Buddy Scalera is a comic book writer and self-publisher.
He is best know for his co-writing work on Deadpool and his solo story in Weapon X. He has contributed to X-Men Millennial Visions, X-Men Unlimited and other comics. He co-wrote and self-published Necrotic: Dead Flesh on a Living Body. He also recently published a multimedia CD-Rom titled Visual Reference for Comic Artists. Currently Buddy has a two-issue arc of Agent X in stores.
Scalera worked at Wizard Online for many years as the original Online Editor.
We should get women out of comics. Women shouldn’t be creating comics. Aren’t comic books BY men FOR boys? Isn’t there some other career women can do that is more suitable to them?
Okay, okay, I’m going to stop being silly before someone takes this seriously.
I just read about a signing that featured all-female comic book creators. And while I agree that this could be a very good way to market the individual creators, I wonder if it’s a good idea to single out women comic creators. It may reinforce the fact that women writers and artists rarely choose comic books as a career.
There are enough careers out there that draw a societal distinction between men and women. There are jobs that are still considered “male” and “female” careers. And while there are many people who cross the invisible gender line, there is a lingering perception that haunts many careers.
There are men who take “female jobs” like flight attendant, nurse, or grade-school teacher. There are women who take “male jobs” like road construction worker, firefighter, or sports reporter.
There is often shock and dismay when someone crosses the career gender line. Gender raises issues of safety, tradition, or perception. Sometimes the discussion has merit, but often it’s irrelevant and stupid.
Women own football teams and fly airliners. And men are nurses and work in craft stores. (Actually, guys…do the world a favor stay away from careers involving dried-flowers-and-baskets. You’re getting on everyone’s nerves.)
In an episode of the television show “Friends,” Joey and Chandler tried name a job that a woman couldn’t do. The women dared them to name a career women should avoid. They struggled for an answer, but Joey came up with the only logical response. “Penis model.”
It was a good answer that got a lot of laughs. It also highlighted the fact that many of the traditional gender barriers are now merely mental. (The REAL challenge is equal pay for performance.)
Anyway, back to the signing that features women comic book creators. I wonder: Should we make a distinction between male and female creators?
Here’s one reason why we may want to avoid the male/female delineation: Respect. Nobody gave Laura Depuy an Eisner Award for being a great “woman colorist.” That would demean her achievements as an artist. Gender made no difference. The art that she creates was the deciding factor. Laura won an Eisner for being “Best Colorist.” And as a result she gets R-E-S-P-E-C-T that nobody second-guessed.
Currently, Marvel welcomes writers who have mass media credits. Writers from other mediums include writer/director Kevin Smith, novelist Greg Rucka, screenwriter Ron Zimmerman, and novelist Robert Weinberg, just to name a few.
Women write bestselling novels. They produce and write hit television shows. They create stunning photographs and paintings. They direct blockbuster films. Many women excel in the creative arts. If the work is good, it does not matter which gender created it. Why aren’t we seeing Nora Ephron, Ursula K. Le Guin J.K. Rowling, Anne Rice, Danielle Steele, Sue Grafton, and Mary Higgins Clark writing comics. The doors are open.
The same goes for women artists. There are plenty of young women who attend art schools. Why do so few of them transition over to comic book art? How many active women artists do we have? 20? 30? Why so few?
So why aren’t more women involved in creating comic books? Maybe it’s because of the collective way the industry views women. There’s still a point-and-gawk mentality. “Hey, look, it’s a comic by a woman. Wow! Imagine that, a woman!”
As comic book fans and pros, we should be completely gender neutral. If someone points out a “woman creating comics,” the response should be “yeah, of course.” Nobody is amazed when a woman writes a novel; they shouldn’t be amazed when they write a comic book.
Arguably there are thousands of great female writers and artists who choose other careers, rather than creating comics. What if Alan Moore had decided to write a screenplay instead of writing Watchmen? What if Alex Ross had decided to paint movie posters instead of painting Marvels? What if Neil Gaiman wrote a novel instead of writing Sandman? If they were women, it’s likely that they would have ignored comic books as an outlet for their creativity.
More important, what great comics are we NOT GETTING because women are bringing their stories and art to novels, television, film, and advertising? Did we already lose the next Alan Moore, Alex Ross, or Neil Gaiman to some other medium that is more gender neutral?
This year at the Small Press Expo I saw quite a few women who had either written or drawn comics. This was encouraging because most of them had avoided mainstream superhero comics in favor of different genres, including humor, science fiction, and drama. The percentage of female to male creators was pretty good.
I’d venture to say that the percentage of female to male creators doing mainstream books is somewhat lower.
So should women stop scheduling all-female signing events? Nah. In fact, women AND men should do more to market comics to new readers. Maybe the visibility will inspire more women to try writing and drawing comic books.
It’s more important that we – as fans and pros – let regular people know that men AND women create comic books. And if they write or draw GREAT comics, we will welcome them with open arms.
Women should be welcomed into comic books with equal pay for equal performance. There should be no stigma to women working in comic books or any other career.
Well, except for penis model. Women need not apply.
RANDOM NOTES: For more information on women creators, visit the Friends of Lulu website at http://www.friends-lulu.org. Lulu makes it cool for women to read and create comics. And don’t forget http://www.Sequentialtart.com, another site that is run by women, for women. Send a link to these sites, if you know a woman who may be interested in creating or reading comics.
