Hope Larson surveys tween girl comics readers
Hope Larson, an excellent graphic novelist (most recently Mercury) currently working on a comics adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time[*], recently conducted an informal survey of female comics readers who read comics in their tweens and teens. Click here to see Hope’s full report of the responses she got.
The part I found most fun to read was Hope’s summary of responses to her final, open-ended question:
What can authors, publishers, retailers do to better serve teen/tween girls?
1) More and better female characters, especially protagonists. Girls want to see strong, in-control, kick-ass women calling the shots.
2) A welcoming atmosphere in local comic stores is key. Many respondents reported feeling uncomfortable in comic stores. They were stared at, talked down to, and generally treated without respect.
3) Pink, sparkly cutesy comics about boyfriends, ponies, cupcakes and shopping are widely reviled. Condescend to female readers at your peril, writers and comic publishers.
4) The hypersexualization/objectification of female superheroines makes female readers uncomfortable, and sexual violence as a plot point has got to stop.
5) Girls need good stories in a variety of genres.
6) Most girls don’t even know comics exist, or that they would enjoy them. Publishers need to advertise in mainstream media and comic shops need to reach out to girls.
7) Make comics for boys and girls. Comics with dual male and female protagonists. Comics with large casts that offer something for everyone.
8) Use licensed properties to lure new readers into comics.
9) Availability is a problem. Get more comics into schools. Get more comics into libraries—especially school libraries. Get more comics into bookstores, especially large chains.
10) There need to be more women creating comics and working in the industry as editors and publishers.
What do you think?
[*] I hope Hope gets to adapt A Wind In The Door, too — it’s arguably a better book, and it has tons of amazing imagery that I think would fit beautifully into Hope’s style. But I’m not certain I want to see the borders-on-racist A Swiftly Tilting Planet adapted.
2 Responses to “Hope Larson surveys tween girl comics readers”
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My daughter is at the beginning of this demographic (almost 10), and an avid comics fan (she loves Hereville, by the way! – as do I :). I can’t speak to the school issues, as we homeschool, but the rest of these points are absolutely spot-on with regard to her experience and mine as a concerned parent and comics fan who is trying to monitor and gently guide her reading as she moves out of “kid-lit” comics into the wider, sometimes scary, world of tween, teen and adult comics.
Item 4 is paramount, sadly… and items 5 and 3 come close behind. For every Hereville or Rapunzel’s Revenge there are a dozen titles about nothing but boys, clothes, and boys. 🙁
Thanks for sharing this! I look forward to reading the whole report.
My daughter is at the beginning of this demographic (almost 10), and an avid comics fan (she loves Hereville, by the way! – as do I :). I can’t speak to the school issues, as we homeschool, but the rest of these points are absolutely spot-on with regard to her experience and mine as a concerned parent and comics fan who is trying to monitor and gently guide her reading as she moves out of “kid-lit” comics into the wider, sometimes scary, world of tween, teen and adult comics.
Item 4 is paramount, sadly… and items 5 and 3 come close behind. For every Hereville or Rapunzel’s Revenge there are a dozen titles about nothing but boys, clothes, and boys. 🙁
Thanks for sharing this! I look forward to reading the whole report.