Sarcasm and Superheroics: Feminism in the Mainstream Comics Industry.Still, awesome panel idea.
2006 has been declared the year of Women in Comics. Alison Bechdel's “Fun Home” was one of Time’s 10 Best Books, best-selling authors Jodi Picoult and Tamora Pierce were signed up to write for DC and Marvel, and DC announced a new "Minx" line for girls. However, 2006 was also a year of increased feminist activism in mainstream comics. New websites When Fangirls Attack and Girl-Wonder.org collected and encouraged feminist debate on issues of diversity and sexism in comics, and there seemed to be plenty to talk about. Moreover, the Occasional Superheroine confessional memoir recounted a disturbing tale of abuse and misogyny within the superhero industry that was reflected onto the pages of its comics. What has improved in the comics industry? What is yet to be done? What challenges are posed by the industry's peculiar institutional structure? How can women break into the comics mainstream? How can we critique it? And what comics *can* you buy for your kids?
Suggested by: Karen Elizabeth Healey
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Dammit Healey!
I've been namechecked. (Sort of)
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Gee, that's kind of cool. Wait a minute...that's WAY cool! Wicked cool. Meritorious even.
ReplyDeleteNo. It won't be "Women in Comics" year until the feminisats start breaking in, en masse. Then we'll see some changes.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a Countdown to an Infinite Crisis.
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, but it *has* been declared the year of Women in Comics. I want to talk about the contrast between apparent progress and acclaim, and the reality of the situation, and what we can do to get from here to there.
Counting down...
Also, the new Ventriloquist is a woman too, so now there's an additional female rogue.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Let's get a woman besides Tamora Pierce writing at Marvel and then we can talk about this "Year of the Woman" nonsense. :P
ReplyDelete