I wasn’t going to write about this because other folks have written about it way better than I ever could, but after reading some tweets this afternoon, I thought I just give my two cents.

About three weeks ago, former DC Comics editor Janelle Asselin-who also has a lot of experience in the comic book industry-wrote an excellent critique about the New Teen Titans #1 cover for Comic Book Resources which you read here.  Needless to say some weren’t happy with her article and she received some nasty responses and artist Drew Booth (who works for DC and had nothing to do with the cover Asselin critiqued) decided that Asselin’s critique was not a critique but an “attack”.  You can read the tweets here.

But it gets worse. On Tumblr blog, Asselin wrote “I was called a whiny bitch, a feminazi, a feminist bitch, a bitter cunt, and then the rape threats started rolling in.”

Asselin is also conducting a survey about sexual harassment in comics.  She critiques a comic book cover, she gets called horrible names and receives rape threats, and she just happens to be doing a survey about sexual harassment? Ironic much? Asselin noticed the irony and stated:

“You see, I’m also doing a survey about sexual harassment in comics. (If you’d like to take this survey, you can find it here.) And so as soon as the angry fanboys started looking me up after [critique], they discovered this survey and started answering my questions and using the open box at the end to write in all sorts of awfulness. I’ve gotten all manner of bullshit within the survey now, but at least the ones with the rape threats or other asshole comments tell me which responses to disregard.  If you really want to “get me” and prove that sexual harassment doesn’t exist in comics, I don’t know, maybe it’s better for you to answer honestly about how you haven’t been sexually harassed. Because certainly sending me rape threats proves my point, not yours.”

But we’re not done folks, it gets much worse. On top of all of this shit she’s received, today on her Twitter, she tweeted the following,

“Someone’s trying to get into my bank accounts now. Fuck. Everything.”

So this is what it’s come to.  A women with a shit-load of experience in the comic book industry writes an article in which she critiques a comic book cover. Some people don’t like what she wrote and begin to call her names like whiny bitch, feminazi, she receives rape threats, and they’re trying to break into her bank accounts.

What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCKITY FUCK!?

She’s not the first nor the last (unfortunately) woman to go through this. This has happened time and time again in this sphere we call geekdom/comics.  It should not happen. Let me repeat that, IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. But it does. And you really shouldn’t be surprised that it happens, nor should you be shocked.

I’ve loved comics since I was a kid and only in more recent years have I gotten more involved in it. I’m a straight woman who also happens to be Black, Native American and Jewish. I’m not your typical white straight male comic book reader. Thankfully, I haven’t had to go through the crap that other women in comics have.  If you didn’t know, women make up almost half (if not so) of the readers of comics. That’s right, we read X-men, Deadpool, Punisher, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Saga, The Walking Dead, and any other comic book you could think of.

And guess what? People of color read comics, and so do people who are LGTBQ. Oh we don’t just read comics, we make them, we report on them, we attend conventions and dress up like our favorite characters! Whether you like it or not, we’re here to stay and WE’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! Who don’t like it can leave.  We shouldn’t have to. People shouldn’t make us feel as if we don’t belong.

So I want to know, what are we gonna do about it? Actually I should specifically ask the guys this question, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?  Are you stand idle or are you gonna call it out?

And I’m gonna leave you with that question and these fine awesome folks who have talked about this situation much more eloquently than I.

•  Jill Pantozzi on The Mary Sue-Sorry to Bust Your Masturbatory Comic Bubble (No,I’m Not)
• Heidi MacDonald – What is it like to be a man in comics?
• An Update From Janelle
• Brian Michael Bendis
• Lea Hernandez – The Cost of Women Working in Comics
• Marjorie Liu – Women. Comics. Some Thoughts.
• Devin Faraci – Hey Assholes: Stop Threatening To Rape Women Because of Their Opinions
• Mariah Huehner – Oh No, Not Again
• Brett White – In Your Face Jam: Anatomy of a Bad Reaction
• Janelle Asselin-It Happened To Me: I Received Rape Threats After Critiquing A Comic Book
• Kate Or Die-What’s It Like Being A Woman In Comics