If you love comics, you should love the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which fights for your right to read comics without the threat of censorship. And now, the good folks at Humble Bundle have curated a fantastic collection including comics like Lumberjanes, Saga and Attack on Titan, all to support comic creators and businesses in need.
“Humble Comics Bundle: Start Here!” features over 40 comics and graphic novels from publishers including BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Image Comics, Kodansha, Top Shelf and more, spanning America, Europe and Japan. The Humble Bundle: Start Here! kicks off February 13th at 2:00 p.m. and runs through March 1st at 1:00 p.m., Eastern time. For more on the available titles, visit the Humble Bundle website.
Last week, my column looked forward to all the potential of 2016. Sure, 2015 had its rocky moments but it also had some great ones. Well, 2016 has arrived and is ready to smack my enthusiasm back down.
This week, the Angoulême International Comics Festival announced the nominees for their lifetime achievement award, Grand Prix Angoulême. This is the 43rd year of the French award, which is considered a great honor to win. However, this year not a single female creator was nominated. That’s unusual considering there is a (albeit just one) past female recipient, as well as a number of past female nominees.
Creators are already taking to the internet to decry this. Grand Prix nominee Daniel Clowes has even removed himself from the running in protest. I do believe that he will not be the last. Other past attendees have also taken a stand against this, stating that they will be boycotting the award votes.
I’ll admit error here; I haven’t followed the comic awards as closely as I probably should. Mostly, creator friends that are posting on Facebook or the follow-up PR emails announcing the winners is the closest I really get to any award show. Still, when a comic I like gets noticed, I am happy for them. When a creator gets recognized for their work, it is a wonderful thing.
One thing I do know is that award competitions have had to grow and change with the changes in the industry. Web and indie comics have definitely affected the field. The changing diversity has affected comic awards too.
In searching for any women comic creators, I found a long list of winners from 2015. Women cleaned up at award shows, with hits like Lumberjanes, Bitch Planet, or Ms. Marvel. After 43 years of this lifetime award, I can understand that it is more men recipients than women. However, I don’t understand the no women. Plenty of women have been building careers in comics over the past 43+ years, despite the challenges they’ve faced. Their hard work and dedication should be recognized.
I think the biggest reason for my disappointment is because the past years’ winner is the head of the nominee selection for the next year. A comic creator was in charge of this and failed to look past gender lines. I don’t know if it was done intentionally or not, but someone who works in the industry failed.
In 2016, isn’t it about time that gender diversity wasn’t an oversight?
Next week is Thanksgiving, and so I’m trying to remind myself that I have many reasons to be thankful. First, of course, I am grateful for my family and my friends (human and otherwise) who make my life so entertaining.
But you didn’t come here to read about how fabulous my life is. You want to read about comics. And so, I present to you, Constant Reader, those things about comics for which I am most grateful.
Image Comics. Back in the 1990s, I agreed with the founding principles of Image (creator ownership and control) but didn’t really like what they published, which to me looked like a lot of scratchy drawings of women with gigantic tits and tiny little ankles. Now, however, I find myself buying a few Image titles every week. Was I wrong in my original impression? Maybe. Are they publishing a more diverse list now? Definitely. In any case, they provide me with more joy.
Boom! Studios. I confess that I originally mostly picked up the Boom! titles when Mark Waid worked there, because I strive to be loyal. He is no longer editing their books, but they publish a lot of things I like. I told you how much I like Americatown. I started Last Sons of America and that looks promising, too. They publish lots of cool stuff, including Last Sons of America, Adventure Time, Lumberjanes, and Mouse Guard. You could do worse.
Forbidden Planet. I am fortunate enough to live in a place where there are many different comic book stores near my home, and a high percentage of them are excellent. However, for more than three decades, Forbidden Planet has been the one I go to most often. A lot of that is location (they are near the subway station that goes where I need to go on Wednesdays), but I also like the vibe. When I go, I’m greeted by name. The folks at the check-out know I want a paper bag, not plastic. They recommend books they think I’ll like. Some people have a favorite bar where everybody knows their names. I have Forbidden Planet. I hope you have a local comic shop that makes you feel just as special.
Kids. Every day, there are opportunities to turn kids on to the fun of comic books. After I get my stack on Wednesdays, I go to the hospital where I volunteer on the pediatric floor. I’m there to teach knitting, but there are some kids who don’t want to knit. If I have a Simpsons comic or another age-appropriate title with single-issue story, I’ll often give it away. Every child, even those without hair or with a port in his chest, lights up in beauty with a glorious smile at the sight of a new comic.
The revenge of the nerds. Sometimes I wonder if comics are really mainstream now, or if I simply live a life in which that can pass for truth. But, really, there is at least one television show based on a comic book on prime time just about every day. “Superhero” is now a movie genre, one taken (mostly) seriously by respected film critics. The New York Times Book Review publishes best-seller lists for graphic novels in hardcover, paperback and manga formats. Comics are now so respectable that parents try to make their kids read them.
Comics! Let’s not forget how great they are. Even when I’m irked by some current controversy and what it means about our sociopolitical climate, I still love the feeling of sitting down to a fresh stack of comics, with my cat purring next to me on the armrest.
And, as always, I’m thankful for you and your indulgent attention. Happy holidays, folks.
