kate or die! // Women and comics - the best of frienemies

Now, does that mean I don’t like comics? No. Not at all. I love comics. I read them all the time, at least twice a week, and I think sequential art is incredible. I work in a comic book store and I draw almost constantly. I’ve torn through almost all of Y: The Last Man in the last ten days, and that’s a 60-issue run. I’m nearly done Locke & Key, and it’s four hardcover books thick so far. I love the medium.

I’m the demographic that Marvel and DC can’t seem to grab. I read collections and miniseries; I adore Batman: Year One and Spider-Man Blue, but I never buy single issues. The first question I ask when picking something up is if it’s in continuity, or if I can enjoy it on its own. I don’t mind missing a reference or two, but to pick up Batman & Robin as it is now, I’m lost. I don’t recognize the characters or plots. Give me New Frontier any day.

DC’s solution to folks like me (definitely not just girls, but we’re a big portion) is to reboot their storylines and characters. Okay, great! I hear grouchy old men complaining every day about how they’re going to cancel their accounts over it, but they said the same thing when DVDs came along to replace VHS tapes. They’ll still buy them. I get dismissed when I mention how excited I am to be able to read comics as they come out. The glare in response says “you’re not a real comic person or you’d understand it.” It doesn’t matter that I’m really eager to check out Batgirl, Batwoman, Justice League: Dark and a handful of others. They don’t want me in the club.

The thing about comics is that as much as they try to appeal to new readers, they ignore people who are already trying to break in. I’m going to step into “girls” territory now. It’s hard for a lot of girls who walk into my LCS to find a new issue of anything to pick up off the shelf. Most series are so deep into complex plotlines and cross-overs and lengthy, detailed histories that it’s almost another language. If you’re not already a nerd girl, if you haven’t been into it for years, it sure ain’t easy.

I think, for a lot of girls, comics are like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter. If you know what you’re looking for, you can find it, but if you aren’t exactly sure, there’s no easy way in. I had to be reintroduced to comics through my male friends after a years-long hiatus (I hadn’t checked out anything since Blankets and Black Hole in high school), but they were really good at it. My ex-roommate lent me Runaways and Astonishing X-Men, told me about Buffy: Season Eight and got me visiting the shop I work at now. First, I only went with him, but then I started going on my own. From there, I researched and found books like Scott Pilgrim and Allison Dare. I got involved with a girl that worked at the shop and she got me into Miyazaki’s work, showed me Fray and Lost Girls. What I was really interested in, though, was finding more female artists and writers after having followed Kate Beaton’s work for a few years and realizing that (woah, shock!) she wasn’t alone.

And that’s just it. I was surprised. Genuinely surprised and incredibly excited that women worked in comics. I tore through Dar and Chester 5000 and spent hours online flipping through the art of Fiona Staples and Amy Reeder. It wasn’t even limited to webcomics (not to belittle that in any way), but they worked on big-name titles! In print! I couldn’t believe it. I started drawing almost without realizing it, on post-its and notepads everywhere. Giddy out of my mind over Vera Brosgol and Faith Erin Hicks’ smooth, brush pen linework. Working on my facial expressions.

What I’m saying is this, and I know I get rambly: I draw and make comics because women draw and make comics. I see them and they inspire me. I’ve changed from being a person that thinks hypothetically about making art for a living to the girl I am now, who knows with unwavering certainty that I will make it happen. I can, because they did. They do.

So when that brave Batgirl stood up at SDCC and asked why more women aren’t hired to create comics, or why female characters are barely more than a pair of tits in a cape half the time, my heart leapt a little. Yet, she was booed. She was called a bully and asked to sit down. Let the big boys talk, honey. We hire the best. I couldn’t believe it. Yes, nobody likes the kid in class who always has her hand up, but she’s right. She’s more than right. Comics are one of the last stands in the creative world, the treehouse that still says NO GURLZ on the door. Sure, you might get let in if you wear overalls and catch frogs like the boys, but you can’t bring your friends.

All these reasons and more are why I’m pretty much only reading indie comics and work put out by publishers like :01, Top Shelf, Oni Press, Fantagraphics and D&Q. Companies that don’t care if you’re a girl, so long as you’re producing fun and engaging work. They even go so far as to encourage comics that appeal to women, because, although DC and Marvel occasionally forget, we still have wallets and we want to buy.

I want to end this on a positive note, so here are my hopes:

I hope that the DC reboot works. I hope they’re smart enough to tie in merchandising that girls want. I hope they promote the living hell out of Batwoman.

I hope that Diamond starts soliciting shirts and toys for girls that aren’t just Big Bang Theory or Tokidoki. My shop sold out of girls’ Walking Dead t-shirts in about a week. The market is there and feverish.

I hope that the big two take a closer look at female creators, and not just for Girl Comics or Strange Tales (though they are both really great!). With the popularity of Kate Beaton’s strips in the latter, how can they ignore the potential? We all love Gail Simone, but there are so many more out there that deserve more than a guest spot or a cover.

It’s not unreasonable. At least once a year, Strange Adventures hosts a “Ladies Night” wherein we promote titles by and for women, are staffed only by women, and let only women (and trans or female-identified, of course) into the shop. In two hours, we usually do better sales than in the entire business day beforehand. The place is packed, and everyone is just so excited to be able to geek out without feeling excluded. It’s my favourite night of the year.

Again, this is only my perspective, but I just don’t understand why it feels like such a struggle when the answer is so obvious. We’re working our way into the treehouse. We’re climbing the ladder. We’re sneaking in the windows. Just take down the sign, and let us in.