io9 
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San Francisco, 8:44 PM
Thu Dec 17
28 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/16/09
12/16/09
She's, like, Buffy of the Marval world.
(and, in some ways, Dan Slotts She Hulk run was more like Buffy in tone then Buffys season8 comic).
12/15/09
12/15/09
12/16/09
Yes, a man wrote Strangers in Paradise. Which was an independent comic. Not mainstream. It really does matter what Marvel or DC do when it comes to this.
12/15/09
I mean, have you seen a James Cameron plot recently?
On the other hand, Joss Whedon hasn't got any vagina and still succeeded in giving us one of the most feminist works of television.
12/15/09
Seriously, take another look at that creator list. It's incredibly diverse, with some people who are relatively new, others who have been at it for decades and helped shape what modern comics are.
Don't do a disservice to the creative teams involved because of the title or assumptions about what stories they're going to tell. That's as helpful as assuming women aren't already interested in comics.
12/16/09
I need to re-read Skydoll. Again.
12/16/09
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12/15/09
Or maybe I'm being too unfair. I'm always in two minds about things like this, because I hate irrational sexism of any kind, but the comics industry is also pretty bereft of women, and could probably do with additional supporters in today's economic downturn.
Who knows, maybe it will bring new fans and people will start to change their ideas, but to be honest, I'm female and I love Marvel Zombies, The Boys, Preacher and Dark Tower among others. Only one of those is written by a woman, and even then as an adaptation of a book by Steven King, and I don't feel the need to change my reading material. I enjoy it for the worlds and characters, male and female, that the creators put before me.
Creating well-formed characters shouldn't be so heavily focused towards specific genders of people, it's about an emotion or personality that can be (or not) empathised with regardless of the character's gender. A good comic's good regardless, and bringing an exclusive group into the spotlight may only serve to highlight some people's opinion that women need this kind of special treatment to succeed in the comics industry. Which, of course, is wrong.
All that said, I hope it's successful and opens doors for comics!
12/15/09
For those who work in the industry, we know that's not the case. But it's really difficult to get that across to the mainstream audiences outside of our little medium. Something like this can show that it's not just a boys club, which is still what people assume, especially if superheroes are involved.
12/15/09
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12/15/09
It's not an entire wasteland.
12/15/09
Never should have let the women folk learn how to read.
12/15/09
12/15/09
The trouble in comics is that any move like this gets two extreme reactions. You either get accused of ghettoizing, or you just stick with the status quo. Neither is especially helpful.
I actually don't believe this is marginalizing. Especially if you look at the creators involved. There are Eisner award winners, people who've in the industry for years and helped shaped it...and what's more, they're all working for either DC or Marvel already (or other publishers, though they get forgotten a lot). It's more of a showcase than a ghetto. Because, unfortunately, the industry still isn't progressive enough to recognize that women work in all aspects of it every day.
The problem with suggesting that they just put them in the regular lineup is that A. they do, to a degree. And B. if that were enough, this wouldn't be necessary. Comics operates on a bunch of different levels, name recognition being one. The other is the perception, accurate or not, that superheroes are for "boys". It can be really difficult to convince anyone that women like them, let alone work on them.
I choose to view this is an opportunity to show people that women exist in this industry and you can't just ignore them because they work on the books you love. That's still a fight, though it shouldn't be.
And to be honest, for Marvel to do this, they're actually risking a lot with their fanbase. Who has shown many, many, many, times that they resent it when girls play in their sandbox. They're reaching out, and I'm glad they are.
12/15/09
12/15/09
This is actually as straight forward as it could be. It's not easy to do irony and get it right.
12/15/09
12/15/09
I think this is the bit that bothers me. I've never even really thought of this as an issue till now. Do they think people don't read certain comics because they are written or drawn by women?
The only time I was made truly aware of the significance of women in the comics and some of the issues with gender in said comics was with Gail Simone and her Women in Refrigerators article.
[www.unheardtaunts.com]
Through this I've come across some gender issues in comics that I was never aware of like Benes' technique of having three lady-ass shots per issue.
So while it may be an issue in comics, this may not be the best way to approach it.
12/15/09
I can only think you haven't noticed this before because it's so widespread. And fanservice in comics - I sure as hell notice it.
12/15/09
12/15/09
They're making a big deal about it because both inside and outside the industry women are still marginalized. Even though they contribute to it on every level every day. Wizard has had one female artist in it's top talent list ever.
I work in comics. I see it all the time. I get the concerns, but overall, this isn't actually negative.
12/16/09
This is so confusing on if it makes me sexist. I mean I really like Ms. Marvel, but maybe that makes me sexist cause her outfit is revealing? I'm really enjoying Batwoman for the art more than anything, but perhaps there's some deep rooted male part of my brain who likes it because she's gay? This is just really frustrating. I just want to read comics without having to worry about what that says about me.
As for fanservice in comics, I hadn't even noticed how common it was till someone said "Hey did you know there's lots of fanservice in this comic." Then I actually started to acknowledge it was there. Maybe I would have noticed it more if there were lots of closeups of Batman's junk.
12/16/09
Yeah, many things aren't obvious until someone points it out, that's why it's so insidious. I should note, I'm only really familiar with fanservice in manga, which is just over-the-top - yet many men still deny that it a) has any effect on them or the story, and/or b) is at all alienating to women readers. Thanks for mansplaining that to me, dudes!
Sorry, I'm not mad at you, just remembering past frustrations. Also, I should stop replying on this post, it is old now!
12/15/09
12/15/09
That's actually what one of my first thoughts was too. "I wish this idea was not so obviously a gimmick..."
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12/15/09
The intentions might have been good, but the execution is a massive marketing fail.
12/15/09
12/15/09