Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Comics Interest And Careers: Self-Image

      Nick Hanover
      September 4, 2011
      Columns, Mission Professional
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 4.5

      Review: Spider-Man: Life Story #2 is a Game Changer

      Nick Hanover
      April 17, 2019
      Big Two, Big Two Reviews, Marvel Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Interview: Kyle Higgins and Rod Reis, Co-Creators of HADRIAN'S WALL

      Nick Hanover
      June 27, 2016
      Image, Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Advance Review: 2000 AD Prog 1806

      Nick Hanover
      October 23, 2012
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Video Interview: Del Hewitt Jr

      Nick Hanover
      October 5, 2014
      Interviews, Kickstarter Spotlight, Video Interview
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Jerry Grandenetti - "Sweeping Floors for Will Eisner"

      Nick Hanover
      May 13, 2016
      Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • The Madefire Revolution Continues

      Nick Hanover
      October 12, 2014
      News
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Prison Island' is a Journey to a Close-by Strange Land

      Nick Hanover
      September 7, 2015
      Books, Reviews, Small Press
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Interviews

Kyrax2: The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back

Nick Hanover
August 19, 2011
Interviews

Kyrax2 has become a folk hero of sorts for female fans disenfranchised with the poor gender representation at the Big Two. As the “Batgirl of SDCC,” Kyrax2 took to the DC panels to question those involved with the relaunch directly about the poor status of female creators at DC. We spoke with her for our article on that ongoing gender debate.

 


 

 

 

 

Nick Hanover: So, I want to start off with just getting a little information about you. How long would you say you’ve been a comics reader?

Kyrax2:> About three years, give or take.

Hanover: How did you start reading comics?

Kyrax2: Growing up, I was a fan of the Batman: The Animated Series TV show. As an adult, I discovered that there were more shows set in the same universe, and eventually came across several comic books which were based on Batman and the rest of the shows. Once I’d read all of the comics I could find set in what they call the Timmverse (after Bruce Timm, the creator of B:TAS), it was a short step to reading comics set in the main DCU.

Hanover: What about the Timmverse appealed to you so much?

Kyrax2: There was a real depth in the stories told in B:TAS, a subtlety and a seriousness I didn’t see in other cartoons. I remember one of the first episodes I saw was about Mr. Freeze. It was a poignant story, tragic and beautifully told. The animated universe comics, at least those related to the Batman series, continued this tradition of telling simple yet powerful stories, and they managed to do so episodically.

Hanover: When you first heard about the DC relaunch, before the creative teams were announced, were you hoping they would take a similar approach to the new titles?

Kyrax2: I think it would be fantastic if they would go back to the Batman Adventures and Gotham Adventures style in terms of more episodic, straightforward storytelling. I never even considered that the reboot might lead to something like that, though. It’s simply not the style anymore; the style is longer-term stories that can be packaged into trade paperbacks. Those have their own advantages, of course, but sometimes I miss the style of the comics I started with.

Hanover: Right, but one of the big things DC went on about was making this relaunch for new readers. Do you think the relaunch in its current form is very new reader friendly?

Kyrax2: To be honest, not really. This is only my impression, of course, but it feels like it’s aimed at much the same market they’ve always had. There’s some argument to be made for starting fresh from issue one, but that’s not really what they’re doing. They’re claiming that everything that existed before actually happened, but they’re also starting over, and it’s all rather confusing. I don’t understand some of the choices they’ve made at all. On the one hand, they say it’s necessary to bring in Barbara Gordon as “the most recognizable Batgirl.” On the other, the Flash that this generation is going to recognize is Wally West, due to the popularity of the Justice League and Teen Titans TV series. No one from a new generation of comic readers is going to recognize Barry Allen.

Hanover: When you mention the “same market they’ve always had,” do you think that market also played a role in the hiring of creative teams that lack diversity?

Kyrax2: In part, yes. Comics are traditionally a male hobby, and for many years their target market has been male. The people who grow up reading comic books tend to be the ones that most want to work in the comics industry. If this pool is mostly male, well, it’s understandable that men will be hired more often than women. However, this dynamic is changing, and changing quickly. There is now a whole generation of women who have grown up watching shows like B:TAS and reading Japanese manga. There are more women who want to work in the comic industry than ever before, talented, capable, driven women who deserve the chance to prove themselves. And in another 10 years there will be even more. I know no fewer than three young women in college, all brilliant artists, all pursuing degrees in art, all of whom dream of working in the comic industry.

I also feel like there was for a long time a subtle but pervasive attitude in the industry that women were simply less capable of creating comic books than men, and that this attitude prevented as many women from being hired as might have otherwise been. But this attitude, if it did exist, seems to be changing as well.

Hanover: When you spoke out at the panels at SDCC, it seems like you ran right into that attitude you speak of in several ways. Would you say you expected that reaction?

Kyrax2: Not at first. Well, let me clarify. At the beginning of the very first panel I attended on the very first day, I heard a man ask about female creators in comics, and a strong response from Dan DiDio. The clip of this exchange has since made its way around the internet, and I think that, in fairness to DiDio, I should mention that I later read that he approached this man afterward and spoke with him very civilly. I didn’t know this at the time, however. So, when I asked the question I did about whether DC was committed to hiring more women, I was expecting a similar reaction, and I was prepared to stand my ground until I got a straight answer. What I was not prepared for was the hostility of the audience.

Hanover: Fandom has a strange defensiveness about itself. Do you think the hostility had more to do with a general need to defend a favorite publisher or with what some have interpreted as a request for “affirmative action” at DC?

Kyrax2: I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I think there were two factors at play. First, when I asked about the lack of female characters at the Justice League panel, I was initially cheered. But I continued to speak, and when I said that I couldn’t think of any truly iconic female heroines other than Wonder Woman, that was what inspired a huge outcry. Perhaps people felt the need to defend their favorite characters, or perhaps I had simply committed the terrible sin of showing that I was not as expert as they, and therefore had no right to speak. When I stood up again the next day at the third 52 panel, some people in the audience recognized me, and were already prepared to react with anger to anything I said. When I asked “Are you committed to hiring more women?” the second factor came into play. I think you’re right — I think people believed that I was asking that quotas or some sort of affirmative action be instituted. This was not what I meant at all. In retrospect, perhaps I should have asked, “Are you committed to hiring more women who are qualified?” I strongly believed at the time I asked that question that there must be more women out there who were both talented enough to work for DC, and who wanted to work for DC, and that they simply weren’t being hired.

Hanover: I’m not sure if you follow Gail Simone on Twitter, but she
had had a similar discussion with her fans, where she asked for examples of female creators and got flooded with response. It ended with Gail herself making the same demand of DC that her fans had been making while also pointing out the female creators she knew who had spoke with DC about being involved but were either unavailable or unwilling.

Kyrax2: I only joined Twitter recently, but that matches what Gail told me when I had the opportunity to speak with her at the convention.

Hanover: Given the response you received from the panelists, did you get the sense that maybe female creators were just intimidated by the company and its fans?

Kyrax2: Well, intimidated is a tricky word. It’s often difficult for a woman to work in any male-dominated environment, especially one where the ratios are so skewed, and this certainly causes some women to choose to pursue independent comics rather than attempting to work for DC. Also, a woman has to be very, very good, maybe better than her male counterparts, for fans to accept her. If people don’t like her work, it’s often attributed to the fact that she’s a woman, rather than the fact that it’s not to a particular person’s taste or that the editorial staff made poor choices about the direction the story needed to go.

Hanover: In the wake of your comments at SDCC and the news covering it, DC has seemingly made some changes to its strategy in this area, though. Do you feel like you’ve become a symbol of frustration that a lot of fans have been feeling for quite some time? Do you think your decision to speak up has enabled other fans to now do the same?

Kyrax2: I truly never expected everything that happened to receive such a huge response. That it did tells me that there is a huge group of frustrated fans out there, because the vast majority of the responses I’ve received have been positive. After the panels, many people came up to shake my hand or hug me and thank me for asking the questions I did. On the internet I received a similar response on a much larger scale, with person after person saying, “Thank you for asking the questions that I couldn’t ask,” and “Thank you for speaking for those of us who couldn’t be at Comic Con.” Other people do seem more ready to speak up than before – several have told me that they’re going to NYCC and are prepared to ask tough questions if they feel it’s necessary. But I did not set out to become a symbol. And I think that I was, perhaps, merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Other people have been asking the same questions as I for a long time, this just happened to be the time that they got heard, both by the internet community, and by DC itself.

Hanover: Given that response from the community and the indication that DC may be making some changes, do you think now may be the time when this issue of gender equality in comics may become unavoidable by the mainstream?

Kyrax2: Well, I certainly hope so! I’ve heard mixed responses from fans, everything from pure skepticism to description of this as a “watershed moment.” My real hope, though, is that DC will simply have more awareness from here on out… that they will make more of an effort to reach out to female creators and make them feel welcome at DC, and that they will make more of an effort to create titles that appeal to a broader range of people. There’s nothing wrong with having an unbalanced cast of characters from a commercial point of view — TV shows from M*A*S*H to Sailor Moon have achieved commercial success, after all. But if DC is going to claim that their new line-up is more diverse than ever, they either need to be able to back up that claim, or be prepared to be called on it. And if they truly want to broaden their appeal and increase their sales, they need to start considering what will appeal to people outside of their traditional fanbase.

For more about gender inequality in comics, read our special report: Digging a Little Extra Hard: How a Showdown at SDCC Could Change the Industry

Kyrax2Nick Hanover

Share On:
Tweet
Torchwood: Miracle Day 6 “The Middle Men” Review
Wolverine & the Black Cat: Claws II #2

About The Author

Nick Hanover

Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Loser City as well as Ovrld, where he contributes music reviews and writes a column on undiscovered Austin bands. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with Dylan Garsee on twitter: @Nick_Hanover

Related Posts

  • The Geekie Awards…”It was a really crazy idea and nobody thought it could be done.”…An Interview with Kristen Nedopak.

    Kyrax2
    July 7, 2015
  • Why I Love “My So-Called Secret Identity”

    Kyrax2
    June 30, 2014

Latest Interviews

  • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

    Daniel Gehen
    June 8, 2020
  • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

    Mike Nickells
    March 4, 2020
  • Simon Roy

    Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

    Mike Nickells
    January 29, 2020
  • Interview: V.E. Schwab on revisiting Red London in The Steel Prince

    Stephen Cook
    March 13, 2019
  • Interview: David Foster Wallace and Hellblazer, words on Wyrd with writer Curt Pires

    Stephen Cook
    February 27, 2019
  • “The Night Has Teeth” An Interview with Sarah deLaine, Artist of Image Comics’ “Little Girls”

    Jason Sacks
    February 26, 2019
  • Interview: Caitlin Kittredge talks the future of Witchblade

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2019
  • Interview: Andy Nakatani and the Future of Weekly Shonen Jump

    Daniel Gehen
    December 19, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Todd Matthy talks robots, princesses, and bridging the divide with storytelling

    Stephen Cook
    September 13, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Gallaher & Ellis discuss THE ONLY LIVING GIRL

    Daniel Gehen, Thea Srinivasan
    September 7, 2018
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders