But I still have to admire this brief attempt at trying something new, even if the results ended up being mixed. New voices in superhero comics are always welcome, in my mind.

White Tiger: A Hero’s Compulsion

If you were a young woman of a certain age, Tamora Pierce was probably a pretty big deal to you. Her Song of the Lioness Quartet should be the standard by which all other young adult books are judged. You have magic, gender issues, a fully-realized world, a likable and flawed heroine and a pretty awesome and effective love triangle that doesn’t feel forced.

(Maybe that’s the memories of 13-year-old me talking, but those books are great and I will stand by that.)

Pierce is known to be a huge comics fan who often sneaks in references into her books, so her writing a comic series seemed like it should be a perfect fit. I just wish it had been.

White Tiger: A Hero’s Compulsion, a six-issue series co-written with husband Timonthy Liebe, deserves to be so much better than it is. I wanted to like this but it missed its mark for me.

To be fair, I don’t think much of that was Pierce’s (or Liebe’s) fault. I imagine too much editorial influence wanted to place this firmly into continuity. It faces the twin problems of too much exposition that slow the action down and too many references to the storylines that were happening in the Marvel Universe at the time. Angela Del Toro never quite got to shine in her own story.

There are glimpses of a great character, though. I like how Angela isn’t a really reluctant heroine and has a large “family” — both blood and chosen. She wants to use her power and responsibility to do what’s right. I just wish I had gotten to know her a bit better.

I liked the humor — Angela, in her White Tiger outfit, keeps getting mistaken for Emma Frost — and she’s fast and smart with quips. I like the respect that Pierce and Liebe give to Angela’s Hispanic heritage. But the glossy, generic superhero art by Phil Briones, Alvaro Rio and Ronaldo Adriano Silva (with inks by Don Hillsman) does this book little service, especially in contrast to the quietly beautiful covers by David Mack. In the end, there’s not much that’s distinctive here. Pierce’s gifts as a writer are muted by a standard superhero story.

I wanted more, sure. But I also think Pierce deserved better. I still hope that she’ll one day be able to write the kinds of comics she has in her.

Black Widow: Homecoming

I love Black Widow: Homecoming and I will recommend it to everyone forever (the collection is out of print, but it’s not hard to come by. Neither are the original issues. But Marvel? Reprint this now.)

It is, without a doubt, the most blatantly feminist mainstream superhero story I’ve ever read. It’s possibly the most blatantly feminist mainstream superhero story that exists.

Writer Richard K. Morgan had this to say about it:

“A brief foray into sequential art, feminist subtext and overt political anger – welcome to a twenty first century reinterpretation of one of Marvel’s iffiest ‘heroes’. Just how does a superannuated Soviet female super-spy feel about life in the era of corporate power, glossy marketing and lad mag sexuality? Find out, but be warned – in terms of comic sales, this one flew like a brick.”

Which is pretty accurate.

In Morgan’s hands, Natasha is a complicated character — she clearly straddles the line between “good” and “bad” quite often. She’s not afraid of her sexuality but also resents having to use it. In one of my favorite passages, she get dressed up to go out on the town — “Dressed to kill is a strange expression. Heels you can barely walk in, let alone run in. Skin exposed all over regardless of the weather. A look that says ‘Take me, I’m yours.’ Dressed to be killed, more like.”

Yet, she does this because she knows it works. She has no other choice. That Morgan acknowledges both sides is refreshing.

The overall plot is a little heavy-handed in some ways (it involves an evil cosmetic company, basically), but the sensitivity and understanding Morgan provides to his lead character is wonderful. She’s smart and capable but also fearful and thoughtful as she digs deeper into her past. She’s not always likable (she’s quite often brutal) but she’s always fun to watch.

Unlike White Tiger, Black Widow: Homecoming suffers from generic covers that don’t indicate that Bill Sienkiewicz is the lead artist for this comic. His sketchy, dreamy art is the perfect compliment to this story. It’s sexy without being leering and the dirty darkness of it gives the appropriate noir feel.

This is what I wanted from a Black Widow story. I think it’s probably what you do too.

(There is a follow-up series to this, also by Morgan and mostly Sienkiewicz. It’s also worth picking up but it’s not as good as this one. But seriously, find this and read it.)

Near Miss is a semi-regular feature that will be appearing on Comicsgirl throughout 2013-2014. This project is sponsored by Big Planet Comics.

Comicsgirl: What brought you to comics? 

Barbara Slate: In the 70s, I created the first feminist greeting card line featuring a character called Ms. Liz. We sold over two million greeting cards. I appeared with Ms. Liz on the Today Show, and drew a Ms. Liz comic strip which appeared monthly in Cosmopolitan magazine. Ms. Liz was my obsession for nine years but competing with Hallmark was no easy task and for various other reasons, I was definitely looking for something else. So, when a friend suggested I contact Jenette Kahn, president at DC Comics, I did. Luckily, the timing was fortuitous. Jenette was looking to create a girl’s line of comics.  

CG: What makes you prefer that over other forms of storytelling? 

Slate: Comic books have it all! I can create my own characters, draw them, and write their stories. I think comic books are beautiful in their simplicity. Every month my work appears in a 24 page story produced on cheap paper and held together by staples! How lucky can a girl be?! 

CG: What keeps you wanting to create comics?

Slate: I love telling stories. My latest graphic novel is Getting Married and Other Mistakes. I also love teaching teens and adults how to do a graphic novel. I find this work rewarding and it takes me all over the country as a teacher and speaker on the subject.

CG: How did Angel Love come about? It did seem like it was part of an era where DC Comics was trying new things.

Slate: In the early 80s, the comic book reader was 95% boys, 5% girls. Jenette and her staff liked Ms. Liz, so she asked me to create a character for DC Comics. Writing and drawing greeting cards is very different than comic books. Although Ms. Liz has a personality and point of view, she did not have the depth of a character like Angel Love where a Character Bible and Plotline were part of her backstory. I am forever grateful to Jenette. She handed me the Wonder Woman Bible to study and had her two vice presidents, Dick Giordano and Paul Levitz, teach me how to plot using color code. Then she introduced me to my editor, the amazing Karen Berger. In a month’s time, my education through DC Comics was like attending a four year college in how to do a comic book.  

CG: I know you teach graphic novel workshops. I constantly hear from other teachers of sequential art classes that their classes are at least half female, if not more than half.  Has that been your experience?

Slate: When I first started teaching, I was afraid there would be 15 super hero inspired boys but instead it was half boys and half girls. That is a wonderful thing to see. The super hero genre is usually about 15% of the class. My book You Can Do a Graphic Novel breaks down the steps  so anybody can learn to do a comic book. It may not be a graphic novel that gets published by Marvel Comics, but it is a fun and rewarding process.  

CG: Is it important to you to encourage girls specifically to make their own comics?

Slate: It’s a funny thing about being a woman in comics. There is an unwritten code that you are supposed to “empower girls.” When I first started, it was just me and Trina Robbins writing and drawing comics for Marvel Comics and DC. That was the time to encourage girls specifically to make their own comics. Today, I teach girls who are already empowered.  I really don’t see the purpose of encouraging girls specifically over boys. Writing and drawing comics is an equal opportunity passion. 

CG: What changes in comics overall have you seen in comics during your career?

Slate: Certainly, computers have changed the way comics are created, especially in coloring and lettering. Another big change is that the comic book reader is now 50% girls due mostly to the Japanese manga influence. When Angel Love hit the market in the 80s, there was no place for her in comic book stands. She was literally squeezed in between superheroes. It is disappointing to see that Marvel and DC Comics still have not embraced a line of comics for girls; however, mainstream publishers saw that kids love comics and have created their own divisions. The change is that they call them graphic novels. 

My theory is that the name “comic books” was so demonized in the 50s, that main stream publishers thought if they changed the name to “graphic novels”, the mothers wouldn’t notice that their kids were really reading the dreaded comic book. (Will Eisner was the one who originally coined the name “graphic novel” with his publication of his book, A Contract with God.) 

And it worked! Teachers today use comic books as a teaching tool. Librarians have special sections for the graphic novel. It is a proven way to get teens into the library. The movie industry uses the comic book series to create block buster movies and art critics take the genre seriously. Even mothers are encouraging their children to read comics. 

Today, more and more women are writing their stories in graphic novel form. My dream is that one day there will be enough female graphic novelists that we will have our own section in a bookstore instead of being scattered everywhere amongst superheroes and novels. Yes, we’ve come a long way baby, but boy, we still have a long way to go. 

Near Miss is a semi-regular feature that will be appearing on Comicsgirl throughout 2013. This project is sponsored by Big Planet Comics.

Meet Misty, the 1985 limited series from Marvel’s Star Comics line, actually came with an impressive pedigree: It was written and drawn by comics legend Trina Robbins. Trying to update earlier comics like Millie the Model (Millie shows up as Misty’s aunt), it was focused on clothes, boys and fame, but not without a measure of confidence and independence. Yeah, there’s the typical mean rich-girl enemy, but Misty also is cool enough to hang out with rocker Spike and hip Shirelle.

Oh, it’s overly lightweight, as you’d expect — most of Misty’s crises involve a broken zipper and minor misunderstandings with friends. Still, she’s a kind, likable character and the clothes are fun (you may recognize some of the names that “created” the designs — people like Mike Madrid and Gilbert Hernandez. I’m sure those were inside jokes that flew far over the heads of most 8-year-olds reading this comic). Overall, though, despite Robbins’ undeniable presence, it doesn’t feel significantly different in tone or theme than any issue of Archie and the like. Understandably, that’s what the intention was, but I think there’s a reason this comic has basically been swallowed by time. It’s forgettable. (It’s also almost impossible to find now — I wasn’t able to track down all six issues.)

So let’s talk about Barbie. When I started gathering titles for this project, I had a rule of “No toy tie-ins” but Barbie feels bigger than just a toy. She’s a cultural icon. For good or bad, she represents a lot of different things to a lot of different women. To dismiss the Barbie comics felt like it would’ve been a mistake.

Here’s a confession: I really like Barbie. I understand the complaints — the unrealistic proportions of the doll, the focus on consumerism, etc. — and yeah, I don’t want to turn this into “I played with Barbies and I turned out OK so that should be everyone’s experience!” But I still think Barbie — like playing dress-up — can be a positive experience. She can be anyone, go anywhere and do anything. And she’ll look good doing it.

Between 1991 and 1996, Barbie, published by Marvel Comics, ran for a surprising 63 issues. Its companion series, Barbie Fashion, ran for 53. I think that’s pretty notable for a title aimed at girls in the early- to mid-90s. I was a little too old for it when it debuted, but I’m kind of sad I missed it. It’s actually a lot of fun.

It is, delightfully, a female-dominated title. Creative teams vary, but the line-up includes Barbara Slate, Lisa Trusiani, Mary Wilshire and Amanda Conner. (While I don’t have those issues, even Trina Robbins wrote for it.)

Both titles can mostly be summed up with “Barbie goes on adventures and wears cute clothes.” Barbie Fashion may be a little more fashion-oriented of the two, but since both titles share a lot of the same creators, they feel very similar. That’s not a bad thing, though. Clearly, Marvel just wanted to have two Barbie titles out at the same time, but in this case, it is “the more, the better!”

Barbie is always helpful and smart without ever feeling like a pushover. She’s beautiful but approachable and friendly. Still, though, Barbie’s never given too many individual character traits, letting her be a stand-in for the reader herself. She’s easy to identify with. It’s easy to want to be like Barbie — or whatever the reader imagines Barbie to be. That seems to be the point and it does feel empowering.

Most of the humor is pretty sweet, For instance, on short story is about Barbie accidentally grabbing the wrong top and bottom of a two-piece swim suit and is forced to wear the mismatched set to the beach. But by doing so, she sets off a new trend. There are light craft projects (string buttons to make a necklace!) and visits with fashion professionals who give the most basic details about their jobs.

It’s not a deep comic, no, but it seems to respect its audience, thanks to the strength of the women working on it. I actually think there’s a lot of room for Barbie comics of this sort to make a comeback.

Near Miss is a semi-regular feature that will be appearing on Comicsgirl throughout 2013. This project is sponsored by Big Planet Comics.

News/reviews/interviews:

• What “Fox Guy” Had to Teach Us, Art Hondros, Washington Post Magazine.
• Comic art takes center stage at Chadds Ford Elementary, Wm. Shawn Weigel, Daily Local News. Features John Gallagher.
• Bookworm: Keyed up For Annapolis Book Festival, Theresa Winslow, Capital Gazette.
• Marvel, circus producer Feld Entertainment to team up on live superhero arena show in 2014, Associated Press

Event news:

• SPX exhibitor registration ignites Table-geddon, Heidi MacDonald/The Beat
• SPX Apologies for Sunday’s Registration Collapse, Tom Spurgeon/The Comics Reporter

Event coverage:

• I held a Mini-Comics Day Saturday

Publications:

• Magic Bullet #6 is now available. Visit the Magic Bullet blog for more details and locations

Events:

• Now through Aug. 18: ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.
• March 30: Savage Skullkickers Launch Party, with Jim Zub and Edwin Huang, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Third Eye Comics, Anapolis, Md.
• March 30: Asbury Park Comic Con, Asbury Park, Md. Con will feature several D.C. area creators.
• April 13: Annapolis Book Festival, The Key School, Annapolis, Md. Features comics programming, artists and activities.
• April 18: Dash Shaw & Tim Krieder, 7 p.m., Atomic Books, Baltimore, Md. Facebook event page.
• April 20-21: Awesome Con D.C., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (April 20) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (April 21), Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.

Have comic news or events related to the D.C. area to share? Email me! Submit no later than Monday at 9 p.m. for inclusion each Tuesday, but the earlier, the better! More information is here.

The Sisterhood of Steel

Writer and co-creator Christy Marx has contributed a lot to pop culture, whether people know it or not. She was head writer on Jem and the Holograms and has written numerous other TV and movie scripts as well as contributed to numerous video games and comics. She’s someone who’s almost always working. If you’re of a certain generation, you probably know her work.

So when DC Comics announced Sword of Sorcery with a reboot of Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld penned by Marx, I felt hopeful. After all, DC Comics’ New 52 had been criticized for its lack of female creators (as well as the typical gross sexism in comics). Maybe — just maybe — DC was trying to expand its audience.

It seemed like a step forward until, well, we saw the first issue.

I don’t want to place the blame all on Marx for that attempted gang-rape scene. I have no idea what was in her script so I don’t know what she originally intended. And to me, the way it was drawn and paced on the page made it worse than the fact it was happening. (Also, it’s dismaying that no editor said at any time during the process “Uh, yeah, maybe this isn’t the best way to go about this …”)

I already knew about The Sisterhood of Steel before reading Sword of Sorcery #0 and was already forming this project, but that issue kind of cemented the idea for me.

The Sisterhood of Steel was an eight-issue miniseries published by Marvel Comics’ Epic Comics line created by Marx and artist Mike Vosburg. They said they were “striving to create a book that will appeal equally to male and female readers.” I don’t know how much they succeeded.

This was obviously some kind of labor of love. Marx and Vosburg obviously spent a lot of time creating this world. The back pages offer up appendices with brief character histories, explanations of the political and social structure of The Sisterhood and its rituals and more. In terms of world-building, you really can’t ask for more.

In terms of story and characters you actually care about, however, you will.

Our lead is Boronwë, a young woman who is blandly good at nearly everything. There is nothing wrong with Boronwë but there’s little that’s interesting about her either. I wouldn’t quite call her a Mary Sue, but she’s a skilled fighter whose major flaw is that she loves her best friend too much. She’s persecuted by Vandalis, The Princess of Swords … because I guess the title needed to have an enemy?

Character motivations are mostly thin and left me with the impression this was possibly conceived initially as a Dungeons & Dragons scenario. Political intrigue (slave traders!), star-crossed romances and fierce wars with barbarian tribes are dropped completely in the last two issues (out of 8!) for Boronwë’s trial for treason against The Sisterhood. For a title that wants to promise battles and fight scenes, there is certainly a lot of talking.

Still, there are things to like. While it’s sometimes a little graceless and looks a little dated now, it’s amazing to see what diversity of women Vosburg offered in his art. Some are young and some are old. Some are feminine and masculine. There is a diversity of races, heights and body types (to some extent — most everyone is drawn to be strong and athletic). Sexuality is treated matter-of-factly. Many of the sisters are clearly in same-sex relationships and Boronwë has sex without shame. Kelki, Boronwë’s friend, makes the decision to run away to choose love and family over fighting, but her choices are treated with respect. Marx and Vosburg offer many different paths for women, and that feels progressive even now.

I also like that while the battles were intense, they weren’t overly graphic. There is definitely violence and some blood, but it’s not gory. Some of the sex scenes were fairly explicit, though, although not gratuitous. I don’t know if that was an intentional plan, but that did feel more appealing to me.

It’s hard to say how much of a plan Marx and Vosburg had in telling this story. It does meander a bit as plot points are picked up and dropped. I have to assume it was canceled with only a bit of notice. The eight issues do wrap up a few major threads by the end, but more questions remain than were answers.

The story does continue, though, in a graphic novel by Marx with art by Peter Ledger, published by Eclipse Books. I have it but once I finished the eight issues of The Sisterhood of Steel,I felt bored and uninterested in reading it. I may go back to it some day, but I just didn’t care about these characters enough.

The Sisterhood of Steel was decent attempt at telling a different kind of story. It clearly didn’t make much of a connection — and it didn’t with me, even now — but I admire what it tried to do.

I only wish I felt the same about Sword of Sorcery.

Near Miss is a semi-regular feature that will be appearing on Comicsgirl throughout 2013. This project is sponsored by Big Planet Comics.

The Essential Dazzler Vol. 1
Buy at Amazon.com

At Baltimore Comic-Con, I picked up The Essential Dazzler Vol. 1 because it was $5 and I like Dazzler.

This isn’t so much a review of that book — honestly, you probably already know if you’re someone who wants to read a lot of Dazzler or not. Nothing I could say could convince you otherwise.

Yes, these comics are fun — the stories are silly and without much consequence but the ridiculousness is spirited. I summarize this volume this way: In one issue, Dazzler goes to jail because she’s charged with “murdering” the villain Klaw (oh, don’t worry, she’s acquitted), but really, it’s just so she can fight the Grapplers. In case that’s not clear — there’s an entire sequence that is a fight in a women’s prison for no real reason other than it probably seemed like an awesome idea at the time.

Most of the title’s silly qualities come from the character of Dazzler herself. She was a character created by committee — a committee that basically gave up on her before the end of the process. Still, Marvel figured “We’ve already spent the money …” so they went ahead with the series. She was a disco singer who debuted at a point when no one cared about disco anymore (although the disco element was pretty quickly dropped). We are constantly told she’s an amazing singer even though we never get a good sense of what kind of music she likes to sing. She’s gorgeous and all the boys — including various superheroes — love her without question. She’s also really smart and was supposed to become a lawyer but she just wanted to sing! (I like how they use “lawyer” as code for “boring adult job that makes a lot of money.” After all, being a doctor is too noble and being a teacher doesn’t pay enough.)

She doesn’t want to be a heroine (I’d suggest a drinking game where you take a drink whenever Dazzler says some variation on “I am not a heroine! I just want to sing!” although I think that would get you very drunk very quickly, so it’s not a good idea) but is constantly saving the world or the universe. Or just a campus full of students. Her power is weak to start out (she can turn sound into light that, uh, confuses and disorients bad guys) before immediately swinging the other way, becoming excessively powerful (she can then store sound energy and release it as laser-like bursts or something. It’s explained constantly but I don’t know if I completely understand it).

Basically, Dazzler comes across like a character created by 14-year-old girls for other 14-year-old girls.

Still, she’s charming and independently-minded. Her dedication to her dream is admirable (she just wants to sing! you see). While her real-life problems — not having money, estrangement from her father — come across as pretty trivial matters (Dazzler needed some problems so she wouldn’t be too perfect), they’re still easy to relate to. I was amused by a lot of Dazzler for unintended reasons because this is a silly comic. Still, after a while, I found myself rooting for her and actually enjoying her adventures in a genuine way.

But I do think she needs to ditch those roller skates that magnetically attach to her shoes.

I know Dazzler is still hanging around the Marvel universe and has been involved with the X-Men recently. So while she’s never really gone away, I think she’s someone who could do with a revival. The idea of a pop star having to balance her career, love life and super powers is remains appealing. I think some out-of-continuity, standalone stories featuring Dazzler would be great fun. With current reference points in flashy pop stars like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, I’m actually surprised no one has done this yet.

I am happy to see there is an Essential Dazzler Vol. 2. I may even pay more than $5 for it.