Just a Girl, a Wig, and a Dream: Understanding Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Comic Books and Comic Culture Alexandra Christine Gago Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Prerequisite for Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies under the advisement of Elena Creef May 2021 Copyright 2021 Alexandra Christine Gago 2 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Table of Contents 2 Table of Figures 3 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 8 Chapter 1: Representation Matters: Contemporary Queer Comic Books 30 Chapter 2: Comics and Cosplay and Cons, Oh My! 55 Chapter 3: Sounds Gay, I’m In: An Ethnographic Account of the Thinly-Veiled Sheer Chaos of Cons and Cosplay 68 Conclusion 106 Bibliography 111 3 Table of Figures Figure 1: Two women of color, the Prime Minister and Admiral Brito, are shown conversing with Lady Atena, a Cumaean witch (from Volume Three: Haven). 33 Figures 2 and 3: (On top) Old Dagon speaks with their sister-brothers Desteria and Gull nnn (from Volume Three: Haven). (On bottom) The Sword of the East, the Warlord of the Dawn nnn Court, leans in to kiss her new bride Tuya, Baroness of the Dusk Court (from Volume Four: nnn The Chosen). Their marriage was used to unite the two courts. Both characters are women nnn of color. 35 Figures 4 and 5: (On left) Maika and Tuya are seen in bed in a sexually charged pose (from Volume Three: Haven). (On right) The Warlord and Tuya are almost engaged in a kiss when nnn Tuya stops them for risk of pregnancy (from Volume Five: Warchild). 36 Figure 6: A hologram of elderly Cassandra giving the eulogy at her own funeral. In this scene, she is reminiscing about all of the memories she got to create with her friends and nnn fellow Pantheon members (from Volume 9: “Okay”). 38 Figure 7: Cassandra/Urðr and Umar/Dionysus conversing in the hallway of the Pantheon’s base, Valhalla. Umar has feelings for Cassandra, and Cassandra is attempting to discern nnn those feelings (from Volume 6: Imperial Phase Part 2). 39 Figures 8 and 9: (On left) Two queer women, Eleanor/Lucifer and Laura, kiss as Eleanor loses her godhood (from Volume 9: “Okay”). (On right) Two queer people of color, Nn Valentine/Baal and Zahid/Inanna, in a scene of consensual erotic pleasure on the rooftop nnn of Valhalla (from Volume 8: Old is the New New. 40 Figures 10 and 11: (On left) A broad view of The Dirty Mind, the underground sex safe haven run by characters in SfSx. (On right) A view from one of the rooms from the tour of nnn The Dirty Mind. 42 Figures 12 and 13: (On left) Main character Avery uses a (illegal) Magic Wand while having nnn sex with her husband, George. (On right) Main characters Silvia and Jones are caught nnn having sex in The Dirty Mind storeroom while Avery is on her way to an appointment with n one of her clients. 43 Figure 14: Main character Dennis attempts to locate Casey, one of the other characters who runs The Dirty Mind, thus giving the readers a tour of The Dirty Mind’s fetish rooms. 44 4 Figure 15: An infographic titled “Decriminalization of Sex Work is a Queer Issue” provided nnn at the end of the volume. 46 Figures 16, 17, and 18: (On top left) Ship captains Alma and Char share a tender moment. (On top right) Main characters Mia and Grace, both women of color, share a kiss after nnn skipping school to go on a date. (On bottom) Mia and Grace share a kiss in the school nnn hallway, while their schoolmates look on and applaud them. 48 Figure 19: Jules corrects her friend Elliot’s pronouns when their new boss misgenders them. 49 Figure 20: The Sunbeam crew relaxes together after a long day of restoration work by watching a show on television. 50 Figures 21 and 22: (On left) Tasuku is mildly harassed by Misora as they interrogate him about his crush on Tsubaki (from Volume 2). (On right) Someone San comes out as asexual Nn to Tchaiko and Iliya (from Volume 4). 53 Figures 23 and 24: (On left) Utsumi is reunited with one of his high school classmates, who is good-intentioned, but manages to be very transphobic (from Volume 3). (On right) Tasuku meets Haruko for the first time. Tasuku had been previously unaware that there nnn were other queer people like him, so he is shocked when he meets Haruko (from Volume 53 1). Figures 25 and 26: (On left) Haruko and Saki are having dinner with Saki’s parents. During this scene, they tell Saki’s parents that they are a couple, and they are planning on getting nnn married soon. Saki’s parents had been unaware of their queerness previously (from nnn Volume 4). (On right) Tchaiko and Iliya reminisce about the adventures they have had as nnn Iliya is dying from cancer in the hospital (from Volume 4). 55 Figures 27 and 28: (On left) Cosplayer A-ka-ki-o-ga cosplays as Nargacuga from Monster Hunter Rise (Akakioga 2020). (On right) Cosplayer nonbinate cosplays as Scarlet Witch nnn from X-Men (Blackburn 2021). 57 Figures 29 and 30: (On left) A male cosplayer poses for a photo in a gender-bent cosplay of DC’s Wonder Woman (Graham 2020--originally taken by Cantera Image in 2014). (On nnn right) Cosplayer Gustav Willendorf crossplays as Harley Quinn, a character from the DC’s ll Batman universe (Willendorf 2020). 62 Figures 31 and 32: (On left) Megan Thee Stallion in a Shoto Todoroki (dubbed “Todoroki Tina”) cosplay for the cover of Paper Magazine (Paper Magazine 2019). (On right) A 5 reference image of Shoto Todoroki from the My Hero Academia series (My Hero Nlll Academia Wiki). Todoroki has fire and ice powers, as depicted in the cosplay. 63 Figures 33, 34, and 35: Some of the more iconic images from my cosplay-making. These nnn images are meant to highlight the chaos of cosplay creation. (On left) A failed attempt to nnn take a picture of myself. (Center) Me, still in my pajamas, in my residence hall’s kitchen nnn making fangs at 7:30am the day of Anime Boston. (On right) Me, sitting in the cafeteria in nnn the Hynes Convention Center at Anime Boston, waiting for pizza. 72 Figures 36, 37, and 38: (On left and center) My personal photos taken after attending Fan nnn Expo Boston (August 2018). (On left) A close-up of Lan Fan’s automail (mechanical nnn prosthetic arm). (Center) A full shot of the whole cosplay. (On Right) This image is a nnn depiction of Lan Fan in the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime series before she nnn receives an automail arm (Fullmetal Alchemist Wiki). 74 Figure 39: Aerial view of Fan Expo Boston, overlooking the merchandise section of the convention floor (Rugo 2017). 75 Figure 40: The Artist’s Alley section of Fan Expo Boston (Rugo 2017). 76 Figures 41 and 42: (On left) A group photo of me and my friends at Fan Expo Boston Nn (August 2018). I finally stopped to ask someone to take a group photo. The three of us nnn are in our Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and Lan Fan cosplays. (On right) A depiction of nnn Edward and Alphonse Elric from the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime series, on a nnn poster (Great Eastern Entertainment). 77 Figure 43: A selfie I took of myself at Anime Boston to send to my parents while I was sitting in the lobby of the Sheraton. (April 2019). 80 Figure 44: Photo taken of me and my friends by the British Airways flight attendants in nnn the Sheraton lobby. (April 2019). 81 Figure 45: Figure x depicts an aerial view of Anime Boston from April 2019. This view shows the general sales floor. (Scheids° 2017). 83 Figures 46, 47, and 48: (On left) Our cosplays for Anime Ball. Toga, since she is a villain in nnn the series, did not have a canonical formal outfit, so I had to make one up. Bakugo (center) nnn and Deku (on right) both have canonical formal costumes, so my friends reproduced these nnn for the Anime Ball (BNHAFF Wiki and DBZFF Wiki). 84 6 Figure 49: An image of myself on the Red Line. This photo was originally sent to my friend nnn on Snapchat to let her know I was on my way. In this photo, I’m still wearing my nnn DeCordova Museum admissions tag. (April 2019). 86n nnn Figures 50, 51, and 52: (On left) A close-up of my Himiko Toga cosplay, without the mask. nn (Center) The full outfit, including the mask. (On right) Toga’s character design from the 87 BHNA anime series (My Hero Academia Wiki). nnn Figures 53, 54, and 55: (On left) My friends and I at our BNHA meet-up in one of the Hynes nnn Convention Center ballrooms. (Center and on right) Deku and Bakugo in their hero nnn costumes from the My Hero Academia series (Cosplay Reference Wiki and My Hero 88 Academia Wiki). Figure 56: Still from Trans & Nonbinary Narratives in Fiction | Beyond the Binary, showing nnn moderator Jay Justice and panelists Vita Ayala, Lilah Sturgis, and Jay Edidin (New York 90 Comic Con 2020). Figure 57: Still from History of Diversity in Comics featuring moderator Evelyn “Comic nnn Canary” and panelists and comic personalities Nico Action, Indigo, and Raven. (New York 92 Comic Con 2020) nnn Figure 58: A sketch of the New Warriors characters Snowflake and Safespace (Marvel 93 2020).