This year, I was honored to talk to three outstanding women in the comic book industry: Margaret Stoll, Janine Schaefer and Judith Stevens. We discussed their new book, Super Visible: The Story of the Women of Marvel Comics and more.
After going home and transcribing the interview, I found myself staring at the computer screen. “Do you have a writer’s block? Am I just tired? Or are you distracted by the 3-year-old scream because I no longer wanted what I gave her 30 seconds ago (do you care what she specifically requested, do you care?”
Then I realized that it wasn’t any of the above. My conversations with these women were so eye-opening and inspiring that I couldn’t publish them as an interview. There were so many stories I had to tell them that it was harmful to limit it to a single interview. So I went to my hometown of Barnes & Noble and picked up Super Visible: The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story of The Story
Frohsteinberg, Virginia Lomita, Dawngeiger
Super is not just about the history of comics women. This explores what it is like to be a woman in such a male-dominated industry. It’s about how women support each other, not competing with each other. Most importantly, it was something that we could make.
What is the best way to start an interview than discussing one of the sacred places in a women’s bathroom, a San Diego Comic-Con?
“There, everyone is supporting each other. They are helping each other in costumes, chatting about the panels, and sometimes it takes only 15 seconds to gather themselves,” Stohl explained. Schafer added, “That’s where we go to cry.”
The women revealed that while writing the book, they had to devote chapters because the bathroom had grown so much. I wasn’t disappointed. The central chapter of Super Visible highlighted the importance of camaraderie among women in the workplace in the bathroom, Meet Me Me. In an industry that prioritizes male spaces, it is important to have a place where female employees can create a place where they can bond and support each other.
Supervisual appearance has always been a top priority. Stohls highlighted the importance of getting all these incredible women’s stories there. She said there is a risk that much of their stories will be lost in time – because they were pretty much the case.
“Their stories don’t appear in history books. We know because we read them all. Where are we all women? And the urgency to publish the book escalated after the deaths of two Marvel comic icons, Ramona Fradon and Trina Robbins.
What’s so visible respects Marvel’s women’s legacy
“Two women died while we were writing the book, Trina and Ramona. And Margie explained, “We need to get these women’s stories out of our heads out of our heads,” she further elaborated.
Robbins and Fradon were more than just Marvel icons. They both played a major role in the comic book industry as a whole. Robbins was a manga artist and writer, and was one of the first women to participate in the underground comics movement. She was also one of the producers of it, not Babe, the first female comic.
Fradon’s career as an artist from 1959 to 2024. She was prolific in both Marvel and DC comics. She was one of the first women to consistently tackle superhero comics, paving the way for others to follow in her footsteps. Fradon won spots in 1999 at the Women’s Cartoonists Hall of Fame and in 2006 at Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Credit: Super Visible and Amazing
Marvel female character takes to center stage
When the conversation shifted to female comic book characters, the creators discussed the heroes they wanted to see more. For Stevens, it’s a squirrel girl.
“I want more squirrel girls. I mean, at some point she’s the strongest. She beats Dr. Doom. She’s a fun, incredible woman who looks different than anyone on the page. I think it’s really important, especially for young people who see heroes who see the perfect standard of beauty.”
Schafer is excited to see Sue Storm develop as a character. “I’m pretty excited about the moments like Sue Storm, hoping we’ll come in. I don’t think I’ve really connected to her before, but I’m so excited all of a sudden, I feel like I’m a little older and I can all of a sudden see it.”
Stohls hopes creators will focus more on Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel’s solo journey. “As someone who worked on Captain Marvel, I think you want to meet Kamala Kahn and Carol Danvers. Basically, you have individual women’s stories that can’t collapse into something like a kind of thing. Girls’ buckets. Play them in terms of human stories.”
Flo Steinberg, Steve Leialoha, and Trina Robbins
Our conversation ended with words of encouragement for women who want to join the comic book industry but may be discouraged. Schafer offers some advice:
“The community is still there. It’s really there. Find it online and find it at conventions. So, today you’re thinking even more. There’s plenty of Reddit, Iscord, and lots of places to meet the people in your space and the community.
She also encouraged prospective creators to look outside of Marvel and DC. “Obviously, working for the Big 2 is a dream for everyone. But sometimes the characters of small publishers, independent publishers, or writers you’re planning on meeting tomorrow are just not looking at you, just not looking, okay, I need to work for Marvel or DC.
Stoll wanted to reassure everyone that the comic book women are not going anywhere and that young women should not doubt themselves. “There’s a woman in the comic book. I’ve been there all the time. We’ve been there all the time, we’ve been there and we do. And we own it. Just as it was part of that story.
Super View: The Marvel Comics Women’s Tales are a great work of art worth reading. It shows the true value of women in cartoons and how they deserve a seat at a male-dominated industrial table. I praise Margaret Stoll, Janine Schaefer and Judith Stevens for pouring blood, sweat and tears into this book and giving back to women.
Super Visible: The Story of a Woman from Marvel Comics is currently available in bookstores.
