once-celebrated, ful comics publisher in the long-forgotten William Butler nation. Admittedly, most of the Seabrook gets his due courtesy early work, jacked-up “cutting of Joe Ollmann’s unflinching edge” superhero books such as biography…which you’ll find in Spawn, Savage Dragon and the Biographies. Meanwhile, Gen13, wowed fans more than from the land of trolls and critics and forward-thinking house elves comes Hilda, the readers, who remained unim- girl adventurer for our age. pressed by the flashy artwork Luke Pearson’s blue-haired and thin plots bouyed by hype heroine finally shows her and gimmicks. But as the disbelieving mom the secret company and its core concept world of magic in Hilda and the of creator control matured, the Stone Forest from Flying Eye. It output began to diversify, both rocks! Composed by Bill Widener .