Comicsgirl

Archive for June, 2006

It is one of my big regrets that I never read Megan Kelso’s Girlhero, which I first read about in a Sassy magazine article in 1994 (I hosted a copy of the article in the earlier incarnation of Comicsgirl. I think it was one of the very first “there are women who do comics” articles). I know that Kelso still sells issues 4-6 of Girlhero, but it wouldn’t be the same without the other three issues.

But The Squirrel Mother by Fantagraphics provide some solace. Whereas her previous collection, Queen of the Black Black dealt with the often messiness of sexuality and adulthood, The Squirrel Mother is a little quieter, tending to capture the often uncomfortable, intensely personal moments of adolescence (plus a great story about Alexander Hamiliton). Kelso’s simple lines are open and affectionate, with a cartoonish expressiveness that makes this stories poignant.

It’s a truly lovely collection of stories. It makes me look forward to next year’s Artichoke Tales. It can’t replace having read Girlhero, but I’ll take what I can get.

(I’m avoiding talking about Superman. I haven’t seen the movie and it’s not that I don’t want to, I’m just tired of all the analyzing and philosophizing about the character. It’s not just about Superman, but I think when I read this yesterday, I was just fed up. Wait, you mean comics — even superhero comics — deal with serious subjects??? No, really, are you sure about that?? I’m just a little bored by this sort of thing.)

I’ve always found Women in Refrigerators to be an important site (new host — I’ve updated the links page on the site to it). The list may be out of date, but it’s still significant and heartbreaking. People always want to say “well, male comic book characters don’t fare that well either” but the sorts of things that happen to female comic book characters is always a little bit different.

Ragnell, one of the bloggers behind When Fangirls Attack, is compiling a list of sexual assaults against comic book characters. She’s handling the females characters and the other half of When Fangirls Attack, Kalinara, is handling the male characters.

These are the results so far:

I applaud this project and I think it will wake up some comic book fans (and maybe some creators).

I love that these two women are discussing superhero comics sensibly and intelligently (moreso than I ever could).

I’m just going to go with the CBS News link to the Associated Press story. Here’s some images.

Gay characters aren’t really new, even in superhero comic books (I never read Alpha Flight, but I remember thinking at the time when Northstar was coming out of the closet that it didn’t seem like much of a big deal. But that’s just me). I’m fine with a lesbian superheroine — I mean, I don’t care one way or another. I’ve just known several lesbians, and while they’ve all been beautiful women, none of them have looked like that.

I’m not saying lesbians can’t look like that because I know some do and while I realize that most superhero characters are presented in this idealized form, I can’t help think that the whole fanboy mindset has come into play here. I suppose DC going for “diversity” is not the same as DC going to “realism” but I think it would’ve been more inspiring to see a lesbian superheroine who wasn’t such a pander to the typical comic book demographic

I know the female comic book fan is in a much better place than she used to be 10 years ago (even five years ago), but it’s things like this that do remind me that, yes, this whole thing is still very much a boy’s club.