Breaking into the Superhero Genre

Superheroes are one of the biggest things right now and have been for some time, right? Over the past decade, the genre of superheroes itself felt as if it exploded as movie industries took a hold of it and made it easily relatable for all kinds of people. Opening the eyes of a potential audience that hadn't considered it before. More so, lovers of comics were thrilled to have the characters they had been reading about for so long brought to life on the big screen.

I admit I fell in love with superheroes after they started popping up on television and in movies which then drew my interest to start reading some of the comics. I was late to the game but I'm glad that I came.

So, why am I talking about breaking into the superhero genre?

I wasn't sure what I was going to write after my first book, Kale Stone: An Outliers Tale. I was searching for my next book idea while simultaneously trying to build a list for my site. Working hard to keep my newsletter diverse, I would write short stories and try to keep the small list entertained. Thus, my newest short story, The Backup Superhero, was born.

The story introduces Tanser Girl, who is a backup superhero. She is part of the superhero system that does the work for the top superheroes without getting any of the credit. Now, from every other superhero story I encountered, this type of storyline wasn't done before. It got me thinking, who helps the top superheroes in a big city like New York? The place is significantly too large to handle all the crime with a handful of top guys. It was interesting, to say the least, to handle a hierarchy of a structured system designed to work to keep the city safe. But I meant for it to be a short story, I hadn't meant this to become a novella.

Each week, I added to this short story and my subscribers loved it. One even messaged me and asked where the rest of the story was. (How? What? Why?) Needless to say, I was surprised.

This caused me to wonder, how many women write in the superhero genre? The more I promoted The Backup Superhero and the more feedback I received, it came from a mainly male audience.

Let's look at women creators in the superhero genre (this includes books, comics, and art)

• Screen Rant's Article on Female Presence in Creating Comics: I found this article particularly interesting. How women started breaking the mold of the comic industry by starting in the artwork.

  • "But DeConnick was not the first outstanding woman in the industry or the first to fight for inclusion by any means. Creators like Trina Robbins and Louise Simonson, in their 80s and 70s, respectively, have been celebrated cartoonists/writers and strong voices for diversity in the industry for decades. Robbins co-created the character Vampirella 52 years ago! She and her friend, artist Barbara Mendes, co-produced the first women-only comic book, the one-shot It Ain't Me, Babe Comix. She and several other women went on to produce Wimmin's Comix, an all-female subversive comics anthology (1972-1992). Robbins would go on to be the first woman ever to draw Wonder Woman comics in 1986. As for Simonson, after starting her career at Warren Publishing (publisher of titles such as Vampirella), she would go on to be promoted to senior editor of the comics line. She'd later work for Marvel, first as an editor and then a writer, and be involved in titles such as Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants, and Red Sonja. One of the highlights of her career was definitely the co-creation of Superman’s deadliest foe, Doomsday, and of the "The Death of Superman" crossover story event with DC Comics."- BY ARTEMIS TSATSAKI

• A Comic of Her Own: Women Writing, Reading and Embodying through Comics: I love how this article talks honestly about how superheroes were marketed early on with not only male-dominated characters and names but in the industry that created them. This isn't to say that they were wrong, they simply were aiming for their target audience.

  • "In recent years, even in the realm of superhero comics published by industry giants DC and Marvel Comics, an unprecedented number of women have become fan-favorite writers and artists: for example, Gail Simone, Amanda Connor, Nicola Scott, Marjorie Liu, G. Willow Wilson, and Fiona Staples. And while fictional superheroines in comic books may still be outfitted in revealing costumes, they now headline their own stories with far greater success than ever before. Wonder Woman may still be the most iconic and best-selling superheroine, but others like Batgirl, Supergirl, Black Widow, and She-Hulk hold their own in retail sales of their self-titled series."- By Jeffrey A. Brown and Melissa Loucks.

As I created The Backup Superhero, it feels silly, but I hadn't realized I was one of the few superhero writers out there. Taking a look at women writers in the superhero comic industry as of 2018, check out Women in Comics, By The Numbers, Summer and Fall 2018. And here is Celebrating Women in Comics for a look at the present.

I spent a great deal of time looking through the internet it was difficult to find a statistic for women writers in the Superhero Novel field. It looks to be growing and I'm so happy that it is. I think that having different perspectives and collaborations in the Superhero Genre is something that will keep it always evolving and interesting.

To check out some other great superhero novels written by women, click here.