girls who read comics

i know there are more of us out there, so i figured that i'd try to find a few sisters to talk comics with.

what are your favorites? how did you get into comics in the first place? do guys give you crap for not liking the "right" comics too?

Favorites: Spawn, Fable, various Star Wars titles

I got into comics by my mom buying me Archie at the grocery store to read while we waited in line.

Always read comics, but started buying them after seeing the X-Men cartoon.

Current titles:
Fables, Runaways, Ex Machina, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, X-Factor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As a women who has been reading comics for 36+ years I say, "Welcome aboard".

I started out as a toddler being read my brother's comics. By five, I was getting my own.

I read mostly DC books, but also Marvel's Daredevil, and some independents (as well as Manga).

Some of my current favorites are: Four Eyes (Through Dark Horse), Justice Society of America, and Legion of Super-Heroes.

well, hey girls! glad to see a couple of responses in such a short time!

i got into comics about 2 years ago. i was taking a class on religion and pop culture and chose comics as my research topic. what was meant to be an 8 page paper with 5 sources ended up being a 17 page paper with 22 sources (accompanied by a 67 slide powerpoint presentation) on the influences of american judaism and the response to WWII, as well as male wish fulfillment, on golden era comics such as superman, batman, captain america, etc etc. it hooked me.

i too read Fables. I just finished BKV's Y: The Last Man series. I read a lot more graphic novels or one-offs, such as Watchmen, From Hell, Ghost World, V for Vendetta, A Contract with God, Persepolis, and Maus.

i started Runaways but then i made the mistake of reading some reviews of later issues and things seemed to get so weird and far off track that i stopped. i'm thinking about going back and starting again, though. any thoughts, lampbane?

i've also been really interested in Ex-Machina lately, but i haven't picked it up yet.

I collected X-men in Danish translation for ages, but mostly I've read european graphic novels; Asterix, Jacques Tardi, D. H. Comès, Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt.

Girls that read comects GMG

I grew up as an only girl in a boy dominated family, so I have been reading comics for my entire life. Currently I am reading Mignola's Hellboy, Ben Templesmith's Hoxford, Bill Willingham's Fables and Jack of Fables, Steve Niles' Gotham After Dark and David Peterson's Mouse Guard. Well that is a few of them anyway!

My 9-year-old daughter really enjoys these "cine-manga" books she's been getting ... they're something like short graphic novels of "SpongeBob" episodes, etc. ... Any recommendations for the next level up?

Response to message 5:

My husband and I both really enjoyed Runaways. The only fault I found was that the series ended after Joss Whedon's run. I looked at the first issue of the new series, and did not enjoy it at all. The series now seems to be aimed at tweens and the characters were out of character.

I like mostly anything that Alan Moore does. I'm also a fan of Fun Home and The Hollow Grounds and oh so many others that I will hopefully remember to post about later..

amberwitch, there are several european artists/writers i've been looking into and wondered if you had any information/opinions about any of them.

here's the list:

Joann Sfar: several, but especially Vampire Loves
Jason: The Living and the Dead, I Killed Adolf Hitler
Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian: Get a Life
Lewis Trondheim: Mister I, Mister O, and A.L.I.E.E.E.N.
Cyril Pedrosa: Three Shadows
Andi Watson: Dumped and The Complete Geisha
And, of course, Herge's The Adventures of Tintin (the trade paperback releases)

of course, i would welcome some suggestions as well

-Leah

I love Tintin a lot, but always have these frissons of weirdness when reading any of the pages relating to non-european cultures. I guess I probably experience the same "eek!" moments when reading an otherwise enjoyable comic that has some kind of crazy representation of women in it (unfortunately this is pretty much every popular comic).

Luckily, there are a lot more women making them these days. I just keep hoping one hits it big mainstream (maybe Persepolis is the best example of this?)

As a gigantic comics lover (although a male) I would like to tip the website by Johanna Draper Carlson: http://comicsworthreading.com/
She has written hundreds of reviews on (mostly US) comics and has a special section for comics by women.
My experience is that most if not everything she recommends is worth reading.

I tend to lean towards DC Comics but love the X Men. I also read a lot of manga. And am slightly embarrassed to say I have been reading the CSI Comics.

>>14 Papiervisje:

thanks for the link papiervisje. i've checked that site many times before, but i hadn't thought to post the link. guys are always welcome, when they come to be helpful!

does anyone read love and rockets by jamie hernandez and gilbert hernandez? i know these are mostly about women, but i've never gotten around to reading them. they have a HUGE following, so i'm thinking they must be worth it, right?

>17 leahbird:. L&R is great. One of the very few comics that shows women as real persons. The Hernandez brothers just released a new episode. Now in a new 100 page format, but only in a frequence of once per year.

atlargeintheworld:

* Joann Sfar's non-"Dungeon" works are mostly all-ages and a lot of fun. The "Dungeon" works are a NECESSARY and WONDERFUL read for fans of fantasy.

* Lewis Trondheim, Sfar's partner on "Dungeon," has a darker side to him than the one he shares in his work with Sfar. A.L.I.E.E.E.N. is a semi-brutal, semi-comic, and unique look at alien encounters.

Hope that helps a little!

atlargeinthewrld:

I also feel as if I'm missing out on Love and Rockets. But when I DO try to read them, I'm bored.

*sigh*

>>19 Wattsian:

wattsian, thanks for the info. i've never heard of dungeon (probably a prime example of why getting your reading suggestions from amazon and a couple of websites is minimal at best). i'll have to check it out.

as for a.l.i.e.e.e.n., i'm glad to hear a reveiw from someone, because i've been dying to read it, but i hesitated for some reason. i think it's my problem with all graphic novels/comics, that i know i'm going to finish them so quickly that it's sometimes hard to convince myself to spend the money there instead of on some 400 page novel.

one day i will not be restrained by money when it comes to enjoying reading....

I read Tintin and stuff as a girl, but I think the trouble really started when my older sister took me into the comic shop and bought me a couple of comics from the sale bin - one was a manga magazine from back when Tokyopop was MiXX, and the other was an Elfquest anthology. Which pretty much sets the tone for my later tastes, though I read indy comics and Vertigo-type things as well.

>>12 leahbird:

I quite like Andi Watson - my favourite series of his is probably Skeleton Key. I haven't read Dumped, but I quite enjoyed Geisha, though it's been a while since I read it. Love Fights is also a good one.

>>20 Wattsian:

Are you trying to start at the beginning? I love Love and Rockets, but when I tried to read the first volume I had the same problem. I don't know if you've tried any of the later volumes, but if you wanted to give it another go, I'd recommend skipping ahead.

>>20 Wattsian:
>>22 kitsuchi:

L&R bores the hell out of me too, and I've read a bunch of different volumes (whatever I found at the library). I just don't get it.

>>10 d_perlo:

I liked the second and third issues of Runwways vol 3 much better.

does anyone else read y: the last man by brian k vaughan? i really loved the series until the last trade came out. disappointment city. opinions?

We love y: the last man in my house (us, 22 year old daughter, 18 year old son). I agree the last trade was disappointing; jumbled and difficult to follow. I found reading it a couple of more times helped, but I admit I didn't convince the rest of my family, who were disappointed, too.

I am also a huge fangirl and have been reading comics since I was 4.
I am mostly a DC reader and my favorite character is Ted Kord the second Blue Beetle.
I read Batman, Wonder Woman, Booster Gold, Green Lantern, but most of my favorite titles have been axed or will be gone shortly, such as Catwoman and the JSA/JLA Classifieds.

And I miss Hawkgirl...

i know a lot of us read fables, so i was wondering if anyone had any comments on the latest tpb, war and pieces?

i thought it was good, but much to abrupt. i wanted lots more. we didn't even get to see flycatcher at haven! it was all just a tad too easy (i guess it had to be since fabletown had modern weapons).

thoughts?

I share your love for comics, but not your gender, so I hope you don't mind a brief intrusion by a guy.

I added y: the last man to my pull list at the comics shop rather late in the series, so the ending kind of confused me. I've tried to catch up by buying the trades and am up to volume 7 girl on girl. Based on his work on this series, Runaways, and Ex Machina, Brian K. Vaughan is one of my favorite authors.

Somebody mentioned Andi Watson. Have you read anything he wrote for DC's Minx line (I'm going from memory, so I could very easily be very wrong, but I think one of them was Clubbing)?

khyron1144, we don't mind the boys dropping by with suggestions! i still haven't heard of anyone who really loved the ending of y:the last man, but i agree that BKV is a very impressive writer. the whole series was really good until that last tpb. I just don't know what happened there. Ex Machina is my next read from him and I'm really excited about it!

The only Andi Watson I have currently read is Dumped. I'll have to check out the Minx line stuff. Thanks!

I got into comics sort of in spurts. First I got obsessed with newspaper comic strips when I was little. Then when the Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV show started, I started reading the Sabrina comics. Then when I first saw the Matrix, I got obsessed with that and started reading the comics they had on their website. It was all downhill from there.

I don't so much get crap for not liking the "right" comics, I get surprised looks at my "good taste". Which is almost as annoying.

But, what I do like is pretty diverse; Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, most anything by Alan Moore, Scott Pilgrim, The P.L.A.I.N. Janes, Maus, Strangers in Paradise, The Authority, Runaways, Ed Brubaker's Captain America, Justice Society of America, Planetary. Current series I'm really in love with are Air by G. Willow Wilson and Secret Six by Gail Simone

What didn't people like about the last volume of Y: The Last Man? Sad, but somehow fitting.

I started reading comics as soon as I started reading anything. The first were Asterixes, Tintins, the Disney fare, Archies, Marvel and DC superhero stuff... Superheroes in spandex began to bore me early in my teens, but by then I had the whole range of marvellous European BDs to feed my need.

My brother, younger by four years, benefitted from my collecting mania, but was never into them like me. (Maybe he was just running away from resembling his crazy older sister!)

Alias, by Brian Michael Bendis, was pretty good. If you want to bawl your eyes out, read We3.

Patty's a major fan of Fabletown, Sandman and V for Vendetta. (she can add to this when she wakes up..). But I think Cairo is the most recent comic that she really glommed onto..Got it for our son for his bday present yesterday. Marjane Satrapi and Johan Sfar (esp. The Rabbi's Cat I & II are also favorites. Don't think either of us finished from hell and tho we both liked the movie sin city, the books were left on the store shelves.

I've had a soft spot for anything with superheroes, especially DC =D

I also enjoy almost anything by Alan Moore, Fables, Sandman...

Guys are usually surprised when they find out my love for comics, but they also give me flack for preferring DC over Marvel. To me they're like chocolate and vanilla, both good, I just prefer one over the other!

What's your opinion on the Watchmen movie coming out next year?

"Guys are usually surprised when they find out my love for comics, but they also give me flack for preferring DC over Marvel. To me they're like chocolate and vanilla, both good, I just prefer one over the other!"

Ha! I'm (primarily) a DC fan and my boyfriend is (primarily) a Marvel fan, so our collections have almost no overlap. It's nice that he understands where the money goes, but it's a shame we can't consolidate those expenses.

We met at SDCC, in fact.

Ahhh I've always wanted to go there! How was it? Did you go in costume?

It's definitely something to experience once, but it's also gotten insanely crowded. Preview Night used to be practically empty and now it's as bad as Saturday. You truly can't move at times.

Have never done costume. We talked in early 2006 about going as Gert and Chase, which would have required very little work for either one of us, but that didn't work out.

My ex was also primarily a Marvel fan, and we'd have arguments back and forth over why we like Marvel/DC so much.

What's your favorite comic out of your collection?

>>31 lampbane:

i just felt like it was somewhat of a cop-out. the series was prone to jumping ahead by months at times, but i never really minded that. but you just can't get to the end and have it be so abrupt. decisions were just made super quickly and it was over. and i didn't particulary care for the "what are they doing now" bit. i would have preferred not to know that stuff and have felt like the ending was really fleshed out. i mean, i wasn't unhappy with WHAT happened.... just that it happened in less than 100 pages.

Hello - I have to agree with several of the posters above.

I enjoyed Y The Last Man (including the last episode), I follow Runaways & Buffy (actually, I like Runaways from Joss through the present better than the earlier run) and I've been reading X-men titles off and on since the 90's, some runs I love, some were really bad. I'm a huge Love and Rockets fan, but I prefer their earlier stuff. Fables has been making me so very, very happy, but I agree the last one was wound up too quickly.

I've also loved:
Transmetropolitan, League of Extrodinary Gentlemen, Desolation Jones, Hell Boy, Bureau of ParaNormal Investigations, Mister X (this is from the 80's, but it's being rereleased), Red Rocket 7, Madman, Nexus (this might be hard to find, I don't even know if it's being released still). Fruits Baskets. Berlin. Ruse (it's an incomplete series, but still enjoyable), Promethea, Usagi Yojimbo (this story of the samuri rabbit is possibly the best comic ever).

I never got into Strangers in Paradise (except I did love the final book), but I do like Echo.

I just read Fun Home which I found really wonderful.

We've got several volumes of Peanuts from its beginning that I adore.

Hmmm, I've read a lot of comics over the years, its hard to remember them all! One of my favorite websites for comic reviews and recommendations is www.noflyingnotights.com

I've never gotten any flack for not reading the "right" comics, but I've certainly encountered lots of people who don't think comics are literature or worth reading. Most of guys I know think its cool that I read comics and are more than happy to read what I'm reading as well as sharing what they are into.

Iron Man, The Boys, Transmetropolitan, Hellboy, Preacher, Hellblazer, JTHM, among others.

#41, noflyingnotights is a great site. They were very useful when I was writing a paper on "Comics in Schools".

I remember reading an occasional Archie when I was younger at the grocery stores, but I didn't really start reading comics until college when my roommate introduced me to Sandman. Then I started collecting Fables, X-Men, and various DC comics. I've been sending issues of Y:The Last Man to my husband while he was in Iraq. I also have a huge collection of manga--Fruits Basket, Here is Greenwood, Saiyuki, and lots of CLAMP.

I was intimidated by going into my first comic book store--they were having a Magic: The Gathering tournament. But since then I've had much better comic shop experiences (well, except for this one time, but that's another post).

>>39 AygsWithLaygs: What's your favorite comic out of your collection?

Planetary, by a landslide

And it prepared me for the long waits between installments of Scott Pilgrim!

Other favorites: Starman, Fables, Hitman, Grimjack, Street Angel, Mouse Guard, BPRD, Hellboy, Goon, Powers, Madman, Jack Staff, Ganges

Been reading comics for years started with Beano comics and Danddy comics then I moved on to my Uncals TinTin and Astrix in out tweens me and my brother moved on to the marvel and DC stuff.

Current Faves: Runaways, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nextwave, The Amazing Spider-man, all of X-Men, Teen-Titans, Young Advengers, Mighty Avengers and Fantastic Four.

I started reading comics with obscure UK Scream comic and then 2000AD. I stopped for ages in my late teens but then I picked Sandman.

My favourites are: anything byAlan Moore, obviously Sandman, 100 Bullets, preacher, the zombie epic the Walking Dead, The Arrival by Shaun Tan and The boys.

Girls who read comics? My little sister adores the Lou! series by Julien Neel, check out Amz.com. They are about a girl and mum team; great for 12+ year olds.

Yes! Hello I'm new to this. But having read your post from october, I'd like to recommend the Julien Neel series Lou! as being that graphic novel for your daughter.

Naruto,Vampire Knight,Bleach are some of my Fav.

I started borrowing from friends and now I'm hooked on reading them

I love Alias, Powers, X-Factor, Fables and Sandman. I also have a soft spot for Ms. Marvel, but not enough to remember to buy it regularly. I remember loving Preacher, but I'm a little bit afraid to reread it - I've hated everything else I've read by Garth Ennis.

The story of how I got into comics is a bit embarrassing. When I was about 13, I had a huge crush on a pro-wrestler, Raven. Raven often wore Sandman shirts, so I went on a quest to find all the Sandman comics. I branched out from there to other Vertigo titles, then to Marvel since I knew many of their characters from my cartoon-watching days.

I started out with newspaper comic strips, plus UK kids comics (The Beano, The Dandy, Whizzer and Chips, although I would read my sister's copies of Mandy). Oink! and 2000ad bridged the gap between my childhood and teens, when I graduated onto DC comics. I got into Swamp Thing two issues before Alan Moore took over writing - I was there when it happened, man! Loved Batman, and therefore both The Outsiders and The Teen Titans. Demon was cool, and so was Ambush Bug.

Speaking of Batman, I was ever so disappointed with Tim Burton's vision of Batman. It was such a big film, at the height of my comic book reading, and I just HATED it. Worse still, everybody seemed to love it. Finally, with the new Batman films, we have our Dark Knight.

My first pin-up was Johnny Alpha, of 2000ad's Strontium Dogs. Sad but true. Still love a man with dark curly hair...

Two DC titles I loved were particularly girly - Angel Love (anyone remember it?), and Amethyst. I was a big fan of Elf Quest too.

PS - do you reckon the DC/Marvel divide is a boy/girl thing?

From #52: do you reckon the DC/Marvel divide is a boy/girl thing?

Maybe sometimes.

I think for a number of years, particularly most of the 80s up to the mid-90s, DC did storyline and dialogue better than Marvel. Many females seem to really dig comics with good storyline and dialogue. Many males are more easily taken in by splashy art in the hot style of the day.

That's just one guy's opinion, though.

Finally! A group that fits me like a glove.:) I tend to

go for the more sci-fi comics, like Transformers and

Star Wars. But I love a good JLU comic too.:)

Glad to see this thread is still going!

I just wanted to see if anyone saw the Watchmen movie. If so, what did you think? Had you read the graphic before seeing it?

For me, I loved the graphic novel when I read it. And I wanted the movie to be amazing. I thought it was a decent attempt, but it just didn't really resonate with me the way the book did. I don't want to give spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen it, so I won't go into much detail. I thought the sex scene was pretty damn rediculous, though. And there was WAY to much blue penis in my opinion. I'm not a prude, but I just didn't think it added anything to the feel of the movie. I wasn't overly disappointed until the sex scene. From that point on I just couldn't sympathize anymore. Rorsach was absolute PERFECTION though.

Any other thoughts?

The movie was pretty good but I thought it a bit too slow at some points. And yes there was too much blue penis ... wasn't offended by it just... it seemed like they were doing it because they could.

I'm still working my way through the graphic novel, the only place I get to read is on my lunch break at work and I dare not bring it there.. might get stoned to death or something.

I wasn't ever really big into comics until recently Ive found that that some comics, while short, are just as fulfilling as a full length novel. Graphic novels are longer than regular comics but seem to pack more punch per page.. quicker way to get a literary fix!

Looking for recommendations on other graphic novels, Ive only read Wanted so far really.

>53 khyron1144::
You're probably on to something there, although I'm all for splashy art in the hot style of the day - it helps if a comic LOOKS great :)

>55 leahbird::
I wasn't in any hurry to see it after a few friends told me it was boring, but I'm intrigued about the blue penis! I have got to have a look at THAT.

54: hey I know u from school

What a great thread!
#56: My favorites these days are Sandman, Planetary, and Transmetropolitan. I highly recommend all three! Right now I'm working my way through the Hellblazer series and am seriously loving it so far.

#55: I saw the Watchman movie and thought it was good. The sex scene was a bit unnecessary, but I can live with it, and (most importantly) I thought all the actors got their characters spot on. The movie will never be as good as the comic (Sin City excepted), so I was just happy that they got the feel of the movie and the essence of the characters right. As for the blue penis, well, I've always had a crush on Dr. Manhattan, so the more the merrier IMHO :-)

Haven't seen WatchMen, and know that I know there is a sex scene in it, I don't want to.:P.

Skindney1: yes you do:P:)

>59 jenknox::
"the more the merrier" - that's the spirit ;)

Hi. I'm not a member of this group yet, but I am a girl and I've been reading comics since I was 13 and found my brother's X-Men comic welcoming Kitty Pryde. I don't read them as much as I used to these days, but I have fond memories. :o)

I don't know if I have one favorite character. I suppose I identified with Kitty Pryde and the women of X-Men, since they were my first exposure. My brother was kind enough to let me read his back issues (as long as I didn't bend them) so that I knew the X-Men the best.

I've also passed my love of comics on to my children, I always read the comic section of the paper first and I enjoy many cartoons, past and present.

Has anyone seen the YouTube videos by JustSomeRandomGuy? They are incredibly funny. He started with doing parodies of the Mac/PC commercials using action figures (Hi, I'm a Marvel. I'm a DC) and they have just expanded from there. The latest two have to do with Watchmen. Very funny.

62

I got started with comics when my cousin gave me a

Spider-Man comic for my birthday. He thought it

would be a great prank, but I loved it.:)

60: ahhh you spelled my name wrong. I watched so of the shows on tv and then i started reading them

Skidney1. sorry bout that:) I am bad at spelling.

okay i guess i can let it go this time

Thank you:)

anyone read Ex Machina? i'm pretty intrigued by the story line (and i like Vaughn a lot), but i'm hesitating to get into another fairly long series. suggestions? stay away or start right now?

Never heard of it, what is it about?

Favorites: X-men (early 90's old-school), Preacher, Bone, Pirinen

Got into it through my dad's comic book collection back in our home country. It had rare comics from all over the world, most of which I couldn't understand, but when we'd settled into a new country I naturally plowed through the children's comic book section...

...only to figure it was allright to start reading the comic books in that OTHER shelf, on the other side of the library, by the time I was done with the first one. Oh boy. The girl of las palmas or whatever it was called? Maus? Adult comics must've screwed my mind up real bad, but I'm not complaining.

Bizarrely enough I've never read Watchmen! I WILL get to it, though.

Sandman never really hooked me, but I do appreciate it on an aesthetic level.

there's a summary of Ex Machina here

Cool, thanks atlargeinthewrld:)

Ex Machina certainly started out well. Once you get past the main character's resemblance to Max Lord. But it's one of those titles that I still subscribe to but haven't actually managed to read in... probably at least six issues. I'd recommend getting the first trade or two from the library. Remember that if your local system doesn't already have it, they can usually borrow it from someone who does.

thanks for your advice kristenn- it's nice to hear someone's honest opinion about it (you sometimes have to be wary of the BKV mob).

i never think to check the library for comics... but i'm really just getting back into the library after years of stubborn refusal (it was something about OWNING the books and not needing to share them, very petulant).

I've always liked them but thought for most of my life that if most of them were superhero serials that you would have had to pretty much gotten into from the beginning, or have friends who have the series that you can borrow (I was involved with neither). I read my first comic in high school (From Hell!), but have been a starving student since and now in the fourth year of college have only just started to splurge on comics that I can't borrow in my local libraries, which is most of them.

I am pretty big on the artwork on comics too, so even if I don't think the story is all that stellar, sometimes I just enjoy the storytelling. Some of my favorites and part of my collection:

Sandman series
The Invisibles
Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, Hush, basically just Batman
Batman vs. Predator...for kicks
Alan Moore and Frank Miller, in general
Also love The Dark Tower series, I read the books years ago and they are doing an awesome job with the comic (love Jae Lee)
Maus
Y: The Last Man (minus the fact that not all women are facultative lesbians...haha)

I've been reading some other series, mostly whatever I can find in the library or get my grubby hands on. Fables has been a recent guilty pleasure.