Saturday, March 10, 2001
Special Comic Edition!
I've been blabbing on the mailing list for weeks now (how pathetic is that?) about how I was going to do an all-comic edition of the weblog. Well, today I up and finally did it instead of my homework. So for today I'll be sharing commentary on women in comics, comics for those who aren't into comics, musings on heroes and breasts, as well as graphic novel, comic book and comic strips that I read and thought should be shared with the rest of you. Okay, so there may be some people out there going "All comics today? Where's that back button?", but just hold it for awhile. Once upon a time I might have done that too, but let's just say I've had some er, revelations so that I'm thinking differently. Perhaps you will too.

What inspired this blog was when I went to the Alternative Press Expo a few weeks ago. I didn't have much experience with comics, but kinda went for the hell of it. And I came back pretty dang impressed. (For those wondering what it was like, here's a nice writeup.) I'd recommend people who aren't into comics going, as they may be surprised. For your future knowledge, here's a con survival guide (though A.P.E. wasn't as bad regarding things like B.O.).

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Women and comics
As a feminist chick, I figure I should mention a few bits of commentary on women and comics before we dive in. This sort of thing will come up periodically later on in here, but I'll leave the major bits up in the front.

"Girls are the invisible men of the comics market. Companies don't want to know about them. The theories go that girls don't like comics, or they don't read them, or they may read them on a whim but aren't fans or collectors, or they'll outgrow them too quickly, or they've already got BETTY AND VERONICA, what more do they need? Or. Or. Or. There's always an excuse, but it always comes down to this: companies don't want to be bothered.
Which almost makes sense. Every comic put out through Diamond, which is virtually every comic published, is marketed only toward comics shops, and comics shops are geared toward superhero fandom. I've heard grown women complain about how hostile many comics shops feel, so I can just imagine how girls might feel about them. Given the overall condition of the market, finding and carving out the girl niche is just too damn much trouble, in light of the potential rewards."

A script from one of the Sandman books, A Game Of You (taken out of all caps), in which Barbie enters a comic book store:
"On the stand behind her is a typical assortment of Eros-style porno comics covers, showing women with titanic breasts in bondage and so forth; and below that, we've got a whole shelf of just the same comic with the same cover -- or maybe a whole set of the same comic with different covers. It's got to be called something like Thrust Force #1, and it's your opportunity to pastiche- not parody- a set of X-Men type covers. Muscular men and women with towering boobs and not much covering them. Maybe in the background or at the side we can see two or three fourteen year old boys, just sort of staring at her. This is not a nice comic store- it's the kind of place that makes you feel oily and greasy, and makes you wish you were somewhere else."

This link goes on to discuss women in comic book stores and how they can tend to feel uncomfortable in them. For the record, I have not been made to feel uncomfortable in our local store at all, but I did feel weird being a girl, the only girl, in there. Particularly the day I came in dressed up. I don't know why, since I tend to hang around computer geeks a lot and I'm often the only girl there either. Yet the computer geeks are like "Girls? That like computers? Cool! Can I date you?", and presumably this doesn't happen so much in the comic world.

Incidentally, this site is just frightening. I was just shocked as I kept on reading.

However, there are organizations such as Friends of Lulu that are working to improve things.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Sequential Tart and Bizarre Breasts
Speaking of women in comics, I found this lovely online zine called Sequential Tart, and discovered that at least one of their writers has the same pet peeve as I do, the utterly frightening tits shown in comic books. Unlike me, she does an extremely hilarious column on them every month. (Rather frightening that she can manage to find more tit bloopers every month, in a way...) So we interrupt this discussion of comics to share with you a ton of tit quotes. Literally. Trust me, they're worth it.

I spend many hours pondering the mysteries of exaggerated anatomy in comics. Well, that’s not really true; I spend a lot of that time just laughing out loud. But even through the giggles, I still ponder these poor creatures with their broken backs, their boneless ankles and their complete ignorance of the laws of gravity. But mostly I laugh at the breasts.
When I saw the first ads for Soul Saga, I “pondered” Pepsi out of my nose and all over my keyboard.

Someone once said to me, “At what point do breasts stop being the artist’s style and start being ridiculous?” I answered, When you stop reading the comic, even for a second, because you realize that something just doesn’t look right. You scrunch up your eyes and stare a little harder at the art, and it just doesn’t get any better. If you’re really curious, you show the comic to a female friend. When your friend bursts out in laughter, that’s your clue: something just ain’t right with those puppies.
Ah, Red Monika. The Ubercomicsexpot with her easy-access pelvis and what-the-fuck-are-you-waiting-for stare. Monika poses as the very essence of “oh my god, will someone PLEASE hit the artist over the head with an anatomy book?”

“Tits, ass and clit all in one picture- never mind that nobody bends this way or looks this way.

“I would die to have breasts like these. My 38Ds fairly pale in comparison. In fact, if I had breasts like these, I most probably would die, but (sigh) a girl can dream, can’t she? The joy of being completely unable to purchase underwear or clothes in my size except for shapeless sacks! The wonder of being unable to run up the stairs or bend over to tie my sneaker laces! The fear of turning around a bit sharpish and putting someone’s eye out on the subway! Bliss!

Okay, first off, I have tried to mimic this woman’s pose, and try as I might I still can’t twist my chest in such a way that both breasts are clearly visible, yet turn my shoulders and hips in such a way that they are in true profile. This woman must have several extra small vertebrae in her thorax to allow for such incredible flexibility, not to mention some sort of interesting hip joints.
The breasts themselves defy all description they are so anatomically and gravitomically incorrect. I can only say that it’s a damn good thing she has that duct tape there to hold them on to her body, or they might float off.
The US Army should take some clues from this brainiac and instead of spending millions on uniforms and body armor, should send the women out in duct tape and butt floss (Speedos for the men) because obviously, this is optimal battle gear. (What were they thinking in the middle ages by putting all of that metal on? Idiots!)

X-Files tries to solve the Nippleless Tit Phenomenon.

“So you’re stuck in this dead-end job, so to speak, wearing the impractical half of a green suit and a pair of white thongs. How do you keep your hands free for slaying? One hand is constantly busy picking the wedgie out, and the other hand is trying to keep your boobs from falling out of the threadbare top half! Vital organs- you know, silly things like your heart and guts- are left wide open for attack….And then the job description requires that you go out, stab evil critters wearing this, and do it entirely in Playboy poses.

Take note of Avengelyne’s waist and how it is thinner than her head. Minus the hair. Note how it hangs beneath her ribcage like a suspension bridge, rather than actually supporting the top of her body. (Her torso must be kept afloat by those helium breasts.) Note the scoliosis gone grossly untreated.
For a real laugh, check out the animated backbreaking picture of the same girl at the bottom.

But to be fair, there are articles on male breasts and why don't cartoon male superheroes have big ol' crotch bulges?

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Comics for people who don't read comics
Some professional recommendations before we get to mine. Also, there's 5 tips to be a happier comic reader in 2001.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Everything I need to know I learned from Sandman
This series is the one that really got me interested in comic books in the first place. I'm not so totally hot for traditional superhero stuff these days (it feels like it's all been done before, everywhere, you know? Except for the occasional fresh take like Mystery Men) and yes, I figured that was what all comic books these days were about anyway. Then one day a couple summers ago while I was snooping around my ex's bookshelves looking for entertainment, I found his copies of Sandman and read them. And oh my god, I was soooooooooo impressed. This is a must read. The two comic book series I've been advised to read are Sandman and Strangers in Paradise (see below), and those people were right.

"Sandman's succeeded, in part, because it appealed to the nontraditional comic book audience; the focus on myth and history went against the mainstream grain. Lance Smith, who works at the Dreamhaven comic shop in Dinkytown, says that there have been a lot of readers who buy only Sandman and no other comics.
In addition, Sandman attracted an unprecedented number of female readers. On one hand, says Smith, the mere omission of the adolescent male concerns in superhero books was enough to merit a look: " ... it's not one continual fight scene, it's not a slugfest with Spandex." On the other hand, Gaiman has a knack for well-rounded female characters: "The women in Sandman may not always be sympathetic, but they're strong and realistic. They have problems, but they're real problems, not the kind of problems you see in X-Men."

To start you off, here are a few good places of explanation, an FAQ, and a sample of writing from the series (with no art). And speaking of samples, I found a good quote page:
"You are utterly the stupidest, most self-centered, appallingest excuse for an anthropomorphic personification on this or any other plane!"
"I am that merry wanderer of the night"? I am that giggling-dangerous-totally-bloody-psychotic-menace-to-life-and-limb, more like it."

For those who have read the series, there are a few stories online related to it that you might enjoy: a tale of Delirium and the new Dream and Delirium.

This quote is just in for fun: "If one doubts Gaiman's celebrity these days, think about this - Gaiman has an awful lot of T-shirts, the dominant color being black. As is the wont of such items, they get dirty, and Gaiman's wife is tired of cleaning them.
Alston and Mr. and Mrs. Gaiman concocted throwing the unwashed T's indecent sized laundry baskets. Any fan putting $20 cash to the CBDLF, gets to own one of said shirts. There was something along the line of 30-40of them in the basket at the start of Neil's reading. By the time Gaiman has finished signing, there's only about ten left.
"Neil raised about $30,000 for the Defense Fund last year," Alston reports. It often makes me wonder why a British citizen is one of the biggest advocates of First Amendment rights. Thankfully, he is."

As for his other works, which are also impressive, here's the first chapter of his novel Stardust. He's also doing a journal related to his new one, American Gods.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Strangers in Paradise
This comic was really the reason why I went to A.P.E. A fella I know is into this series (as you can tell because he has a mailing list FAQ), and it sounded like something I'd like. So when he was asking for people to go with him to the show, I volunteered. Reading interviews like these just made it sound so good. So I bought the first two at A.P.E., then went to our local comic book store and cleaned them out of the rest of the series.
I'm going to leave you with two sites that give good introductions to the whole series: the unofficial page and the archives. The latter site is particularly good for briefing you on the most issues- it tells more about the later ones than any other site I found.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
The Factor
I ended up buying the whole run of The Factor (a script from one section of the series is linked above), a comic that the author (who I ended up talking to for awhile) summarizes as: "The Factor is about several things. One is about really measuring the impact of someone in this world. You can't judge impact by seeing what a person does, but by seeing what effect it has on other people. The Factor also comes from a concept in software testing, where you check how a program works when you put an unexpected piece of data into the program and see how it reacts. In my book, the superhero is that unexpected information, and the program is the real world." I was pretty intrigued by that idea. Incidentally, he autographed all my copies and wrote stuff like "I think Jennifer is the Factor" on some of them. That was cute.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Musings on the superhero comic
On a similar note, here's some discussion on what a hero isn't and is. And if you don't like that, you can build your own.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Other comics that I think I want to read
Cathedral Child sounds very intriguing to me. And I think I want to read the Dreamwalker comic. Another comic at A.P.E. that I didn't find in real life (Narbonic being the other one) was By the Wayside, which has a sample prologue on the site. And then there's Girl Genius, which I saw the preview edition of at A.P.E., flipped through it, and developed a burning desire to read the series immediately.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Narbonic
Welcome to the forces of insanity and darkness! This lovely amusing strip features mad scientist and gerbil lover Helen Narbon, her evil intern Mell and their computer guy Dave, who's always looking for a new cartoonist. Not only is it cute, but it cracks me up mightily.

The cartoonist also offers fun extras such as posters (don't forget, evil guys get all the chicks), paper dolls, and valentines ("A sixth story window and enough firepower to destroy everyone I know. Don’t tell me that’s not a happy Valentine’s Day.”). I also ordered this shirt. It’s so cute! It summarizes it all so well. Rather like my high school orchestra teacher's saying that certain students had horns holding up their halos.

And now, there's a gerbil dance.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Abby's Menagerie
Now this is a cool strip (just check out how it works. Sure can't do that in print!). It’s about extinct animals suddenly start showing up (and magically breeding, apparently) at a zoo. Unfortunately it’s not clear on the site when they plan to put up more strips again. The site has clearly been updated to discuss stuff going on in March 2001, but it says strips start again May 2000? Uh-oh. Well, it’s a cool strip to read anyway, even if it’s dead(?).

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Unicorn Jelly
This strip is probably just too manga cute for a lot of people, but I thought it was sweet, and she has some interesting twists going on. The cartoonist has almost the exact same name as me, which is really freaky to me somehow. (What, like I haven't seen at least 30 people with my name the last time I tried Google?)

Here's your guide to the strip: How the Unicorn Jelly was created and an explanation of Unicorn Jelly origins and a comparison to other Jellies. Helpfully, D&D fans will appreciate D&D info for the main characters. She also gets creative by sometimes doing strips set in a similar (but not so plot-related) alternate universe.
And I'll leave you with this strip: “Nothing seems as vast as the moment of meeting the relative you’re trying to avoid.” Right on!

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Bunnispace
And speaking of another cuuuuuuute strip...

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Piled Higher and Deeper
Oh, those stressed out Stanford grad students! Though I may be at another school (and not a grad student, for that matter), I found some strips that are scarily realistic to here as well. My favorites are grad student cooking (I just quoted a grad student I know talking about joining a mycological society because she has a deep and abiding interest in finding food for free), working hard or hardly working (which really reminds me of my ex), defining ex and why (going on the same theme. P.S. to my ex if you ever read this: I'm not slamming you. Honest.), and the life of a chick in engineering, which according to my ex-roommate is totally true. Then again, she was the one girl wandering around in short sundresses. One guy actually walked up and THANKED her for wearing that. Guess who she ended up with? Her TA.

Saturday, March 10, 2001
Build Your Own Meat
And finally, you can create your very own comic strip (sorta) online with Build Your Own (Red) Meat, that famous strip featuring creeps like Milkman Dan! For those who have actually read the strip, you can pick out your er, favorite characters and fill in the text boxes.

Here, for example, is a strip about real UC Davis life, featuring an e-mail from an actual person writing to the fellow who created geckomail, which allows them to check e-mail away from home. (If this faculty member spells THAT bad for real, I'm terrified.) Okay, so probably nobody else will get it, but it cracks me up and who's gotten this far down to read it anyway?
Update: Here's more, same er, kinda subject: Can you send me information? and Asking for links and The altar boy.