Women comic creators

[Trout]

Re-reading the genius that is Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol at the weekend, I foolishly stumbled into looking at a page of the horror produced by Rachel Pollack.

I realise her gender isn't relevant to the fact she wrote a bloody awful comic, but it left me wondering: are there ANY decent artists or writers in comics who happen to be female?

A bit of a think took me to Melinda Gebbie and Angie Mills, both of whom have produced decent work. But it has to be admitted their work in comics has been, to some extent, influenced by the men in their lives.

I should stress here: I don't intend to be sexist. If I'd realised the left-handed were under-represented in comics, I'd be asking a question about them.

So... can any boarders suggest female comics professionals worthy of respect? While we're on the subject, can anyone suggest comics by women that I should look out for?

- Trout

[Buttonman]

The only 2000ad creator who come to mind is Hilary Robertson and although by no means the worst, her work is hardly in the 'classic' folder. It did mostly appear in the comic's 90s barren period and did nothing to up the average. Medi-vac and Zippy Couriers if mammory serves, both unthrilling vehicle involved removal tales.

I don't think it's sexist to say men write better comics than women any more than it's racist to say black men are better at basketball than white men. Women are less likely to have the nerdish    impulses that draw men to comics the same way men are less inclined to like soft furnishings. Some men at any rate.

Never seen a funny lady comedian either but that's a different (but related) debate.

[Roger Godpleton]

I quite enjoy the work of Julie Doucet but she don't do comix no more.

[Ignatzmonster]

There are definately some good female creators in comics if you are looking outside your normal reading sphere.

One of my all time favorites is Donna Barr who is criminally unknown. She tends to write German themed comics. In Desert Peach the main character is the gay brother of Rommel and Captain of a rag-tag group of grave diggers. Great stuff provided you're not homophobic. If you are then try Stinz about a German Centaur living a ideal bucolic lifestyle until he's drafted. The collection of his wartime experiances is Warhorse.

Gail Simone is writing some great superhero comics at DC. My bother left me a pile of Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, and The All New Atom comics at my house when he dropped by. What superhero comics should be in my opinion. Sweet with some zest, like a lemon-bar. If I want hardcore I'll read Walking Dead or Scalped. She reminds me of the writing on Dr. Who or Buffy if that makes sense.

Don't forget manga, nearly half of Japanese comic creators are female. Rumiko Takahashi has slid into hackdom with Inuyasha, but that does not remove the greatness of Maison Ikkoku, Lum, or, my favorite, Mermaid's Scar. Moto Hagio wrote some great Sci Fi comics. The best Rom-com comics are pretty much all manga. If you can get used to the drawing style, which I know many boarders cannot, is Nodame Cantible about classical music students in Japan which is a personal favorite. The woman who does Nana is good too.

Here's a question. Is UK comic's subject matter barren soil for female comic creators? People can disparage the U.S. mainstream, shit I was doing that just yesterday, but it's nowhere near the testosterone overload of Action, Battle, or 2000ad.

[Tu-plang]

I'd love to see what some female blood could bring 2000AD (apart from Zippy Couriers). Even if 2000AD has quite a good range of strong female characters (cass anderson, halo jones, jena makarov, aimee nixon, hershey off the top of my head), SF as a whole is still such a testosterone-fuelled genre.

Each week when I see an exciting, vibrant cover on 2000AD (or not, as the case may be) my girlfriend sees men dressed as pirates hitting each other really hard with the butts of their guns.  The times she has taken notice of the covers are recent Megs with Tank Girl by Rufus Dayglo, Cass Anderson by Brendan McCarthy and Treasure Steel by Lee Garbett.

There's always Pia Guerra on Y: The Last Man and Doctor Who: The Forgotten, and Leah Moore.  Neither of which I know much about.  

[Pete Wells]

Never seen a funny lady comedian either but that's a different (but related) debate.

Yeah, this is wierd isn't it? All the ones I hear are either overly crude in a Chubby Brown kind of way, overly girly and cutesy or just plain unfunny. I always wonder if I'm socially conditioned to not accept the same kind of banter from a woman as I would from a fella? Or is it cos it's such a male dominated profession that women struggle from the start?

Sigh, sorry to drag it back off topic!

[Queen Firey-Bou]

I don't know if its cos women have less of the nerd gene*, but as much to do with tradition, social convention & the type of comics we have over in the West, don't forget 60% of manga creators are women, but then its a different type of storytelling. UK & USA Male dominated industry still etc.



* I have it.... but not the male capacity to slavishly remember bizarre details, names & which prog something from 20 years ago appeared in.

[TordelBack]

Madness in your mouth, Trouty!

Jotting this down on a coffee break, but some great comics creators that spring to mind, apart from those already mentioned:  Posy Simmonds, Claire Bretecher (both gut-wrenchingly funny to boot), Marjane Satrapi, Roberta Gregory and Jessica Abel.

Certainly under-represented, far more so if you're thinking of spandex or SF, but just those few above have created some of the best comics I've ever read.

For  artists try Jan Duursema, Jill Thomson and Pia Guerra, and in 'support' roles Karen Berger, Sarah Dyer and Tatjana Wood.  Just off the top of the old noggin.

[Proudhuff]

I liked Posy Simmons' (sp?) recent strip in the Grundian,(it was like The Archers in print) even stood in Waterstone's reading the last few pages after it was collected just to see what happen after the cow stampede!

On the other hand most wimmen can create something far more important than mere comics: Comics as child substitutes, Discuss.

[GordonR]

Ha!  Ironically, Rachel Pollack was actually a bloke.  Or maybe used to be, anyway.  Hence all the transgender stuff he/she immediately introduced into Doom Patrol.   His/her nickname among the UK comics creator fraternity was "Rachel Bollocks", partly in testament to the quality of those Doom Patrol stories.

Her wikipedia page is here:  //http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Pollack

(*Warning.  The accompanying author's picture there has a YIIIIIIIIKES!!!!!! rating of 8.7.  You'd never guess she was actually a bloke from it....)

[Richmond Clements]

and expert on divinatory tarot.

And that's all I need to know...


As for real female comic creators, there's Eva De La Cruz, Asia Alfasi and about a million other manga creators.

[TheEdge]

I have the Same Problem with Stand Up Comedians, i know a few female Stand Up's some are ok, but i cant think of any really amazing Female Stand Up Comedians.

Maybe as Males we just dont appreciate female creativity on some mental level.

for example " why do men find farts funnyand most women dont"

[IndigoPrime]

The only 2000ad creator who come to mind is Hilary Robertson and although by no means the worst, her work is hardly in the 'classic' folder. It did mostly appear in the comic's 90s barren period and did nothing to up the average. Medi-vac and Zippy Couriers if mammory serves, both unthrilling vehicle involved removal tales.

Bit harsh. Zippy Couriers was lightweight and throwaway, but Medivac was a really good series, cut horribly short. When Mercy Heights yomped on in, it just felt like a rather naff colour version of what Robertson had done years before. Although it's never going to happen, I'd be quite happy to see more Medivac in the prog.

[Buddy]

YIIIIIIIIKES!!!!!!

[Wils]

(*Warning.  The accompanying author's picture there has a YIIIIIIIIKES!!!!!! rating of 8.7.  You'd never guess she was actually a bloke from it....)

Frightening, but still doesn't come anywhere close to the sheer horror of 'Playboy bunny costume'.

That pic of Pollack reminds me of the crap and particularly shameless transvestite that stalks Stockton high street.