In honor of the late Chick Checks, let’s count female creators: The complete 2007 Minx lineup was announced yesterday. Two are by male writer/artists. Two are by separate male writers and artists. One is by a male writer with two male artists. One is cowritten by a male and his daughter and illustrated by a male. One is by a female writer and male artist. (I’ve talked about the new imprint previously here and here.) So, we have seven books […]

Today’s hot story: Reaction to the news about DC’s Minx line. Creators have begun commenting. At his message board (all links no longer available), Warren Ellis downplays concern over the lack of female creators, pointing to the two female editors and saying that the imprint is designed to make money, “not raise an ideological tent”. Andi Watson (one of the imprint’s writers) confirms that the editors tried to recruit more women, but “Some creators weren’t interested and then I guess […]

Today’s NY Times has an article (registration required) on Minx, DC Comics’ new line of graphic novels for teenage girls. Disclaimer: I’m quoted in it, because the author, an old Usenet friend, needed someone familiar with the subject matter at short notice who wasn’t actually working on the project. That’s not going to stop me from pointing out some of the sillier statements in the piece, though. It starts with a quote from Karen Berger: “It’s time we got teenage […]

One: Responding to Negative Reviews Kevin Church, blogger and comic writer, tells you how to react to negative reviews (link no longer available). I like this so much, I’m thinking of adding to my form response to “will you review my book?” “Only if you’ve read this.” Here’s the rundown, but his site has a lot more explanation: Your LiveJournal “friends list” does not necessarily reflect the taste of the general reading public. When a reviewer does not like your […]

My talented brother Powell is currently studying for his Ph.D. at Princeton. When I found out Scott McCloud would be stopping there as part of his Making Comics tour, I encouraged Powell to go and report back. Here’s his writeup: “Comics: An Art Form in Transition” Thursday, October 5, 2006 Jimmy Stewart Theater, Princeton University The presentation began with an introduction by Tom Levin, professor of German, media theory, and architecture. He discussed works that were heterochronic and mentioned, as […]

Miriam Engelberg, who wrote about her struggles with breast cancer in the autobiographical Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person, has passed away. A close friend sent out an email which included the following: Miriam Engelberg died at home earlier today. She had her family and close friends with her and was not in a coma. As far as I can tell, she didn’t suffer and was spared the intense pain many go through with cancer. I like to think the […]

Platinum Studios must have a great press agent. Although they have yet to publish a comic, they’re written up in the NY Times, this time for being webcomic leaders. I can’t begin to count the inaccuracies and misleading statements in this piece. How about the first paragraph, which says that the webcomic audience is “limited to a niche group of comic book creators and their most ardent followers”? Webcomics are more widespread and have more outreach than print serial comics. […]