Comic Book Candy

If I have learned one thing in my experience as an editor of Ladies' Night Anthology , it is that making comics takes time. So much time, in fact, that it leaves few opportunities to actually write about comics (let alone read them). My blogging has slowed down significantly over the last year and I apologize; it has been too long. But if you are wondering what I have been up to lately besides life stuff in general, this might give you a hint: It is not just the theme that has us filled with a sense of dread; our fundraising deadline is looming and we are still short of our goal. You only have until midnight today to support these independent creators!  Even if you are unable to monetarily support our efforts, signal boosts are free and much appreciated. Here are a few previews to whet your appetite for the bloody, sweet, and sensational stories to come from Ladies' Night Anthology Vol. 2: Death & Prom . If you're ready to crown this anthology prom queen, head ove...

Could fill a lot more than one blog post as proven by  Millar's recent  tone-deaf comments concerning depictions of rape versus violence within his work . But two very different views of one comic in particular may shed a little light on what Millar and many more still don't get. A few years ago when I still worked full time at Graham Crackers Comics, a lot of our time was spent talking about comics. A shocking pastime for comic shop employees, I know. We talked about what we liked more often than what we didn't, though we would oblige any customer that asked for our honest opinion ( haunted vaginas and pentagram boob tassels - apparently there is a place in the world of comics for books like Tarot ). Healthy debates about the merits of comics and creators thrived. Was the work of Alan Moore still the benchmark to which we compared the best of the best superhero titles? Was the ending of Final Crisis satisfying for anyone? Are there really readers out there that h...

Not too long ago, cosplayer Molly McIsaac expressed her desire to crowdfund her breast augmentation . Our response to her initial blog post garnered a lot of discussion, from other blog posts to angry unintelligible tweets. We reached out to Molly for a series of follow-up questions and she graciously answered; but before we get to her response, I'd like to talk a little further about the initial post / the response received. First, I wanted to give the blog a break from b00b talk hence the delay in posting this interview. The recent search terms that have led to my blog have been heavily skewed towards breasts and that's something I'd like to avoid in the future.  Despite all of the disappointed individuals that make their way to these posts in hopes of finding "comic book boobs" or "power girl porn", they can still stick around and read about the portrayal of women in comics and one woman's desire to have comic book boobs (they will immed...

Molly is a cosplayer. Molly needs your help buying herself new, bigger breasts . I think I'd like to help Molly another way by offering an alternate solution: quit cosplaying. This may seem like an extreme solution, but it is as logical as buying a new pair of boobs. When looking at Molly's plea for donations to cover the cost of the procedure, several contradictions present themselves. "...I feel more secure and certain of my place in the world than I ever have before. That’s why I am able to finally come out and say this publicly: I want fake boobs." Acceptance of one's body is not usually followed by feelings of inadequacy, unless one is inclined to accept feeling dissatisfied. It is probably painfully obvious to everyone but Molly that this is most definitely a matter of self esteem. Accepting one's body is a lifelong battle for most women, one that rarely ends in total happiness with one's physique. There is no greater voice or opinion more freque...

Comic Book Readers by Ruth Orkin, c.1947 (found on Liszka's Soup ) "Girls read comics, not just Manga either. Girls read superhero comics, indie comics, autobiographical comics, historical comics, literary comics, horror comics, romance comics and even just plain terrible comics. Girls are comic fans. They want comics aimed at them, or aimed not at them, or just comics that are good. They want all the same things male comic fans want. They want to be sold to, they want to buy the cold cast porcelain model of Rogue looking badass and put it on their shelf. They want Wonder Woman underwear sets and Wolverine stationery for the new term. Women are just as whimsical, gullible, romantic and fanciful as men. They are capable of grasping the finer points of all the weird freaky made up stuff that we all commonly know to be “ACCEPTED CONTINUITY.”  They will talk about costume changes and characterisation." - Comic book writer and fan Leah Moore Leah Moore knows a...

  This past Wednesday evening Graham Crackers Comics located in the Chicago Loop looked a little different. As one keenly observant male customer opined a little too loudly, "You guys are swimming in estrogen today!" After manager Matt Streets pointed out that the store's first Ladies Night event was about to begin, he sheepishly took his books up to the register and went on his way. Considering the large turn out, it's safe to say this will be the first of a regular monthly event at the local comic shop. As an employee of Graham Crackers Chicago Lakeview location, I served as a store liaison for the event and also helped to moderate the conversation. Comic book creator and recent transplant to Chicago, Hannah Chapman spearheaded the event and organized it along with store manager Matt Streets. Ladies Night served a few purposes; first and foremost, it was a chance to meet and talk comics with other local female fans. Participants were encouraged to bring books they...

“You have a generation of girls who have grown up with this stuff and view it as a natural part of culture. You’ve had three ‘Spider-Man’ movies and ‘X-Men’ movies since they’ve been growing up. You’ve had ‘Harry Potter’ books and movies. And this generation has gotten it in a more concentrated level than I had as a kid. I might have had a ‘Superman’ movie every few years. But it was still a bit of a learning process.” - Jeff Katz, former Fox movie executive And yet here we are, readership shrinking and no closer to expanding our niche market. Hollywood has been quicker to recognize the mass appeal of various "nerd culture" properties, but the comic book industry itself is taking its time creating products for the growing female market. There are many creators, fans, and retailers that don't treat female readers like an elusive / non-existant unicorn , but when it comes to the big two, the driving force behind production is short term sales. In an interview with Comics A...

When one starts a conversation concerning women in comics, they are bound to be met with various reactions: "Yes, please!" "What now?" and "What women?" are just a few. The growing number of articles on the subject indicate the times may in fact be changing. Oh please comic book gods, say it is true! Could more and more comic book readers be seeing the giant female elephant in the room? It comes in a few shapes and sizes, but the main ones currently gaining visibility include the depictions of women in comics, the lack of female creators, and the lack of female readers. My blog does not focus on the various topics of women in comics (there are already plenty of wonderful ones out there like DC Women Kicking Ass , Girls Read Comics , The Mary Sue , and Comic Book Grrrl just to name a few) but as a female fan, my perspective is influenced by my experience. Being a woman informs my opinions as much as having worked in local comic shops, too. Even my time li...

It has been widely speculated how Marvel would respond to DC's New 52, especially with DC dominating media attention and market share in the last three months. Would they do a "revamp" of their line as well? Would they try to use their new parent company to gain a wider audience? Would they keep calm and carry on? We may now have our answer with recent announcements that Marvel is canceling several of their lowest selling series, yet offering just as many issues as last year.  Instead of offering a wider variety of titles to appeal to more readers, Marvel's (continued) strategy will focus on "double shipping" their flagship character titles each month, forcing loyal customers to spend more and make up for Marvel's loss in short term sales. As of late, I've found it hard to find the time to write about comics. I have been reading plenty, but few subjects seemed pressing enough to motivate me to make the time to voice my opinion. The month of October ...