After watching "She Makes Comics" on Tuesday night, it's hard not to contrast the masculine and often sexist early Superman comics with the history of women as readers, creators, and contributors to the comic book industry. When you look for names of people who contributed to and helped define Superman to become the icon he is today, no female names come up. Women are not credited with having any part of shaping arguably the most influential comic book character of all time, despite the fact that there were female editors at DC and women who occupied various positions of power in the organization and had some say in how Superman was going to be portrayed.
But why is there all this invisibility? Why, in the documentary, was it so shocking to find out that such a large amount of women were interested in reading and buying comics? Why, when asked if he knew what the percentage of females reading comics were, one man said that he didn't know and didn't care?
Is it an assumption based on the social norms of girls not liking action and that therefore they will be turned away by the big-name superheroes without looking further? But even so, wouldn't the big name companies like DC and Marvel still seek out their value as consumers and create and promote comic books of all genres that might appeal to them?
Personally, I can't tell if the comic book industry is so infused with a culture that abides by gender norms that they automatically assume girls won't be interested in reading what they have to offer. So they don't even bother trying to reach out to young girls and teens, or at least don't make as much of an effort as they should. But I can't believe that an industry - any industry - that wants to make a profit would completely discredit the value of half the population as a potential consumer. That's not a smart business practice. The comics industry has struggled in the past and adapted to highs and lows in readership. However, if they truly want comic books to be lasting, they can't shut girls out. Especially in a medium where literally anything is possible.
I agree with this statement. The movie mentioned something about the general culture around comics being assiduously male- there was the Brave New World comic store aimed and marketed to girls. If so many women were in fact reading the comics and helping to create them, then what happened that they all disappeared? Wonder Woman was intended for girls- and many women today remember idolizing her when they were young. Is it that the neglect comes because the business side of comics has always been a boys club?
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