When Will the Perception of Women in Comics Catch Up to Reality?
Female comic creators and fans were aplenty at New York Comic Con. But were they represented?
Any lingering, outdated assumptions that women weren’t into comics could be quickly smashed simply by walking into the Javits Convention Center in New York this past weekend during the 2013 New York Comic Con. There, countless women joined the very crowded party, many of them dressed up as their favorite genre characters – a practice known as “cosplaying” in the comic world.
But the program for NYCC told a different story, as the blog DC Women Kicking Ass pointed out. Of the 274 listed guests, only 25 were female – and only one woman was grouped among the “spotlight guests.” In fact, the surest bet to see a bunch of female comic lovers on stage was to attend one of the panels with “women” in the title. (There were panels devoted to the representation of LGBT characters and minorities as well.) The disparity was not lost on the guests of those panels either
Alpha Girl Comics creating New York-inspired anthology
Former Oklahoma resident Amy Chu is utilizing Kickstarter to produce her latest comics anthology, “Girls Night Out: Tales of New York.” Chu, who lives in Princeton, N.J., was inspired to create this anthology about New York after the tropical superstorm Sandy hit the coast.
“It was right after hurricane Sandy,” Chu said in an e-mail interview. “My family and I were pretty much stuck in NY for a week and saw a lot of crazy stuff, but terrific spirit. So this is kind of a love letter to the city in my own way.”
Chu, the co-founder of Alpha Girl Comics, decided to take to Kickstarter to fundraise — and build excitement for — this project.
“I thought I would try it out,” Chu said. “I noticed that Kickstarter is not just about the money, but a great way to engage with fans and the public, and this has turned out to be entirely true. I am building an entirely new fan base by crowdfunding.”(for the rest of the story click here)
Teresa Wymore’s Blog
Amy Chu’s Girls Night Out Rocks
As a Kickstarter contributor, I just received my signed copy of Girls Night Out And Other Stories, the first comic written by Amy Chu and illustrated by Cabbral, Louie Chin, Silvio DB, Craig Yeung, Juri H C, and Christopher Sotomayor.
Good stories every one. The illustrators were unique to each story, bringing different moods and layouts. I enjoyed each style and particularly like Cabbral’s use of silhouettes and expressions in “Long Live the Emperor.”
Actually, I was disoriented when I began reading. The stories were ending before I really knew what they were about. After a little back-and-forth, I realized the problem was mine. It was due to reading mostly action serials. Amy’s stories are short. I mean, SHORT. And varied — poignant and thought-provoking, whimsical, and ironic vignettes. Just so cool. (for the rest of the story click here)
ALPHA GIRL COMICS 