Sharon Dargay

hometownlife.com

What do a plus-sized flying superhero, a Lesbian Viking warrior and an extraterrestrial mother with wings have in common?

They’re a part of the increasingly diverse landscape of comic book characters whose stories are written or illustrated and read by women.

“It’s important to have stories that everyone can relate to and women have gotten the short shrift for a long time. Basically, the history of comics is that it has been a boy’s club for a long time,” said Chelsea Liddy, a Plymouth resident and founder of ComiqueCon, a one-day celebration of female comic book and graphic novel artists, writers, and feminist-leaning comic series. “More than half of comic book readership is women. Another statistic I like to cite is… the big two (Marvel and DC comics) rarely hire more than 20 percent women. We have a long way to go”.

Through ComiqueCon Liddy hopes to give women in the industry their due, offer role models for girls interested in comics as a career and expose readers to a diversity of comic book heroines and stories.

The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., in Dearborn. Tickets are $12 in advance at comiquecon.com and $15 at the door. Advance sales end Oct. 20. Children, 12 and under, attend for free. Advance tickets include a special ComiqueCon variant edition of “Heathen” by Natasha Alterici.

Working outside the box

“Heathen” features the lesbian Viking warrior, Aydis, who takes on the Norse gods to create a more equitable world. Alterici, a panelist at ComiqueCon, will talk about creating believable settings and making diversity mainstream. She turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for her work.

“When the big two in the industry are hiring less than 20 percent, women have to go outside the conventional route or they have to change the statistic. What we see is women working with indie publishers. You see creator owned comics. They’re getting their work on Tumblr and crowd funding is happening a lot more,” Liddy said. “Natasha Alterici drew the whole thing ("Heathen") and colored it. It’s her creation and she was successful in funding through Kickstarter.”

Liddy said the industry is open to some changes and has begun to hire artists with fashion backgrounds. Illustrator Babs Tarr, for example, updated Batgirl’s costume when the DC comic book series was revamped. The tight-fitting unitard that looked like body paint and her stiletto heels are gone. In their place, Batgirl wears a “more utilitarian” costume with a snap-on cape and Doc Martens.

Although some artists draw superheroes in an exaggerated style, emphasizing huge muscles and cleavage, readers today are more likely to call them out, Liddy said.

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as female comics, but there is a hunger for more stories women can relate to. That means not objectifying women. Not putting them in fridges,” she said. Fridges is a term used to define a violent or abusive action toward a woman that spurs a superhero into action.

“There was a superhero’s girlfriend who was chopped up and put into a fridge. We want to see less of that," Liddy said. "We want to see art work and not objectifying women. We want to see more diversity. It is happening more and more.”

Role models

Liddy, who holds a masters degree in international development, oversees the youth philanthropy program at the Center for Arab American Philanthropy in Dearborn. She is an avid reader of comic books and graphic novels and says ComiqueCon offers a positive way to showcase women comic creators.

“I want young people, especially young girls, to develop an appreciation for comics and know that they are not just for boys, that there are women working in the industry,” she said. “It's is a great medium. It’s unique, a really special way to tell stories. I think people from different backgrounds connect with comics. All ages read comics now. Stores have sections for youth comics. I think it’s a democratic industry in a lot of ways, because there is something for everyone."

A “Drink and Draw” event for ages 21 and older will bring guests together with comic book creators for a night of sketching and coloring at ComiqueCon sponsor Green Brain Comics in Dearborn. Tickets are $25, available online.

Check out comiquecon.com for a list of panel discussions and featured guests, including Carolyn Nowak of Ann Arbor, “Lumberjanes” artist.

sdargay@hometownlife.com