Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
After giving away a free comic from EMET Comics a few weeks ago, I got to talking with their founder about the value of diversity in media, specifically in the world of comics books. Both of us agreed: we need more. So, thanks to her team member, Marial Llorens, we have a helpful post today on that very topic. And as a refresher: You can download their free comic here.
It’s undeniable that comic book culture has exploded in the past decade. You can see its influence everywhere, though most notably in film and TV adaptations inspired by comics. It seems that every day a new comic book adaptation is announced, and that trend seems unlikely to wane anytime soon. Stories that already have a following are less of a financial risk for the mostly white, mostly male gatekeepers of pop culture.
These comic-based TV shows and films have, admittedly, been skewed toward men and male characters. The big names are all dudes: Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Batman. Black Widow and Gamora are the token women in all-male teams.
As comic writer Mark Millar put it: “I do think it’s interesting we got a talking raccoon before we got a female lead in a comic-book movie.”
More infuriating than interesting, but you get the point. In 2014, only 12% of protagonists in films were women. Only 10% were non-white.
In Hollywood, it’s almost exclusively men that get to spearhead comic book adaptations, sci-fi, action, and fantasy films and TV shows. And movies by male filmmakers only have a female lead 4% of the time.
Movies and TV have yet to really catch up to comics, an industry that’s also mostly male (and white, and cis, and hetero) but shifting at a more rapid pace. Comics with strong female leads and female creators, at least, are frequenting bestseller lists more than ever before. The serialized format of comics and the frequent creation/cancellation of stories mean that the industry has had more flexibility as of late in responding to a growing and more diverse audience.
What does this all mean? It means comic books are the future.
Comics are a battleground where women, minorities, and people of varying gender and sexual identities can make a big impact on media. What starts in comics will end up on TV, in movies, on billboards, on kids’ lunchboxes, and in the popular imagination.
Representation in the comics industry remains far from perfect. Tim Hanley of Bleeding Cool reported that at both DC and Marvel, about 83% of credits on comics were men in August 2015. And that’s a “fantastic” month for women. Only 1 in 4 of Marvel’s titles launching in January are led by a female character. At other publishers, the numbers aren’t much better.
But there are signs that things in comics are improving. Thor is a woman and Captain America is black. Raina Telgemeier rules the bestseller lists with graphic novels aimed at middle school girls. In a recent issue of Batgirl, a smart and brave transgender female character helps rescue her fiancé—a woman—and marries her.
There’s still a long way to go to get equal representation. As consumers, we can make a difference in how media is created and who is included in the conversation. What’s the simplest, most powerful solution for effecting change?
Vote with your wallet.
You want to see more women and minorities creating and starring in comics, TV, and films? Seek out stories that feature them and are created by them and throw your hard-earned dollars at them as fast as you can. Get your butt to a comic book shop or a bookstore and be vocal online about what you want to see in your stories.
With your support, they may even make it to the big screen.
Emet Comics was founded in January 2015 by a community of female filmmakers to empower storytellers and artists who didn’t feel like they had a platform for their unique stories. It is widely known that media images can be incredibly powerful in influencing biases that marginalize young women, often making them feel like they aren’t smart enough, pretty enough, or brave enough. Emet Comics aims to empower young women to see themselves in the driver seat of their lives and to dare to dream the impossible! Through bold and diverse comics, Emet’s creators are proving that women are not afraid to take risks, dream, and lead adventurous lives. They hope to create a movement to empower female storytellers and in turn empower women all over the world. Learn more at emetcomics.com
We all love free things. And around here, we love things that promote female artists, creators, writers and makers. Imagine this: there are combinations of these things. And it’s happening on this here blog. Emet Comics was launched in January 2015 to empower female storytellers and artists. They partner with these women to release new comics online every week.
And this week, we get to offer you one of these comics for free! Woot.
The work being done at Emet Comics is really important for a lot of reasons, but here are some of the most prominent:
- Women are under-represented in comics, both on the art and story side.
- Comic readers don’t have many options for stories about ALL kinds of women.
- Financial support from comic publisher’s continues to dwindle, which means new female talent aren’t getting any new opportunities.
The free comic they are offering to Being Geek Chic readers is a new title from Cindy Tobisman and Lynne Yoshii called Inside the Loop. The story follows Tora Wellborne who stands at the center of two politically diverged cities,
The Collective and The Loop. When she falls victim to the Plague, she
finds her allegiances in question as she fights to survive.
DOWNLOAD INSIDE THE LOOP HERE.
You can learn more about Emet Comics on their website or on Twitter (@emetcomics) and we really encourage you to download their freebie here to get an idea of what kind of amazing content you’ll find on their publishing platform.
