Comics Are Still Failing Their Female Characters and Creators

Comic books are, and always have been, a male-dominated industry. When comic books first emerged in the early 20th century, they catered to girls and boys, with over 90% of kids in the 1940s reading comics regardless of gender. Early comic book creators, however, were almost exclusively male, and by the ’60s, the comic book industry had become heavily skewed toward comics marketed to boys and young men. With profits coming from a mostly male audience, publishers prioritized stories by and about men, and the cycle continued. This pattern led to a faulty assumption that still persists today–the myth that only men enjoy and buy comic books.

Almost a century later in 2024, gender equality has grown in almost every industry, but comic books are still lagging behind, with male characters and creators still heavily dominating the medium. For women of color and people who identify as non-binary, representation is even worse. The world’s population is approximately half male and half female. No gender has an inherent advantage in writing or creating visual art. Comic book writers and artists of every gender, race, and sexual orientation exist. However, whether a particular artist’s voice reaches people is largely in the hands of publishers.

Publishers make the final decision about who is writing a particular comic and which comic characters are being featured in new publications. As a result, publishers, particularly Marvel and DC, which dominate the comic book industry, can choose which stories are being told and whose voices are being heard. Publishers have a choice of whether to perpetuate the cycle of male-dominated content being marketed to male-dominated audiences or make changes that create a more inclusive industry for creators and readers. Publishers can and should be doing better.

Why Does Representation Matter?

Some readers may be asking, why does representation matter? To begin with, everyone enjoys stories about characters that remind them of themselves. The more people can see themselves reflected in the world of a story, the more they can immerse themselves in the story. When women read stories that focus primarily on men, it can feel like there is no place for women in the story, or at least none that is desirable. When stories glorify male heroes but relegate female characters to the background, it sends a message to female readers that they are not valued. When comics focus primarily on men, it discourages women from enjoying (and financially supporting) the medium and helps perpetuate the biases already in place in the industry. This hurts female fans and publishers, who could be tapping into a massive but neglected market.

In addition to allowing readers to imagine themselves in the world of the story, representation matters because it builds empathy and understanding among people from different backgrounds. By reading stories about people with different experiences, readers gain a greater understanding of what it is like to exist in different circumstances. If men are only exposed to stories that glorify other men, it gives the erroneous impression that only men are capable of the feats depicted in those stories and minimizes the impact and contribution of women. When women are relegated to support roles rather than experiencing their own heroic journeys, it creates the impression that women are only capable of support roles, which builds gender bias in real-world interactions as well. Increasing empathy and compassion for different people helps reduce violence and conflict in the real world, which is inarguably a good thing.

Perhaps the simplest answer to why representation matters, however, is that diverse characters tend to make a story better. It’s bad storytelling when the characters in a story are all the same. No one is interested in repeatedly hearing the same story from the same perspective. Including characters from various backgrounds and lived experiences in a fictional world makes the narrative framework richer and more complete. The real world is full of a diverse range of people. If that diversity isn’t present in a story, then that story loses its depth and sense of reality.

The Numbers Tell a Grim Story About Gender Equality in Comic Books

To determine the current state of gender representation in comic books, it’s necessary to look at the numbers. Marvel, DC, and Image (which publishes creator-owned comics) are the three largest comic book publishers. According to ICv2, these three publishers make up 71.4% of the comic book market, with the remainder consisting of smaller independent publishers who each represent less than 5% of the market. In April 2024, Marvel released 64 new comic book issues, DC released 41, and Image released 44. Across all three publishers, male characters and creators dominated new comic book releases.

Marvel Comics Places Most of its Women on Teams

Marvel Comics presents itself as being ahead of the curve in representation, with female heroes appearing in many of its early titles like The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and X-Men. Marvel featured the first gay kiss and the first gay marriage. Half of the creators announced on the new main X-Men titles are women. Despite its inclusive marketing, Marvel actually had the worst numbers when it came to April 2024’s new comics. 54.7% of Marvel’s April 2024 titles featured male characters or all-male teams, versus 7.8% featuring female characters or teams. The remaining 37.5% focused on mixed-gender teams or story anthologies (where most of Marvel’s female heroes appear). Among the writer and artist credits in its April titles, 88.5% of creator credits were male, and only 11.5% were female.

Marvel has an incredible cast of female characters who could easily headline their own comic book. Wasp is an original member of the Avengers and actually named the team. She is one of the most accomplished people in the Marvel Comics universe. But unlike her male teammates Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, she doesn’t have her own book (though writer Al Ewing has been doing an admirable job promoting the character through several limited series). Storm is arguably more powerful and more interesting than her former co-leader of the X-Men Wolverine, yet he appears in several titles while she has been relegated to group casts. Other female characters like Black Widow or Scarlet Witch, who have previously headlined their own titles, have recently been paired up with male characters in their latest comics, presumably because Marvel believes male characters will help the comics sell better.

One bright side for Marvel’s comic book line-up is their use of diverse teams in their comics. Arguably, a mixed-gender group is the most equitable representation possible (assuming that both male and female characters are given equal treatment on the page). Marvel’s hero teams also feature more people of color than their competitors, another group struggling for representation in comics. By promoting women and other under-represented groups in popular team books like X-Men or Avengers, Marvel has been able to tell stories that appeal to a broader audience and express diverse viewpoints. The fact that Marvel is publishing seven times as many comics featuring solo male heroes versus female ones is still a big issue. Marvel’s lack of female creators is also dismaying, given that they had the worst proportion among their competition.

DC Relies Heavily on a Few Male Heroes

DC relies very heavily on its most famous heroes, Batman and Superman, to drive sales, which has led to a high percentage of its comics being focused on male characters. In recent years, they have done slightly better than Marvel at promoting female creators and characters. In April 2024, for DC’s new comics, 65.8% of titles focused on male characters, while 17.1% focused on female ones. The remaining 17.1% were mixed-gender teams or anthologies. DC had more female-forward books than Marvel but fewer books about teams, which provide opportunities to showcase female characters who don’t have their own title. DC’s writer and artist credits for April 2024 were also slightly better than Marvel’s, with 83.2% male creators versus 16.8% female creators. DC’s female representation relied heavily on colorists (who typically get less credit than pencilers), particularly prolific colorist Jordie Bellaire, who was featured in multiple issues.

The biggest challenge for DC regarding gender equality is its reliance on a few very popular characters instead of a more diverse mix of teams. Most of DC’s best-selling titles feature either Batman or Superman. As a result, DC publishes many comics starring these male heroes. DC could leverage the popularity of Batman to promote related female characters like Batgirl or Batwoman, perhaps even taking a page from Marvel’s book and including them on a team with Batman himself. Unlike her male counterparts, Wonder Woman is often compared to Batman and Superman, but she only has one ongoing title. If supported by marketing efforts, Wonder Woman has the potential to anchor a suite of titles much like DC’s male heroes. However, DC’s biggest area for improvement concerns women of color, who are almost completely absent from DC’s comics.

One area where DC has done better than Marvel or Image is in its use of female creators. None of the major publishers are anywhere near gender parity in this respect, but DC had the highest percentage of women working on its books as writers or artists. This representation undoubtedly contributes to the incredible quality of many of DC’s female-lead titles. Birds of Prey, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn all feature female leads and writers; all three titles are excellent. By increasing its use of female creators, even on books with male leads, DC can tell stories from a new perspective that puts a fresh spin on classic but perhaps overused characters like Batman.

Image Comics Promotes Female Characters but Lacks Female Creators

Image Comics, which publishes creator-owned work, adds an interesting dimension to the gender numbers. Because creator-owned comics are not restricted by existing worlds and characters like Marvel and DC, there are limitless possibilities for the stories that could be told and the people who could be telling them. This difference didn’t have a big effect on Image’s April 2024 creators, who, at 87.9% male versus 12.1% female, are still better than Marvel but lagging behind DC slightly. However, Image is way ahead of the Big Two in terms of characters. Among Image’s April 2024 new comics, 31.8% starred male characters, 25% starred female characters, and 43.2% followed mixed-gender casts or anthologies. Apparently, when given the freedom to do so, creators, regardless of gender, write nearly as many stories about women as men. Marvel and DC should take note.

Image has, by far, the best representation when it comes to the characters in the stories it is publishing compared to Marvel and DC. In April 2024, nearly as many comics featuring female leads were published as those featuring male leads. Many of Image’s most successful titles, like Saga or Monstress, lean heavily towards female characters and employ female creators. Image also published many comics featuring mixed-gender group casts, giving female characters even more time on the page. Other comic book publishers should definitely take a page from Image’s playbook in this respect.

Where Image fell short, however, was in the diversity of its creators. Many of the comics published by Image come from well-established writers and artists. Because most comic book creators have historically been men, male creators tend to have the most experience in the industry. When considering a pitch for a new comic series, publishers naturally rely on the breadth of the creators’ experience. Therefore, male creators have an inherent advantage based on their ability to refer to prior work, while female creators often struggle just to get a foot in the door. Image can improve in this area by approving more titles from female creators. Image can also encourage experienced male creators to work with women on independent comics. Saga and Love Everlasting are just two examples of incredible Image Comics titles created by male and female creators working together.

Publishers Have the Power to Reduce Gender Inequality Both On and Off the Page

Many of the systems within the comic book industry that promote gender disparity are cyclical, and the people who can change these patterns are publishers. Focusing on male-dominated stories leads to a primarily male audience, which leads to the impression that only men are interested in comic books. Publishers, therefore, continue targeting male audiences with male-focused stories, and the cycle continues. A similar issue exists with creators. Male creators have always dominated the industry, which means that most experienced comic book creators are men. That greater experience makes it easier for those male creators to get additional jobs or successfully pitch new titles to creator-owned publishers based on their past work.

Because the systems within the comic book industry that perpetuate its domination by male characters and creators are self-reinforcing, change will not occur without intentional action. The people with the greatest ability to create meaningful change within the industry are publishers, particularly Marvel and DC. The Bog Two determines which characters are featured in monthly comic book series and which writers and artists are working on those books. They also control which books are the most heavily marketed and promoted. Indie comic publishers similarly decide which comics to publish and which creators to work with. By promoting a diverse range of characters and creators, publishers can guide the industry towards a more unbiased standard by increasing equality in representation.

When publishers don’t consider the diversity of their creators and titles, they can unintentionally exclude a major portion of their potential audience. For example, the new creator-owned publishing imprint Ghost Machine (which publishes through Image Comics) launched its first three titles in April 2024. Only one of Ghost Machine’s 11 creators is female. None of their launch titles featured prominent female characters or even mentioned any in their descriptions. None of the books used any female creators. While likely unintentional, this lopsided representation occurs when an overwhelmingly male group of decision-makers hasn’t considered the diversity of the stories they publish. The fledgling publisher could have released literally anything for their debut but perpetuated industry stereotypes and alienated some potential readers (though it is worth noting that Ghost Machine has some titles that include female characters in its previews of future offerings).

Creators and Fans Can Exert Pressure to Change the Industry

Publishers have the most power to change gender imbalances within the comic book industry. Still, creators and readers can also encourage a more inclusive entertainment landscape. Both fans and creators can communicate with publishers and tell them that inclusive storytelling matters to them. Let publishers know there is a market for stories by and about women. The more people encourage publishers to do better, the more incentive they will have to increase the diversity of the titles they produce.

Concerning creators, when pitching new comics or storylines to publishers, creators can choose to increase the diversity of the comics they are writing and illustrating. Consider whether a white male character needs to be white or male, for example. Even if a comic is about a male hero, could their boss or coworker be female? What about their rival or their best friend? Creators can also choose to work alongside people who have a different perspective than they do. Tom King is one established comic book writer who is doing a great job of this. In King’s ongoing independent comics, Love Everlasting and Helen of Wyndhorn, the stories focus heavily on female characters and issues facing women. He has chosen to work on both titles with incredible female artists who can give feedback on how the female characters are presented. Thanks in part to including a diverse range of characters, Love Everlasting and Helen of Wyndhorn are among the best indie comics available today.

For comic book fans, the single most important way of changing the status quo is by financially supporting comics, creators, and publishers that celebrate diversity and tell stories from different perspectives. By subscribing to great series like Sensational She-Hulk or Birds of Prey, readers tell Marvel and DC that stories featuring female characters are as marketable and profitable as stories about men. There are also many incredible female and non-binary comic book creators working in the industry. By buying books by creators like Kelly Thompson, Sana Takeda, or G. Willow Wilson, to name a few, fans can demonstrate to publishers that employing diverse creators is not just ethically right but can also improve the quality of their publications and help their sales.

Gender inequality is a huge problem in many industries, but comic books have particularly lagged behind. Brilliant stories are being told about female characters across all the major publishers, but there are not nearly as many as there should be. Likewise, there are many incredibly talented female and non-binary creators producing comics, but their voices are not being heard nearly as often as their male counterparts. Comics are better when they tell stories that reflect various experiences and viewpoints, but they can’t do that if they marginalize half the population.

In the comic book industry, power is highly concentrated in the hands of just a few publishers. If those companies adjust their practices to better reflect the diversity of the real world and their readers, the industry will change. Equality is possible, and it stands to benefit publishers as well as readers. By growing female audiences, comic book publishers have an opportunity to sell more books and expand the industry as a whole, enabling even more great stories to be told. Comics should be for everyone, and with a little effort, they can be.