As Girl-Wonder.org nears its two and a half year anniversary, it’s satisfying to look back and see how far the site has come. Since its creation, the site as morphed from a single site advocating for better treatment of female characters, specifically Stephanie Brown, to an organization that covers a broad range of comics, as well as providing hosting active forums and no less than four webcomics and five blogs.

We’re especially proud of our most recent projects, the Female Friendly Comic Book Store Map and the Convention Anti-Harassment Project. Both are great resources for fans and comics professionals to combine their love of comics with activism, education, and promotion. CAHP in particular is a great resource to help con directors make their cons safer for attendees.

But we’re not resting on our laurels. In the future, we hope to:

· Establish an independent store with Girl-Wonder.org exclusive merchandise

· Publish a Girl-Wonder.org calendar

· Establish a scholarship fund for aspiring female comic creators

However, none of this could be achieved without the dedication of our board and forum moderation team. While they’ve done their best to maintain the site, all of the board members have had to balance both their real life duties and their Girl-Wonder.org duties.

And speaking frankly, it’s been hard. All of us are working full-time either as students, seeking higher degrees, or in professional fields. Balancing Board duties and other concerns leaves many of us exhausted and overtaxed. And we’re all volunteers; not one cent of our funds goes to pay the Board. Girl-Wonder.org is a labor of passion and love.

So though we want to reach these future goals as soon as possible, we can’t do it without help from other dedicated passionate individuals. We want to keep these goals alive, and every little bit helps. Currently, we are taking volunteers for the moderation team and our different committees: incorporation, promotion, and merchandising. Even if all you can commit is to moderating a forum or helping out with a forum redesign, that puts us a little bit closer to our goals. We can use you. For more information, please contact Karen Healey at karen.healey@girl-wonder.org

If you want to voluneer and you’re not sure for what, email me anyway! There is something you can do to help.

-Karen Healey, Girl-Wonder.org Board President

Girl-Wonder.org is proud to announce the launch of its newest hosted comic, “Astonishing Tales of Girly Suspense,” co-created by writer A.Piffer and artist Laura Ellyn.

Ellyn described the comic as being focused on “self-discovery, and also with punching monsters.” Piffer, on the other hand, frequently describes the work as, “The Dark Crystal meets Dazed and Confused.”

“The main character, Sophie, is charismatic and charming, but tends to be self-absorbed, and has a gift for getting herself into situations that are completely over her head,” Ellyn said.

Piffer and Ellyn met at a community arts center about a year and a half ago, Ellyn said. After discovering they shared a mutual love of comics, Piffer suggested the two collaborate on a work.

Ellyn studied animation at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and now focuses on illustration and freelance comics work; several of her pieces have been published in the Vancouver Review. Her website can be found at http://laura.purplethistle.ca/. “Tales” is Piffer’s first published work.

In keeping with our expressed mission of promoting and supporting women in comics, Girl-Wonder.org is proud to host “Astonishing Tales” alongside our other webcomics, such as “Planet Karen” by Karen Ellis, “The Tower” by Saki Miyamoto and Brendon Bennetts, and Andrea M. Bell’s “Mistress.”

In awesome news, Girl-Wonder.org would like to offer a huge thank you to Zombie Apparel donating a part of their proceeds from their recent fashion show “Superpowered! The Fashions of Comic Book’s Most Valiant and Villainous” to the organization!

Thank you for your generosity!

Drawn by Mariah Huehner

Girl-Wonder.org is proud to announce that the second Art Et Cetera Auction is now open for bidding!

Items offered this year include signed pages from B.P.R.D., Ross Campbell original art, a Birds of Prey page from the Nicola Scott/Gail Simone run, original art from webcomics Pride High, Sorcery 101 and Dead Winter, and many other pieces displaying the talent and generosity of this year’s donors.

All items currently available are listed at http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/girlwonderorg_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ.  Auctions will run from Oct. 7-14.

Art Et Cetera is the major fundraising event for Girl-Wonder.org. All proceeds will be used to cover organizational costs like website fees and expenses for the ongoing incorporation process, as well as
merchandise development and the development of a scholarship fund. Girl-Wonder.org is currently registering for non-profit status. All staffers and board members are unpaid volunteers.

Today’s first donor to be featured is Tommy Roddy! He is best known in the comics world as author of Prism Comics hit Pride High, about a group of queer and queer-allied students at superhero high school.

Roddy donated to last year’s auction, and has donated the original pencils for Page 24 of Pride High #5, drawn by Shaun Piela.

Bidding for this item will begin at $50.

Colored final page:

Looking for other donor posts? Check the Auction page for the latest updates!

Today’s donations come from Adam Gallardo (writer) and Todd Demong (artist) of 100 Girls, which was recently reviewed on Girls Read Comics! Gallardo is best-known for Star Wars: Infinites — Return of the Jedi, 100 Girls and Gear School; an artist and animator, Demong’s work included Class of the Titans, Star Wars Tales and 100 Girls.

They have jointly donated two packages: a piece of original artwork from 100 Girls with a signed copy of the comic; and one copy each of 100 Girls, Gear School, and Star Wars: Infinities — Return of the Jedi, all signed by Gallardo. The first package will start at $100, while the second will begin bidding at $33.

Looking for other donator posts? Check the Auction page for the latest updates!

Today’s donator is Kel McDonald, writer/artist of the webcomic Sorcery 101 (and its accompanying Livejournal community).

Kel was generous enough to donate a piece for the first Art Et Cetera, and we’re happy to showcase her contribution this year: a fun 17 x 14 signed original Sorcery 101 illustration oF the cast having fun by the lake.

Bidding will start at $40.

Looking for other donator posts? Check the Auction page for the latest updates!

Today’s donator is Audrey Fox, best known for her various comics-related fan art! Her donations are concept and cover art from the story “Snicker/Snack,” co-created with Girl-Wonder.org founder Mary Borsellino. The short story can be found in the compilation Girls Drawn Wild, which can be purchased here. All proceeds to organizations that help women.

Both pieces will individually begin at $16.

Looking for other donator posts? Check the Auction page for the latest updates!

The next donation we have is from comic writer/artist Dave Shabet! Shabet writes and draws Dead Winter, an action-filled modern fantasy/sci-fi horror story about a post-apocalypse living-dead zombie-infested, present-day world.

Shabet’s donation is a 9×12 art-marker illustration on Bristol of Dead Winter character Elizabeth Rose Cooper. Bidding for this item will start at $30.

Looking for other donator posts? Check the Auction page for the latest updates!