Support Marisa Stotter's documentary on the history of women in comics

My friend Marisa Stotter is running a Kickstarter campaign for "She Makes Comics," a documentary she's doing about the contribution of women to the comic book industry.  Already, she and her team have interviewed a number of comic legends including writer Chris Claremont, Vertigo Comics founding editor Karen Berger, and comic artist Joyce Farmer.

It sounds like the documentary will focus on the largely unknown roles women have played in comics in the industry's seven-decade history. The project's page explains:

"From the early days of the medium to the present, women have had an important and sometimes overlooked hand in the creation of comics. Alternative and underground comics, graphic novels, and webcomics have been particularly fruitful areas for female creators. And more women than ever are involved in iconic mainstream comics franchises. 

"While women have made significant strides in the medium over the past several decades, it's still not easy to be a woman in comics. Female readers fight to be recognized as legitimate fans in an insular and sometimes sexist community. In mainstream comics, there remains an unequal balance of women in creative and business roles, and some publishers have been criticized for misogynistic portrayals of women in their titles. The pessimistic question is often asked: is there a place for women in comics? 

"In spite of these issues, our project intends to emphasize the valuable contributions women have made since the Golden Age of comics. They may not be as recognizable as Will Eisner or Stan Lee, but we hope to make some of comics' most prolific women into household names by showcasing their talents and contributions."


If some of this sounds familiar, perhaps you saw the write-up on the project last week in The Hollywood Reporter.  With less than two weeks left, they've raised just over $30,000 of the $41,500 that they're asking for.



I don't often promote Kickstarters on this page because I fear it will provoke a floodgate of "Please promote my project!" emails.  I've pretty much decided on a policy of only promoting a crowdfunding effort if I've been moved enough to contribute to it myself.  Suffice to say, I have donated and I wish Marisa and her crew the best of luck.