Janelle Asselin
Character Focused: An Interview With Cartoonist Natalie Nourigat [Hire This Woman]
Hire This Woman is a recurring feature on ComicsAlliance that shines a spotlight on female comics creators, whether they're relative newcomers or experienced pros who are ready to break out. In an overwhelmingly male business, we want to draw your attention to these creators --- and to raise their profile with editors and industry gatekeepers.
Busy cartoonist Natalie Nourigat has worked on Deadpool, Bee & PuppyCat, It Girl & the Atomics, and many of her own projects including the webcomic Home Is Where The Internet Is. She's also worked as a storyboard and commercial artist. She's currently working on a graphic novel for Oni Press called Over the Surface.
Denver ComicCon Had a Women In Comics Panel With No Women
This weekend's Denver ComicCon came under fire when attendees discovered that a Women in Comics panel had only male panelists. While a representative of DCC has defended the panel as "not about current women creators or anything to do with industry bias," it seems odd that a convention with Trina Robbins, the eminent historian of women as creators and characters, as a guest would not invite her to join in on a discussion of the history of women in comics. While the misstep here is primarily on the panel organizers, it also raises a question of what obligation conventions have to moderate and comment on panels that are accepted.
Time Travel And Love: Exclusive Preview of ‘The Infinite Loop’ #2
IDW's The Infinite Loop has one of the most interesting premises in comics right now --- a time traveling anomaly fixer meets an anomaly in the body of a woman she's instantly attracted to. Cleverly written by Pierrick Colinet and beautifully illustrated by Elsa Charretier, every page offers something interesting and new. Infinite Loop is full of complex, gorgeous storytelling, wrapped around a sweet love story. If you're not reading it, well, you should be. At very least, you can start with this exclusive preview to issue two.
‘DC You’ Claims Diverse Stories, Offers Generic Cool-Dad Language
Yesterday, DC Comics announced a new marketing initiative that it has titled "DCYou," aimed at celebrating "Fan-Favorite Characters, Top-Notch Talent, Diverse Stories and DC Fans," according to the press release.
This being DC, there are some notable missteps in this initial launch that don't bode well for the campaign as a whole. The biggest problem seems to be a corporate appropriation of messages that the publisher thinks readers want to hear, which lack something when run through the filter of corporate language. The hope is that this signals good intentions, but recent creator numbers at DC don't back that up.
Youth in Decline’s ‘Frontier’ Is A Comic You Should Be Reading
If you haven't been following it, Youth in Decline's Frontier is a comic that you should buy every single issue of --- and you can start anywhere. Frontier is created by a different cartoonist every issue, and the only real through-line is that it highlights talented creators. For that reason alone, it's worth checking out. Each one also offers the opportunity to see those creators do an interesting story that maybe they don't have another space to publish. Some of the great creators that have told stories in Frontier include Emily Carroll, Sam Alden, Jillian Tamaki, and Hellen Jo --- with creators like Michael DeForge and Becca Tobin to come.
Archie Comics Cancels Kickstarter Campaign Amid Criticisms
Archie Comics has announced that it is canceling its Kickstarter campaign effective immediately. The campaign had come under fire from some, including myself, for a wide variety of reasons ranging from the company's financial status to the cost of backer rewards. The good news is that the company stands by the three new titles that the Kickstarter would have supported, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, and Life With Kevin --- but instead of funding them via crowdfunding, the books will be delayed until the publisher can afford to put them out.
Thumbnail: In Praise of ‘Giant Days’ Approach to Internetting
John Allison and Lissa Treiman's Giant Days is a lot of things: fun, entertaining, silly, cute... but it also offers some interesting commentary on the world of the internet in issue 3. The gang at the center of Giant Days (Esther, Daisy, and Susan) encounter some crappy times with the internet that are all too reminiscent of real women's dealings with internet creeps. The story is handled with just enough humor and sincerity to make it thoughtful without being preachy. Spoilers ahead!
G. Willow Wilson Responds To Jill Lepore’s Criticism of A-Force
You may have read Jill Lepore's op-ed about A-Force #1, which caused some consternation in the comics community. It was an odd piece that not only reinforced a lot of the "comics are just for kids" stereotypes from mainstream media, but also put a lot of shame on the superheroines, and on the creators of A-Force.
A-Force writer G. Willow Wilson posted a thoughtful response on Tumblr, which we've reprinted here with her permission.
Cartoony Isn’t a Bad Word: Artist Megan Levens [Hire This Woman]
Hire This Woman is a recurring feature on ComicsAlliance that shines a spotlight on female comics creators, whether they're relative newcomers or experienced pros who are ready to break out. In an overwhelmingly male business, we want to draw your attention to these creators --- and to raise their profile with editors and industry gatekeepers.
Artist Megan Levens worked in advertising for years before moving into comics, where she's built up an impressive resume already. She's drawn books like Madame Frankenstein and Ares & Aphrodite and is currently illustrating Buffy Season 10.
Gene Ha Talks Kickstarter and Opening Up Comics to New Audiences [Interview]
Last week, ComicsAlliance showed you an exclusive preview of Gene Ha's graphic novel Mae, which he's currently running a Kickstarter for. The project is funded twice over with three weeks left in its campaign, but Ha still has more stretch goals and incentives planned. We've spoken with him about genesis of the project, his careful planning for the Kickstarter, what it's like taking on new roles as a creator, and why he thinks broadening comics' readership is important.