Girl-Wonder.org is a collection of sites dedicated to female characters and creators in mainstream comics. Our goals are to foster an attentive, empowered audience community and to encourage respect and high-quality character depiction within the industry.
Fabulous, funny, sharply-written stories about four sibling superheroes (Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie) and their fantastic adventures. Includes frequent team-ups with adult groups like the Avengers, X-men or Fantastic Four. They’re out of continuity, so no familarity with larger canon is required.
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Recommendation feed.The final in our Meet the Board series of interviews introduces webmistress Betty Maxson.
What are your responsibilities?
The Holy Grail! Um. I mean, “I attend meetings, and carry out the duties assigned to me.” I also run the website.
What experience do you have?
I have been computer-wrangling for a while, and I have a BA in International Development. I also have volunteer experience, helping at a service organization that aids immigrants, and refugees, and doing tech-support and general gopher work for the Anishnawbe-Aski nation.
How did you become involved with Girl-Wonder.org?
I took over responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the site in 2007 when Mary Borsellino’s health began to prevent her from giving it the attention she wished to.
What do you most hope to achieve for Girl-Wonder.org?
That it become a vital, self-sustaining organization which fans, especially female fans, could rely on to meet their needs with regards to gender issues in comics.
How would you respond to falling into a pit of radioactive waste that gave you inexplicable powers instead of cancer?
Well, what sort of inexplicable powers are you talking about? The ability to grow a luxuriant mustache would probably not cause any particular change in my lifestyle.
Complete: If kidnapped by a cackling supervillain in the service of tormenting my heroic significant other(s), I would –
Kick him (because, you know, I find myself assuming he’s a him– somehow these sorts of villains seem to be) in the head and go looking for his swiss bank account number. I assume he just leaves it lying around, since he doesn’t seem very competent. I mean, he let me kick him in the head.
News feed.Superhero comics have come a long way. The range of female superheroes, vigilantes, and villains has broadened considerably since earlier times. There's a lot more on offer for feminist fans of mainstream comics.
But today's fans face a whole new set of stumbling blocks: objectifying, inappropriately sexualised art styles; gruesome deaths designed only to forward a male character's story; and a generally held public opinion that superhero comics are the domain of boys and men and therefore have no need to be female-friendly.
We love comics. We want to see them remain a vital, energetic, engaging, popular art form enjoyed by a range of audience groups. If this objective is to remain viable, comics have to pick up their game. We're here to see that they do.
One of Girl-Wonder.org's primary aims is to get comics fans talking to each other in an environment where everyone feels equally free to express their opinions. Toward this end, visitors are strongly encouraged to make use of the forums.
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Girl-Wonder.org received a Tartie from Sequential Tart, in the fifth annual Tartie Awards!
Girl-Wonder.org was Yahoo's Pick of the Day on June 20, 2006!
Submissions for proposed websites or columns can be sent to submissions@girl-wonder.org.
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