Comicsgirl

Yes, this month we get two books. I always find February to be a terrible month so I think having two books is a way to counteract that.

And I wanted to do a superhero title. I wanted to do a superhero title that had an all-female creative team. I tried to find something that had either one woman doing both the writing and the art or two different women taking the main roles.

X-men: Firestar Buy at Amazon.com

I’m sure this exists but I just couldn’t find it (if you know of any, please tell me). Writers were easy, but finding artists were harder — I know they’re out there. For instance, I really wanted to include something by Marie Severin, but collections that are just of her pencils seem to mostly not exist (part of my goal here is to point people to things they can buy easily. I don’t want to send people after individual issues).

So yes, Firestar and Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds.

The collection of the Firestar limited series from the ’80s, revealing the character’s origin story. It’s a slight book, sure, but it’s a lot of fun. Mary Wilshire’s art is honest and appealing — it’s maybe a little dated, but in a charming way. Angelica Jones is all flowing hair and teenage emotions, and Emma Frost is awesomely icy here. And you can always laugh at the fashions (I loved Angelica’s “formal” dress. But surprisingly — or not — Emma’s outfits haven’t changed much over the years).

Tom DeFalco’s story is simple and melodramatic, but highly entertaining. I get the feeling this is probably going out of print, but it’s cheap enough that it’s worth seeking out (and the original issues don’t seem like they’re that much more expensive).

Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds Buy at Amazon.com

Everyone, of course, loves Gail Simone (the whole #gailhateswomen thing notwithstanding). Those of you who weren’t around in those days don’t know how cool it was when people figured out the Gail who wrote “You’ll All Be Sorry” at Comic Book Resources was the same Gail behind Women in Refrigerators. We’re lucky to have women like her in comics.

Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds isn’t the very first story of Birds of Prey but it is Simone’s first, and provides a good entry point into the title.

I love Simone’s deft handling of the characters here. Her women are well-rounded — intelligent, thoughtful, funny, but also prone to making mistakes. She has a wonderful talent for letting women be in peril without making them victims. I love this and need to read more of Simone’s work. Ed Benes’ pencils are strong and clean. This is just appealing all around and I’m going to be buying more soon.

So that’s this month’s books. I promise I’ll go back to one for March.

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And just to piggyback on this post, I am associate editor of Geek Girl on the Street (in case you haven’t noticed from Twitter). There will be some comic stuff there (like my preview of Crogan’s March) but there will also be plenty of other geekiness that won’t necessarily fit here.

It’s a new but growing site and I think we’re doing a lot of fun things. Follow us on Twitter and add us on Facebook.

Magic Trixie #1 Buy at Amazon.com

Jill Thompson can do no wrong.

I mean, really, are you going to argue with that statement? To me, anyone who has a bad word to say about Thompson isn’t someone I want to associate with.

Which is to say Magic Trixie #1 (Harper Collins, 2008) is absolutely delightful.

As a sort of Scary Godmother Jr., Trixie is an adorable pink-haired moppet, a kindergarten-aged witch in training, dealing with her family’s tendency to pay more more to her baby sister than her. Her classmates and friends are vampires and zombies and a stuck-up werewolf serves as her rival. Her teacher is a ghost. Thompson’s ability to make all of this innocent and delightful is to her credit — there is absolutely nothing menacing about any of these characters.

Trixie’s a bit of a brat as she tries to get attention, but she’s easy to relate to, even for me (which may say more about my ability to empathize with 6-year-olds than anything else, of course). I love her attempts to try to outdo her baby sister and prove what a big girl she is. While her eventual understanding (and love) when it comes to her sister is obvious, it’s still a worthy and lovely lesson.

Thompson’s watercolors are bright and fluid. She has an eye that’s all her own — it’s animated and dynamic and always fun to follow. It’s cute and cartoony, sure, but it is always gorgeously rendered and I love studying the details.

I love Thompson’s unique touches — Trixie’s grandmother, who insists on being called Mimi (it’s explained a “Mimi” is “a Gramma that thinks if she’s never called the G-word, no one will know she’s a Gramma.”) and Trixie’s harried but loving family, which includes a purple-haired big sister and sweetly hip parents. Underneath the supernatural trappings, Trixie’s family is wonderfully recognizable.

(The back of the book says this is for ages 8-11, but that seems a little old to me. I’d gladly give this to my boyfriend’s 6-year-old niece.)

So yes, I love this, but that was basically a given. I’m happy we have Jill Thompson, no matter what she’s doing.

With all the talk of women in comics and comics for women that has gone on over the past few years, I’m always surprised that very few people brings up BoHoS. Unlike most comics aimed at teenage girls, this was actually written by one.

Published in 1998 by Flypaper Press/Image, writer Maggie Whorf tells the story of four friends — the contemplative Catherine, the sarcastic Amy, hippie Vicki and rock-star wannabe Stew — as they navigate late ’90s pop culture. References to Hanson, Kevin Smith movies and Dawson’s Creek do feel a little dated now, but the emotions and interactions between these friends still remains genuine. Byron Penaranda’s quirky angular style and the candy colors give the comic a bright and distinctive look. The issues also featured essays and commentaries by teenagers and women about topics ranging from dating to pop culture.

Inspired by the latest round of “women making comics for women,” I decided to track down Maggie Whorf to get her thoughts on her experiences with BoHoS via e-mail.

The comic had its origins after Whorf and two friends created a zine called “Whore-Hey,” which was “filled with the teen angst of three over-taught and highly privileged private school girls,” Whorf wrote, adding “We also said fuck. A lot.”

This, along with the fact that they were selling their zine on school grounds, led to some trouble for the three — they were suspended for three days. (The punishment “wasn’t very effective,” Whorf wrote and that the girls’ parents were proud.)

After attracting some media attention, Flypaper Press came calling and Whorf was the one to respond.

Whorf says she had creative control over the comic: “There was an amazing sense of freedom and my opinions were always respected. I was set up with a great editor and she taught me how to break down a scene and write with the panel in mind.” and that she “created the characters, the storylines and supervised the design.” She does admit “There were times I was treated like a commodity” but also understood “The story of a 16-year-old girl writing a comic book was the thing they could sell.” She wrote that she “loved it” and “felt very grown up” during the whole process.

After some movement on pitching it to production companies, Whorf headed off to college, thus ending her comic book career (for now, anyway).

I asked Whorf if she had been comic book fan previous to BoHoS and she wrote that she used to draw pictures of X-Men to sell to friends in elementary school and came back to comics through Tank Girl. She wrote that she’ll “always love Batman” and loved the Civil War run. Other than that, she hasn’t kept up with any of the other attempts to entice teenage girls to read comics, like DC’s Minx line. “That’s kind of shameful, isn’t it?” she wrote.

Whorf is currently working for “a large internet company” and writes a fashion blog call The Pudge.

I was delighted to be in touch with her and even more delighted to hear her experiences with BoHoS were good ones. As for the comic itself, it’s never been collected, but issues are pretty easy (and cheap!) to come by on eBay.

There have been lists of entry points and/or the best comics that did no feature a single female creator. And sure, men create plenty of amazing comics that are worth reading. But so do women.

Marvel is beginning a year-long initiative in 2010 about comics for and created by women. Even before I read about this, I had some thought in this direction: Great comics by women, worthy of being read by any comics fan, new or old.

On the first Wednesday of each month for the rest of 2010, I will profile a title that had a strong contribution by a woman, whether she was artist, writer or both. These won’t be reviews as much as it is a call to pick up these books and read them. If they’re on the list, I like them and I think they’re good. And I think you’ll like them too.

La Perdida Buy at Amazon.com

For January, I am starting with Jessica Abel’s La Perdida (Pantheon Books, 2006).

I’d really like to say I picked this book for some specific reason — like it relates to the New Year because it deals with trying to start over, trying to find one’s self, or even because it’s really cold here right now so being in Mexico seems like a nice thought — but I didn’t. I really just picked it at random. But those reasons do work pretty well.

Carla travels to Mexico to try to reconnect with her father but mostly she’s there to try to find herself. She ditches her community of expatriate friends to ingratiate herself in Mexican culture. While she’s busy more-or-less playing tourist, real life intervenes. Carla isn’t always likable and she often gets in her own way with her naivete. She’s fun to watch, though.

Abel’s art reminds me, appropriately, of a travel sketch journal — her drawings are done in thick pen and ink and have a hurried feel, as if she needed to record events before they slipped away. There’s a beautiful immediacy to this book that’s incredibly satisfying and poignant.

Yes, this is maybe more a book you give your socially-conscious friends rather than your X-Men-reading friends, but I see nothing wrong with offering it to both. It’s imperfect, sure — some plot points felt a little rushed to me — but like all great literature, it’s thought-provoking. I’m actually going to hand my copy off to a friend to see what he thinks of it.

Over Christmas, I went to visit my brother in Michigan, so we of course stopped in at Vault of Midnight in Ann Arbor. (The store’s Facebook page is more up-to-date than the site.) I’ve mentioned Vault of Midnight previously here, but it’s worth its own post.

It reminds me a lot of a toy store with its bright interior and colorful art. Yes, they do sell quite a number of toys (usually of the vinyl/collector type, but they do have Uglydolls and such) and games (role and board), but comics are the star here.

I’d say that Vault of Midnight runs more mainstream than a lot of other comic book stores I frequent — most of the indie stuff occupies two small shelves downstairs — but they do have an impressive selection of comics and art books. The open and airy layout leads to a comfortable environment for browsing. I saw a few things I didn’t see elsewhere.

While we were there, I’d say that there were more women/girls than men/boys in the store for a bit (the store’s proximity to University of Michigan probably helps on that account) and I thought that was pretty great. The staff was friendly and attentive.

Ann Arbor may not be on your list of places to go, but if you’re nearby, check out Vault of Midnight. It’s a store I’d like to have closer.

The Internet was all a-buzz about it yesterday. Well, the comic book/”genre” blogs were, anyway. I read the post about it at The Beat and read a few more pieces about it, promptly got fed up and then watched another episode of Lost (granted, yes, I probably would’ve watched another episode of Lost anyway).

I am pretty pro-Girl Comics, at least at this point. The concept sounds wonderful on paper (er, screen, but you know what I mean) — there’s a great line-up of talent that covers quite a broad range, and I like the idea of having women do everything from the art to writing to lettering and more. I think that’s really cool.

But considering Marvel’s problematic attempts to appeal to women recently (the entire Marvel Divas debacle, the bad inside art of Pride & Prejudice, the whole lip gloss thing), I’m guessing this will probably be similar. Yes, giving Heidi MacDonald an exclusive interview with the editor is a good first step, but I don’t think this is going to get women who aren’t already reading comics to do so.

At the most, I think it’s just going to get indie readers to pick up this Marvel title. And I’m OK with that. I like superhero comics. In theory. I’m not speaking for all women here, but personally, the art of a lot of superhero comics turns me off. I just don’t connect with it. (I had a dream the other night that Colleen Coover was drawing Blackest Night for DC and when I woke up, I thought how awesome that would be. That would probably get me to read the book.) So I like when indie creators do superheroes. It’s fun. So I’m looking forward to that on this level.

I read a lot of disappointing-but-expected objections to this, like “why can’t we just tell stories for people” which usually means “I don’t really want to read books by women.” Because I mean, I like stories for people, regardless of who writes/draws them, and men absolutely can tell wonderful stories about women (I loved loved loved Dong Hwa Kim’s Color trilogy, which I will review eventually). But when there are pretty good lists of “entry” comics that don’t have one title by a female creator, I think there’s a problem. It’s not that women aren’t making comics — they are, and they are making good ones — I think they’re often ignored.

So I think Girl Comics is at least pointing out that hey, women are making comics.

I don’t know if there’s really an answer to “how to get women to read more comics.” I don’t know if there needs to be, personally. I think women are already reading comics, just not what Marvel and DC typically consider to be comics. But maybe this is a step in the right direction. Or a step toward something. I guess we’ll see how successful it is.

Two years ago, I decided to stop buying presents for people (kids were still an exception). Supplies to make things, sure, or containers to put things into, yes, but I didn’t want to do the whole “obsess over what to buy people” thing anymore. I didn’t want to fight crowds in parking lots or even spend hours searching for the perfect thing online.

It’s not that this is a completely stress-free thing to do — there is still difficulty in coming up with new ideas or even implementing those ideas. But I do like it better. It’s more satisfying and more fun.

I realize it’s not for everyone, though. And I’m fine with that. I think there’s something genuinely beautiful with picking out something cool for someone you care about, too.

But I also know that coming up with ideas is sometimes a challenge. Consider this list a starting point. Also consider it as me saying “This is stuff I like.” Or quite often, “This is stuff I want.” It’s vaguely categorized and affiliate links are used where appropriate (because, quite honestly, part of the reason I turned to making gifts was because I’m broke).

Media

• Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess
  This book is very much overdue and I can’t wait for it. Yes, you can look at the whole thing online, but that’s just silly. Vess’ art deserves more than a computer screen. And he deserves your money.
• Little Otsu Book Lover’s Bundle
  You get a bunch of great stuff (books by Jo Derry, Lilli Carre and John Porcellino as well as some other odds and ends) and you get to support one of San Francisco’s coolest publishers and stores. This package is a steal.
• Gruff Rhys – Candylion
  If you know me in real life, you know how much I love the Super Furry Animals. So why one of lead singer Gruff Rhys’ solo albums rather than an SFA album? I think this is more approachable in a lot of ways — it’s mostly acoustic guitar and a little bit more romantic — while not abandoning his trademark quirks. You can also head over to the Candylion website and print out your own Candylion to make as well as watch an entirely too-cute video of Rhys and singer Lisa Jen. (And if you don’t buy CDs anymore, this is available to download, too.)
• The Taste of Tea (Limited Edition)
  I love this movie. Some friends who have tried to watch it have claimed it is “slow” and subsequently gave up on it. But these friends are very wrong. This movie has so many wonderful things — yes, it’s surreal and silly in places, but it’s also a heartfelt exploration of family. It also has one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen on film (I would start crying months later just thinking about it). I know Katsuhito Ishii is mostly know for weird, trippy movies and stoner comedy, but this is something else entirely.

  (I’ve linked to the special edition because it has a wonderful making-of documentary. But yes, it is pricier than the regular edition.)

Creative

• Golden Half camera
  This is a fun little film camera — it’s basically a toy. It shoots two images per frame of a roll of 35mm film, so you get twice as many photos. I like the shots that I’ve seen coming from it and I do think we’re at the point where we’re absolutely romanticizing shooting on film (and perhaps, rightfully so). I also figure if it’s cool enough for Ayako Fujitani, it’s cool enough for me.
• Mr. Bunny Moods rubber stamp set
  Everyone loves Sewing Stars, or at least, everyone should. Teresa is a grad of Rhode Island School of Design, which is not surprising at all, and definitely has a wonderful sense of design and cuteness. I carried a pouch with Mr. Bunny on it as wallet until it basically fell apart. All of these stamps are wonderful, but mostly, I like Mr. Bunny with his cup of coffee, because that’s me in the morning.
• Koi Watercolor Pocket Field Sketch Box
  I have one of these and I’ve tried to use it on many occasions. The “try” part is not at all the kit’s problem — it’s a lovely little thing and I absolutely adore the portability of it — I am just not as good of a painter as I think I should be. I keep trying, though.

Fun

• Gelaskins ‘Bunny Blossom’ by Kozyndan for your iPod/etc.
  I think Gelaskins are great. I immediately bought this for my netbook as soon as it was available. But I also love Kozyndan and that specific image (I have a print of it hanging on my wall). Sadly, I have no devices that it would fit on, but I’m sure you do. (Gelaskins also has a lot of other really cool artists and skins for a lot of devices — I just figured I should pick one thing.)
• 2-foot Ice Bat
  Ice Bat is my favorite of the Uglydolls. I didn’t even intend to have a favorite Uglydoll. You probably don’t intend to, either, and think “Oh, I’ll just buy this one.” And then, suddenly, you have a collection.

  I think Uglydolls are a wonderful thing — David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim have remained independent in the face of success, and I think that’s amazing. And the story is that Kim sewed one thousand Uglydolls herself before either of them thought, hey, maybe we should get someone else to do this.

  I think everyone needs an Uglydoll, personally, even if they don’t need a two-foot tall Ice Bat.

• Gama-Go Bling Buffet Go-Right bag
  I suppose, kind of like Uglydolls, I never meant to have a collection of Gama-Go T-shirts. I bought one and the next thing I knew, I had three. I don’t particularly have $88 lying around, especially to spend on someone else, but you might, and this bag is quite cool.

  If it’s a little out of your price range for a gift (or for yourself!), I also like the Sleeping Giant Coin Purse. And the T-shirts are always good.

• Poketo “mood” bottle opener
  If you also know me in real life, along with my love for SFA, you are likely to know that I love beer (sadly, beer is hard to ship, which is why I didn’t include any on this list). And beer requires a bottle opener. Now, yes, any bottle opener will do, but wouldn’t you like something fun? I think these are wonderful — sadly, Shocked seems to be sold out, but you can still get Crazy or Happy (I’d go with Happy).
• Peggle Dual Shot for the Nintendo DS
  Peggle is one of the few computer games I’ve actually purchased. I decided that it was worth it to me to own it outright. It’s a delightful time-suck and I finally had to step away from it. I keep telling myself I’ll buy this version for the DS but I’ve hesitated because I know I will get nothing else done. Maybe one day.

Indulgences

• Biggs & Featherbelle soaps
  All of the Biggs & Featherbelle soaps I’ve used are wonderful — good blend of scents and very luscious and creamy. I do recommend Barlesque and Polar Bar, though. I am excited to try some of their newer soaps, too, though. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.
• Crazy Rumors Spice lip balm collection
  It occurred to me that Crazy Rumors’ lip balms are pretty much Lip Smackers for grown-ups. I linked to the Spice collection (which is their tea-inspired line) because I think all three of those flavors are wonderful (the Chai one is absolutely amazing!), but there are also some good coffee ones and I’m overly excited about their Candy Cane-inspired flavors. I have at least two tubes of Crazy Rumors lip balms near me at almost all times.
• Christmas Party Lush Gift Set
  Oh, Lush. I am currently without a bathtub so I don’t get to indulge in Lush products as often as I like (yes, they make some wonderful things for the shower, but it’s not the same) so I like that this set is soap and shower gel — it can be used by anyone — and isn’t particularly masculine or feminine. .
• Endangered Species Chocolate Vegan Collection
  Mmmm. Chocolate. And you get to help cute animals at the same time. You really can’t lose with this one. Endangered Species is everything I want from a company — one that makes a great product while still having a conscience.

  You don’t have to get the vegan pack, although I think it’s an amazing assortment and I love that they put it together. They also have an amazing-sounding dark chocolate collection and a milk chocolate one for those who are a little less adventurous.

That’s it. I actually think that’s plenty. I hope you’ve found something for someone, even if that someone is yourself. Or at the very least, have found some inspiration that has pointed you to the perfect gift.

I still have a season of Lost to watch, but I’ll probably be back before the holidays pick up entirely. If not, though, I hope they are good ones for you, whatever you celebrate.

DC Comics assistant editor Janelle Siegel has already made quite a name for herself in her career so far and she’s definitely an up-and-coming star in the comic book industry.

Siegel grew up around Omaha, Neb., graduated from high school in Malvern, Iowa, and attended Southern New Hampshire University. She’s about to start on her Master’s of Science in Publishing at Pace University. She lives in New York.

Siegel gives some great answers via email about she got started in comics and what her job entails.

(Full disclosure: I know Siegel online, but I was delighted to have her answers my questions.)

Comicsgirl: When did you first start reading comics?

Janelle Siegel: I first bought a comic when I was 10, and it was Spider-Man Annual #9, featuring the Cadre! I don’t know why I chose that one, but it was on a rack in a gas station while my family and I were on our way to the Black Hills in South Dakota. I had watched the Spider-Man and X-Men cartoons and really enjoyed both and my older brother had a few comics here and there that I had picked up, but comics were just not something that were easily obtained for a 10 year old kid in a town with no comic shop.

On that very vacation, I ended up buying a whole bunch of comics including some other Spidey books, some X-Men stuff, and the Rogue mini-series, because I have always loved Rogue.

So I read for about a year, but the fact was that I had a hard time really figuring out comics. No one in the shops would talk to me, because I was a 10-year-old girl and I didn’t really get how the numbering and stories went. I stopped reading for a long time, until I was about 19 and I started dating someone who was nerdy like me. One day I mentioned that comics weren’t abhorrent to me, and next thing I knew, we were sharing a $200 a month comic book habit. That was really when I got fully into the world of comic books. I started with the X-Men books I had already been interested in, and then moved through pretty much every Marvel series at the time. Eventually I made the jump to reading DC stuff, starting with Birds of Prey by Gail Simone and then stuff like Green Arrow and Young Justice. And even later I started trying out indie stuff and branching beyond superhero books. But superheroes are always going to be my main comic book love.

CG: How did you end up working for DC Comics?

JS: Well, about 5 years ago I realized that editing was what I wanted to do and that perhaps I could combine that desire and my love of comics and be a comic book editor! I started going to conventions and really immersing myself in the comic book world. I basically just talked to as many people in the industry as I could. I have a rather ridiculous collection of friends from all walks of life who all share one thing, a love of and desire to create comics. Through this collection of friends I met people like Troy Brownfield, who asked me to join the Best Shots @ Newsarama team and later the Fangoria Comics editorial staff as a part time assistant editor. However, after endlessly sending out my resume and trying to get my foot more firmly in the door, I realized that unless I lived in the same city as a comic book company, it was going to be really hard to get a job. So I decided to move to New York! Once the plans were in place, I started really working to find out what job openings there were at the big two. There were some openings at DC, so I submitted my resume, and now here I am! It’s all made even better by the fact that the group editor I now assist, Mike Marts, was the first editor I met, years ago at a convention, and who gave me advice about being an editor!

CG: I’ve always been curious about what editors (and assistant editors) for comic books do. What’s your typical work day like? (If you have a typical work day.)

JS: Oy, a typical work day, huh? Well, not much of it is typical, but let’s see. First, I grab a Diet Coke and chug half of it as fast as possible to wake up. :) There are really only two things that happen on a mostly regular schedule every day – one is that I meet with Mike around 10:30 and the other is that I eat lunch around 1. Everything else is really based on urgency. For instance, in the morning I might get in and see an email that some inked pages are in that desperately need to get to the colorist. The first thing I’ll do is ask our production department for printouts of them so I can turn them in. Once they get turned in they eventually make their way back down to production, who sees them as “approved” and sends them to the colorist. Other mornings, I read a script that I never find time to read in the afternoon and get my notes together. Or I proofread lettering on a book and mark up my copy to add to the other copies floating about our office. Or I get together vouchers for an artist or writer that just started working with us. But honestly, a lot of my day revolves around my email. What comes in there can completely change what I’m working on from moment to moment.

Some other stuff that editors (or at least this assistant editor at DC!) deal with are getting artists and writers paid, putting together paperwork to get a new series approved or get a new artist or writer set up with a rate, talking to writers or artists on the phone about what they’re up to or what they might need, signing off on the different steps of the publishing process from lettering to the final version that goes to the printer, and ummm … even more paperwork for routing lettering, artwork, etc. And of course then there are meetings to talk about the future of our group of books or the entire DCU, which involve either just the Bat-group or, of course, all of DCU editorial. I feel like I’m not making it sound very exciting, but I have to say, it’s very fast paced and I find it endlessly thrilling. I am a geek, after all. We have weekly deadlines but beyond getting those books out the door, we’re also planning far into the future. It’s a lot of juggling, but ultimately it’s worth it to not only be working to put the best books out in the now but also planning for the best books in the future.

CG: What DC Comics titles are your favorites right now?

JS: Here’s a guilty admission – the one book that I have to read as soon as it comes in my stack every month is Tiny Titans. MAN that book is good. :) And of course, honestly, I really do love all of the books I work on. For the curious, the monthlies I work on would be: Batman and Robin, Batman, Red Robin, Batman: Streets of Gotham (featuring the Manhunter co-feature edited by yours truly!), Gotham City Sirens, Azrael, Batman: The Widening Gyre, and Batman Confidential. I’m also currently working on the Arkham Reborn mini and have a couple of upcoming projects that I can admit are my favorites when I can talk about them. :) Outside of the Bat-group, like everyone else, I’m enjoying the Blackest Night stuff, although it is giving me nightmares a little bit. JSA vs. Kobra and Secret Six are other books I really enjoy.

CG: Any advice for young women who’d like to work in the comics industry?

JS: Learn your craft and the industry and find your place, but most importantly, don’t give up and don’t believe the naysayers! This industry may be “male dominated” but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way, and in order for it to not stay that way, women have to be willing to take a chance to work in comics. Even since I first read comics, things have changed and changed for the better. I have had an amazing experience working in comics and I have never been made to feel weird because I’m a woman. I know not everyone has that experience, but that has been my experience, and I don’t see any reason why it can’t be repeated for others.

I think if you are a woman and you’re trying to break into comics, focus on the work you want to do and the industry, not your gender. If you’re an artist, become the best damn artist you can be; ditto if you’re a writer or an editor. Learn your craft and also learn the industry. It’s important to find your place, because not everyone is suited to doing the same thing. Certain art styles work better at different publishers and certain people are less comfortable in big corporations. That’s true in whatever industry you work in. But ultimately, the important thing is to not be distracted by the gender of the people in the industry but instead focus on the work.

Instead of linking to a Web site, I’m just going to recommend you pick up any (or all!) or the books Siegel works on.

I’m in State College, Pa., for a few days because I had some time off, it was within driving distance and I had a free place to stay. Before my grad student friend left me to go teach his class, he said “The comic book store is that way.”

As much as I love the stylishness of stores like San Francisco’s Isotope and Brooklyn’s Bergen Street Comics, I love when a classic comic book store is done right. Comic Swap is just that.

While it’s in a basement, the store bright, clean and well-organized. The graphic novel shelves are the first thing you see, and they’re arranged by category and then alphabetical by title (a set-up I prefer, because I’m often more likely to remember a title than the creator). To the right is the floppies, interspersed with minicomics (some by local creators) and to the left is manga, back issues and other comic-related peripheries (role-playing games, etc.).

The store is fairly small and even though it’s not overly packed with goods, it’s obvious whoever runs this store has put a lot of thought into it. The graphic novel selection had a lot of great titles, ranging from the classics to the smaller gems. I also loved the extensive children’s section (I think every comic store needs one). I think it’s great they sell minicomics alongside the big titles from D.C. and Marvel.

The staff was friendly and my brief chat with them was great. They seem like they’re having fun.

I encouraged my friend to go there — he’s a sometimes comics reader but felt a little intimidated by the Batman and Spider-Man signs in the window. I told him he has nothing to worry about. It’s a lovely, comfortable store. I know State College is a college town, but any city would be lucky to have a place like Comic Swap.

Do you realize how crazy the short title sequence makes you when you see it a bunch of times in a row? If an orchestra tuning up — which is basically what the “theme” sounds like — can get stuck in your head, then this has.

(I’ve never really watched Lost before, which is because I have an awesome tendency to start watching shows right before they end. I blame Netflix’s “watch now” feature for this. I will likely be caught up for the new season, if I can manage to see all of Season 5 before then.)

I am delighted to see all sorts of comic book people in the credits, beyond J.J. Abrams (who is more just a fan/sympathizer at this point). Maybe that’s a post for another time, though. Something about how TV and comics are very much related, at least more so than movies (I think comic books and theater are more related, but well, that’s completely a post for another time).

Basically, this is saying if you don’t hear from me for a while, you know what I’m doing. I’m keeping a Lost diary at my LiveJournal, if you’re interested.