REVIEW: Go girl! in ‘CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics’
It is very quaint nowadays to say that comics are exclusively for males, especially boys. This is equivalent to the so-called “male” dominance in historical narrative, where women (and other “colored” peoples) were either relegated or submerged in the proverbial “under the bridge”. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and Image Comics want to put […]
It is very quaint nowadays to say that comics are exclusively for males, especially boys. This is equivalent to the so-called “male” dominance in historical narrative, where women (and other “colored” peoples) were either relegated or submerged in the proverbial “under the bridge”. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and Image Comics want to put female comic book creators and movers in the forefront of the history of the comic book industry and comic evolution. In doing so, under the editorship of Betsy Gomez, they release CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics
In its physical form, this book has 170 pages, all printed in glossy paper. Its spine is sturdy but glued, making reading a bit uncomfortable because s/he has to told virtually all the pages. It highlights more than 60 female comic book creators, writers, cartoonists, artists and personalities from different parts of the world, although majority of them are North Americans and work in major comic book companies like Marvel and DC Comics, Image and Dark Horse. To make it more historically flavored, it sets chronologically, starting in the “Golden Age” (1900-1940s) and ending in “Bronze and Modern Age” (late 1970s up to the present). Other categories included are “Women At Risk”, “Women In Charge” and Interviews. With the exception of “24 Nengumi in the “Manga” category, each entry has three pages and ends with additional readings where readers can go further on the works she contributed in the comic medium/industry. In the interview portion, each entry has three pages and the “further readings” at the end. This book has also listed more female creators with their respective works in the “additional readings”, an extensive index and a list of contributors.
The content is primarily for educational and historical purposes in order to acknowledge the readership the actual contributions the female counterparts did/do in the comic book industry since its inception in the early 20th century. Indeed, history focuses on past deeds and events of the human race, and that includes women of all races/classes/nationalities in various fields of specializations, comics withstanding. It is expected that this book has lots of feminist and gender jargon, terminologies, keywords and phrases in the most direct and/or sublime way possible in highlighting the key moments and context of the respective experiences each entry has to say. But, rest assured that the tone of this engaging opus is neither preachy nor condescending, just being frank, if not open-minded.
What makes this one wanting is the Filipina counterparts. It mentions Japanese, Iranians, Lebanese, Indian, Europeans and even Latina, but not a single Pinay artist is highlighted nor selected despite the fact that the Philippines has a number of good female illustrators around. And, I feel that there are female comic creators who deserve to be included or mentioned, like Nicola Scott and our very own Tepai Pascual.
Nevertheless, CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics! is a fresh addition of the expanding visual historical literature about the role of females in the comics industry in proving that they play a vital contribution in the evolution of the medium we love so much.
