Putting My Foot In It

Part 2: Books

By Mariah Huehner
June 1, 2007

So, what books are already out there "for" women/females/girls? Mostly what people talk about is Shoujo Manga or the usual list of female authors like Satrapi, Barry, Doran, Medley and others. But the wonderful thing about these creators is that their work really appeals to anyone. The fact that women are often main characters, or in the cases of Satrapi and Barry the work is autobiographical so it relates specifically to their experiences, doesn't make the work "for women" to the exclusion of others.

This is my issue with the way books "for women" and now "teen girls" are classified. As though there is something very mysterious involved in stories about women. Or that there are emotions, thoughts, experiences that are "exclusively" male or female. There aren't. No, really, there aren't. Especially if you look at what the story is conveying. Doesn't everyone understand a story about first love? Death? Puberty? You may relate more to one that closely resembles your personal experience but our differing genitals don't make these experiences alien from each other.

Any experience that is specifically related to a body part can also be boiled down to a type of human experience. We all go through puberty. We all have relationships that didn't work out. Our bodies all do things we wish they wouldn't that are uncomfortable, embarrassing, or just plain gross. It shouldn't make so much of a difference who is experiencing it because we can all relate to the underlying emotion, experience, event. And if we can't, then we've just gained a new insight into something previously unknown. That should be encouraged, not quarantined into sections that amount, basically, to a No Girls Allowed sign on any of the clubhouses that don't say MINX on them.

Why is the seemingly elusive female reader treated like some kind of legendary animal that no one can figure out? It's pretty simple. Women and teen girls, like men and teen boys, like to read good stories. And, like men, there is no one "type" of story that will appeal to all women. Our uteruses do not make us all the same or mean we like the same things. Some women like relationship stories. Others like action, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, literature, etc. The best thing you can do in a line for teen girls is to make sure the stories are good (whatever that means) and that you have a wide variety of them with characters that are well realized and don't rely on stereotypes. They shouldn't all be "issue" books, nor should they all be about dragon zombie vampires. Though now that I mention it I would TOTALLY read a book like that.

So, what is really the issue with MINX? Is it the fact that of the six announced titles only two women are involved beyond editorial? Is it the fact that, intended or not, the press on it has had some questionable quotes about the market itself? Is it the fact that a mainstream publisher seems to be segregating male and female books, which may imply that women should read MINX and not, say, superhero titles because this line is "for" them and all the (albeit intelligent) "girly" things they want to read about that rely on the real world?

Maybe it's the name. Since MINX had the best focus group response it's not surprising they went with it. Before that it had gone through many incarnations and the fact that they settled on anything is kind of a miracle. The trouble with MINX is not the positive connotations of a feisty, hip girl, but the negative ones of a feisty sexualized manipulator. I'm not sure what most people's minds go to when they hear that word, nor do I have any clue what a teenage girl thinks of it. We're talking about a demographic that buys Bratz dolls. Maybe teen girls want to be thought of that way. Or maybe they think the word is positive. Either way I believe it's important that DC address the name as a reclamation of something that can be negative into something positive. So far there doesn't seem to be much discussion about it in that regard and maybe DC doesn't really care how you take it. They should. MINX will not only be a publishing imprint but a brand and I'm sure there will be plenty of things developed for licensing around it. How they choose to portray that brand, what they personally believe MINX to stand for, could make all the difference.

For the record, I believe very strongly in most of these titles, even if all of them don't appeal to me. I'm not, after all, the demographic. The teams I worked with — Mike Carey, Aaron Alexovich, Derek Kirk Kim, Sonny Liew, and Jesse Hamm — all concentrated on telling stories that mattered to them. For a lot of them it's their first work being put out by such a big publisher, and that in and of itself is a reason to give the line a shot. These books, whether you personally like them or not, are quality titles. Real work and effort has been put into each, along with a healthy dose of hope and love. The hours the editorial staff has put in on the other end is enormous and I think it would be nice if people didn't lose sight of that. Shelly Bond and her Assistant Editor Angela Rufino have spent late nights and put precious time and energy into making sure these are the best books they could possibly be. That's worth something besides griping about who's writing them.

Mind you, if a second wave of MINX titles shows up with so few female contributors again I'll be a bit skeptical too. I don't think there's any deliberate conspiracy going on; schedules and vision do vary, and MINX has a distinct editorial concept and voice which effects what books are and are not chosen. That has less to do with the gender of the creator and more to do with the story that's pitched. Like it or not they're trying to do something different with this line and finding their footing will take a little time.

For myself, I don't really care how DC ends up looking because of MINX. I can say that the arguments speculating that MINX is just a stunt to prove that women won't read comics are ludicrous. You don't spend $250K on marketing something you hope will tank. That makes no fiscal sense and no one in the industry is so secure they can afford to take that kind of hit. People have jobs depending on these endeavors being successful. They know there's a huge female market they aren't getting at yet — Manga sales more than prove it. This is their attempt at grabbing a few.

What I care about are the creators who have worked damn hard to make these books and who have, to some extent, gotten a raw deal when it comes to the critiques. More people are focusing on who's publishing this line than who is directly involved in making the actual books. To me, that's more important. I'll read anything Mike Carey writes because the man knows story. Aaron Alexovich and Sonny Liew could draw nothing but talking heads and I'd buy that just to see the pretty pictures. These are the people that matter when you're talking about MINX. These are the people it affects most directly. And at the moment, yeah, most of them are dudes. But that's really an editorial choice and one I firmly believe was made based on how these particular titles enforced the ideas behind the line. It wasn't done to keep women from telling their own stories to teen girls.

In the end, there's probably been far too much speculation about MINX before the titles are released. And I mean all them, not just the launch book. You can't get a feel for the line until the first wave is in stores. It's a very diverse group of writers and artists and, the marketing jargon aside, I think the intentions are good. I mean, the intention is to sell books, don't get me wrong. I don't think it's all some altruistic goal to foster a better attitude towards women and their stories in the industry. That sounds nice on a bumper sticker but it's not a business plan. However, I do think there's at least some attempt here to get past the conventional ideas of what girls want and the titles really do reflect that.

So buy MINX titles or don't, but make sure your choice is based on something besides the confusing marketing messages. Quality work shouldn't go unread.

Putting My Foot In It — Part 1: The Introduction of MINX