GWOG

-Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso and Editor Jeanine Schafer discuss that publisher’s lack of female-led titles, amongst other gender issues.
-Missed this when it happened, but back at the end of October a group of psychiatrists spoke out against DC’s treatment of the mentally ill.
-Kate Beaton’s Wonder Woman comics continue to delight.

-Alan Moore responds to Frank Miller on the Occupy movement, the, er, thoughts of whom we previously featured.
-Kate Leth on DC’s ongoing mistreatment of icons and the characters that women need.
-Wonder Woman’s origin story featured no big, heterosexual manly men! Fortunately, Brian Azzarello was on the case. If this page is indicative, Wonder Woman is getting a big shot of testosterone, something often lacking in big DC productions.

-Any followers of the feminist blogosphere have probably seen the Twitter-centered #mencallmethings discussion, in which writers have openly discussed the volume of (often extremely violent) misogynist abuse they receive for the crime of blogging while female. Over at New Statesman, Helen Lewis-Hasteley gathers nine writers to talk about what they’ve been put through.
-Victoria’s Secret does a superhero theme. What’s funny here is that these are often less revealing/porny than what DC is actually putting out lately (Victoria’s Secret being restricted only to clothes people can actually wear).
-Frank Miller not a fan of the Occupy movement. Although, since he uses it as an excuse to segue into how “America is at war against a ruthless enemy”, to wit, “al-Qaeda and Islamicism”, it’s possible he has no idea what Occupy is actually protesting.

-An interview with Naif al-Mutawa, creator of THE 99.
-Margaret Atwood credits comics with inspiring a love of readings.
-Why Marvel and DC should have been at the inaugural Geek Girl Con.
-Every you’ll need to know if you suddenly find yourself a female character in a graphic novel.
-The travails of trying to find superhero t-shirts when female.

-On the heels of TheAbsurdSexualisationBorderingOnPornificationOfBelovedFemaleSuperheroesGate, which should probably have a snappier name, ComicsAlliance asks a number of creators (including Jess Fink and Rachel Edidin) how mainstream comics can improve their female characters.
-Why moulded breasts on a breastplate are a terrible idea.
-The adorable Sinfest had a funny, cute arc about feminism.

-The Nobel Peace Prize this year went to three women: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman. Sirleaf is the President of Liberia and Africa’s first female elected head of state, Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist and Karman is a prominent Yemeni pro-democracy activist.
-Tom Brevoort comments on the latest round of hypersexualisation in DC.
-Speaking of Starfire, another great comic.

-The ever-perceptive Shortpacked! sums up DC’s Starfire problem. The perspective of seven-year-old girls is also illuminating.
-Fempop, on the other hand, is perceptive enough to realise that Scott Lobdell’s Starfire is a brilliant satire.
-The ubiquity of cheesecake, and its costs.
-Women in The Republic Is Burning, page by depressing page.
-Aaron Diaz’s Five Essential Superhero Redesigns are thoroughly delightful.

-Of all the problem’s with the DC reboot, making Amanda Waller skinny. DC Women Kicking Ass sounds off on what we love about AW. There’s a campaign going on the Twitters.
-An open letter from Juliet E McKenna: everyone can promote equality in genre writing.
-It’s been a good(?) few weeks for awful t-shirts, and now Topman is in on it.
-Graphic representations of who’s publishing the work of female creators. Frankly it doesn’t look great for anyone.
-What Every Woman Should Know is a brilliant piece of journalism in comics form, discussing reproductive rights and the anti-choice organs known an “crisis pregnancy centers”.
-Remember Kyrax2, who caused a (well-deserved) stir at SDCC dressed as Batgirl? She talks here about the parlous state of the comics industry.
-Jezebel rounds up critics concerned about the level of sexism in this fall’s TV lineup.

-Black Widow has a complex relationship with sex and slut-shaming.
-Awesome women of history: Spanish folk hero Juana Galan, who in 1808 as a 20-year-old barmaid organised the women of her village to resist Napoleon’s invading troops.
-Mary Jane promotes a new yoga position.
-With DC’s relaunch comics hitting the stands, reacts are coming in. Chris Sims is unimpressed with BATGIRL #1, a reaction I share, but hopefully it’ll solidify over the next couple of issues.

-Sady Doyle demonstrates the proper response to mansplainers.
-JC Penney’s ridiculously awful shirt for young girls.
-Great essay on the Bechdel Test and its contemporary relevance – especially useful with the DC relaunch hitting shelves Wednesday.
-Maid of Might pours scorn on Supergirl’s new costume. It wouldn’t even be that hard to fix.