Women in Comics - We've come so far but have so far left to go
The comics industry hasn't exactly been covering itself with glory in some regards these past couple of weeks.
An interview with Mark Millar where they laud (and in fairness also criticise) his treatment of women (and his comments on "rape as motivating" factor for female characters) in particular might raise some eyebrows, though perhaps not with surprise so much as weary resignation)
Then an interview panel promoting a new PBS docu-series called "Superheroes: The Never-Ending Battle", they had Len Wein, Todd MacFarlane and Gerry Conway. Alas, none of them really cover themselves with glory when addressing certain issues near and dear to this communities heart;
As to why there are so few women and minorities represented in comic books, the answer is more complex.
"I think our series reflects the evolution of our culture. And women and minorities have been marginalized throughout history, so they were marginalized in comics," Kantor said.
Conway added, "I think the bigger question is why readers are not interested in those characters. Comics follow society. They don’t lead society, they reflect it."
Really Gerry? Really?
Oh, and just so I don't end on a sour note, there is an excellent riposte on io9 to these articles here
An interview with Mark Millar where they laud (and in fairness also criticise) his treatment of women (and his comments on "rape as motivating" factor for female characters) in particular might raise some eyebrows, though perhaps not with surprise so much as weary resignation)
Then an interview panel promoting a new PBS docu-series called "Superheroes: The Never-Ending Battle", they had Len Wein, Todd MacFarlane and Gerry Conway. Alas, none of them really cover themselves with glory when addressing certain issues near and dear to this communities heart;
As to why there are so few women and minorities represented in comic books, the answer is more complex.
"I think our series reflects the evolution of our culture. And women and minorities have been marginalized throughout history, so they were marginalized in comics," Kantor said.
Conway added, "I think the bigger question is why readers are not interested in those characters. Comics follow society. They don’t lead society, they reflect it."
Really Gerry? Really?
Oh, and just so I don't end on a sour note, there is an excellent riposte on io9 to these articles here