why?

Oh, dear. Now I've done it. As if a livejournal and a deviantART account weren't time-consuming enough.

Actually, I haven't been using my livejournal as much lately. It has become largely a means of keeping track of my friends as they scatter across the country and the globe . . . but much as I love my friends, most of them just don't read comics. I try and talk about my favorite subject there, and almost feel guilty for filling up their friends' pages with obscure ramblings.

Hence, this blog. I never created one before, because I wasn't sure I had anything to say. I read When Fangirls Attack religiously, but I rarely have much to add, except for nodding. I'm elated that there is such a thing as the feminist comics blogosphere. It's something I've wanted ever since I was a little girl, when only Trina Robbins seemed to understand me and my seemingly conflicted allegiances to comics and feminism. Back then, my mother was really the only other woman I knew who read comics. Things have changed. However, most of what I want said is already getting out there, far more eloquently than I could manage.

On the other hand, I still have thoughts on comics . . . even if they're mostly fangirly ones, or my own little debates and learning experiences as an amateur creator. Plus, I do have a handful of friends--mostly women--who seem open to reading comics, but haven't grown up with them as I have. A couple of months ago, it occurred to me that I could write recommendations for those friends, many of whom are afraid to poke their noses into a comic shop. I may not necessarily have a new critical feminist analysis of the latest mainstream outrage, but I'm growing myself a library of beloved titles, and I can certainly write them up a little for my friends and for others who might be looking for a little direction.

I've been working on a recommendations list for awhile, and I'll start posting them soon in alphabetical increments. After that . . . I'm sure I'll have some commentary to offer every once in awhile.

In the meantime, here's this rather pointless explanatory ramble, just so there's something here.