webcomics

Xavin explaining not fitting in to male-female gender roles in Runaways. via

Both print comics and webcomics seem to be paying more attention to being inclusive these days, especially when it comes to LGBT characters. I've long treasured the diversity that's out there in webcomics if you dig a little bit, but even the comics you don't have to dig for are starting to include characters of color and queer characters. Jeph Jacques, for example, upped the inclusion ante at Questionable Content last year when two women of color and a white transwoman appeared in a one-panel diversitysplosion. Other comics seem to be moving in the same direction. Maybe next Randall Munroe will strike a blow to androcentrism and retcon the xkcd stick figures into being female-to-intersex pansexuals of color.

To celebrate inclusion in comics and encourage more, I'd like to put forward my top five list of the best genderqueer characters in comics.

Today, the conversation with Arigon Starr, the cartoonist behind Super Indian, continues! We discuss the history and future of Super Indian, her experience of being a woman of color in an industry dominated by white men, and a special sneak preview of her graphic novel investigating the origins of Super Indian. Check it out after the jump!

Bitch's series of interviews with webcomic creators, Beyond the Panel, returns with Arigon Starr, the multitalented force behind the comic-book-style webcomic Super Indian. After the jump, she tells Bitch about her history in comics, Native superheroes, geek culture, and what she'd like people to take away from her work.

Today I'm sharing the second part of my interview with the delightful Christine Smith, the very talented artist behind webcomics Eve's Apple and The Princess. Check out the first part here, and then read our conversation about The Princess, flipping the script, and feminism after the jump!

Christine Smith is the author of two webcomics, Eve's Apple and The Princess. Today I'm interviewing her about Eve's Apple (EA), a three-year-old webcomic about the titular Eve and her friends, love interests, enemies, and everything in between. Read our conversation about newspaper comics, fat bodies, and Betty and Veronica below!

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing a cartoonist whose transition to webcomics has been rather recent: Gabrielle Bell. She started out self-publishing zines, and eventually made the leap to Alternative and later Canadian comic book publisher Drawn and Quarterly. Her print collections include When I'm Old and Other Stories, two volumes of Lucky, Cecil and Jordan in New York, and Kuruma Tohrimasu. She's also been in several editions of Best American Comics, which is how I first became acquainted with her work.

Recently, Gabrielle began publishing the autobiographical Lucky as a surreal webcomic. I recommend you start out with Manifestation, her chronicle of agreeing to write about Valerie Solanas's S.C.U.M. Manifesto. We talked about feminism, mothers, and web versus print comics in the interview after the jump.

Sophie Goldstein and Jenn Jordan are the creators of the mythological and mundane webcomic Darwin Carmichael is Going To Hell. According to Jenn: "Darwin Carmichael lives in mythical Williamsburg, the coolest of burroughs, populated by hipsters, minor deities and a host of preposterous creatures. The day-to-day of Darwin's world is much like ours, concerned with making ends meet, dating, and the like." DC is a very fun strip with a fantastic visual sense. Learn more about it after the jump!

Danielle Corsetto is the artist behind the hilarious daily strip Girls With Slingshots (GWS). GWS focuses on the lives of twentysomethings Jamie and Hazel and their social circle. The strip is a lot of lighthearted fun served up daily, much like Jeph Jacques' Questionable Content, with a wide and charming cast and a slightly skewed universe. Though the strip isn't political and isn't perfect, its focus on female friendships places the strip high on what I call the Bechdel spectrum, and makes it popular in the webcomics world.

Danielle lives in West Virginia and works full-time as a cartoonist and illustrator. She's a really friendly and lovely lady, and I had a great time chatting with her. Read what she had to say after the jump!

Hello, and welcome to Bitch's new weekly series on webcomics, Beyond the Panel! I'm Rachel McCarthy James, sometimes known as RMJ. You may remember me from my previous guest-blogging stint here last summer, TelevIsm, or my blog, Deeply Problematic. This time, I'm here to write about webcomics and the people who create them by interviewing cartoonists and comic creators who occupy a marginalized position in society, and reviewing comics through a feminist lens. I'm kicking it off with an interview with Dorothy Gambrell, the writer and artist behind Cat and Girl.

Eve Ning of Octopus Pie Independent webcomics are, generally speaking, a lot more interesting than the comics you can read in the newspaper – they have the space and the freedom to experiment artistically and tackle controversial or niche subjects, and women aren’t as underrepresented. After the jump, a few current comics written and drawn by women that are worth checking out.