Kymera Press, Inc.

We're Not Asking For Permission

Hate has no place in the world of comics

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By D. Lynn Smith
Many of you probably don’t know about the controversy with the Hugo awards this year. The Hugos, along with the Nebulas, are among Science Fiction’s highest awards for writers. This year a group of people got together and stuffed the ballot box, essentially negating the validity of the awards.

Basically, a group of conservatives object to the fact that many science fiction writers address issues such as race, sexual orientation, and gender in their books. They felt these books were getting preference over the books they loved, straightforward science fiction adventure stories. So they decided to do something about it. You can get a much more detailed look at the controversy here.

This year, the only category not impacted by the Hugo scandal was Best Graphic Story. Unfortunately, that only means the people involved in the ballot stuffing didn’t care about the graphic novel category.

Another controversy erupted this weekend when proponents of Gamergate infiltrated the Calgary Expo and actively disrupted a panel titled “Women into Comics.” The convention asked them to leave. You can read more about it here.

In the past year, news has come out about women in comics and gaming receiving death and rape threats for simply expressing their opinion. One such reviewer was Janelle Asselin, who posted a review on Comic Resources called Anatomy of a Bad Cover: DC’s New “Teen Titans” #1. You can read the actual review by clicking on the title, but one of the things she does is call out the artist and DC out for putting unnaturally huge breasts on an underage teenage girl. And the flood-gates opened. You can read about the threats she received here.

I started Kymera Press to support women artists and creators of comics. That doesn’t mean I don’t like men or have anything against them. I simply feel that women are underutilized and undervalued, not only in comics, but in all aspects of business today. I can certainly say the same thing about television, a world with which I am intimately familiar.

I once had a man ask me, “So, are all the men the villains and all the women heroes in your books?” Of course not. But that seems to be where some people go when they discover my mission.

Personally, I don’t like the impossible bodies on some of the women characters in comics. However, I also don’t believe in censorship. I’m not trying to destroy anything. I’m simply pursuing something I believe in, in a form I love.

The truth of the matter is that writers write because they must. I’m sure artists feel the same way. We have a voice and we’d like it to be heard. We hope that people enjoy our work, but ultimately there will be those who don’t. I’ve had great reviews of my work, and really bad reviews of the exact same work. All of those reviewers have a right to their opinion.

So what is my point, exactly?

Comic books are filled with superheroes, characters who rise above and fight those who hate, and don’t we just love them? They fight against those who murder and those who rape. So, how can fans of comics justify death and rape threats?

There are very few instances where right and wrong are black and white. This I can say for sure:  death and rape threats are wrong. Period. Disrupting panels at a convention is wrong.  Stuffing ballot boxes is wrong.

Whether you are talking about the Hugos, or Gamergate or the world of comics, it all comes down to the same thing. A group of people don’t want to see the issues that face our world come into the light of day. And so they are using hate and immoral tactics to fight against it. And that is absolutely heartbreaking.

Kymera Press is dedicated to promoting diversity and equality in this world. But the truth is, all we really want to do is make good comics. We want you, the reader, to become immersed in our stories and to want to continue reading. If you end up thinking about PTSD or the plight of veterans or transgender people, well that’s a great bonus.

Writing science fiction or comic books isn’t a political exercise. Sure, we may deal with issues, but first and foremost we are here to entertain. We are here to provide fun. We are here to capture your imagination.

We’re not here to inspire hate.

And so I refuse to be brought down by the actions of a few. I’m here to have fun. I hope you are too!

Wonder Woman never asked for permission

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By D. Lynn Smith

I’m a big fan of the television show Longmire. Last week as I was watching a new episode, one of the lines of dialog was, “Good girls ask for permission, bad girls ask for forgiveness.” UGH! What a load of bull… We women have been fed versions of this time and time again until it is ingrained in our consciousness.

I read an article recently that talked about how men will usually get that coveted project/promotion/raise simply because they go in and ask for it, while their female counterparts wait for recognition of their abilities and is passed over. That seems like waiting for permission to me. What would happen if a woman went into her boss’ office and asked for that project? Would she then have to ask for forgiveness? No way.

So what does it take for women to feel comfortable enough to demand what they want and need without having to ask permission? Do we have to act like men? Do we have to think like men? Some people believe we simply have to boost our testosterone levels. And there’s a very simple way to do it, according to the New York Times.

The New York Times published an article that tells us how:

“Poses are powerful,” said Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist and associate professor at Harvard Business School. With colleagues, she has, through a series of controlled experiments, shown that assuming an expansive pose (think Wonder Woman with legs planted apart and hands on her hips) for two minutes will increase testosterone and lower cortisol in your bloodstream. Dr. Cuddy’s TED Talk on the subject has gone viral on the Internet, now with almost 4 million views.

Wow, standing likWonder Womane Wonder Women for two minutes will increase your testosterone levels and improve your performance, whether it be for a speech, a job interview, or simply asking for a raise. Why aren’t we all utilizing this little trick? We should all follow her example. Wonder Woman won’t mind.

In the end, maybe Wonder Woman can teach us more than how to stand to boost our performance. Wonder Woman never asked for permission. And I’ve never heard her ask for forgiveness. This doesn’t make her a bad girl or a good girl—just a woman.

This post originally appeared as a guest post on the blog Underwords at http://emunderwood.com/.

Girls and Women and Body Image in Comics

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By Maggie Field

One of the things that excites me the most about my involvement with Kymera Press is our commitment to depicting our female characters like real women. It’s all fine and well for them to be attractive—I mean, really, who wants to look at ugly unless it’s from the inside out? However, their attributes do not need to be exaggerated. Female super heroes can have extraordinary powers, but they don’t need an extraordinary appearance. I know lots of women and girls who have extraordinary abilities—not supernatural, but extraordinary nonetheless. Their looks vary in the same way that their talents and personalities vary. That’s what Kymera Press will show you about the characters in our stories.

Take the female characters from GATES OF MIDNIGHT:

Raven is an attractive young woman. She’s fit, of course, because she’s just returned from deployment to Afghanistan as a combat medic. But even though she’s in good shape, she will have to undergo arduous training to be able to defeat the gods and monsters she will face. Buffy, anyone?

Raven’s mother, Marie, is an attractive woman. She dresses elegantly, since she has the money for it, but she doesn’t use botox; she hasn’t had plastic surgery. She looks her age—mid-40s. I well remember what Gloria Steinem said when she turned 40, and men and women told her, “You don’t look 40.” Her response, “This is what 40 looks like!”

Jessie, Raven’s paramedic partner, is a working mom. She, too, is fit, but she’s older than Raven and she’s had a child. And guess what? Her body looks like she’s had one. She takes good care of herself, but life experience shows … unless one goes to extraordinary lengths to see that it doesn’t.

Constance, of course, isn’t what she appears to be. That allowed us, and our artist, Amelia Woo, to have some fun with her. Her true appearance will be revealed at the end of issue #4. And to say that she doesn’t look like a real woman? Well, that’s an understatement!

So. If you want to see real human women in stories that are real … and then some … support Gates of Midnight and Kymera Press! Visit our Kickstarter campaign before it closes July 8, 2014 at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/812703115/gates-of-midnight. Visit Kymera Press online at www.kymerapress.com.

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