Occasional Superheroine

"There Is Another Hellmouth in Cleveland"

I think my final word on the topic "women in comics" couldn't be better than this:

Sometimes I get so worked up over the topic that the stress it gives me makes me fear I'm going to get a stroke.

I'm not kidding, True Believer!

I am so colossally mad at the situation of women both behind-the-scenes and on the pages of mainstream comic books.

It is so colossally f**ked-up.

It is colossally f**ked up that men sexually harass women in this industry and just walk away from it lalalalala...

It is colossally fucked up that mainstream female creators -- the whole handful of them -- can be categorized in one of two groups. 1) "Nice" & 2) "Career-Suiciders"

It is colossally f**ked up that at any given "indy" comic festival roughly half the writers & artists are women -- yet DC, a branch of one of the biggest entertainment mega-companies, can't hire an editor who has the vision to hire one of them for "Supergirl."

It is colossally f**ked up that it is 2007 and my gender hasn't produced an Alan Moore or Grant Morrison yet.

It is colossally f**ked up that there probably are the female Moores and Morrisons hidden about -- but that anyone with that level of talent and innovation is bound to be opinionated and contrarian. And opinionated & contrarian women are "career suiciders."

And it is colossally f**ked up that comics are still largely the same white, male, straight institution that it was over fifty years ago. Keeping up with the times much? No.

Finally, it is colossally f**ked up that some women feel the need to shout out to the comics world: "I'm ok! You don't offend me! I'm cool! I'm not with them (pointing to "career suiciders")." And it is colossally f**ked up that I have found myself in that boat. By boat, do I mean "career suicider" or "brown-noser?" Both. I've been a lady of many hats, as they say.

But really, honestly -- the stress it takes to maintain this level of snark and outrage on a daily basis is sorta killing my arteries. I'm 33 years old, I've been through the equivalent of 20 years of crisis in just four years. I'm tired. Writing all this, getting angry -- it was one method of healing. Now I want to try some others.

And so I'll be changing the blog a bit and will be largely discontinuing the opinion pieces and calls for general revolution. This leg of the "war" is pretty much done for me.

I feel that on the topic of "women in comics," I have pretty much said everything I could possibly say. And to keep saying more daily is rather like banging my head against the wall.

Because really -- without women in significant positions of power in this industry, nothing will really change.

Without women in significant positions of power in this industry, nothing will really change.

One female editor in a department full of male editors is not power. It's called "being outnumbered."

Yes, the head of Vertigo is a woman. And that's great.

A woman is finally writing "Wonder Woman." And that's great.

Will women in the mainstream industry finally feel that it's ok to be contrarian?

Are the doors busting open for female creators?

Not that I can see.

Not that I can see.

Then there are other factors I have to consider. And let's leave those factors at that. Okay, I found the head of a dead racehorse in my bed along with a note with the DC "swirl" printed on it. No, really, I'm kidding. HUMOR, folks!

After some regrouping, what I would like to maybe do is turn the blog into a place for interviews, news, feature pieces, and light snark. I would like to promote books and things that, as they say, "r gud." As opposed to concentrating on teh sucky. This may or may not mean that teh Technorati rating will go down, that the hits will recede -- I think it's up to me in that regard, what I do with this thing. And I'm not totally opposed to the opinion thing in the future -- just not right now.

If there is anything you, the reader, would like to see in this regard, please let me know. Give me feedback how I can use this site as a tool for something good that doesn't involve chest pains.

And also, I want to express my deep appreciation for everybody who have supported me when I "got all up in the face" of The Powers That Be with one post or another.

Fact is, and I don't have to tell you this -- there are plenty of sites and bloggers and writers who do what I did. Who raise hell. Or are elegant about it. Or who elegantly raise hell.

I'm happy that "Goodbye To Comics" is still being read; that, according to my statcounter, people still continue to discover it, even translate it. How do you say "rape pages" in Italian?

I'm happy that with "G.T.C." I got a chance to do what others before me couldn't. I sort of paid a price for that; but I think sometimes you have to pay the price.

Oh, well. Next chapter.

And Rachel -- the art is in the mail.

(excuse the Buffy clip---I'm a nerd, remember?)