Why Have There Been No Great Woman Comics Artists? (Part 2)

The art world is different from the rest of the business world, right? All those creative people, making culture happen from their perch on the cutting edge, are sheltered from the humdrum problems the rest of us face in the workplace – right? Wrong, and wrong. And no one knows it better than the women who make comics happen while a sizable slice of their potential audience, and their colleagues, avert their gaze. Wanna draw and raise kids? Attend a conference without being mistaken for the hired eye candy?

By: Christa Donner &; Anne Elizabeth Moore ,; Truthout

Published: August 2, 2011

Part of the Series

Ladydrawers

Wrong, and wrong. And no one knows it better than the women who make comics happen while a sizable slice of their potential audience, and their colleagues, avert their gaze. Wanna draw and raise kids? Attend a conference without being mistaken for the hired eye candy?

Comic pros Anne Elizabeth Moore and Christa Donner take us into their world for another ink-stained brainstorm about the mysterious shortage of accomplished ladydrawers, and the absent praise for the women who’ve already more than earned it.

Ladydrawers, a new semimonthly comics collaboration, looks at the reasons behind gender bias in the media and in the comics world, and the impact that these dynamics have in both realms.

Click here or on the comic below to open it in a new window and click again to zoom in.

Christa Donner

Christa Donner is a visual artist who uses a variety of media to explore human bodily experience as well as occasionally why there might seem to be no great women comics artists. Her work is exhibited internationally and includes comics projects for Bust, Tin House, the Chicago Reader, and Grace Comics Showcase. More of Christa’s work can be found at www.christadonner.com

Anne Elizabeth Moore

Anne Elizabeth Moore is a cultural critic and author of several award-winning, best-selling nonfiction books including Unmarketable (The New Press) and Cambodian Grrrl (Cantankerous Titles). She is a Fulbright scholar, a USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow, and is the recipient of a 2016 Write A House Fellowship in Detroit. Her work has appeared in The Baffler, Al Jazeera, Salon, The Onion, Talking Points Memo, Wilson Quarterly, Tin House, and in international art exhibitions, including the Whitney Biennial and a solo show at the MCA Chicago. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, Voice of America, and in The New York Times, among others. Her most recent book, from Curbside Splendor, is Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes.