I Know What Girls Like.

Arrrgh! I just read this article and I have to say it annoyed the hell out of me. Not because she’s wrong or anything but hey…here’s the big secret, boys…wanna get girls to read your comics? WRITE GOOD COMICS! Yeah, yeah, I can see the points she makes, they are all completely valid but you know what? I look inside the book too; I ask people who their favorite writers and artists are. I don’t know why this annoys me so much…well, actually, I do. I think this argument needs to be retired. I work in the comic book industry and I see the women at comic conventions and you know what? They are buying the books they like, not the ones their “fellas” like, not the ones that have the purtiest cover or the most “normal” looking woman or whatever. They are buying the books that interest them. And there seem to be plenty of books that do just that. And some of them have big-busted heroines on them and some of them have Wolverine and some of them are artsy-fartsy and some of them are shoot-em-ups.

I like to believe that there is a comic out there for every person who has ever said, “Oh, I don’t like comic books.” I believe that you just need to find the right match. And I suspect that the general difference between boys and girls and their comic reading habits is that girls (and women) are less willing to sift through the crap to get to the good stuff when they know where to get the exact novels, or cds or movies that they like because the information is more readily available. I know that I am more likely to take a chance on a book that has a blurb on it from an author I like and I am more willing to see a movie based on one actor than I am to pick up a comic that I know very little about. Fortunately, I do read comic reviews and I do have friends who know about comics and can make educated recommendations.

Sequential Tart has a recommended reading list that I think can help out a lot. It’s a little dated now but it’s a good place to start when looking for something that might appeal. Personally, I will go to the comic book store and look around until I find something that interests me. I have never really been intimidated or bothered by the geeks. But then again, I am my own geek and I can geek out with the best of them (just not on superhero stuff).

This was a much longer rant about how I am tired of the “girls don’t like comics” argument. Girls do like comics but when was the last time anyone handed you one? When was the last time you handed one to any other girl? If you know a woman who likes history, gift her with a copy of Age of Bronze, if she likes fairytales, try Fables. Horror? We got that. Sci-Fi? We got that too.

I think we need to start looking at comics like we do music. If you don’t like one song do you stop listening to music forever? I doubt it. I’m guessing you change the channel, buy a new cd, ask your friends what they are listening to. Did you never read another book when you decided that The Corrections sucked? Nah, there are plenty of other things to read. Move on.