Northwest Press

“That Comic Isn’t About Me” at GeekGirlCon

// September 8th, 2011 // // Events

GeekGirlCon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting awareness of and celebrating the contribution and involvement of women in all aspects of the sciences, science fiction, comics, gaming and related Geek culture through conventions and events that emphasize both the historic and ongoing contribution and influence of women in this culture. They are having their first annual convention on October 8th and 9th at the Seattle Center Northwest Rooms in 2011, and Charles “Zan” Christensen from Northwest Press will be moderating a panel discussion about gender, sexuality and race in comics.

That Comic Isn’t About Me: Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Comics

Unless you’re a famous historical figure, a super-powered mutant, or the author of the story, odds are the comic isn’t actually about you. But that’s not usually what we mean when we think that. How important is it for us to easily identify with the characters being portrayed in a story, and what effect does that have on the diversity of the comics landscape? Why do readers so often overlook stories featuring characters whose gender, sexuality, race, class, or culture differs from their own? And how does the creator’s sense of identity seep into their creative work in both overt and subtle ways? Are we also tempted to tell stories just to people we identify with?

Join Ashley Cook (Giant Fire-Breathing Robot), Chris Lange (The Capitol Hillbillies), and Gail Simone (Batgirl, The Fury of Firestorm) (and perhaps another special guest or two) for a lively discussion about how our identities impact our comics reading and creating.

The Power Within Reviewed at PostModernBarney

// July 28th, 2011 // // The Power Within

Dorian Wright at postmodernbarney.com has written a glowing review of the new Northwest Press book, The Power Within, written by Charles “Zan” Christensen with art by Mark Brill, and featuring a bunch of superstar special guests, including Gail Simone, Phil Jimenez and Greg Rucka.

The story exists strongly within the shadow of the recent media attention given to the high suicide rate in gay teens and the “It Gets Better” project, but successfully avoids any hints of maudlin emotion or preachiness. Instead the story feels very honest and is genuinely affecting. Christensen’s script deserves credit here, but so does Brill’s art, which has an approachable, cartoony feel that still allows for very expressive characters.

Read the whole review of The Power Within here! And make sure to request a copy from your local comics shop!

TCAF, Gaylaxicon and 4 Days Left for The Power Within!

// May 16th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

May is travel month, and the whirlwind tour is only half over!

I was at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival representing Northwest Press and Prism Comics, and it was a great experience. I didn’t get out into the show as much as I would have liked, but I moderated an excellent panel discussion on identity in comics, and how being our race, gender and sexuality can affect the kinds of work we do and what we gravitate toward as readers. The panel featured José Villarrubia, Erika Moen, Yuko Ota and Ananth Panagariya, and it was quite interesting to see how far we’ve moved away from identity politics in just a decade. Or maybe this bunch was just more enlightened than everyone else.

I also participated in TCAFabulous, a social event at Toronto’s “Crews and Tangos” which featured as its centerpiece a thorough “reading” of the comics from an LGBT perspective. (I’d never really thought about it, but it’s true what Erika Moen says about the “Kole” logo being very vaginal.)

After a few days’ recovery time, I headed to Atlanta for the 2011 Gaylaxicon/OutlantaCon. This is a fun, intimate event with a lot of terrific programming and this year the special guest was none other than Buffy: The Vampire Slayer‘s Amber Benson (aka Tara MacLean). Adam Fair, the creator of This Gay Existence, and I were on a panel about what’s been going on in LGBT comics over the past year, which was fun and a great discussion, to boot. I only managed to snap one picture of Amber, during “The Match Game” panel when the panel was interrupted for a word from the sponsor, “Boy Butter”. I did get to say hello and shake her hand as I was leaving the show, and invited her to do something with Prism Comics in the future. We’d love to work together!

Chance Whitmire of Fanboys of the Universe also joined us at the table and gave out cool buttons and Fanboys cards. Chance has invited Prism Comics to come to Asheville, North Carolina, this coming weekend for the show that he organizes, Fanaticon, with special guest Gail Simone!

I’ll be meeting up with Gail on Thursday and shooting a little video to get any last-minute fence sitters to take the plunge and support The Power Within before we hit our fundraising deadline. (There’s just $900 to go! If you haven’t pledged, please check it out and lend a hand!)

Help nurture “The Power Within”!

// April 20th, 2011 // // Misc, The Power Within

UPDATE! I’ve been talking to some comics pals about contributing single-page strips or pinups to the project, and so far I’ve gotten commitments from Archie’s “Kevin Keller” creator Dan Parent, Gail Simone and Phil Jimenez (the latter two will be doing a page together!) I’m thrilled that these talented folks are on board to support the project, and can’t wait to see what they come up with!

When Mark Brill and I worked on an anti-bullying comic for 24 Hour Comics Day last October, we did it because we wanted to be part of the chorus of voices against bullying and harassment after the numerous gay teen suicides reported last year.

We didn’t quite finish the whole book in 24 hours, but the book is done, and we’re both so proud of it that we really want to get it out there, especially into the hands of kids who could benefit from its message that you can summon the power inside you and live through your toughest challenges.

Since Northwest Press is a graphic novel and collected editions publisher that publishes relatively few single-issue books (our most popular one, The Mark of Aeacus, is published in partnership with Class Comics), we are faced with a bit of a challenge in getting this book printed and distributed.

We’ve started a fundraising drive on Kickstarter to help with printing costs, in the hopes that we’ll be able to lower our per-copy price and be able to give away thousands of them to teachers’ groups, gay-straight alliances, gay youth groups, and other support resources for LGBT kids.

Pitching in $10 to our Kickstarter page will get you a signed copy of the book when it comes out, and we’ve got some really great gifts for bigger donors (all the way up to a ticket to join us at the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony next month!)

Please help support this project, and let’s let kids everywhere know that they can rely on their power within when they don’t think they have anyone else.