Who's Who In The CBU Update 2009
Who are... Park and Barb?
Barbara Lien-Cooper and Park Cooper, are the owners of Wicker Man Studios and of Gun Street Girl, its flagship project created by Barbara and artist Ryan Howe. Barbara has written for many websites, and served a one-year stint as Managing Editor of the multiple-Eisner-award-winning print magazine Comic Book Artist. Park is the Editor-in-Chief of indie comics company Septagon Studios, and of Comics Bulletin's sister-website MangaLife. Together, they also co-wrote the graphic novel Half Dead, published by Dabel Brothers Productions and Marvel Comics, and later picked up again by Desperado Publishing, and the New Media project The Hidden for manga publisher Tokyopop. They both also adapt manga and edit manga and comics for various companies.
Why Don't Chicks Dig Comics? Well, Why Don't You ASK One?
Awhile back, Silver Bullet Comics ran a "why don't chicks dig comics" roundtable as part of their The Panel column. I felt a bit sad that, as the wife of an SBC columnist, a published comic book author, an editor for Comic Book Artist, and a commentator concerning women and comics for five years as a part of Sequential Tart, I wasn't approached about the subject, as I have a few things to say that I didn't see commented upon by the other commentators. So, get ready, folks, because I'm going to rant. I know I've said some of these things before, but maybe repetition might make an impact ...
1) Chicks don't dig comics partly BECAUSE of words like "chicks". While there's an amount of enlightenment on comic book stores' parts (and even more so in book stores such as Barnes and Nobles and Borders) concerning how to make potential female readers of comics feel comfortable, it's still patently obvious that the comics industry and its offshoots are still an old boys' club. Women are inadvertently but systematically cut out from the comic book shopping experience. Take the language of discourse, for instance. I'm still shocked that male creators, commentators, artists, and editors in comics still consistently use the male pronoun HE to describe the fan base, the editorial base, and the creator base.
What's more, the images in comics, especially in the mainstream, still objectify women. Okay, sexy is fine. What's not to like about drawings of sexy male and female characters? But, there's a line that needs to be drawn. When a female character has no depth or soul to her, when it's obvious she is there as a way to sell comics ONLY, when such representations objectify women, as well as make them into stereotypes, how can a woman possibly want to be in collusion with the comic book subculture?
In addition, in spite of the fact that women are made to feel somewhat more welcome in comic book stores, there's still a slight majority of stores that WANT to be like Floyd's Barbershop or whatever. Some places REVEL in being the last place on earth a man can hang out without having to deal with women or their objections to how women are treated as customers, as readers, as creators, and as characters in comics. I've been to some stores where I have been made to feel unwelcome because of my gender. Those experiences were like accidentally stepping into a men's locker room.
2) Excelsior, my Aunt Fanny!
I hear some male comic book readers say that they don't understand why females don't like comics, since females like to read and comic are just stories with pictures. With all due respect, guys, BOLLOCKS. Right now, we are a hermetically sealed off order from the mainstream, with more terms of art, jargon, rituals, secret symbols, inside jokes, and offshoots than one can shake a stick at. We're the bloody Masons of subcultures! And, that's the way a lot of us like it. We make it difficult for newbies to come inside, as we make it so only those who are willing to study the subculture and take its ways to heart feel welcome. I mean, take manga fans. I have heard horror stories (and have been told tales) about how many comics fans don't consider these people to be REAL fans of comics and treat these fans with disrespect. Since a lot of females like manga, this is an inadvertent rejection of many of the females in comic book culture. I'm not saying you have to like manga. I'm just saying this lack of respect for manga is one of the ways that we marginalize those that don't embrace the traditional texts of comic book culture.
I've talked to females who feel that they aren't REALLY welcome in comics or INDEED really a part of fanship in comics because they don't know all the holy texts, references, in-jokes, et al in comic book subculture. Why comic book subculture membership should be based on a few outdated phrases and histories and rituals is beyond me. Is our history so important to us that we'd inadvertently lock the doors to potential readers?
3) Male creators and male run comic book companies that THINK they know what women want instead of looking to see what women actually BUY.
I have seen everyone from male commentators to male creators speak of what women want in their comics, books, media, and films. They always come down to one thing: ROMANCE. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Romance is damned hard to write well in comics, although not impossible. There's a reason why romance comics from past eras read as camp, while you can still read superhero comics of a past era without significant embarrassment. It's because relationships are generally too complex to put on a comic book page without MORE insight than most comics have. What's more, believe it or not, we females have lives outside of our guys, you know (heck, some of us aren't even straight!)
There's also the mistaken notion that females like PASSIVE works. I wish for ONCE a man would read a few romances before deciding he knows how to write one. From Jane Eyre to Rebecca to the romance novels of today, there's freaking ACTION in romance novels. Titantic has action galore (okay, I'm not a fan of the movie, but it was a hit and had a big romance in it). The feel of adrenaline in one's blood, studies show, is similar to the feelings one has while in love. What's more, why the heck would a female want to read about another female who is nothing but an adjunct to a man, who wants nothing more than to be with a man, and has no thoughts, opinions, or interests outside of getting/keeping a man? Heck, even Josie, Sabrina, Betty, Veronica, and Millie the freaking Model have more to their characters' lives than that.
Female readers don't just like romances. Read some Anne Rice, read some fantasy novels (especially those written by women and/or feature female characters), read some Harry Potter, etc.
Rule of thumb A, guys: if it bores YOU to read, it'll probably bore a female, too.
Rule of thumb B: If you want to appeal to female readers, you should RESEARCH what female readers (especially those who read comics) actually read. All that you're required to do is ask a few questions at your local comic book store, pick up a few titles popular with females, and read them with a desire to understand why females like the works.
I'll give you a clue: Usually, the books, even those with a huge romantic element, feature ACTIVE female characters who are brave, smart, resourceful, and realistically rendered.
Extra hint: read some manga, especially the ones written by female creators and those labeled shoujo (or shojo). You'd be surprised at the range of the work --- slice of life, comedy, fantasy, science fiction, action-adventure, and horror.
One more hint: Friends of Lulu and Sequential Tart have lots of resources at hand to help you. Just surf their websites. Or, if you feel lazy, just ASK.
Whatever you do, don't think you know what females want in comics without doing some investigation first.
And to comic book companies, maybe you should HIRE women creators and editors when you're trying to scope out the female market instead of just ASSUMING you know what women want. It just makes sense---but you'd be surprised how many times companies and creators make assumptions about the fairer sex that simply aren't supported by reality.
4) Stop trying to appeal to females who wouldn't be caught DEAD in a comic book store. Instead, try appealing to females that might actually have a certain affinity for what is already out there in comics.
One of the biggest reasons why comics aimed at women and girls fail is the whole "women and girls are a single demographic" misconception. One cannot run before one can walk. Trying to appeal to the same women who buy Martha Stewart's magazine or watch Trading Spaces or soap operas or whatever isn't going to work because, save perhaps for very rare exceptions, those women aren't interested in investigating the world of comics in the first place.
HOWEVER, there's a large, untapped "geek girl" and tomboy market that is going to waste!! I know girls and women that read horror, fantasy, and science fiction, watch Xena and Buffy and X-Files, who like action adventure stuff, who like and are active females. Yes, we do and did have comics of the TV shows of which I speak, but sadly, the companies and creators that want to appeal to women aren't writing comics other than these show spin offs in the same way that these shows are written. Buffy, et al, shows that if you write an androgynous work (i.e., one that has aspects that appeal to both genders), you'll get a mixed audience, gender wise.
Take a tip from Buffy! Write active, brave, smart, sexy but REASONABLY sexy female characters. Make them do active things. DON'T make them passive victims. DON'T constantly have them saved by men. Yes, throw in some romance and relationship stuff, but DON'T make the comic EXCLUSIVELY a romance comic, as those things usually are unappealing to both sexes. If you throw in some eye candy for men, throw in some eye candy for the women, too (assuming the women are straight, which is a fairly BIG assumption). Make both sexes of characters people that you can like, admire, and even (if that's your fancy) develop a crush on.
Only after you take these considerations to heart should you ask the $64 question of whether chicks will ever dig comics. Because the answer is, some very well may. Actually, we already do. Who do you think are buying all those manga graphic novels, anyway? Oh, those aren't REAL comics? They're selling $100 million dollars in sales a year, a lot more than a lot of indie comic imprints. To me, that's pretty damned real.
And quit calling us CHICKS
PS: Any colorists interested in working on GUN STREET GIRL (www.graphicsmash.com) or artists interested in illustrating Pitch Art for Barb's pitches should write to us at parkcooper@msn.com ...thanks
PPS: As long as I'm asking, if anyone wants to come ink for practically free, feel free to stop on by the above email as well.
PPPS-- Read this--
http://www.talkaboutcomics.com/viewtopic.php?t=15865
Your New Mantra: SLEEPING IN THE MIDDAY SUN