I’d say the above graph (cute and inspired by stereotype though it may be) is reflective of the popular perception of women and comic books.  For me this is entirely inaccurate, but I’ve come to realize that my love of comic books is the exception and not the rule.  I don’t think the percentage of women who read comics is that small, but it certainly isn’t as high as the number of men who read comic books.  Granted, this graph is for amusement and contains no real data.  I’ve been searching for demographic numbers and to my surprise, I haven’t found any.  When I do, I’ll pass them along.  That doesn’t dismiss the perception portrayed, though.

I was the only girl I knew growing up who liked Comic Books, and try as I might, I can still only count on one hand the number of women I know who read comic books and graphic novels (and I don’t even need an opposable thumb for that tally).  At first this was discouraging, particularly because of some of the amazing work the industry is doing (Let’s not think about the Divas project, shall we?) with their female characters, and what some of the female writers are working on.  There’s no reason for girls and women to feel like comic books are some kind of walled garden they have to experience in secret or from the outside looking in anymore. 

When we went to our local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day, something happened that brought tears to my eyes.  I was crouched down looking for the missing issues of Wonder Woman that I’ve recently become obsessed with, when two little girls began buzzing around me and looking over my shoulder.  First, I was surprised to see little girls in a comic book shop to begin with, and second, I was even more surprised when I noticed that they had a few comics clutched tightly in each of their hands.  The one girl looked at the stack resting on my knee and back up at me.  “Do you like Batgirl? I love Batgirl, she’s my favorite superhero!  I’m trying to find more Batgirl comics”

I was floored. 

I helped her look for more Batgirl comics and the ones we found she already had.  Then she buzzed away to go help her friend look for the comic books she liked.  Seeing the absolute joy in their faces as they pulled comic books off the shelf and found what they were looking for… just seeing them absolutely elated to be in that shop made me choke up.  And I kept my mouth shut.  There were no brazen opinions about Batgirl being a mere “female version” of a popular super hero, or that it’s embarrassing that they couldn’t come up with an original concept for her, or that the political and social commentary in the current Batgirl issues would be over her head… no.  I just helped her find the comic books of a character that made her happy.  So what if she didn’t think those things?  So what if she wasn’t deconstructing everything from thought balloons to story arcs?  I realized that those little girls enjoyed Batgirl and the other comic books because they somehow related to the characters… they liked the stories and the action and the art.  They liked them because they are fun.

So yeah, you can have your Batgirl, honey.  I may like my deconstruction of story lines and character portrayals, but ultimately, it boils down to some simple concepts.  It’s fun.  It makes me smile.  It’s an escape and a comfort all at the same time, and they give you hope.  Isn’t that what comic books are for?

And who’s to say that little girls (or little girls at heart) can’t or don’t appreciate that?

I’m going to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine because I read the comic books, and because I want to see how it translates to film. 

I’m going to have fun.

Tags: Comic Books, Feminism, fun, Life as the Exception, Movies