Week 12: Comics by Women

Like many other professions out there, the comic industry is one that favors men. While I understand that there are many male readers out there, I also know for a fact that comics are something that women enjoy just as much as well. So I suppose something that I never understood was why there were so little female artists working in the comic industry. After all, it just makes sense that, to attract female readers, comic book artists would hire more female writers and artists alike, wouldn’t it?

Unfortunately, that seems very far from the case. I do believe that Japan is more successful that integrating both genders in this regard. There are plenty of female manga artists in the market today, hence the success of the shoujo and jousei genres, which are predominantly drawn by and read by women. On the other hand, female artists in the Western comic industry are practically unheard of. Most of the writers and artists there are men, and it shows.

For one, blatant fanservice is abundant in many a comic, so much so that I’ve become mostly unaffected by it. I still do find it tasteless to see a lot of boob and butt shots in so many comics, especially if the plot interests me. I cannot count the number of times I’ve tried to read and appreciate a comic, only to drop it when the fanservice got too out of hand. I suppose that this is something most male readers could appreciate, but I often find that kind of thing very tasteless and boring. This is especially when all the figures look like they came out of the same cookie-cutter character mold and that everyone’s boobs and butts are essentially the same shape and size.

Women are a bit more tasteful in that, I believe. This is not to say that women don’t appreciate or draw adult subjects, but it’s always pretty obvious to me what gender the artist for a comic is when I flip it open and read its contents. I liked reading This One Summer a lot simply because I absolutely loved the general atmosphere of the whole comic.

It felt nostalgic and as someone who also grew up with many summer traditions with my family and friends, I especially enjoyed seeing what Rose would get up to as a child and in the years to come. Coming-of-age stories are a favorite of mine because of how close they usually hit to home, and This One Summer is of no different. I loved the diverse characters and how, for all the quirkiness that Rose had, she ended up being very relatable and down-to-earth. I have to say, however, that I ended up relating to Windy more in the end.

I especially liked the way that these characters were portrayed and how none of them felt too fake. I think the main issue with women being written by men is that far too often, they would be shown as bland or as an artifact to the hero. Women have a better understanding of them and therefore write them better as a whole, though sometimes their portrayal of men make me cringe just as badly. With This One Summer, however, I didn't have to worry about anything like that and simply enjoyed it for the light-read that it was.