Yeah, I saw that article about Gail….and I have to admit that I was a little p.o’d, and considered writing the TIMES…but didn’t, because I was afraid it would could be interpreted as sour grapes.

This is nothing against Gail, a terrific writer, and who deserves every accolade she gets…you go, Gail!!!!

I do think, however, that it is endemic to the PR machine of DC Comics. It makes better copy to forget that Trina and I both worked on WONDER WOMAN in the 80’s…in other words, it’s the “draw” of the article, y’know? Unfair, not true, but there it is.

By the way, tell Joanne that I wrote the last few issues of WONDER WOMAN before the book was cancelled in preparation for George’s relaunch.

And working with George (and Karen Berger) on the Amazon Princess was one of the BEST EXPERIENCES I EVER HAD IN THE COMICS INDUSTRY!!!!!

Anyway, again, kudos to Gail!!!!

Mindy

The big open question is the same as it was for males 15 years ago when Maus won the Pulitzer. Is the same audience who read superhero comics willing to read serious graphic novels? Or just more superheroes in fancier formats? Or is it a different audience that nevertheless can be reached because it is already familiar with a version of the graphic format? As teenage girls are familiar with manga?

DC wins either way because Minx has high-quality storytelling. If the books sell, great. If they don’t, they get the rep of having been a noble artistic experiment and DC gains artistic kudos. Deservedly, I might add.

I would think this would be the only true indicator of success. Also, I think one would not hear from the ‘target audience’ unless one was so inclined to patrol the endless teen webblogs in cyberspace. Even so…

The thing of it is, I’ve liked some of the Minx comics and that is not a good thing. That says to me that they are good comics with a-way-out-of-bounds marketing scheme. I’ve seen jsut about every target audience reading comics on subways, buses, etc., but rarely does one catch a teen girl reading comics, and if so, it’s usually manga.

I think the whole idea of the line is a good one, but I also think that you are deluding yourself if you think that you can get a target audience into a hobby where none existed in the first place.

As for “But it does tend to point out the ‘There can be only one!’ attitude towards female scripters in the superhero biz, as well as how easily previous milestones can be forgotten. ” I suspect that part of the problem is a trend more general than anything having to do with working women, or the comics biz. I do think that often media like to build stories around superlatives–firsts, biggests, bests–sometimes going through some all sorts of gyrations so as to be able to claim some superlative. It does seem to be a trend larger than just any one kind of topic…