The comics industry has been primary a man’s world with few woman characters represented in comics publications like DC Comics and Marvel. “To say the comic book industry has a slight gender skew is like saying Superman is kind of strong,” says Walt Hickey, from ESPN Five Thirty Eight news website. Comic books greatly under-represent women, says Hickey, because the people who are writing, drawing, and publishing comic books are overwhelming men. However, Jenna Busch, founder of comic site Legion of Leia and co-host of an online series “Cocktails” with Stan Lee, with Fox 411, said that stereotype has changed. “There are far more female fans of comics than ever, and we’re far more vocal,” said Busch. While comic books cast their woman in a man’s world, Busch said she has $109,000 worth of proof that woman should and will now have greater rolls in comic books. Fox 411 reports Busch recently was part of a Kickstart campaign for a female-centered comic anthology called “Womanthology.” It was created by women and raised $79,000 more than their $30,000 goal. Busch told Fox 411 more female writers and illustrators are needed in order to bring more realistic female representations to comic books. Busch said she wants DC and Marvel to hire more female writers, “If there are awesome female characters, there is without a doubt going to be more female fans. Make something [women] want to read.”BYU-Hawaii student Anna Hadley, an undecided freshman from Texas, said in response to a have more women-dominated roles in comic books, “All woman want is to be heard and not objectified.”Another BYUH student, Anna Delafuente Rodriguez, an undecided freshman from Maryland, added, “Let what the people have what they want. I want to read a comic book where the woman saves the day. What’s so wrong with that?” Five Thirty Eight reports females make up one in four comic book characters. “Woman have been ignored in comic books for decades and they still don’t bring woman anywhere close to parity,” says information on the site. In response to this disparity, Marvel just published a new series featuring a female Thor and DC Comics upgraded Batgirl’s costume, says Five Thirty Eight. “I think whatever the major comic books try to do, woman will always want more,” said BYUH student Michael Atchely, a sophomore in EXS from Texas. “If woman are choosing to read comics that are predominately male, then they shouldn’t be complaining.”There has been backlash with the push to increase woman’s roles in comic books. Fox 411 reports Marvel published a cover of an almost porn-like portrayal of Spider Woman. Causing social media to stir, Marvel issued a statement apologizing for sending out a message that questioned their gender equality content, reported Fox 411.Creator of Ms. Marvel, G. Willow Wilson, said at this year’s New York Comic Con, “I think we know that things are excellent when we can get at least one female-led comic book title into the top 10, or even the top five, monthly bestselling comic book titles.”
Writer: Jessica Tautfest ~ Multimedia Journalist
