Hey all! Just a reminder that September 21st is Women Comic Book Reader's Day. In order to trumpet the movement, I've put out a call for women readers to share their experiences with the form. Here is the first profile to run. Thanks for sharing, Meg! I am still accepting submissions at damorton@ucla.edu. Tweet it up at #womenlovecomix2!
Profile #1: Meg Spencer
* How did you get introduced to comics?
My parents used to buy us comics sometimes when we were on road trips.
I started seriously collecting when I was in late high school.
* What titles did you initially read? Why?
I started off reading mostly X-Titles, primarily X-Men and Generation
X. I was introduced to the first by the TV show and the second by the
TV movie. I liked that both groups were very diverse and had both men
and women. I think one of the X-Men teams and Gen X were both led by
women at the time, but I don't remember.
* What titles do you read now? Why?
I stopped collecting about five years ago for financial reasons, but
still regularly re-read some of my collection (Sandman, Lucifer, Y-The
Last Man) because they are awesome stories and I'm always finding
something new in them. I recently picked up the last few trades of
Fables. I love fantasy and mythology and good solid story-telling, so
those books appeal to me.
* What genres are you drawn to?
My first comics love has always been superheroes, but I also enjoy
good fantasy and sci-fi books like Sandman, Y-The Last Man, etc. Back
when CrossGen still existed I bought everything they published but
especially loved Negation (sci-fi), Meridian (fantasy) and Ruse
(mystery).
* Does the gender of the protagonist matter to you?
Not necessarily, but I'm not really drawn to books that seem like
"boys club" titles - I'll read books with male protagonists but there
should also be strong female supporting characters. Ultimate
Spider-Man and Y-The Last Man are good examples. The main characters
are male, but the female characters who appear are all interesting and
have their own stories beyond just being the girlfriend.
* Does the gender of the talent (writer, penciller, inker)
influence your selections?
Not directly, but I find that books/publishers who include women in
the creative teams (like Sandman and the CrossGen titles) often end up
with stories that appeal more to me.
* Where do you buy your comics? (Do you go to a comic book store,
order them online, etc.)
Comic books store.
* Do you purchase monthlies or solely read trade paperback
reprints and/or graphic novels?
When I was collecting I bought mostly monthlies, but now when I do buy
comics it's in graphic novel form.
* Do you find the lack of women talent a factor in your readership?
Yes and no. I like supporting comics or publishers with women talent,
but if the story isn't strong, that isn't going to help. At the same
time, I've never been a DC fan, having had the sense that their
flagship books are mainly "boys club" books both in terms of
characters and talent. Given what went down with their reboot, I
don't see it likely that I'd seek out their titles unless there was
some single book that got highly recommended (such as Ed Brubaker's
run on Catwoman, which is the last DC title I bought monthly).
* Are American comic books, due to the popularity of the typically
male superhero, friendly to women?
I don't think the issue is the popularity of superheroes but the way
that many of the books are written, combined with the impression that
the industry - or elements of it - aren't interested in women as
customers. Lots of women, myself included, love superheroes, and
there are lots of superheroes, male and female, who appeal to women.
The issue is the way that specific titles are written. For example,
my impression of Batman (and note this is not based on reading the
book, but on the character's overall cultural impact) is that it's
very much a man-centric character - women show up as girlfriends or
victims (often both), or villains in sexy costumes, and that's it.
I've been told a few of the batgirls/women are pretty awesome, but it
seems like those characters mostly end up in their own books. This
isn't a problem with the idea of the superhero, though. There are
lots of team books with great women, and even a book starring a male
super-hero (like Ultimate Spider-Man) can be friendly to women by
showing the women characters as real people, with real problems and
lives that don't just revolve around men.
The American comics industry needs to figure out that it's doing both
women AND men a disservice by sticking with the old lone-wolf
superhero model. For all its other failings, CrossGen showed that
people will buy well written, well drawn comics in a wide range of
genres, starring interesting male and female characters. It feels
like DC in particular is really caught up in this idea that only men
will buy comics, and they'll only buy comics starring men with women
in stupid outfits. Even if that is the majority of whose buying
comics right now, maybe they'd get better numbers if they actually
reached out to a broader demographic. I think they're afraid to lose
the demographic that they do get, but they'd probably be surprised.
People will buy non-superhero comics like Sandman, Y-The Last Man and
The Walking Dead, if those books are given a chance.
* What do you read more: American comics or international titles?
American. I know a lot of people who read Japanese comics, but made a
conscious decision that I didn't have the time or money to get into
yet another fandom.
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