ComiqueCon preview @ Metro Times
Half of comic book readers are female, and yet, as with most forms of media, women are radically underrepresented, both as protagonists and creators. But metro Detroit lady geeks are in for a treat: The second annual ComiqueCon, a one-day celebration of female comic creators co-sponsored by Green Brain Comics and the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, will take place Oct. 22 at the Arab American National Museum, and it promises to be a super good time.
“We really wanted to bring creators on board that exemplify feminist ideals in their work and beyond,” ComiqueCon chair Chelsea Liddy says. “If they exemplify feminist ideals, and want to encourage young girls to love comics, then they are behind the mission of ComiqueCon.”
Panelists for the event include Nneka Myers (artist, Powerpuff Girls), Carolyn Nowak (artist, Lumberjanes), Jennifer Camper (editor of the influential Juicy Mother anthology of queer comics), Arielle Jovellanos (orchestrator of the Hamilton-themed Ham4Pamphlet), and Megan Rose Gedris (artist on Food Porn Anthology), along with others.
“There have always been female creators — several books and documentaries will confirm that,” Liddy says. “But men, both creators and characters, are more visible because they get more exposure through the major publishers — and we have the data to back that up. Female creators and characters rarely top 30 percent of the makeup at DC and Marvel.”
The recent breakout of some high-profile comic book creators, including Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Bitch Planet), and mainstream fare centered around female characters (such as the wildly popular Jessica Jones Netflix series) has been proving to the mass market that women bring much to the table, in terms of both content and readership.