This article was originally written for Modern Myths, INC. and was posted on February 10, 2013. This is a reproduction for portfolio purposes.
There’s a problem I have with comics fans. Aside from being a notoriously hard group to please, rare is it for them to truly put their money where their mouths are. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the “fandom” community. While many talk a big game on the internet about wanting to support female writers, artists, and characters (as well as writers, artists, and characters of color, but that’s a whole other topic), a huge majority of the verbal fans online pirate the media they say they love so much.
People have differing opinions on pirating, but in terms of comic books, it’s a deadly act to commit. Comics are already a small and technically dying media, a subset of periodicals that attracts a small and specific audience, so when a chunk of that audience decides that comics don’t deserve or warrant their money for whatever reason, comics are the ones to pay. Good comics, specifically.
Look back to 2011. Marvel was trying hard to produce female led solo titles; X-23 and Ghost Rider had both been critically applauded, especially X-23, with it’s dream-like artwork and a story that tied not only into the X-franchise, but also to the rest of the Marvel Universe, featuring crossovers with the Fantastic Four, FF, and a number of the Avengers (perhaps, most notably, Black Widow). It was beloved by fans and seen as a great teen book and intro into the Marvel U.
And yet it was canceled.
There was fan outcry, and to this day, there are still blog posts questioning: why was this great, female-led series canceled? The answer, quite frankly, is simple that the title wasn’t selling. While it secured a spot on the best sales list a few times, it also had one of the steepest sales drops in that year. Marvel has always been quick to notice low selling books, and even quicker to cut them off when they are not financially viable. And while DC is a little more methodical in terms of ending titles, it’s become easier and easier to predict which titles will be ended in order for each new wave to come in (Team 7 and Ravagers were immediately noted as huge under-sellers by almost everyone).
With cuts, we lose comics. And some comics are just not gelling, and most fans can agree that cutting those titles is a good idea, but other titles we lose are stellar and get overlooked for a multitude of reasons. It would be easy to say X-23 got canceled because it was a female character and the “men who buy comics” don’t like that, but it would be entirely untrue. The reason X-23 failed it because people didn’t let their money speak.
In the end, for all comic companies, sales are the most important thing. Money is more important than diversifying their product line. Money speaks. So next time you hear about a title that piques your interest (perhaps Fearless Defenders or Brain Wood’s all-female X-Men), instead of just skimming it at the store or downloading it at home, actually buy it. If it’s good, buy more. In a small industry like comics, money speaks more than all the irritated blog posts in the world.
Some female led titles that I love are: Captain Marvel, Journey into Mystery, Fearless Defenders, Wonder Woman, Princeless, Rachel Rising, Freelancers, Womanthology: Space, and Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake.
Other current female led titles include: Catwoman, Supergirl, Sword and Sorcery, Katana, Birds of Prey, I Love Trouble, Courtney Crumrin, Epic Kill, Adventures of Augusta Wind, and Marvel’s Oz.
Ellie Hillis 