What It Feels Like For A Girl (In Comics) Part 2 by Janelle Asselin

Welcome to part 2 of “What It Feels Like For a Girl (In Comics),” my sharing of anecdotes about how we ladies experience the industry.  In Part 1 you heard about some of my experiences, and now it’s time for you to hear from other women in the industry.  Some of these are pulled from the survey I did as part of my thesis while others I solicited from a variety of women in the industry.  All of them are anonymous, which means in some cases, you’re hearing stories that these women wouldn’t ordinarily tell.

· I was a comics critic several years ago, and in a comic-book shop for an event. When I went up to the counter with my purchases, the clerk remarked that I had extraordinary taste for a girl. I didn't want to tell him anything about myself, so I took it as a compliment, although it was an extremely back-handed one, and deeply insulting. He continued, however, to remark, loudly that I had really good taste and that he knew how hard it was for girls in comics. Of course he was flirting, but he did not also realize that he was being pedantic, protective, and silencing in an attempt to be charming and supportive. Then he suggested I look up my own work, as a critic, if I were interested in women in comics. 

· I worked in a comic book store for 7 years and there were many male customers who refused to listen to my suggestions and could not believe that I would know anything about comics.

· Once when my boyfriend and I were babysitting his 9-year old niece and two older nephews, we decided to take them to our LCS. We were pretty excited to share our interests with the kids and just maybe get them interested too. The boys wandered off to look at toys and the niece, an avid reader, made a beeline for the week's comics. But my excitement quickly turned to dismay, because we couldn't find a comic that was both interesting to her and safe for her to read. "What about this one?" she asked, holding up a comic with Little Red Riding Hood on the cover--she knows what she likes, and fantasy and fairy tales are her favorites. "Nooo," I said, "I don't think so." I flipped through and my impression from the cover--that this was a T&A comic--was confirmed by the interior pages. She asked why not, and I know she's a smart kid, so I explained that I could tell by the way the girls on the cover were drawn, with big boobs and broken backs and tiny clothes. Just in case she ever goes to a comics shop with her mom, I want her to know what to look for and what to avoid. We grabbed a copy of Batgirl instead.

What It Feels Like For A Girl (In Comics) by Janelle Asselin

Janelle Asselin pretty much rocks.  Best Shots crew member and a co-host of Shots in the Dark, Janelle went on to be an Assistant Editor at Fangoria Comic, an Assistant then Associate Editor at DC Comics, and a Magazine Editor at Disney (for their Marvel kids' line).  Troy and Matt swear that she's one of the best editors around, especially since she worked on "Short Straw".  Janelle recently completed her Master's Thesis, which she'll soon be turning into a book.  Her particular interest lies in the different ways that women participate in and are represented by the comic book industry.

What It Feels Like For A Girl (In Comics) by Janelle Asselin

Sarah Jaffe and Janelle Asselin, Chicago 2008.  You're welcome.

Every person who loves comics has a different experience.   We all have different opinions on where the value is in the industry – is it in the graphic novels that do well beyond our industry’s borders or is it in the superhero books the industry is known for?  My favorite characters are not your favorite characters and if we were those kinds of people we’d probably fight about it on the internet (and maybe I’ve even done that in my younger days).

Within this geeky stew we call comics are the subset of geek ladies.  We are probably rarely what you would expect.  Stereotypes need not apply.  We are young, old, curvy, thin, girly, tomboyish…you name it, you’ll find a geek gal like that.  I think that’s easy for people to forget.  Just like the men in the industry are not all like the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, neither are women in the industry exactly what you’d expect.  And while the fight rages on for equality and acceptance for my gender in comics and beyond, we are also often blessed and cursed with experiences that male geeks will never encounter. 

So here are some of my favorite and least favorite moments of being a geek woman, so that those of you who may never know what it’s like to be one can maybe spend a minute walking in my shoes.  In part 2, you’ll get to hear from geek women all across the industry who wanted to share THEIR geek experiences with you (anonymously, no less, so expect some scandalous revelations.  That’s probably not true, but who knows what will happen when it’s anonymous?!).  Take a minute and keep an open mind.