Author Archives: Jennifer

A Fond Farewell

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Loyal Fantastic Fangirls readers may remember that last summer I took an internship at Marvel Comics in the X-Men editorial office. Today, I’m here to announce that I’ve become a part of that office in a more official capacity: as a full-time assistant editor.

As you might imagine, I’m thrilled to be starting this job, and I want to extend my thanks to anyone I’ve talked to through this blog over the past four years as I shored up my comics knowledge and sharpened my ability to think critically about the medium.

Unfortunately, my acceptance of this position means that my time at Fantastic Fangirls has come to an end. Continuing to review or even make silly comments about comics would be a major conflict of interest for me in my new role. I’ll still be active on twitter (now @jenmargretsmith), and you can always e-mail me at throughthebrush@gmail.com. Caroline, Sigrid, and Anika remain some of my closest friends, and I can’t thank them enough for being a part of this crazy journey with me.

Thanks, everyone, for following my words. I hope you’ll do the same for some of the comics I’ll be working on.

Posted by Jennifer Margret Smith
Twitter: @jenmargretsmith
E-Mail: throughthebrush@gmail.com

Book Club #10: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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For the tenth installment of the Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club, the four of us read the graphic novel adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Eric Shanower and drawn by Skottie Young. We’re going to start our discussion by sharing an e-mail exchange that took place among the Fantastic Fangirls staff. This is a starting point for whatever our readers would like to say about the book. In the comments, feel free to address any of the points that came up in our discussion, or raise a topic/question of your own. Enjoy!

Continue reading →

Girl-Wonder.org is Seeking New Members!

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"We Can Do It!"

Though regular Fantastic Fangirls readers may not be aware, I (Jennifer) am currently a member of the Board of Directors of Gworg, the governing body of the feminist comic book website collective Girl-Wonder.org. Though the other three Fantastic Fangirls aren’t associated with the site, I wanted to take the time to personally spread the word about our current elections:

Girl-Wonder.org is pleased to announce that it is holding elections for the Board of Directors for its governing body, Gworg.

Gworg is an incorporated non-profit feminist organization dedicated to fostering an attentive, empowered comics fan community, to encouraging respect and high-quality character depiction, and to assisting the professional development of women working in the field of comics. Anyone who supports these aims is eligible to become a member, and all members are able to vote, stand for office, and nominate others to the Board.

Becoming a Director is an excellent opportunity to support and direct the progress of Girl-Wonder.org! Moreover, since Gworg is a registered non-profit organization, this also makes a great entry of volunteer work on your resume.

We will be accepting new members and Board nominations from Monday, January 9th through Monday, January 30th. Elections will be announced on Monday, February 6th. Members will then have until Monday, February 13th to vote for this year’s Gworg Board of Directors.

If you’re interested, head over here for more information, particularly regarding the types of open positions, or go straight to here to throw in $5 (or volunteer time!) and become a member. It’s a great activist organization that is really looking for new blood to shake things up and make a splash in 2012, so if you’re at all interested, I’d highly encourage you to become a member, run for office, and/or nominate others who fit the bill. We’d love to have you!

Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club: February Edition

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Our next edition of the Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club will be happening in February, featuring the graphic novel adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Eric Shanower and drawn by Skottie Young.

Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The premiere American fantasy adventure gets the Merry Marvel treatment! Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) teams up with fan-favorite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) to bring L. Frank Baum’s beloved classic to life! When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress…but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home?

You can get the book here at Amazon, here at Barnes & Noble (where it’s also available on the Nook), or wherever you regularly buy comics and graphic novels.

We’ll be having our usual round-table discussion for the book starting on Monday, February 13th, and we hope you’ll play along in the comments!

Q&A # 134: What’s a memorable death in comics?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What’s a memorable death in comics?


Anika

Anika does not currently have reliable access to the internet. Or electricity. Happy November!


Caroline

Don’t ask me what I think about this scene, but I sure remember it.


Jennifer

Comics are, obviously, not lacking in memorable deaths. To both real-world fans and story-world friends, the death of any comic book character could justifiably be called “memorable.” But only a few have ascended to the status of iconic, the images of the moment of their death rendered by dozens of artists in flashbacks, retellings, and reflections over the decades. Uncle Ben has one. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne have one. Jean Grey has several. But perhaps the most interesting, for me, is the original death of Bucky.

For a death that never occurred in linear time — only in flashback (in Avengers #4) and in all the retellings, memories, and reinterpretations that followed — the imagery of Bucky’s death, clinging to a doomed drone plane as Steve Rogers, falling to the ocean, yells for him to jump, is burned indelibly into the mind of any Marvel Comics fan. Over the years, as the death has been replayed again and again, it’s become a touchstone of Captain America comics, the centerpiece of Steve Rogers’ guilt, regret, and loss of connection with his past. Even when Bucky was successfully brought back in the last decade under Ed Brubaker’s artful pen, the memory of this “death” still lingered, its results different but no less resonant.

Now Bucky is dead again. But even though I read the issue only months ago, I could not tell you what the panel of his death looked like, or even what the precise circumstances were. It is not an iconic image. If you asked me to picture Bucky’s death, I’d still imagine that drone plane, first and foremost. I’m not saying the choice to kill Bucky again is a bad one — it’s sure to provide interesting story fuel. But it does throw into sharp relief just how memorable and iconic Stan Lee’s first idea has come to be, and how hard it is to match, in the modern era, the level of cultural cache accrued over decades of serial storytelling.


Sigrid

Sometimes I think that I, like Kitty Pryde, am the only one who remembers this one. In Secret Wars II, The Beyonder killed all of the New Mutants. New Mutants #35, I think it was? He fought and killed them all, and then brought them back to life, still possessing the memories of their deaths. While they were dead, no one remembered them except for Kitty.

I remember this death, these deaths, because Secret Wars II was the first big Marvel Crossover Event I encountered. I was only reading X-Men comics at the time, and I pieced together who this Beyonder guy was, and what was happening, from the context. I read and re-read these comics, putting together the relationships between all of the characters. Slowly I figured out what a horrific thing the Beyonder had done.

The practical effect of the New Mutants’ resurrection was that Magneto, then-headmaster of the school, could not cope with the trauma his students had suffered. He sent them to Emma Frost’s care in the hopes that a telepathic psychologist might ease their pain.

Okay, so, possibly memorable only to me. But this is the comics death that stands out.

So what about you? What’s a memorable death in comics?

DCnU Week 3: The Ladies

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Posted by Jennifer

When I looked at the list of new DC comics coming out each week, I couldn’t help noticing that week 3 involved a lot of ladies. Not all the ladies – female solo books can be found in other weeks of the relaunch as well, which really is a testament to DC’s attempts to diversify their line. (Marvel, after all, can only boast X-23 and Ghost Rider as female-led ongoing solo titles right now.) But week 3 promised Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman, and Birds of Prey: three solo titles featuring arguably the most iconic superheroines (/supervillainesses) in all of comics, and the genre’s longest-lasting all-girl team book.

“Well, DC,” I thought to myself, “here’s your chance.” I’m a female comic book fan and a feminist, but Marvel girl that I am, I have never read any of these titles consistently in the past. The relaunch should be DC’s opportunity to grab new readers like me by presenting their iconic female characters in engaging, empowering, entertaining new titles.

Did they succeed? The results, as with every week of the relaunch so far, are mixed. But the pros and cons of each of these four titles point to the things DC is doing right when it comes to female characters and readers, and the things they’re still doing very, very wrong.

Supergirl was at the top of my stack. It’s the book I’d read most recently, having loved Kelly Sue DeConnick’s 3-issue run that capped off the last incarnation of the title, and one of my best friends is the biggest Supergirl fan in the world. I had high hopes for this one. And, thankfully, it lived up to many of those hopes. Writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson smartly went for a hard relaunch in this case, rewriting Supergirl’s origin and taking readers along for the ride. This Supergirl is lost and confused, popping out of her doomed spaceship not with instant Golden Age adaptability, but with the terror of a 16-year-old girl plopped into a totally alien environment with no memory of how she got there. It was a blast to watch Supergirl try to put the pieces of her situation together as she began to manifest the strange powers granted by Earth’s yellow sun and used them to fight off the government agents trying to capture her. The action of the issue allowed her to demonstrate her resilience and her power set, while her interior monologue gave us insight into her personality, family, and history. The book was a fantastic introduction to the character without reading like an info-dump of needless exposition, and I’m excited to see what happens next.

The only thing that gives me pause, and the only thing that would stop me from thrusting this issue into the hands of the next teenage girl I see, is the costume. Supergirl costume controversy is nothing new, with past complaints largely directed at a skirt so tiny that titillating upskirt shots became the norm, rather than the exception. Now, however, Supergirl has no skirt at all, and the results are even worse. The leotard as depicted in this issue is so high-cut that the reader can see every crease of her groin. It’s uncomfortable to even look at, a gross objectification of a character who is, may I repeat, sixteen. Even Ms. Marvel’s leotard isn’t this high-cut. Part of the blame must lie with redesign artist Jim Lee, but ultimately series artist Mahmud Asrar bears most of the responsibility. If the character’s baby face is continuously juxtaposed with a nearly-exposed vagina, I may have to drop this title no matter how good the story is.

Supergirl

I know more than I ever needed to about Supergirl's grooming habits.

Next up was Wonder Woman, a title about which I still haven’t sorted out my feelings. My interest in the title was largely piqued by Cliff Chiang’s art, of which I’ve long been a fan. But I found myself disappointed even on that front – it’s far from the best Chiang I’ve seen, and while I know he’s purposely going for a sketchier style than his normally hyper-clean lines, it looks more rushed than anything else. The art was also hampered by scenes that, however well-drawn, were no fun to look at – a decapitated horse, for instance, or an original civilian character, Zola, who inexplicably spends the whole issue in her underwear. Chiang can, however, draw a damn fine Wonder Woman, so I have hopes for the series’ future on the art side.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is badass, but why is Zola in her underwear?

Ultimately, though, I just don’t think this book is for me. I appreciated writer Brian Azzarello’s dedication to writing a Wonder Woman plot solidly intertwined with Greek mythology, and I was never confused as a new reader who had never read a solo Wonder Woman title before. Wonder Woman’s powers and badassery were very much on display, and I had no problem with the costume, a nice middle ground between the controversial pants ensemble of the last arc and the classic costume from before. But in the end, this book is a horror book, and horror is not to my taste. Decapitations and disembowelments do nothing for me, and I feel like I’ve seen the story of a woman pregnant and hunted for the god-child in her womb one too many times. (It was done better, for instance, in the most recent arc of Peter David’s X-Factor.) From a feminist perspective, I’m glad this book exists, because women deserve horror books with female heroines (though perhaps Zola could acquire some pants at some point. Diana has a pair she isn’t using). But I don’t think I’ll be picking this up again, and I wouldn’t be surprised if long-time Wonder Woman fans are put off by this change in tone and genre.

Birds of Prey was the most pleasant surprise in my stack. I’ve been a fan of Duane Swierczynski’s work in the past, particularly on Cable, and Jesus Saiz is a brilliant artist whose work I’d adored on Manhunter, making this the most appealing writer-and-artist team out of these four titles. But these men were untested on this particular title, and while I’d never read Gail Simone’s incarnation of the book, I knew that hers would be huge shoes to fill. I had no idea if the new team would pull it off, and I was glad to see that, minus a few missteps, they absolutely did.

I went into this book almost entirely cold – I had never heard of Katana and had no idea if Starling was a new character or not (apparently she is), and I only knew about Dinah and Barbara’s friendship through the fannish grapevine. But Swierczynski did an admirable job of crafting a story that was clear enough for new readers to follow, if a little heavy (and repetitive) on the exposition. I found Starling to be compelling and intriguing (and not just because she has the same first name as my mother), and the action, as depicted by Saiz, was clean and dynamic and full of suspense. He even managed to make Black Canary’s hideous new costume almost work. I appreciated that the book made an effort to include characters of color in the supporting cast, including a villain and the reporter who catalyzed the plot (and, soon, Katana), and I was happy to see the book continue the long tradition of depicting female friendship.

Birds of Prey

Starling loves her job!

The only scene that felt disruptive was the scene between Barbara and Dinah, which was entirely focused on explaining why a character would not be in the book, a confusing addition that was unnecessarily tied to older continuity and gave new readers the negative impression that the current cast is lacking. It’s the same sort of problem Caroline described in her analysis of week one: by trying to have its cake and eat it too by relaunching without cutting ties to what came before, DC is creating a storytelling mess. But overall, Birds of Prey was an exciting, thoroughly enjoyable comic, and I’ll be following it at least to the end of this arc.

And then there was Catwoman. What can I say about this title that hasn’t already been said by smart people on the internet, particularly ComicsAlliance’s Laura Hudson? As Hudson explains so eloquently, from the diamonds-spilling-over-breasts cover to the penetrative on-panel sex of the last page, this title was pure T&A from start to finish, an interpretation of “sexy” that apparently means “for men only, with the female ‘protagonist’ nothing more than a blow-up doll.” Even the other female characters in the book never stray from the sexed-up, objectified image – a former showgirl, a “whole sorority of prostitutes,” and a girl in a flashback being beaten and killed by her male lover (a man Catwoman later strips for before beating senseless). Writer Judd Winick and artist Guillem March clearly have one priority, and that priority is not female empowerment.

Catwoman

This is what undercover Catwoman looks like before she beats up a bad guy.

But I do have one point of difference with Hudson’s article, and that point of difference gets to the heart of the problem with this title. Hudson describes the final scene as “aggressively fanfictiony on-panel sex between Batman and Catwoman” and later says, “this does not look sexy to me; it looks like a creepy fanfiction drawing.” But fanfiction, as scholars from Henry Jenkins to Kristina Busse would be quick to point out, is part of a subculture that consists almost entirely of women writing fiction (and drawing art) to please other women. To call Catwoman #1 fanfiction is an insult to fanfiction, and misleads readers about the true problem with this art and story. Fanfiction is about forming a community of women who feel comfortable sharing their desires – from their storytelling desires to their sexual desires – with each other. If this comic was fanfiction, it would be designed to appeal to female readers. But Catwoman #1 is about a male writer and a male artist providing titillation for male readers. Women do not factor into the equation at all – not even Catwoman herself. Catwoman could be an icon for female comic book readers who like their super-women on the anti-hero side, but instead, her title may as well have a giant sign on the cover that says “NO GIRLS ALLOWED.” It is the equivalent, not of fanfiction, but of the skeevy art sold by fans in the back rows of a comic con’s Artists’ Alley. And its very difference from female-driven, community-based fanfiction points out the glaring inequity that has surrounded all discussion of the relaunch and is inescapable no matter how well the female characters are written — the almost total absence of female creators.

So there we have it. DC’s iconic women, ranging from the empowering to the objectified, well-written to horribly-written, well-drawn to grossly-costumed and contorted. There are gems hidden in this week, and I hope those writers, artists, and editors are able to continue doing what they’re doing to create fantastic comics appropriate for all audiences, female and male alike. But when books like Catwoman exist and Supergirl’s Brazilian wax is in full view, it’s clear that comic book feminism still has a long way to go.

By Jennifer Margret Smith
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: throughthebrush

The Allure of G. Willow Wilson’s Mystic

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Posted by Jennifer

Disclaimer: While I’ve generally tried to avoid reviewing books produced in the X-office during my summer internship, Mystic is a book I feel so strongly about that I’m making an exception. I also have very little connection to it – I did not see anything but cover images in advance, I didn’t contribute anything to it, and I don’t know any spoilers. I am reading it purely as a fan, albeit a fan who has worked with the editor.

There’s a narrative trope I love, the kind of thing that always seems to pop up in the unlikeliest of places and leaves me delighted every time. In that narrative, two opposite figures (usually friends doomed to become rivals) struggle to reconcile their personalities with their goals. One figure is naturally talented, but rebellious – they could rise to the top if they weren’t their own worst enemy, unable or unwilling to follow social and practical conventions. The other figure is ambitious but inadequate, the kind of person who studies and practices to an extent that their opposite neither wants nor needs to do, and is willing to bend to any restrictive social rule if it will help them cover up their lack of natural talent.

This story recurs throughout fiction – Elphaba and Galinda in Wicked come to mind as an especially clear example – and it’s also a popular media narrative about celebrities, from the pop princess era of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears to the figure skating showdown between Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek. But it’s not a trope I’ve seen very often in comics, which is why Mystic, by G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez, is such a pleasant surprise.

Mystic #1

Mystic, one of a number of current Marvel miniseries based on defunct CrossGen titles, is the kind of book that could grab even the most reluctant of potential readers – particularly women. It requires no prior knowledge to enjoy, since it has little to do with its original incarnation and it exists in its own universe, and it features women as writer, editor (the fabulous Jeanine Schaefer, of Girl Comics), and cover artist (the inimitable Amanda Conner). But most important are the female protagonists and their story, which, after two issues, is unfolding as a creative and intriguing twist on my beloved opposites trope.

Genevieve (Viv) and Giselle are teenage girls and best friends who live in an orphanage in Hyperion, a society of rigid class divisions and alchemical magic. Forced to spend their days washing laundry in scalding water, they find release by secretly studying aristocrat-restricted magic at night. Viv is the hard-working, ambitious sort – the Britney Spears, the Evan Lysacek – and she dreams of going to the palace to gain an apprenticeship in the Noble Arts. Hot-tempered Giselle, meanwhile, can barely go a day without getting in a fight and treats alchemy as merely a hobby. And so, of course, when they do get to the palace, the unthinkable happens – Viv is utterly dismissed, and Giselle falls into an apprenticeship without even trying.

There’s a lot to love in the first issue alone. David Lopez’s art, most recently seen in the Hawkeye and Mockingbird series, is perfect for this story, cartoony and almost
Disney-like in its strong character acting and lush in its depiction of an alternate historical fantasy world. And the characters themselves fit their archetypes perfectly, from their dialogue to their visual designs (dark-haired tomboy Giselle and idealistic redhead Viv, a regular Little Orphan Annie). But it’s the second issue that really starts to show off Wilson’s worldbuilding talents, mixing a fantasy quest/doomsday plot with a keen depiction of class difference and its resulting conflict. As Giselle tries (and mostly fails) to fit into the snooty world of the palace, Viv finds herself thrust in the middle of a brewing proletariat rebellion, effectively pitting her against her former friend. The second issue also introduces characters of color in various supporting roles, and almost all of the important characters are women with distinct and different visual designs and personalities – a refreshing change of pace from most mainstream comics.

I’ve never followed Wilson’s work before, but if Mystic ends as well as it’s begun, I know hers is a name I’ll be paying much closer attention to in the future. For now, I encourage anyone who might be remotely interested in this kind of story to give it a try – either in issues, which might still be on the stands at your local comic shop, or in the inevitable trade. If you’ve been craving a book about magic, female friendship, plucky orphans, class conflict, or the talent divide between opposites, I assure you that this comic is where you want to be. I know there’s a market for female-driven fantasy adventure stories from mainstream comic book publishers, and as a way of testing the waters for that market, Mystic couldn’t be better. It’s more than worth your $2.99.

By Jennifer Margret Smith
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: throughthebrush

Q&A #117: What is a comic book quote that has stayed with you?

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In Q & A, a weekly feature of Fantastic Fangirls, we ask our staff to tackle a simple question — then open the floor to comments.

What is a comic book quote that has stayed with you?


Anika


“You get what anybody gets, you get a lifetime.” (Death; Neil Gaiman)

Anika is on vacation this week enjoying her lifetime.


Caroline

Pepper Potts: “How the hell do you stay so calm?”
Henry Hellrung: “I’m just trying to do the next right thing. One right thing at a time, lined up in a row. That’s it.”
- The Order #1, Matt Fraction

The Order was a too-short-lived series about a California-based Marvel Universe superhero team. Its first issue was narrated by team-leader Anthem, aka Henry Hellrung, a retired actor who was also Tony Stark’s sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous. The issue was called “The Next Right Thing,” taken from this exchange between Pepper and Henry.

I was immediately charmed by Henry as a character, and particularly by this bit of deceptively simple philosophy. Superheroes tend to state their missions in broad cosmic terms, whereas Henry’s “next right thing” credo sounds like something you can imagine an actual human being using to get his mind around such extraordinary circumstances. I eventually recognized a touch of self-help-speak in Henry’s words — a variation on the theme of “one day at a time” –but this only speaks to the subtle realism at work in the writing. It’s rare to see the language of recovery used so effectively in fiction, not as a joke or a sermon but just as an insight into how a character’s mind works, and how he approaches life.

Besides. It’s pretty damn good advice.

The Order


Jennifer

Astonishing X-Men #17. Only a few months into my comics-reading lifetime. Cyclops was already my favorite character, and he’d been comatose last we saw him. And then there was this page:

Astonishing X-Men 17 last page

“I don’t have any claws.”

Hell yeah.


Sigrid

I have two quotations. Neither of which are particularly memorable to other people, perhaps, but they are seared on my brain.

First comes from Rachel Summers, shortly after this scene from Uncanny X-Men #188:

Rachel is telling the X-Men, for the first time, where she comes from. She’s doing it because they are making a decision whether or not to disband the X-Men and go their separate ways. Rachel tells them of her past and then says the following:

“If you turn away from that dream, Kurt, you’ll do more damage than you know. We may be doomed — ours may be a lost cause — but sometimes the way we live and die is more important than the simple fact of it. Give up now, and all those sacrifices — in my world as well as yours — will have been for nothing!”

The second is Kitty Pryde, facing down the Norse god Loki in the streets of Asgard, from Uncanny X-Men Annual #9:

“Sez you, Weasel-Face!

There are maybe a score of X-Men and New Mutants loose in Asgard. We know the truth — and so do the Valkyries! Either you call it quits — right now — you send us home, with all curses lifted and no more vendetta, or we scatter! You can’t catch us all! Sooner or later, somebody’ll reach Thor or Balder or Heimdall or Freya or The Warriors Three — and POOF go your ambitions to be big boss here, and maybe a whole lot more!”

Both of these quotations speak to bravery, to being quakingly afraid and still refusing to give in to despair. I’ve loved these quotations, and these two characters, since I was fourteen years old. Rachel and Kitty, and these lines they speak, are part of my core definition of heroism. You keep on doing what’s right, even if you think you can’t win, because you do what’s right.

So what about you? What is a comic book quote that has stayed with you?

Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club: July Edition

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As mentioned briefly before, we’re gearing up for the next installment of the Fantastic Fangirls (Comic) Book Club! For June, we’ve chosen the first trade paperback volume of J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor, collecting the first six issues. Here’s how Amazon describes it:

“Thor is back! And in a story only J. Michael Straczynski could tell! Returned to the pantheon of great Marvel heroes, the Asgardian God of Thunder is reunited with the mortal form of Dr. Don Blake. Together, they must reckon with the legacy of the mythic Norse kingdom and the awakening of its immortal heroes – but in a world that may not want them back!”

The book can be purchased here at Amazon, here at Barnes&Noble, here at Powell’s Books, or anywhere graphic novels are sold.

Thor Cover

We’ll be having our usual round-table discussion for the book on Wednesday, July 6th, a little over two weeks from today, and we hope you’ll play along in the comments!

Interview: Marvel Artist Ryan Stegman

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Posted by Jennifer Smith

Marvel exclusive artist Ryan Stegman first came to my attention with his work on Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Sif oneshot, but it was his art for the sadly-truncated She-Hulks that really caught my attention. Stegman’s art is vibrant and dynamic, with characters that are absolutely bursting with personality and action scenes that would make Jack Kirby proud. After gushing all over his pencils in my Newsarama reviews, I decided to contact him to chat about his work, his enthusiasms, and his past and future projects.

Ryan Stegman's She-Hulks

First of all, Ryan, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions! We here at Fantastic Fangirls are big fans, and it’s a pleasure to get the chance to talk to you, especially considering the fact that you seem to have more projects by the minute.

Hey no problem. Thanks for liking my stuff!

For those who might not be as familiar with your work as we are, can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Let’s see…I have been drawing comics for about five years now, a lot of that in relative obscurity. But recently I’ve been doing some stuff that’s been a little more visible, like Sif, She-Hulks, X-23 and an upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man (665) and a three issue mini “Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula”.

She-Hulks and rouletteNow that She-Hulks has (sadly) come and gone, do you have any reflections on that experience? Was there a particular high point for you in your work on that series?

Well, it was a great experience to say the least. It was the first time I was given the opportunity to work on “my own” book, and do it for more than one issue. It was great to work with the entire crew that made that series happen. A lot of excitement went into it. Having a first-time writer like Harrison Wilcox really added to the experience because we were both entering uncharted territory for ourselves. So our excitement was at a fever-pitch. And I think that showed in the book.

As for a high point…I still think that second page of issue one was it for me. It was a splash page, with the two She-Hulks smashing Trapster’s head into the roulette table. I really felt like I had hit another level in my abilities…Suddenly there was action, acting, and style all coming together. It was sort of a culmination of the learning I had done over my career. We priced that original art insanely high because, to be honest, I want to hold onto it to remember that moment when things sort of came together for me.

Lyra and her friend in their formalwearOne of the things I loved most about your work on She-Hulks was the clothing. Jen and Lyra’s costumes were so practical – flat boots, gloves, shorts instead of bikini bottoms – without taking away from their attractiveness. And the formalwear you designed for the school dance was absolutely perfect for the individual characters, and for teenagers in general. I’d love to hear more about your process in deciding, and designing, what your characters wear.

Ha. WELL. Funny story. What I did was, I ordered a lot of women’s clothing catalogues. Stuff like Delia’s and Urban Outfitters for Lyra, and Saks Fifth Avenue, etc. for Jen. It’s a little embarrassing, because now I get these catalogues sent to my house addressed to “Ryan Stegman”. So I sort of hide them away when they arrive. I also had my cousin, who is in high school, shoot some photos of kids in the hallway. I guess nobody thinks that’s weird anymore because everybody has cameras on their phones. And so I used some of that for the high school stuff.

It was really important to me to make that stuff authentic. I didn’t want to have un-referenced clothing, or even pull stuff out of my head from when I was in high school, because that would come off as dated. And I also get a little irritated when some artists make all the characters SO stylish, as though they get dressed by a designer every morning. So I tried to find a nice balance of what was practical and use the clothes to add a little character to everyone.

You’ve said in other interviews that you enjoy drawing cheesecake, but even your most cheesecake-y art gives female characters spark and personality. How do you negotiate the balance between making your art fun and sexy and portraying women as strong, heroic characters?

When drawing female heroes, I try to put the hero part first. That’s not to say that I don’t take their attractiveness into account, but I just make sure that they aren’t being “sexy” for no reason. It actually goes both ways. When drawing males, people would be put off if you don’t make them attractive. Unless that’s part of their character.

On the other hand, there is some work I’ve done in the past that was intentionally sexy, but that’s what those books called for. And when cheesecake is called for, I can go full cheesecake. I enjoy drawing that stuff as long as I’m allowed to have a sense of humor with it.

Ryan Stegman's Sif

In the past you drew the Sif oneshot for Kelly Sue DeConnick, one of the Fantastic Fangirls’ favorite writers. What was it like working with her?

Working with Kelly Sue was AWESOME. She was extremely helpful when I needed explanations for script stuff, etc. She even helped me pick out Sif’s civilian clothes! And the script was just awesome. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve worked on. The story was so compact and yet so full. I think it’s a real testament to her writing abilities that, at the end of that one-shot, you feel like you’ve been given more story than you normally would in a 22 page comic.

I expect big, big things from Kelly Sue. And I hope I can be a part of them!

X-23 looking angryYour most recent work was on a few issues of X-23, with Marjorie Liu. How did you have to adapt your style for that book? It seemed to me to be a mix of the darker, more serious style of Sif and the keen attention to drawing realistic-looking teenagers that you achieved so well on She-Hulks, with the added complication of the two major characters (X-23 and Daken) being directly related to Wolverine.

It’s strange for me, because I know that my style sort of changed on X-23. But it wasn’t a completely conscious decision. It really just felt like that’s what the book called for. The first time I read through the script, it triggered memories of Michael Turner’s early Witchblade stuff. It was very dark. And I pulled out all that old Witchblade stuff that I loved so much and soaked it in and tried to play up the drama as much as possible. Because X-23 is a very dramatic, dark book. And wouldn’t you know it, amping up the drama was a ton of fun.

Ryan Stegman's X-23 and GambitWhat appealed to you about X-23 as a character, and Marjorie Liu as a writer?

The idea of a female Wolverine is pretty appealing in its own right. I mean, drawing Wolverine would be awesome, and I love drawing females, so the combination of the two is pretty awesome. But on top of that, as I mentioned in the previous answer, the drama of X-23 really stood out to me. It was a chance to try something new. Because She-Hulks, while it had its darker more dramatic moments, was mostly a light-hearted book.

And Marjorie is an awesome writer. Her scripts didn’t contain all of the thought captions that the final printing had in there, and when it was all put together I was bowled over by how well it read. Not that I didn’t know she had skills, because the script that I worked from was really enjoyable. But seeing how she fit it all together was great.

Marjorie is another one I hope I can cross paths with again in the future!

Uncolored Stegman Spider-Man art

Your next work is perhaps your most high-profile yet: drawing Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #665. What is it like, working on such an iconic character? The same question could also apply to your upcoming Hulk vs. Dracula mini. Is there a special challenge in drawing someone like Spider-Man or Hulk or Dracula, putting your own spin on a character that so many artists have drawn before?

Working on Spider-Man is… insane. When I think about my 15-year-old self deciding, “Yeah, I want to draw comic books for a living” and then the road that I took to get to this point, drawing one of the greatest comic franchises in history, it just blows my mind. Spider-Man is what got me into comics in the first place. Todd McFarlane set my hair on fire with his Spidey stuff. So when I did that first page where Spider-Man was swinging out over the city, I was just washed over with the moment.

Interestingly, Hulk is my second favorite character. I always wanted to draw Hulk or Spider-Man as a kid. So suddenly I’m getting to work on both. It’s nuts.

True story: On the day that my son Oliver was born, Feb. 17th of this year, I was almost done with my work on X-23. And a couple hours after the baby was born, I checked my email and I had an email from Steve Wacker that basically said, “Your next two projects are Spider-Man and Hulk.” I still can’t believe that day. It sounds made up!

And as for putting my own spin on the characters: It is difficult to come up with your own way of drawing them, definitely. But it’s very necessary in my opinion because yours has to be YOURS. If you want people to remember what you did, you need to be different. The way I do that is I try to bring out all the character I can in the…Character. So I just try to figure out what they’re all about in my mind and use that as a template.

Fear Itself: Deadpool

Also bringing you some attention lately: your hilarious covers for Fear Itself: Deadpool. Given how creative and expressive your work can be, would you like to do more humor-related projects in the future?

I LOVE humor stuff in comics. I’ve always been a big comedy nerd and I feel like it’s a pretty natural fit for me to do that stuff in my work. So yes, that would be awesome. I actually really like books that can go back and forth between very dark, dramatic stuff and then have something funny. Like Spider-Man. It gives you a chance to do it all.

You’ve been working on various comics for awhile now, but it’s been over a year since Marvel senior vice president David Bogart approached you at C2E2 and signed you to a Marvel exclusive contract. Any thoughts on your Marvel tenure a little while after that anniversary?

It’s been amazing. A dream come true, really. I honestly haven’t had one bad experience with anyone at Marvel. All of the editors have been great to work with, and all of the writers that I’ve worked with have been so communicative. I really enjoy the collaboration of making comics, so I like to communicate with the entire creative team on the books I work on. And the lines with Marvel are always open for that.

You’re pretty active on Twitter, using it to share your thoughts and interact with colleagues and fans. How do you think Twitter has changed the comic book industry, particularly in terms of transparency, accessibility, and networking?

There are two ways I look at Twitter. The first, if it had been around when I was 16, I would have died from happiness. I used to spend all my time in a Wizard chat room, and occasionally professionals would drop in and talk to us and it was just the greatest. And that’s essentially what you can do with Twitter. I know I talk to tons of fans on a pretty regular basis, some of them I actually feel like I know now.

And this transitions into my second point about Twitter. I’ve met other professionals, as well as fans, via Twitter. And now when I go to conventions, the ice is already broken. We have something to talk about. We know stuff about each other. So it makes it much easier to connect with people right off the bat.

I’m a very extraverted person, and drawing comic books is a very solitary profession. So Twitter gives me that interaction that I need. I love it!

Most people working in the comic book industry were fans of comic books first and foremost. Have you had any memorable fanboy moments since coming to work on mainstream titles?

Oh yes. The first that comes to mind is when I was doing Red She-Hulk backup stories. I got an email out of the blue from Jeph Loeb telling me how excited he was about these backup stories and how he and Joe Q had picked me for the job and he loved my work and I about died. I’m a huge fan of Jeph’s, and it was just such a career affirming moment. Like, “Jeph Loeb knows who I am!” It was crazy.

And then, on that same project, Ed McGuinness started talking with me, saying he liked my stuff and eventually that led to phone conversations and I couldn’t believe it. Ed McGuinness! I was and am such a fan.

And now, every time I start a new project I feel there is somebody involved that I get to geek out over. It’s awesome.

Ryan Stegman's Red She-Hulk

We here at Fantastic Fangirls like to celebrate enthusiasm in all of its forms. What media, comics or otherwise, has gotten you excited lately?

I’m a huge fan of all the Thursday night shows on NBC. That’s pretty much my stuff. I don’t like Outsourced, but I watch the hell out of the Office, Parks and Recreation, Community, and 30 Rock.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to plug, or any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Well, I found out what my next project is after Hulk vs. Dracula! And that project is…A SECRET. Sorry!

But check out my tumblr page where I post panels from pages I’m working on and all kindsa stuff at ryanstegman.tumblr.com. And check me out and talk to me on Twitter @ryanstegman! I NEED it!

Thanks so much, Ryan! And please, Fantastic Fangirls readers, do what he says and check out his stuff. I promise, you won’t regret it!

By Jennifer Margret Smith
Twitter: throughthebrush
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org