Marvel to publish Girl Comics anthology next year

[NightBeetle]

Heidi over at The Beat breaks the news that Marvel is putting out a three-issue anthology called Girl Comics -- think Strange Tales, but created exclusively by women. Contributors include Kathryn Immonen, Marjorie Liu, Devin Grayson, Ann Nocenti, Trina Robbins, G. Willow Wilson, Stephanie Buscema, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson, Louise Simonson, Valerie D’Orazio, Colleen Coover, Molly Crabapple, Nikki Cook, Ming Doyle, Abby Denson and Carla Speed McNeil. The book is edited by Jeanine Schaefer, who gave Heidi more details on the project.




"It’s actually comics BY women—and I mean, top to bottom: written, penciled, inked, colored, lettered. The logo is by a woman, all the interior design, production, proof-reading and editing is all by women," Schaefer said. "Although some creators have gravitated towards their favorite female super hero, it’s not specifically focused on our female characters, and I’m not trying to generate content that I think will appeal to more women. I don’t want to give away all the stories, but we’re really running the gamut of Marvel characters, from Punisher to the FF to Mary Jane. We’re making great comics by great women, period—when given the opportunity to create a story about whatever they wanted, the pitches I got back from everyone have been hugely diverse in tone and characters."
The first issue is due in March.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/marvel-to-publish-girl-comics-anthology-next-year/

 

[NightBeetle]

Misspelled ''year'' on the thread title.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Worth it just to see Amanda Conner doing Marvel characters.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Could be interesting. Not too familiar with some of those names, though.

 

[X-Woman]

I only recognize a few of those names myself, but one that I'm pretty familiar with is Trina Robbins. I remember her doing underground comics way back in the days when R. Crumb was still alive. I'd check this series out just to see what Trina Robbins does.

 

[CaptainCanada]

A few old-timers resurfacing after many years there: Louise Simonson, Ann Nocenti, er, I don't remember the last thing written by Devin Grayson, so perhaps she counts too.

Amanda Conner doing something at Marvel would definitely have my interest; cute cover.

 

[bryanss3]

I can't wait till they announce Boy Comics... oh wait. I'm excited for this I just think Marvel is too obvious with their "lets get the girl audience" ideas... but I'll read anything by Ann Nocenti who has a very underrated DD run

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Interesting concept. I may give it a look when it comes out.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I don't care if a guy or a girl writes a comic... I'm interested in plot. I'll decide about this when I hear what the stories are about and who's in them.

 

[SouLeSS]

Just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.

Hey I got an idea for selling some comics, lets make them 100% girl power and ship them off as girl comics!

 

[GL1]

Just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.

Hey I got an idea for selling some comics, lets make them 100% girl power and ship them off as girl comics!

I disagree. As much of a 'stunt' as this is, there is value in putting a bunch of people with a common experience (femaleness) in a room and letting them do what they love together. It creates a unique synergy based on that commonality. I'm generally interested in what they'll come up with.

If this is a bid for girl readership, and I suppose it could despite the lack of focus on female characters, this by far the most mature well reasoned attempt I've seen in my lifetime.

 

[Raiden]

I think this is an interesting idea and I'm glad Marvel is doing it. Maybe it will open a few doors for female artists and writers in the industry.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If this is a bid for girl readership, and I suppose it could despite the lack of focus on female characters, this by far the most mature well reasoned attempt I've seen in my lifetime.

I would argue that female creators are a much more logical choice if you're going after a female readership than female characters. Anyone can write any character but not anyone can necessarily write from a female perspective. Oddly enough, I just talked about this with a friend last night who hates Wes Anderson movies because she claims he only writes movies from a specifically male perspective. So there are women out there who are attuned to that difference in perspective and may be likelier to check something out if they know it's coming from female creators.

 

[NightBeetle]

Wednesday Q&A: Jeanine Schaefer

The editor in charge of Girl Comics discusses the upcoming all-female produced three-issue anthology.

Marvel.com: How did this whole project come about?

Jeanine Schaefer:It was during the discussion of the celebration of 70 years of Marvel. Someone said that they thought it would be cool if we did something that focused on our female super heroes. I really also wanted to bring in the fact that we have a large number of women working here and [who have] worked for us and kind of spotlight that a little bit. There have historically been a lot of women at Marvel working both in the books and in the bullpen. Flo Steinberg, for example, worked with Stan Lee and is still here. It's a pretty big deal and we wanted to highlight all that and put that all together.

Marvel.com: And what's the origin of the name Girl Comics?

Jeanine Schaefer: Much like with the origin of the STRANGE TALES anthology, we combed back through Marvel's old titles to come up with a name that would be a little wink to our publishing history as well as tell people at first glance what the comic is. This was the first name we came up with, based on the old romance title of the same name, but I put everyone through the wringer coming up with every name possible just to make sure-and in the end, GIRL COMICS has the feel we're going for. I mean, usually the women in Marvel editorial are all "Very Serious Business," clearly, but we wanted to have some fun with the perceptions people would have.

Marvel.com: You said before it's all female writers, artists, colorists. Does that mean that all the stories focus on female characters as well?

Jeanine Schaefer: Not at all. The people that I've spoken with about doing stories, I asked for pitches like, "If you could do anything, what would you do?" Some women wanted to focus on female super heroes and some women didn't. We have a Punisher pitch. We have a Mary Jane pitch. A Nightcrawler pitch. Ann Nocenti is doing a Typhoid Mary story and she was one of the creators of Typhoid Mary. Not all women like the same thing. But this is a comic by women for people who like comics.

Marvel.com: Female characters and creators have been a part of comics for a long time, but sometimes women characters in comics aren't treated "fairly," I want to say. They're often dressed more provocative or act as plot cannon fodder.

Jeanine Schaefer: Right. I think that any woman who wants to write in super hero comics, there's a little bit of that: the sexualization part and the costumes and getting past that to make it about the women in the costumes. You can get into all that, but if a woman wants to create super hero comics, there must be something in the genre that grabbed her tobegin with. I'm not suggesting that all women need to be covered up and there can't be any raunchy stories with women, you know what I mean? That's not the genre we're talking about. There have always been the tropes of the damsel in distress and the sexy bad girl and whatever else. For me, I don't think those things have to go away for women to feel comfortable reading and creating comics-I'm not ashamed to see a woman's body in skintight spandex, I am ashamed when I see them not getting their own plots and motivations beyond being the woman in the man's story; I hate not seeing them being able to be heroes.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Wow. Flo Steinberg is still working for Marvel?!?

 

[CaptainCanada]

Yeah, I was wondering about that; you'd think she'd have gotten her pension by now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

She quit for, like, decades and came back.

 

[CaptainCanada]

"Well well, look who's come crawlin back..."

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh. According to Wikipedia (i.e. not sure on the reliability of the information), she quit in the late '60s because they wouldn't give her a $5 raise (even though she answered pretty much all the fan mail back then), and then she came back in the '90s as a proofreader.

 

[NightBeetle]

GIRL COMICS #1 (of 3)
Written by TRINA ROBBINS, DEVIN GRAYSON, ANN NOCENTI, G. WILLOW WILSON, VALERIE D’ORAZIO, LUCY KNISLEY, COLLEEN DORAN & MORE!
Pencilled by STEPHANIE BUSCEMA, MING DOYLE, NIKKI COOK, MOLLY CRABAPPLE, LUCY KNISLEY, COLLEEN DORAN & MORE!
Cover by AMANDA CONNER & LAURA MARTIN
With the most controversial question in the Marvel Universe finally answered right on the cover, Marvel is proud to bring you a celebration of amazing women in comics with the first of a three issue anthology entirely created by the most talented and exciting women working in comics today, including Ann Nocenti (DAREDEVIL), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Laura Martin (SECRET INVASION), G. Willow Wilson (Air), Devin Grayson (Nightwing), Stephanie Buscema (WEB OF SPIDER-MAN), and more! With stories featuring your favorite Marvel characters, from the Punisher to Mary Jane, don’t miss what will be the one of the most talked about series of the year! (Please note: She-Hulk would totally win).
48 PGS./Rated A ...$4.99

.....

 

[NightBeetle]

Girl Comics #2 Cover

 

[Obi-Ron]

x 6

 

[NightBeetle]

GIRL COMICS #2 (of 3)
Written by KATHRYN IMMONEN, LOUISE SIMONSON, ROBIN FURTH, JILL THOMPSON, FAITH ERIN HICKS, COLLEEN COOVER & MORE!
Penciled by COLLEEN COOVER, JUNE BRIGMAN, AGNES GARBOWSKA, JILL THOMPSON, FAITH ERIN HICKS & MORE!
Cover by JILL THOMPSON
Already one of the most talked about comics of the year, Marvel is proud to present the second issue of GIRL COMICS, spotlighting some of the most talented women working in comics today! With something for every comic reader, from the Fantastic Four to the X-Men to the reunion of acclaimed creators LOUISE SIMONSON and JUNE BRIGMAN on the Power Pack, you won’t want to miss this Marvel milestone!
48 PGS./Rated T+ ...$4.99

 

[NightBeetle]

''Girls Gone Comics''

Continuing the year-long Women of Marvel celebration, the brand new, three-issue anthology GIRL COMICS launches on March 3 featuring stories by the most talented women in the industry. The first issue alone boasts the writing talents of Colleen Coover, Valerie D'Orazio, Devin Grayson, Lucy Knisley, Trina Robbins and G. Willow Wilson with art by Coover, Knisley, Ming Doyle, Stephanie Buscema, Agnes Garbowska, Nikki Cook and Emma Rios; the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and just about everybody in between put in appearances in the process.

Kicking things off each issue will be Coover, who will write and draw character-packed intros."They're actually not so much an introduction as they are a forward, or maybe a mission statement," Coover clarifies. "They work on two levels; on one hand explaining why heroes do what they do, and on the other hand why we artists, writers and publishers create comics. Each could be read by itself, but they work together as a three-part piece."

Meanwhile Wilson and Doyle team up on a tale starring everyone's favorite swashbuckling teleporter Nightcrawler.
"The story takes place in a Berlin cabaret theatre, where Nightcrawler clashes with a sinister MC," Wilson says. "Nightcrawler has only a single line, and it's in German. I wanted to do something different and fresh, relying on visual storytelling rather than writing lots of dialog like I usually do."
Venus-the Greek god not the Agent of Atlas-gets her turn in the spotlight thanks to Robbins and Buscema.

In my story, up on Mount Olympus, Venus gets tired of listening to Hercules' boasting about his super hero adventures and reminds the gods that she was a super hero too, back in the 1950's," Robbins explains. "She makes a bet with them that she can fight the bad guys, using her own methods, just as well as Herc. Then she floats down to Earth in 1969 and joins the staff of her old magazine, 'Beauty.' I won't give anything away, but Venus wins her bet by doing what goddesses do."Robbins went on to explain her interest in the character thusly: "I chose Venus because I love the Golden Age Venus, especially as she was written and drawn by the great Bill Everett. It's so cool to have a goddess as a super heroine! I'd love to see her brought back-as written by me, of course!"

Illustrator and writer Knisley turns her eye towards Doctor Octopus."The comic is a short glimpse into the good doctor's daily tribulations," Knisley says. "I'm a big fan of Doc Ock because he's this short, chubby nerd with a bowl cut, and it's impossible for me not to sympathize a little when he yearns to destroy that cocky little spidery bastard."

The children of the Fantastic Four, Valeria and Franklin get some love in a tale written by Furth and drawn by Garbowska. The story takes a cue from Neil Gaiman comics with a little Tim Burton thrown in for a very twisted fairy tale vibe according to Furth.
"Since Franklin and Val are brother and sister, playing with the story of Hansel and Gretel just felt right," she notes. "I won't say too much more, but after adding in a little bit of monstrous clockwork, we had our story. Agnes created such amazing artwork that I found it incredibly inspiring. I'd hand in a draft, Agnes would do some pages, I'd rewrite, Agnes would redraw, and we kept going like that until we had our final draft."

Even the Punisher gets in on the action thanks to D'Orazio and Cook's story, which follows Frank Castle on an undercover assignment after a target that puts him in a very similar situation as his prey."I think the particular assignment the Punisher pursues lends him a strange, almost immediately comical vulnerability," D'Orazio explains. "There is a big contrast between his established iconic persona and the one he chooses, for the sake of his assignment, to temporarily identify with. And the contrast is so extreme that it sort of loops around at the other end and makes a tremendous amount of sense."

Finally, Grayson and Rios take a look at one of the most famous love triangles in all of comic between Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolverine. Taking place before Days of Future Past, the story gives readers Cyclops' point of view.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Nice that they are tapping the indie market for some of those names. (Lucy Knisley, really? Too cool.)

Also, that Sleeping Beauty cover is all kinds of awesome.