by rory midhani
The last two years I’ve put out a list of things that I was hoping to see in comics over the next year. Some of those things happened — America Chavez and Batwoman are getting new series written by queer women! — but others not so much. I wished big and dreamed big and when I didn’t get those things, sometimes I felt really, really disappointed. This year, I’m simplifying it down to just eight storylines I’d like to see that involve queer, bisexual and lesbian women and nonbinary people. I’m trying to calm down a little this year and not have too many expectations, I don’t think I can take as much disappointment as I could have in the last two years. But still, I am hoping for a few things. These aren’t ranked in any particular order.
8. DC Hires More Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
7. Marvel Hires More Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
6. Other Large Publishers Hire More Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
5. Independent/Small Publishers Hire More Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
4. Book Publishers Publish More Books by Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
3. Comic Fans Buy Things From Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
2. Comic Fans Support the Patreons of Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color
1. Queer Women, Especially Queer Women of Color Get More Money, Respect and Power in the Entire Comics Industry
Literally the only comic storyline I care about in 2017 is the one where real life queer women, and especially queer women of color are able to make a living and feel safe working in comics. Check out the list of queer women and nonbinary people I made recently (and the ones from previous years) to see some ways you can support them. Obviously I want quality stories about queer women. I want the America Chavez book to be super amazing (and with Gabby Rivera, I have no doubt it will be), I want the same thing for the new Batwoman book (again, with Marguerite Bennett, I have no doubt it will be). I want queer women to be able to star in their own books and be happy and be in relationships.
But more than I want good things and more representation for fictional queer women, I want those things for real queer women. As so many queer comics professionals before me have said, the wellbeing of fictional queer characters will never be as important as the wellbeing of real life queer people. Readers need to support comics that have queer people on the creative teams. They need to buy graphic novels and mini comics and zines and online comics published by queer people. They need to put their money where their mouth is. That’s how you support people in real life.
We need role models in fiction, but also we need to be able to be alive. I keep on saying this, but this is more important now than ever. One queer woman getting hired for a job that pays her bills or gets her insurance is better for the queer community than ten comics starring queer women of color that have no queer people on the creative team combined. If you’re a comics fan, put your money (what money you have) in important places. If you’re a cis, straight man in comics, you need to step up and step aside. You need to realize that the best way to support the queer community is to give them jobs. You need to realize that the best way to support people of color is to give them jobs. You need to realize that the best way to support women is to give them jobs. It’s not about how many “diverse” characters you can write or draw, it’s about the actual, real life people.
New Releases (January 11)
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #6
Gotham Academy Second Semester #5
Welcome to Drawn to Comics! From diary comics to superheroes, from webcomics to graphic novels – this is where we’ll be taking a look at comics by, featuring and for queer ladies. So whether you love to look at detailed personal accounts of other people’s lives, explore new and creative worlds, or you just love to see hot ladies in spandex, we’ve got something for you.
If you have a comic that you’d like to see me review, you can email me at mey [at] autostraddle [dot] com.
Seconded! Recently realizing that I’m SO gay (and have been forever) comics were the first place of research for me – because for some reason I was afraid(?) to look at real lesbians. I’m over that now thank god. BTW the sex scenes from The Invisible Lesbian are, nice…
The Queer Comics Database (http://queercartoonists.com/), Cartoonists of Color database (http://cartoonistsofcolor.com/), and LGBTQ Cartoonists of Color (http://cartoonistsofcolor.com/coc-LGBTQ.html) are resources people may find useful if they’re trying to figure out if a creative team has queer people of color on it.
These lists are the work of MariNaomi (marianaomi.com)
Hear, hear!
Preach, Mey!
Yes girl, preach!