Via jelene @ Flickr
Any California-based nerds out there? Did you go to Comic-Con? How was it? How many Princess Leias-in-gold-bikinis did you see?
It’s one of those things that I might do someday, if I don’t have to travel for it, anyway, as I am a sort-of comic fan. I’m not so much for the super-hero stuff, but I read, enjoy, and have done academic work on graphic novels, and the Dude studies animation. We hang framed cels and original sketches in our apartment. Well done visual narrative (I admit I have a Western-style bias) is like portable theatre to me, and I see a lot of animated films, too. Last weekend, I went to see The Secret of Kells, an Irish/Belgian-produced feature that was beautifully done, but, like most animation (books, films, strips, shorts, etc.), didn’t pass the Bechdel Test. It can get pretty thin for girls and women out there in CartoonLand.
So when I ran across this nifty new-ish site, the awesomely named The Big Feminist But, I got all excited and have been schnarfing it up when I have a spare moment. If you’re into comics/animation, it’s totally worth the click-through to read interviews with explicitly feminist cartoonists, get references for artist/authors to check out, and to see a side of that world that isn’t a relentless 12-year-old-boys’ club.
Speaking of references…what’s your favorite feminist (-friendly) comic or graphic novel? (Or am I the only geek out here?)
Perhaps it’s a bit obvious but I am a huge fan of the Love and Rockets series; though I haven’t read them all my man bought me the huge Locas collection for Christmas and I just get lost in it.
I am super excited about this blog!! All my references and favorites are a bit old, cuz I havent read comics in a while–and also in the “alternative comix” vein, but my faves off the top of my head are:
Julie Doucet
Aline Kominsky-Crumb
Roberta Gregory–Bitchy Bitch!!
There are so many more. I love the Hernandez Brothers too, interesting women characters, altho viewed thru a macho lens…
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series for its diverse and strong female characters. I read it as a teenager and was really affected that there were men, the artists and the writer, who were depicting women who were complex, often wise, emotional in non-stereotypical ways, and strong. Definitely strong. I think Gaiman’s work really challenged perceptions of how women should be represented in comics. Sandman has so many characters who are not conventionally beautiful. Women are more than grossly distorted visual spectacle in his books. I also appreciated that the central male figure, Dream, is not masculine in a conventional way. His power is not muscles.
Ahhh Love and Rockets totally deserves a mention. The manga of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke (if we can include animation) are really great too.
Also, Alison Bechdel’s work!
Oh, and I went to Comic Con a few times while living in So Cal. It’s really fun, overwhelming, kind of dominated (back then) by the Superhero/mainstream comics, but I’m glad I went! And never was the “boy nerd-fest ” the media promotes. Now, it’s big bizness.
DIGGER!!! Ursula Vernon’s comic about a wombat and a dead god. The main character is Digger, and she kicks ass and takes names. Wombat society is also fabulously egalitarian and sensible. I seriously heart this comic. Also, Girl Genius! Yay Agatha Heterodyne!
I second Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind. I loooove Miyazaki and his strong young female characters. Nausicaa has the most beautifully drawn art I’ve ever seen, and that movie and Spirited Away will be mandatory viewing for my future offspring.
Also, I haven’t read any of Buffy Season 8, but if it’s anything like the TV show I’m sure it includes a lot of vampires and ass-kicking and other awesome things.
I enjoyed this one lately:
http://www.amazon.com/Persepolis-Story-Childhood-Marjane-Satrapi/dp/037571457X
It is plenty feminist, about a woman who was a child in Iran during the revolution.
Also in this vein I loved this one even more:
http://www.amazon.com/Pyongyang-Journey-North-Guy-Delisle/dp/1897299214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248722655&sr=8-1
but it’s not feminist, it’s about a Canadian who spent three months in Pyong Yang working.
I’ll second Alison Bechdel – she’s incredible, I love her stuff.
And also Love and Rockets and Persepholis.
An English one worth checking out is Bryan Talbot’s Alice In Sunderland which while not strictly feminist as such is an incredible look at the links between Sunderland in the North East of England and Alice in Wonderland. Yes really, but it’s also about history and character and where you really come from and it’s great.
I’m a huge fan of Artbabe. And anything else Jessica Abel does. SHE by Marisa Acocella. Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner is intense. I’m not sure if any of them identify as feminists, but they all have fully formed women characters.
Ack, how could I forget Kate Beaton and Cat and Girl?
@Cait: I’d suggest reading Whedon and Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men run. Cassaday does a great twist on the superhero physique, the basic body-types are still slightly unbelieveable, but their basic ‘flawless’ bodies are full of small realistic ‘imperfections.’ Also the two biggest characters throughout the series are Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde.
It’s not really ‘feminist’ in the way Whedon’s writing has turned out to be, but it is at least friendly.
I do love Andreyko’s Manhunter, though again, it’s written by someone who wants to be feminist, but still wants a fit superheroine.
I guess of all the balls and brass comics I read, the most feminist are Alan Moore’s Promethea and Brian K Vaughn’s Runaways.
I second all the Gaiman and Persepolis. Has anyone read all of Y: The Last Man? I’ve only gotten my hands on the first few issues, so my opinion of it isn’t fully formed, but it is a very interesting premise.
It’s pretty cheesy but I still enjoy Alan Moore’s Promethea.
Strangers in Paradise an amazing set of comics that ran for something like 12 years. Terry Moore draws the most realistic women I’ve ever seen in comics. His new series Echo is good too (it’s been a little slow to really grab me but has lots of potential).
I’ve read or heard of most of these, and published on one of them, but there are a few new ones–Phoebe Gloeckner and Ursula Vernon–which are now going on my list. Keep ‘em comin’.
Seconded (thirded?) on Sandman and on Persepolis. “Y The Last Man” is problematic because I’m not sure it ever really gets out of being, you know, all about men, whether the absent ones or the surviving ones.
My recommendation: Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio. It’s kind of silly, but a lot of fun. Agatha, the main character, is a powerful kind-of-crazy inventor. There are plenty of other interesting female characters. Only caveat: the drawing style consistently depicts women as being voluptuous. It’s unusual, by comic universe standards, but still kind of reduces women to a single body type.
Y the Last Man is a pretty feminist comic, and passes the Bechdel test many times over.
Voicing more support for Sandman too.
I’ve always liked Grant Morrison’s stuff – Crazy Jane is one of my favorite characters in a comic (Doom Patrol being the only superhero comic I like).
Count another vote for Girl Genius! (www.girlgeniusonline.com) Agatha Heterodyne is, well, a genius, and powerful/strong/capable, while being believably flawed and, most of all *funny*, something female characters rarely get to be! And her relationship with her would-be hero, Gil, is wonderful. Read it, read it.
Also, massive props to Dicebox by Jenn Manley-Lee (www.dicebox.net) and Templar Arizona by Spike (www.templaraz.com). All free to read online.
Strangers In Paradise is absolutely astounding as far as female characters, and feminist fare. Even at the story line’s craziest points, you feel like you are dealing with very real people.
Sandman gets another hand up here.
I also had a great deal of fun with Diane DiMassa, especially “Hothead Paisan: Homocidal Lesbian Terrorist”
I named my cat Chicken because of that comic. I started actually calling myself a feminist because of that comic. My only warning, it is graphic in a toony way and very over the top at first, like its clear that Diane DiMassa was using it as a rage outlet to begin with, but she really starts to examine things about half-way through.
I agree with many of the above suggestions. A few others (most are not explicitly feminist):
Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting. A young woman flees an abusive relationship (in a medieval/fairy tale type of land) and goes to the castle, where the inhabitants exchange stories.
Linda Barry. Some of her work can be very dark, but she writes children really well and she is hilarious.
Jim Mahfood’s Grrl Scouts. Only have read volume two, but it’s about three women (one of whom is not white, OMG) living in a city as artists, taggers, DJs, etc.
I personally am not a big fan of Ariel Schrag (it’s the artwork), but I know a lot of people like her series about being a lesbian and going through high school.
Dame Darcy’s Meatcake is a Victorian gothic masterpiece. Some stand alone stories, others follow Richard Dirt and her friends — witches, mermaids, etc.
Batgirl: Year One is surprisingly feminist — Barbara expresses her frustration at being looked at as a little girl and having to fight the boys’ club. She seeks out other female heroes for mentoring.
Catwoman can be dreadful in some hands, but the series starting with Selina’s Big Score is gorgeous and fun. She’s a clever thief in these stories.
I haven’t read any Gail Simone, but I know she is a feminist. She’s worked on Birds of Prey and lots of other stuff.
The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks is a cute and fun graphic novel about ‘the scholarship kid’ at a private school who gets roomed with an outcast, and the schemes of the popular girls against them. There’s magic too. (The Queen Bee’s character actually gets more developed at the end — she’s not just a generic baddie.)
Buffy Season Eight has started to get really good. At first it seemed disjointed, and unclear if it was sloppy writing or if they were just overlooking big issues in the story/characters, but it’s started to fall into place. Just be patient.
Even if you don’t know much about Buffy, you can enjoy Joss Whedon’s Fray miniseries, about a slayer in the 24th century.
There’s a new webcomic about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage that looks promising. http://sydneypadua.com/2dgoggles/lovelace-the-origin-2/
Trina Robbins is an artist and a comic historian. I actually haven’t read any of her comic writing, but her books on women in comics are fascinating and a good place to find more things to read.
Other good websites:
http://comicsworthreading.com/comics-by-women/
http://friendsoflulu.wordpress.com/