Panel Reflection, C2E2 2020 — “Queering Comics, Queering the Future: Comics, Queerness, and the Intersectional Future”
As I entered my second month of sheltering in place, I realized I had yet to write about this year’s C2E2. It was earlier this year than years past, which turned out to be a lucky move. With San Diego Comic-Con cancelled due to coronavirus concerns, C2E2 wasn’t just the start of con season, but may end up being one of the few conventions of 2020 (I’m still holding out hope for FlameCon). This was my second year attending with a professional badge, but I’ve been reeling from the events in the wake of the con, and haven’t properly processed what was an awesome weekend. I took a lot of notes and met a lot of people, but I’ve decided to limit my focus to writing about my favorite panel from this year, which now feels like several years ago. Stay safe, everyone.
I arrived early to make sure I got a seat up front, and was glad I did. Before long, it was standing room only at 12:45 pm on Friday, February 28. Moderator Dr. Mark Martell asked the audience to shout if they identify as queer and to prepare for “a queer-ass time.” It was meant to be inclusive of all LGBTQIA+ individuals, and the panelists were found using MariNaomi’s Cartoonists of Color Database and Queer Cartoonist Database. Mark has a PhD in Educational Policy Studies from UIC and identifies as He/Siya; the latter is a Filipino genderless pronoun. After establishing certain rules and terms, such as governing the use of the word queer and when the Q&A portion would be, Mark invited everybody to follow and tag the panel on Twitter and introduced the rest of the speakers: Pamela Nuñez-Trejo (they/she), creator of the webcomic The Witch of Luminoza; Jasmine Walls (she/her), whose work includes Seen: Edmonia Lewis from BOOM! and Valor: Wands; Aim Ren Beland (he/him/his), the Events Coordinator for the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE); and Valentino Zullo (he/him/his), a PhD candidate from Kent State University and the American Editor for the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.
After brief introductions to provide pronouns and social media handles, Mark recognized a grad student of his, Lauren Janik, studying conventions, popular culture, and museums, who was surveying C2E2 attendees and asking them to “describe the pop culture exhibit (or public program) of your dreams!” The goal for today was to recognize queerness in culture, comics, and characters. Mark briefly discussed the earliest queer representation in comics: the Axis spy Sanjak from the Terry and the Pirates comic strip and “Ma” Hunkel’s Red Tornado, both male-presenting female characters.
This led to the first questions: What was your early introduction to queer characters in comics? How did it feel to see that representation? Jasmine took a long time to get into indie comics, and most of her early comics experiences were from rifling through her brother’s boxes. She cited Pied Piper, Northstar, and Enigma as early queer characters; she was happy to find this representation, but disappointed. Aim brought up the webcomic YU+ME: dream by Megan Rose Gedris, which he discovered in high school, but didn’t see one again until he was “done with art school.” Valentino cited Mystique, but also Sina Grace’s Nothing Lasts Forever as the first time he ever “saw [him]self in a comic.”
Pamela grew up in Mexico and didn’t have a lot of comics, but moved at ten years old and discovered Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura. She “didn’t know English,” but she “knew in [her] little gay heart” that these characters were like her. She also cited webcomics. Growing up, Mark didn’t see himself in comics and no superheroes reflected his identity. He mentioned Extraño, a “slapstick” character updated to sexy “zaddy” status by Steve Orlando. Valentino interjected that Steve Orlando should write a miniseries for the character.
To find queer representation, according to Mark, one often had to “read between the lines,” which brought the conversation to Fredric Wertham, who read too much between the lines. Valentino admitted to having a “complicated relationship” with Wertham, a psychotherapist who was “integral” to the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, did lengthy work on the trauma of “race hatred” in children, and opened the first clinic for African Americans. Mark has a “weird situation” with Wertham also, having studied education.
Unfortunately for comics, Wertham’s work culminated in the 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent. Next to an image of a bonfire of comics in Binghamton, New York, Valentino talked about how Wertham had unsuccessfully tried to get comics banned for children under 16 years old but did cause EC Comics to effectively go under. Fortunately, underground comics were started years later by these same children who weren’t allowed to read comics, such as R. Crumb, Trina Robbins, and Howard Cruse. Repression leads to working underground.
With all the historical heavy lifting out of the way, Mark moved on to the next prompt: Why is it important to have queer creators, especially of color and non-cis males, making queer content? Jasmine answered that it’s “the only way you get accurate representation.” Otherwise, you end up with queer characters that are a joke or are created as a tragedy to drive the narrative. “Indie comics are more authentic.”
Aim clarified, “Crumb is trash!” He continued, “I’m always looking for reliable stories” and the importance of media. Valentino, laughing, confessed he does not like Crumb, and wanted to make it clear that the only reason he brought him up was as an historical note.
Gently moving back to the topic at hand, Pamela reminded us that more than ever, people of color and queer people are being dehumainzed. “They have important stories to tell.” Latinx and Black people need help, and need to be portrayed as human. Mark talked about how visibility matters and his own formative experience reading comics in the 90’s. “Not seeing yourself in issue after issue,” he explained, “makes you question who you are.” This was his pathway to providing a course for students to create superheroes based on their own marginalized identities.
“How have social media and other platforms impacted the visibility and access of queer comics and queer communities?” Aim said the Queer Cartoonist Database and hashtags are vital, which, according to Jasmine, “open floodgates against gatekeepers” and help creators find an audience. Valentino rejoiced, “There’s so many more to choose from now. Any kid can go online and have access [to comics].”
Pamela brought up how “social media is a two-edged sword,” especially for those not privileged or outside the U.S. It opens doors, but brings “unwanted attention” as much as it provides “more opportunities.” We still have to work on “elevating voices” because “it’s hard out there.”
Mark believes social media allows for “voices not normally heard,” and “stories not normally seen.” “Too many books come from a white lens,” he added, and praised Rachelle Cruz’s Experiencing Comics: An Introduction to Reading, Discussing, and Creating Comics, especially as an alternative to Scott McCloud’s work, which has begun to be overused.
One of the final slides asked, “Where do you see the queer movement going in comics?” Jasmine wants to see it “less divided from mainstream comics.” “The problem is cis white male is the norm,” she explained. There shouldn’t be a “divide” between the Big Two and indie comics. She hated to use the term “melting pot,” but agreed it was useful to describe the ideal situation for diverse comics.
Valentino saw “one binary collapsing” as YA comics become the “future of comics,” singling out Mariko Tamaki and Raina Telgemeier. Ms. Telgemeirer has almost single-handedly revolutionized comics; her contribution to the art form cannot be overstated. Valentino especially marveled at her book Guts getting a print run of one million copies, something unheard of by mainstream comics standards. Ms. Tamaki’s book with Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, is a groundbreaking queer romance, and her new imprint Surely Books, “has queerness all over it,” in Valentino’s words. It’s “great that kids are reading” these books, but emphasized that they share “psychology, not queerness” as part of what makes them great.
“We can’t say for sure,” Pamela said, but she has started noticing that “publishers see creators not as investments, but people with narratives.” There is a danger of publishers “run[ning] to the next queer thing” without “looking at authentic stories.” We “don’t wanna see any more of [books like American Dirt].” She encouraged people to “check yourselves, check people,” and “listen to people of color.”
Aim saw the future as a “mixed bag,” but also sees things “getting bigger.” He noted how he has been invited to more events; he doesn’t like being “tokenized,” but does like “being invited to the table.” Mark wants to start a “trend” of “proper voices behind the work.” “2020 needs something different.”
The panelists were asked to plug any upcoming projects before taking questions from the audience. Aim told everyone to go to CAKE in June, which would have been held at a new venue this year. [Note: CAKE has been postponed until 2021. You can support them here.] Jasmine has a book coming out from BOOM! Valentino wanted those in attendance to go to their local libraries, and mentioned that a sponsor was the American Library Association to “maximize the impact of comics in libraries.” Mark submitted an article to a comics journal and has a chapter of his dissertation being published. Pamela promoted her webcomic and inspired the crowd to “keep creating” because “we need these stories.” “Creating authentic work takes work,” she said. “Don’t get discouraged.”
A member of the audience asked about other resources, and Jasmine mentioned sensitivity readers. Someone else asked about queer theory as a force for liberation. Aim described it as being about “taking on being a better human,” “unpack[ing] privilege and prejudice,” and developing a “non-settler” and “non-hetero” perspective.
Finally, the group was asked to name their favorite current representation. Aim enthusiastically implored everybody to follow @grease_bat [Archie Bongiovanni]. Jasmine singled out Chad Sell and his recent book The Cardboard Kingdom, while also acknowledging how there are “so many great small presses and individual artists.” Pamela enjoyed Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, mentioned earlier by Valentino, who also named Ms. Tamaki, Tee Franklin, and Tillie Walden. Mark mentioned Mark Russell’s work on The Flintstones (drawn by Steve Pugh) and The Snagglepuss Chronicles (drawn by Mike Feehan), though unsure how Mr. Russell identifies [Note: Mr. Russell has a wife and children], and Phil Jimenez and Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons. Jasmine also named Vita Ayala and Danny Lore, and Aim endorsed Iron Circus Comics. Pamela closed the panel with the call to remember, “It can never be too gay!”
