Dearth of Great Female Cartoonists?

This article accompanying the "Masters of American Comics" exhibit opening in Los Angeles notes the lack of female cartoonists in the pantheon of great cartoonists as assembled for the show. This subject, like the equally unfortunate lack of cartoonists of color in such groupings, tends to unleash the hounds of strident, declarative stupidity in hardcore comics fans, so it's important to tread carefully.

My gut feeling is that attempts to mine significant, ignored female artists out of the forgotten layers of the past has been tried and exhausted multiple times without finding anyone that really demands a place with the widely acknowledged top 15-20, even if you have a dim view of one or two of those artists. Ditto attempts to redefine the standards that should be applied, which I think frequently lack an understanding of what makes comics great. I would contend, however, that there are up to half-dozen magnificent modern cartoonists who are female that could easily crack a top 15-20 made up of living or active artists, particularly if you don't get swept up in the graphic novel as the end-all and be-all of comics expression.
 
posted 6:45 am PST | Permalink
 

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