Kickstart This! Guardian: A Fantasy Armor Coloring Book

If you haven'y already guessed, I have a special place in my heart for women in armor. So when I saw a notice for a new coloring book filled with all kinds of fantasy femmes in kickass armor, naturally I was all in.

There's something so empowering about seeing a strong woman in armor, ready to defend her friends and family. Heck, I'm also pretty inspired by badass femme rogues and thieves out causing mischief. Illustrator and comic creator Pamela Kotila agrees. And lucky for us, she's turned her talents to creating more of these armored heroines for us to admire.

She started drawing more women in armor and thus Guardian: a Fantasy Coloring Book of Women in Armor was born. It features women and femme mages, rogues, and warriors in a variety of fantasy costumes and armor as the heroes of their own stories, ready for duty and adventure! I'm so excited about this I can't wait to spend some quality rainy day coloring time. Honestly, I think this would make a great afternoon project for a bunch of fantasy geek girls, sitting around coloring and telling stories. (Note: Guardian is slated to deliver in November, just in time for holiday gifting!)

Pamela was kind enough to chat with me a bit about her work.

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SRPS: First of all, can you tell us a little about yourself? What's your background? What inspires you?

PK: Sure. I've been making webcomics since 2003, though I took a slight break while getting my degree. I have a BFA in Fashion Design/ Textiles, where I played with incorporating story into fashion performances and installations. While teaching in Japan I joined a hip hop studio, where I learned to express myself through dance. I don't do much fashion design or dance lately, but those experiences have only enriched my other work.

I launched one of my current comics six years ago, and currently release two webcomics as well as work as a colorist with Ododon Games Company. I've got a wide background of work experience as a freelancer from editing to fashion sketching, as well as teaching (ESL or art).

I love sci fi and fantasy. Watching even some of my favorite movies made me wish there were more fantasies that included more women, queer people, and people of color, so I began writing it. And seeing beautiful diverse work like Dragon Age Inquisition just makes me want to see even more of it. Stories have helped me through hard times in my life, and I hope that my work can have that impact for someone.

SRPS: What is Guardian? What inspired you to create a coloring book featuring fantasy women in armor?

PK: My partner asked me if I'd ever thought about making a coloring book, so I made a few pages which I released digitally. When I shared them on Facebook, my coloring-book enthusiast friends were really excited. I narrowed the general fantasy concept to feature women in armor after feedback from friends.

There are many ways for people to be strong. It was a symbolic thing for me to draw women and femmes in armor as the heroes of their own stories, whatever that meant for each of them. For some this appears to be a scouting mission or guard duty; for others it seems like a peaceful walk or a short rest is in order. These are just snapshots of moments in their lives.

I tend to draw mostly practical armor, but I understand there are aesthetics at play in character design. I just wish that when that argument is used to defend women in fantasy it's less about metal lingerie and more about gigantic pauldrons, spikes, and impossibly long capes flowing in the wind. I just want to see more variety. Sexy characters are fine. What I am tired of is seeing women so sexualized they're basically objects or props.

Guardian is something I want to see more of and knew I would enjoy working on. I really love drawing armor.

SRPS: Looking at the images in the your Kickstarter, it seems like the images in Guardian represent not only a wide range of fantasy races, but also appears to show diverse human-style features and body types. Was this a conscious decision?

PK: Absolutely. I've been working on drawing more body types over the years and on paying more attention to facial features. I wanted to focus on the beautiful diversity of faces, hair, and bodies rather than offer the same face that is largely read as white on page after page of a book that's supposed to be about women and femmes in general. I know I cannot do justice to every woman with this one coloring book, but it is a start.

It's repeated often but it's true: Representation matters. When I realized there were gender-ambiguous characters in Attack on Titan, I was all over them. And though I suspected as much, it was great to have such an iconic character like Jughead state that he is asexual in print.

Seeing ourselves in media and genres we love can be validating. I believe in producing positive media: work that can reach out to someone who wants to see it or needs to see it. And I will make more.

SRPS: This isn't your first book, or your first Kickstarter project. Can you tell us a little about your previous work? Where else can people find your illustrations?

PK: I have two current webcomics — both are queer romances and sort of quiet adventures. Spidersilk is an ongoing fantasy webcomic about to hit its six year anniversary; it's part of the webcomic collective Ink Drop Cafe. My first two Kickstarters were to have the first two volumes compiled and edited for print. Fell Swoop is an ongoing science fiction that will end next year and be released as a one-shot graphic novel. It's a featured comic at the monthly online comic magazine, StArt Faire.

My stories and art can be found through my website alakotila. Because I'm in a heavy comic focus, most of my work lately is comic pages, but I keep my gallery updated with my favorite and most recent artwork as well.

SRPS: What has been the initial reception of Guardian among fantasy fans you've encountered?

PK: It was a bit of a pet project at the start so I didn't talk about it early on. I'd meant to rush a few images out and make a few print-on-demand copies to sell at a local art fair to gauge interest in such a product, but early feedback was so enthusiastic I realized I shouldn't rush it. I was excited to hear people say they hadn't realized they'd needed such a thing until now. One person even said it was pretty much their dream coloring book!

I really want this to be something anyone can color. Whether they are seeing themselves as a hero, or seeing women and femmes as heroes, I think those are valuable things.

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Kickstart This! Femme Magnifique

As a history nerd, I'm fascinated with trying to understand how things are connected through generations. I always want to know what has carried down through the ages and how it affects us today. Maybe it's simply a matter of hoping the work of my generation will carry forward in a beneficial way. But, honestly, I think it's a bit bigger than that. It's a feeling of time moving at its own pace, and human progress being greater than any one person or event, but instead made up of the steady accumulation of actions and ideas. There's something marvelously freeing in knowing that social movements started long before me, and will continue long after me, and my job is to help move it along. Studying history has always been my way of tapping into that feeling of being connected backward and forward.

But aside from the philosophical reasons for my research, there's also the wonderfully inspirational aspect of reading stories about people, and in particular the women, who came before us -- the struggles they faced, the hard work they put in, and the impact they had. Learning about their successes without the story of how they got there is an almost tragically inadequate lesson. It's in learning of their struggles and resolutions that we are able to identify with them, and then apply that knowledge as a kind of fortification as we face our own endeavors.



That's why I will never tire of books sharing the stories of important women from history. Each new project shows us a unique perspective on the familiar stories. Each new anthology gives us a new set of women to celebrate, while also telling us a story about the artists involved in the selection process -- why they chose which women and how the group them is also part of the story.

I only just recently learned about a new project honoring an impressive list of women who have left their mark on history: Femme Magnifique. In this case, the stories are being told in a delightfully visual art form: comics. Each profile tells the story of a remarkable woman, and is drawn by a different comic artist. Co-curator Kristy Miller agreed to answer a few questions about this great project celebrating the lives of amazing women throughout history.

SRPS: First of all, can you tell us a little about yourself? What's your background?

KM: I am an archaeologist, a college professor, and I co-own Hi-Fi colour design with my husband. I have a BA in Antiquities, a Secondary Education certificate, an MA in Museum Studies/Anthropology, and I'm currently a Ph.D. candidate in Education.

I am currently the Lab Director and Assistant Field Director for a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Salalah, Oman, called Al Baleed. My husband and I spend between five and nine weeks a year there. I am an Adjunct Professor at a local community college where I teach various Anthropology classes including Women in Other Cultures and Archaeology.

As for Hi-Fi, my husband (Brian) and I started this company over 15 years ago. We are a digital coloring studio that provides digital color for comics, movie posters, games, etc. Brian is the creative director and I oversee the business side of things. Hi-Fi has about 40 employees around the world.

SRPS: You have a wonderfully diverse background including studying and teaching classes on archaeology as well as ancient and modern history. How did you find yourself studying people of past eras?

KM: I have always been fascinated with the past. When I was little I lived in the county and my dad and I would go for walks in the woods and look for old bottles or arrowheads or whatever we could find. I always wondered about the people that used those things. As soon as I learned what an archaeologist was I knew I wanted to be one (at about age 8!). My favorite areas are Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Middle East and the association between all of them. In college I focused on the Classics (Greece and Rome). I took five semesters of Latin and two of Greek, then my Senior year I was chosen to attend a semester long dig in Oman… that quickly switched my emphasis to the Middle East. As an adult I have visited many of the places I used to read about. It is an amazing thing to actually go inside the pyramids or walk around Knossos.

SRPS: What is Femme Magnifique? What inspired you to create this collection of women's stories?

KM: Femme Magnifique is a graphic novel anthology which will contain up to 50 short stories about women from all walks of life, past and present. Shelly Bond, former DC Vertigo Editor, came up with the idea and asked Brian and me to help her curate the book and launch it on Kickstarter. There are over 100 artists involved in the project, many with a background in comics.

A few days before the election Shelly called Brian and me wanting to know if we were interested in working with her on a cool, powerful project called Femme Magnifique. We were all upset with the election cycle and how women were being portrayed or talked about in the media, specifically in politics. At the same time, Brian had decided to do something art-based to address these concerns; he just hadn't figured out what. Within a week, we had firm ideas about the kinds of stories we wanted to tell and who we wanted to invite to write and draw them. We all agreed that Femme Magnifique needed to be a book about the achievements of women as told by both sexes. Men cannot be excluded from the conversation. They're pivotal to the advancement of women, so we have an expansive list of male and female talents contributing to the project.

SRPS: It reminds me a bit of The Wonder Women of History comics that were publish alongside the original Woman Woman, only with more modern women to celebrate. How did you go about selecting who to include?

KM: The first step was actually not about the subjects but about the creators. Shelly, Brian and I came up with a list of writers and artists we thought would be great on the project. Shelly opened up her massive Rolodex and started contacting people. Everyone we spoke with was as excited about the project as we were. The next step was to ask each writer to come up with two or three women who were inspirational to them and that they would like to write about. Interestingly we had very little overlap, the list was varied and impressive. We felt the stories would be even more inspirational if they were personal in nature—someone the writer and/or artist was passionate about.

SRPS: It's Women's History Month, which seems like perfect timing to celebrate these remarkable women! Why is it so important to tell the stories of women from history?

KM: The short answer is just two words: Role Models. I do an activity with my college students who take my Women's classes. They are to fill in the name of their favorite/most inspirational women in the following fields: politics, music, science, art, education, women's movement, family, etc. They can all fill in the blank for family and music but the majority are left blank. They are not even aware of the choices in some of those fields. I turn the activity around and ask them to name the most successful/popular people in their degree field. The answers are by far and away male. It's not that women are not in these fields or that women have not been pioneers but that they are often overlooked or forgotten. Many times there was one successful women but 100 successful men, you would think that would make the woman stand out but instead she is ignored.

One of the Kickstarter reward levels is a Teacher's Edition. I am writing curriculum for teachers to go with Femme Magnifique. There will be activities like the one above as well as specific activities that focus on the subjects and they will be adaptable for all ages. I hope that teachers and everyone else will find Femme Magnifique valuable and inspirational and order it from Kickstarter.

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As they reiterate on their website, the folks behind Femme Magnifique are committed to using their platform to not only tell these stories, but to create change.

In every area of the arts and sciences, in tech companies or political campaigns and in the pop music and comics cultural landscape, we have to do better. Reach out together and create a book that will spread the good word about woman whose tremendous accomplishments inspire others around them -- from young girls to entire nations -- not to accept anything less than absolute equality.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Femme Magnifique! If you haven't already backed this project, please consider doing so ASAP! There's only a week left to get in on it. They've already met their initial goal, as well as their first stretch goal. They're super close to their second! Now more than ever, we need more inspirational stories of remarkable women in the world.

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Kickstart This! The Hues V2

OK, seriously y'all... you need to check out The Hues. Alex Heberling's comic is chockablock full of amazing characters and excitement. When she describes it as "a little bit Sailor Moon, and a little bit Independence Day" she isn't exaggerating in the least. It really is.

I backed her first Kickstarter even though I barely had $15 to my name, simply because it was too awesome to pass up. When I got the book I read it cover to cover the first evening, and then read it again. I even read it again this afternoon before posting this. I mean, magical girls fighting aliens! It doesn't get better than that.

The Hues is about a group of teenage girls who discover their powers just a little too late-- the Big Bad is already here and they have only a rudimentary grasp of their abilities and what they're supposed to be doing. It all hinges on hints and clues regarding a mysterious person named Jouchi, who may have the answers they seek about how to reclaim their home from the aliens.

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Kickstart This! Paradox Girl

I love a good time-travel story as much as the next princess, don't get me wrong. But even as a kid, I had to accept the fact that they don't actually make sense from a purely logical standpoint. I suppose I was an adherent to the "wings of a butterfly" line of thinking before I even knew what that was.

Still, I enjoy the fantasy of being able to go back or forward in time, and so I happily wave away those niggling thoughts about cause and effect and whatnot in favor of enjoying the story.



I guess I'm not the only one, because Cayti Bourquin and Yishan Li's latest Kickstarter project Paradox Girl takes the time-travel trope and turns it on its head, giving us a heroine who jumps around trying to fix her fixes. Or something like that.

Paradox Girl's time travel powers aren't bound by the normal rules of cause and effect. Consequences can come before actions. A constantly shifting past means a constantly changing future, the two blending into an endless present. Her timeline criss-crosses over itself again and again. Consequently, she runs into herself a lot—and we mean a lot.

I was fortunate to be able to chat a bit with Paradox Girl's author Cayti Bourquin and editor Peter Bensley about this project and the importance of writing the stories we need to read. Paradox Girl has already met its Kickstarter goal, but you should still consider buying in. Not only will you be getting this fantastic story for yourself, but you'll be showing the comics industry that there really is a market for more female voices!

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Kickstart This! Hex11

We are deep into the Women in Comics Renaissance and I'm loving every freakin' minute page of it! There are so many fantastic comics out there telling the stories of amazing women characters, written by amazing women writers, and illustrated by amazing women artists. There's not enough time to read them all. And yet, here I am telling you about yet another one you need to check out: Hex11.



Hex11 by HexComix is well worth your time and attention. The story is about a young woman living in a world where a new energy source, Ether, has given some humans wondrous new magical abilities. Sadly, as one might cynically predict, many are using this new power for monetary gain -- leading to a whole new type of power struggle between the haves and have-nots.

One such woman is Elanor Kent, a young witch living in the Hex and apprenticing the eccentric Vera, a very powerful oracle. Though she aspires to master the many facets of magic, she finds herself practicing basics and running Vera's errands. However, when one seemingly ordinary task places her in the crossfire of a black market warlock and a demonic mercenary, the excitement she had hoped for becomes all too real and all too dangerous…

HexComix has already met their initial goal allowing them to print Volume 1 (Issues 1-6), and is now working toward their first stretch goal -- a printing of Issue 7. You can check out a PDF version of Issue 1 here for free. So, with all the comics out there featuring great female characters why is it so important to support Hex11? Because not only is it a story about kickass women, but it's put together by a team of kickass women.

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Kickstart This! Comics Edition

I went looking for a great crowd funding project to share with you today, but instead found soooo many I had to lump them all together into their own list posts. Here's the post of all the awesome comics and graphic novels that are looking for a little support. Each is the project of creative and clever women, and each features smart, brave, and seriously kickass women.  Give these projects a look, and maybe even pick one or three to back.

Sirenne Sisters Investigation by Stone and KaaChan, is a mad cap adventure through Victorian steam punk mysteries and chilling tales of horror with the Sirenne Sisters!

And that's where the Sirenne Sisters Investigation team comes in! A group of specialists in the world of of the Paranormal, here at your service! Composed of three Sisters; the eldest sister, Victoria, is the strong and dependable force behind SSI. The youngest sister would be the chipper and charming, fashion-forward Catherine; and the middle sister Elizabeth, the gear-oriented mechanic of the group. Together, they protect mortals from the darkness that lurks in the unknown world that coincides with our own.

As a part of the Feminist publisher Zubaan Books, with The Goethe Institut, created a week-long workshop with a group of Indian women, to share their stories. The result was something remarkable.

Drawing the Line: A Comics Anthology by Indian Women, by Nicole Marie Burton, is a collection of 14 accounts of lived experience by women in India. Stories cover topics about gender, sexuality, harassment, coming of age, family, sisterhood, race, shadeism, class, and political struggle in a country that many in the West know little about, and understand even less.

Oath Anthology of New Heroes, by Audrey Redpath, is a queer superhero comic anthology by queer creators, creating representation we deserve in a book everyone can read.

Our heroes aren't cautionary tales. Stories in the anthology will empower unquestionably queer characters and creators, and saturate heroic plots and settings with new perspectives.

Big Brown Eyes is a collective composed of three sisters: Emily, Karis and Freya Lambert, aiming to launch their first 'zine at the Bristol Comic and Zine Fair in October. Based on the artwork in their Kickstarter post, it looks like it will be a beautiful 'zine. I fully expect to see more by these creative young women in the future.

We will be showcasing our debut zine Beginnings, themed on creation, development and cycles, as well as our individual comics at the Bristol Comic and Zine Fair 2015 on October 3rd.

Poizon: Lost Child Hardcover 20th Anniversary collection by Bad Girl Artwork looks like a pretty kickass comic.

Annique Talbot lives in Queen City in the year 2072 during a time of war between humans and demons, a war humanity is losing badly. In this time Razor is a force for evil and the bride of Lucifer's agent on earth Anvil. Taking the name Poizon she is a powerful psyonic she is able to form a bubble of energy around her as barrier physical objects cannot pass but the more pressure placed on it the more effort it takes to sustain. She also has a strong psychic ability and is able to communicate over time and space with desired targets. Important to the Razor story it was Poizon that tended to the fallen Razor after her battle with Stryke. She followed Razor into Limbo and tried to persuaded her to come back to earth to finish her work instead of finding the peace and rest she so longed for. Razor chose peace only to be dragged back to earth by other undead forces.

Strange Wit, by Katy Rex, is an original graphic novel about Jane Bowles, an incredible author, inspiring woman, and tortured mind.

Jane may have been marginalized by the cultural canon, but her contemporaries considered her “one of the finest modern writers” (John Ashberry), “the most important writer of prose fiction” (Tennessee Williams), and further, a “genius imp, [a] laughing, hilarious, tortured elf” (Truman Capote). Jane drank more than she wrote, worried more than she worked, and had more epically disastrous love affairs than completed books. By almost any measure, Jane led a fascinating life filled with literary giants and great adventure and I want to bring her story to life.

Jill Trent, Science Sleuth #2, by D.M. Higgins, is a modern re-awakening of the original Jill Trent, Science Sleuth from the mid-1940s, filled with stories of science, mystery, & adventure!

Now, more than 65 years later, we've brought Jill and Daisy back! Jill Trent, Science Sleuth #2 is a 28-page comic book featuring 3 all-new stories by 3 creative teams! By popular demand, these stories are slightly longer than those in Jill Trent #1 — a full 8 pages each! Each stand-alone story reimagines the Science Sleuths in a new way, including a range of racial and ethnic identities and time periods, from the 1940s to the not-too-distant future.

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Kickstart This!

Look. I know I said I'd try to limit how many "Kickstart This!" blog posts I do to help spare your bank accounts, and I really am trying. It's not my fault there are so many amazing projects out there to support! I'm genuinely holding back a whole lot of stuff, and trying to give you the things that deserve the SRPS attention.

Things like The Last Cowboy.



I mean, look at how beautiful this thing is! And the creator Zoe Coughlin is so amazing. You can read the story here, but something this gorgeous and compelling really deserves to be in print. Which is why she needs you all to back her project.

The Last Cowboy is a science fiction story set sometime in the future, many years after humanity made first contact-and contracted a disease which leads them down the slow road to extinction. Now, though humans have fully integrated into a wider galactic society, the dark specter of their fate always hangs over their heads.

You'll be opening up this world to more readers, who really should be able to get know the main characters, Adsila Bell, Luna Silva, and Eve, and the worlds they live in.

The Last Cowboy is about three women whose lives are linked by the discovery of a mysterious alien planet. One lives on it, one studies it, and one is using it to hide their dark secrets. The main characters are Eve, a little girl who was raised by aliens; Adsila, a former activist who now works as a researcher and is dealing with a lot of her own baggage; and Luna, a successful robotics tycoon raising her daughter on earth.
(From her Comics Alliance interview)

This story about these amazing woman (women of color, I'll point out) is really great. The mainstream publishing houses might be a bit hesitant to print the works of women artists telling women's stories, but that doesn't mean there isn't a crying need for these comics. Until the big houses realize they can and will make money on these stories, we'll just have to print them ourselves.

A few years ago I made a pact to myself that I will never write a story about another straight white boy. We have plenty of those. The Last Cowboy is about women of color, for women of color. It also deals a lot with reproductive rights, and feminist issues in general — subjects which I am very passionate about. It’s a story I’ve always wanted to read myself, so I made it myself.
(From her Comics Alliance interview)

I know it's last minute and there are only a few days left to help fund this project. I know that the pledge rewards are a bit higher than for other projects by big name artists, but even a smaller donation would help her toward her goal. And I'm broke, but even I'm giving her a few bucks I can spare. Who needs Starbucks when you've got great comics to read while sipping tea at home, right?

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Kickstart This!

So you say you want more women in comics who break out of the "strong female character" trope? Maybe some queer women who are complex, fully-human characters? Well, Cassius is the comic for you!

Cassius is a fun twist on a classic hero’s journey with some kickass queer female characters, all inspired by Julius Caesar! It follows our main character Junia, whose ordinary life comes to a grinding halt after a terrifying event alters the course of her fate forever. That one event forces her to become the bearer of a mark that identifies her as Cassius – a legendary figure said to bring about great change.

Written and illustrated by real-life couple Emily Willis and Ann Uland, Cassius tells the story of Junia, our kickass lesbian heroine.

Inspired by Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and the events of history, Cassius is set in a Roman-esque universe centered around the collection of states know as Latium. The story follows our heroine Junia, who belongs to the Latium state of Cyrentha, and believes herself to be no more than ordinary. But one single act of violence suddenly thrusts Junia into a world of politics, betrayal, greed, bloodshed, and fate - and Junia must overcome it all if she is to survive.

For in this world there is the legend of Cassius, one person who bears a cursed mark that will bring about great change. Such change will either be for Latium's benefit or lead to its complete destruction.

It is Junia who now bears this mark, and she is about to take part in something that is much more than any one person can bear alone.

I think what I love the most about this project is that it's a re-telling of a classic story, with a decidedly feminist twist! There's a reason these stories have stayed with us over the centuries -- they're human stories. It's high time we started telling them including a wider cast of characters! I just heard about Cassius today, and already I'm in love. The feminist history nerd is me is doing a happy dance.

Cassius has so many fun plot threads to it. I loved reading a good adventure story that kept building the stakes higher and higher and got me invested in it – that’s what Cassius aims to do. I’m also a huge fan of that “write women as people” saying that goes around social media. That’s so important to me — and for some reason, I see a lot of people equate “strong female character” with “cold and stoic” and it just doesn’t need to be that way. So Junia – our main character – isn’t some unfeeling person just because she’s been given this gigantic task. Junia will be frustrated, and determined, and happy, and all these other things along her journey, because people are full of complex emotions. I want Junia and the rest of the cast to feel real, and for their choices to be full of consequences.
(source: Comicsalliance.com)

You've only got a couple more days to get in on this project! Go. Support Cassius!

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SRPS Shout-Out: Alex Heberling - author and artist of The Hues

Last week I raved about The Hues in my Kickstart This post. I'm totally in love with this project and managed to get in touch with Alex Heberling, the fantastic author and artist responsible for my latest and newest comic obsession and talk with her about her love of magical girls and the importance of supporting diversity in comics.



What is it about magical girls that attracts you? Why create your own?

Sailor Moon was my introduction to magical girls, so it's really my biggest influence in that regard. SM was like an even awesomer Power Rangers that was ALL girls! So I was smitten from the very beginning. That, and color-coded characters are a particular weakness of mine.



I've seen a couple of quotes by you about your choice in characters and your reasons for making them so diverse (body size, color, gender expression, etc.). Would you care to elaborate on that a bit?

I've learned a lot about representation, and the ridiculous lack thereof, over the last several years, and when I decided to resurrect The Hues, which was something I first concieved nearly two decades ago, I knew that more diversity was one way to make this magical girl story fresh-- tell a story with the kinds of girls that mainstream media never gives the time of day. I'll admit that The Hues spent a long part of its' existence as a pretty boring and derivative story, full of white people with a sprinkling of token non-white characters that weren't really given any thought or care. So the first thing I did was "recast" my main lineup of girls, and put in a mix of ethnicities, backgrounds, body types, and so on.



Are these characters based on people you know? Friends or a composite of people? Or are they mean to represent a wider range of character than we typically get?

Yes and no, and all of the above! I think a lot of writers draw from the people around them when writing characters, and there are specific traits that I pull from myself and the people around me. Lauren, for instance, is the type of brash, badass gothy girl that I might've idolized in high school. It's all part of the fun of getting to explore characters. And part of the challenge is writing the things that are NOT like me, as well, and putting myself in someone else's shoes.



What makes these young women especially "kick ass?"

They are perfect and beautiful cinnamon rolls. But then, I'm rather biased in their favor. ;) I think they kick ass because they don't back down from challenges, they support and help each other and everyone around them, and they never give up.



If you haven't already done so, please go check out her blog, and then her Kickstarter page and consider backing her! We desperately need more of these kinds of stories about diverse and kick ass young women!

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Kickstart This! The Hues

Magical girls fighting aliens? Yes, please!

If you like comics with all-female leads, magical girls, girls of color, queer girls, fat girls, thin girls, girly girls, tomboy girls, AND said girls punching aliens, then have I got the comic for you.

Here, take all my money.



I'm not well-versed in comics. But over the last couple of years, I have been trying to branch out of my comfort zone of mostly tv and books, and have asked for recommendations from friends for things to check out in the comics world. I've discovered Saga and Lumberjanes, and am even reading Captain Marvel now.

How come Alex Heberling hasn't crossed my path until today is a complete and utter mystery to me. Just looking at her website, I'm totally enthralled. I just spent a couple of hours reading bits of each comic she's done, and now I'm adding each of them to my official to-read queue.

She's running a Kickstarter to fund the first print run of her latest project, The Hues: Volume 1: Spectrum.

This comic is my love letter to magical girls, and my way of celebrating all the different types of girls everywhere. I want all kinds of kids to be able to see themselves in my characters!

While The Hues is available online for free, by backing the Kickstarter, you'll get the first three chapters plus some excellent bonus material, and updated artwork. But, more importantly, you'll be supporting a fantastic new voice in the world of comics, and one whose stories are so very needed in a world of tires old tropes about young women and what they can do.

The Hues is a story I’ve worked on in fits and spurts for many years, and I finally decided to start making the comic my primary focus two years ago! I’ll soon be crowdfunding the first print volume to coincide with my 10th anniversary in comics, which I’m very excited about.

What love the most about these character is the fact that they seem so real. They're complex individuals with flaws and personalities and unique motivations. They're as far from tropes as one can possibly get. Plus, each one reminds me of someone I know and adore.

But what has really got me intrigued is the story. Sure, it's about young women being all kick ass and stuff, and that's super awesome. But more than that, we get to see them learning about themselves and learning how to work together. This is such an important story that is often neglected in media -- girls working together to be amazing and do amazing things.

If you're looking for a modern take on a magical girl story, this might be the comic for you! I focus on character relationships, all the different kinds of love, girls working together and supporting each other, and building a cast that is diverse in many different ways. I'm pouring a whole lot of love into this story, so I hope you'll love it, too.

So, do yourself a favor and go pledge as much as you can afford to help Alex get this project printed. Also, you should check out her Patreon page.

[UPDATE]: Also, check out my interview with the amazing creator, Alex Heberling and the Kickstart This! post for The Hues 2!

If you like the work I do here on SRPS, please support me!

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Weekend Reading

Welcome to the weekend! We made it! As celebration, here's a collection of longer reads for your pleasure!


Wonder Woman, introduced in 1941, was a creation of utopian feminism, inspired by Margaret Sanger and the ideals of free love. Jill Lepore uncovers the remarkable and complex feminist background of Wonder Woman in her New Yorker piece, The Last Amazon

Superman débuted in 1938, Batman in 1939, Wonder Woman in 1941. She was created by William Moulton Marston, a psychologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard. A press release explained, “ ‘Wonder Woman’ was conceived by Dr. Marston to set up a standard among children and young people of strong, free, courageous womanhood; to combat the idea that women are inferior to men, and to inspire girls to self-confidence and achievement in athletics, occupations and professions monopolized by men” because “the only hope for civilization is the greater freedom, development and equality of women in all fields of human activity.” Marston put it this way: “Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world.”

For another fantastic and detailed piece about women in comics, check out Lisa Hix's piece Women Who Conquered the Comics World in Collectors Weekly.

Messick’s sexy and stylish character, which took great inspiration from Nell Brinkley, eluded kidnappers, jumped from airplanes with a parachute, and got stranded on desert islands. “One of my favorites is where Brenda Starr joins this teenage gang,” Robbins says. “The gang leader is a blonde, and all the other members wear blonde wigs. She disguises herself with blonde hair and pretends to be a teenager so that she can join this gang of girl juvenile delinquents. Another time, she’s kidnapped by this albino Polynesian princess and winds up on this island where she discovers that her true love, the Mystery Man, Basil St. John, who is also being held prisoner by the Polynesian princess because she wants him to marry her. Messick came up with great stuff.”

[TW: rape, sexual assault, domestic violence]
Sara Bernard has a poignant story about a group of folks in rural Alaska who are taking on abusers in their midst: Rape Culture in the Alaskan Wilderness

Then, last year, Jane joined the Tanana 4-H club, a newly minted outlet for local youth of all ages to gather and play games and craft things like blueberry jam and beaver hats. It’s run by Cynthia Erickson, owner of Tanana’s general store and native of Ruby, a village 100 miles downriver. Erickson says she started the program because of suicide: Three years ago, there were six in Tanana. At first, she just wanted to give Tanana’s kids a place to do things with their hands, to go on field trips, to feel supported. But what began as a diversion quickly became a safe place for kids to share all kinds of traumas they were witnessing and experiencing: sexual and domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, death after brutal death. The discussions they’d have were rarely prearranged, Erickson says. Instead, the kids would launch the conversation by saying, “Did you hear what happened?”

Joann Weiner has a fantastic interview with up-and-coming Rwandan activists, Nadine Niyitegeka: I’ve seen the future of Rwanda, and her name is Nadine

Spend just a few minutes with a charismatic 22-year-old Rwandan woman with bright, sparkling eyes and a lilt in her voice and you’ll know you’ve seen the future of Rwanda.

That beacon of hope is Nadine Niyitegeka, a woman whose photograph as a shy 2-year-old is displayed on the wall of Kigali’s Genocide Memorial Center as one of the thousands of innocent children slaughtered in Rwanda’s genocide 20 years ago.

“I’m still alive,” Nadine needlessly explained during our hour-long interview. “And I’m going places!”

In his photo essay, The Women of West Point, Damon Winter captures the daily life for the U.S. Military Academy’s 786 female cadets.

From its founding in 1802, on George Washington’s earlier recommendation, until 1976, West Point admitted no women. Since then, more than 4,100 have followed in the steps of the first 62 female graduates in 1980. Many more are on the way, too, now that the American military will be opening combat positions to qualifying women by 2016. The 263 female cadets who started at West Point this year made up 22 percent of the incoming class, a record number, up from 16 percent last year.

They and their fellow first-year cadets, or plebes, reported for Reception Day on July 2, which marked the beginning of six weeks of cadet basic training, a k a Beast Barracks, and the end of their civilian lifestyles. “I knew I was going to need to step it up in the physical realm,” Danilack says, referring to her own early days on campus. “But I never knew it was going to be as hard as it turned out to be.” Upon graduating, she and her classmates received their commissions — and their bars — as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.

Meet CEO Martine Rothblatt, a transwoman who founded Sirius radio, pioneered AI, and so much more!

In person, Martine is magnificent, like a tall lanky teenage boy with breasts. She wears no makeup or jewelry, and she inhabits her muted clothing—cargo pants, a T-shirt, a floppy button-down thrown on top—in the youthful, offhand way of the tech elite. Martine is transgender, a power trans, which makes her an even rarer species in the corporate jungle than a female CEO. And she seems genuinely to revel in her self-built in-betweenness. Just after her sex-reassignment surgery in 1994, her appearance was more feminine than it is today—old photos show her wearing lipstick, her long, curly hair loose about her shoulders. But in the years since she has developed her own unisexual style. She is a person for whom gender matters enough to have undergone radical surgery, but not enough to care whether she’s called he or she by people, like her 83-year-old mother, who occasionally lose track of which pronoun to use.

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