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Kerpow! How women used the boy's own world of comic books to further the cause Kerpow! How women used the boy's own world of comic books to further the cause
(4 months later)
I I have always assumed comic books are a boys’ business, an idea that I have now been forced to revise after a visit to the new British Library exhibition devoted to the genre. Yes, comic books have mostly been dominated by men through the decades but women have still managed an occasional, intriguing input and have used comics to promote their own agendas.
have always assumed comic books are a boys’ business, an idea that I For example, the exhibition Comics Unmasked - which runs at the London library until August 19 - shows how the suffragettes used the format to rally supporters to their cause. They founded the Suffrage Atelier in February 1909 in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, to design and print their own low-cost posters and postcards. One of these was titled “What a Woman May Be” and consists of two panels. The top features the roles that women held - such as teacher, nurse, etc - but who were denied suffrage. The second features men who have the vote but are no more than prisoners or drunkards.
have now been forced to revise after a visit to the new British Library Emilie de Tessier, under the pseudonym Marie Duval, worked on Ally Sloper, an early comic from the 1870s. She was the illustrator of what became one of the first characters to be mass marketed - Ally Sloper went on to have his own musical and dolls, of which a large and slightly unsettling one is featured in the exhibition. Comics Unmasked also displays the work of Janine (Reina Bull nee Sington) who was not only female, but a creator of erotic comic strips in the 1940s.
exhibition devoted to the genre. Yes, comic books have mostly been However, the landscape largely remained male-dominated throughout the 20th century until the 1970s when Suzy Varty, a member of the Birmingham Arts Lab, the experimental arts venue and publisher, seized the opportunity to compile, edit and contribute to Heroine, the first of several British anthologies produced by women. Varty took the comic to the 1978 Birmingham Women’s Liberation Movement conference, where it was praised as feminist art. The introduction of material like Heroine paved the way for the creation of the British Women’s Comic Collective in 1991. The exhibition doesn’t ignore the rampant sexism of the 19th and 20th century, however, featuring examples such as William K Haseldon ridiculing Emmeline Pankhurst as “Mrs Crankhurst” in the Daily Mirror in 1913, and the horrifically chauvinistic original version of the Andy Capp comic strip, which made light humour of domestic abuse in the 1950s and 60s.
dominated by men through the decades but women have still managed an Comics Unmasked is the first large exhibition devoted to British comics and gives an in-depth look at their origins, influences and subversive nature. In doing so it throws up some intriguing female influences – though the exhibition also shows that in general women have been allowed only limited involvement in the creation of comics and graphic novels. In such a broad topic the curators could be forgiven for allowing a lack of females in the exhibit, but to their credit Adrian Edwards, John Harris Dunning and Paul Gravett face up to the sexism, while making sure they include as many of those who managed to get involved as possible.
occasional, intriguing input and have used comics to promote their own The exhibition reveals that today more women are involved in creating comics than ever before. Earlier this month, Joan Hilty wrote in The Guardian that although the smaller publishers are leading the field in regards to the inclusion of women, the big players in the industry are still dominated by men and are rife with sexism. There have been a few breakthroughs, Hilty writes, but there needs to be more. Women are good at creating, and are passionate about, comics. What still feels like a niche market could be easily be opened up to a wider audience - if women are allowed and encouraged to take up a greater role.
agendas.
For example, the exhibition Comics Unmasked - which runs at the London library until August 19 - shows how the suffragettes used the format
to rally supporters to their cause. They founded the Suffrage Atelier
in February 1909 in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, to design and print
their own low-cost posters and postcards. One of these was titled “What a
Woman May Be” and consists of two panels. The top features the roles
that women held - such as teacher, nurse, etc - but who were denied
suffrage. The second features men who have the vote but are no more than
prisoners or drunkards.
Emilie
de Tessier, under the pseudonym Marie Duval, worked on Ally Sloper, an
early comic from the 1870s. She was the illustrator of what became one
of the first characters to be mass marketed - Ally Sloper went on to
have his own musical and dolls, of which a large and slightly unsettling
one is featured in the exhibition. Comics Unmasked
also displays the work of Janine (Reina Bull nee Sington) who was not
only female, but a creator of erotic comic strips in the 1940s.
However,
the landscape largely remained male-dominated throughout the 20th
century until the 1970s when Suzy Varty, a member of the Birmingham Arts
Lab, the experimental arts venue and publisher, seized the opportunity
to compile, edit and contribute to Heroine,
the first of several British anthologies produced by women. Varty took
the comic to the 1978 Birmingham Women’s Liberation Movement conference,
where it was praised as feminist art. The introduction of material like
Heroine paved the way for the creation of the British Women’s Comic
Collective in 1991. The exhibition doesn’t ignore the rampant sexism of
the 19th and 20th century, however, featuring examples such as William K
Haseldon ridiculing Emmeline Pankhurst as “Mrs Crankhurst” in the Daily Mirror
in 1913, and the horrifically chauvinistic original version of the Andy
Capp comic strip, which made light humour of domestic abuse in the
1950s and 60s.
Comics Unmasked
is the first large exhibition devoted to British comics and gives an
in-depth look at their origins, influences and subversive nature. In
doing so it throws up some intriguing female influences – though the
exhibition also shows that in general women have been allowed only
limited involvement in the creation of comics and graphic novels. In
such a broad topic the curators could be forgiven for allowing a
lack of females in the exhibit, but to their credit Adrian Edwards, John
Harris Dunning and Paul Gravett face up to the sexism, while making
sure they include as many of those who managed to get involved as
possible.
The
exhibition reveals that today more women are involved in creating
comics than ever before. Earlier this month, Joan Hilty wrote in The Guardian that
although the smaller publishers are leading the field in regards to the
inclusion of women, the big players in the industry are still dominated
by men and are rife with sexism. There have been a few breakthroughs,
Hilty writes, but there needs to be more. Women are good at creating,
and are passionate about, comics. What still feels like a niche market
could be easily be opened up to a wider audience - if women are allowed
and encouraged to take up a greater role.
@annamckie@annamckie