Not only does Steve Orlando’s Midnighter comic star a gay man, it tells blunt, sex-positive stories about that character. The main cast of characters in the upcoming main Avengers comic All-New, All-Different Avengers has a small minority of white dudes.
While there is still a lot of work on the road to a utopia of complete social justice, there is a trend of progressivism in some of today’s superhero comics that is impossible to ignore.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 is shining example of visual comedy through facial reactions and beat panels from Erica Henderson, and she continues to draw the cast of the book with real human proportions even if they live in essentially a cartoon physics world where Dorreen tucking her tail in her pants to give herself a “rad badonk” is enough to conceal her secret identity. She and Ryan North continues to make jokes at the expense of the Marvel Universe while developing and expanding Squirrel Girl’s supporting cast while continuing to make Unbeatable Squirrel Girl the bright center of fun in the Marvel Universe.
As comic book readership becomes ever more aware of problems within popular media, it’s been harder and harder to find a book that isn’t problematic. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s ongoing independent book,Bitch Planet, is a gem in the slowly improving realm of comic books and geek culture.
The regular Noncompliant team (Katy, Jess, Grant, & Logan) discuss the recent debacles in sexism here in the comics community, and we cover the detriments and virtues of Red One, Giant Days, Lumberjanes, and Squirrel Girl!