Part of the Series
Ladydrawers
So far in Ladydrawers, we’ve looked at differences in the way women are portrayed and paid in the comics industry, and some of the arguments brought up when women in the industry argue for more equitable treatment. But how does this end up looking on a creator level—and what kinds of content can emerge when an entire class of media makers isn’t fully supported?
The next few installments of Ladydrawers investigates these questions by talking directly to creators. First up, Part 1 of an exclusive interview with Alison Bechdel, currently on tour with the latest edition of Best American Comics. Her deeply engaged political work—particularly the long-running series Dykes to Watch Out For—has given an entire generation a vocabulary for thinking about LGBT rights. Anne Elizabeth Moore spoke to her about how changes in media affected her strip, how gender affects the abiity of work to be perceived as political, and her comfort in the comics industry
Gabrielle Gamboa is an artist, illustrator, and arts educator. She first self-published mini-comics as a member of the Puppy Toss collective, and her comics have been published in Bust Magazine and anthologies such as Scheherazade, Top Shelf, and Duplex Planet. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and insane cat. You can view her work at www.gabriellegamboa.com.
To see past Ladydrawers comics, click here.
Click here or on the comic below to open it in a new window and click again to zoom in.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
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We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
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With love, rage, and solidarity,
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