Women in Comics
A short list of comic books created by women
France’s yearly comics festival, The Angoulême, is taking heat from critics after releasing a shortlist of 30 comic book artists that contains no women. Bowing to pressure from the community they tossed out the list but admit to no wrongdoing, citing efforts to elevate female artists in the past. One can only presume that those efforts are limited to the single time they awarded the lifetime achievement award—the Grand Prix—to a woman 16 years ago.
Despite what the organizers of the festival may think, the comic books industry is full of talented female artists who regularly produce some of the greatest comics available. Here are just a select few to add to your collection.
Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson
Lumberjanes is a story that follows five girls, Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley at Lumberjane, a scouting camp for teenages. While there they learn skills such as knot tying, firemaking Yeti fighting, snowshoeing, and giant falcon hunting. Tasked with uncovering the mystery of “What the heck is going on around here?” and attempting to save the world in the process, Lumberjanes is an action-packed graphic novel that proves once again having female leads does not hinder sales. In an interview with ICv2, a comic news website,Shannon Watters admitted that the series was only intended to be eight issues but, due to its popularity, Boom! studios will be publishing it indefinitely.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Before becoming lead artist on Lumberjanes, Noelle Stevenson initially created Nimona as her senior thesis. The story follows a spunky teenager, Nimona, as she becomes the sidekick to the evilLord Ballister Blackheart. While Blackheart has his doubts at first, Nimona’s go get ‘em attitude, combined with her nifty shapeshifting ability, convinces him to let her stick around. The story exists within the “gallant knight versus the evil-doer” trope but successfully subverts it, making a classic story archetype feel fresh.
Fun Home By Alison Bechdel
Fun Home is a great example of how inclusivity towards LGBTQ women in media can give us amazing works of art. Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel is an autobiographical account of her life growing up as a lesbian with her closeted gay father. One of the many things Fun Home has going for it is the use of secondary storytelling. In the novel, instead of telling the reader about her father’s anal habits, Alison actually shows us. In a scene where Alison helps her father wash some dishes, she illustrates her point by having a static shot where he cleans the same fork for four panels.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Set in Iran in the 1980s, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood during the Islamic revolution. During this turbulent time in Iran, Satrapi recounts her experience as an adolescent adjusting to the changing political climate. Persepolis is another example of how diversity in comics is a win for the masses. It humanizes history as we follow a young girl and her real encounters with revolutionaries and the horrors they faced in prison.
Ms. Marvel by Sana Amanat
Ms. Marvel has the unique privilege of being the only comic on this list released by one of the great comic titans (DC/Marvel). The newest iteration of the Ms. Marvel franchise takes place after the events of “Inhuman.” where dormant genes are awakened in average people, giving them superpowers. A unique twist in this title is that Ms. Marvel has been written by a woman for quite a while. G. Willow Wilson had been working on the original version of the character until Sana Amanat, the creator of the new Ms. Marvel, pitched the idea of writing about a superhero with a Muslim American experience.
