Mulanese
Props to Joe Hunter for coloring assist on this one.
If you didn’t know, DC Comics is going from 12% female creators to -50% (female to male gender reassignment) with their new 52-themed relaunch in September. Fans and creators alike have been vocal about the move. For an industry that already struggles with fostering and keeping good female talent, isn’t this a step backwards? It certainly is puzzling, especially with DC boasting of a fresh new take when most of the creators they’re using for the relaunch are the same men from the last ten years plus some forgotten relics dug out from the 90′s. Scott Lobdell was fighting in Somali gladiator pits in nothing but a pair of Tigers when DiDio tabbed him to take a major role in the new 52.
Things got especially testy at San Diego Comic Con this past weekend when a woman dressed as Batgirl attended several panels and asked questions about the lack of women in the creative department as well as the books themselves.
So, go for it, Mulan. It might be the only way you’ll ever get to draw Wonder Woman.
-cof
July 27th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
This one, complete my day.
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jason Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 6:32 am
DC. it stands for Dick Club. that means no bitches allowed.
so yeah….fuck dc.
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jason Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 6:34 am
why this comment showed up hear instead of at the bottom i don’t know. sorry manny.
so yeah….fuck the internet.
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July 27th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I … don’t get it. But what else is new?
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windiebird Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Who is that girl I see, Pj Perez, staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?
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luminum Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 1:58 am
Somehow I cannot hide, what I write, though I’ve tried…
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Pj Perez Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 6:44 pm
YOU KIDS ARE REFERRING TO SOME POP KULTUR I DON’T GET IT HELP
July 27th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
You know, Jim Lee doesn’t look to bad for being a 1600 year old Chinese woman.
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July 27th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Why am I not surprised that a convention crowd left a girl with legit questions out to dry so that they could fellate Dan DiDio some more.
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July 27th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
SO good. Honestly, thank you guys for doing this one. Unfortunately, I doubt there’ll be much change with that kind of attitude at the top, but we need to keep talking about this.
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July 27th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
I feel guilty about this myself….I cant name a female writer besides Gail Simone and that novelist who wrote Wonder Woman(see even that sounds bad) and the artist on Secret Six…the point is that the Reboot to me is a gamble that will see LEE, JOHNS and DIDO all fall.
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Pj Perez Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 6:46 pm
There are tons of great female comics writers. They just don’t write for the Big Two. First that come to mind: Colleen Coover, Danielle Corsetto, Kate Beaton.
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July 27th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
What strikes me the most now that the Mulan reference has sunk in is the physical strain on Didio’s face. He wants to be rid of women at DC so hard!
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July 27th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Okay, does this mean that Chris Haley has now seen Disney’s Mulan? ‘Cause he hadn’t as of May 2011.
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chrishaley Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Still haven’t seen it.
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Pj Perez Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 6:47 pm
High five!
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July 28th, 2011 at 12:44 am
You should use the Fa Mulan version told by Maxine Hong Kingston in “Woman Warrior”: in that one, they tattoo the story into her back. Imagine DiDio inscribing a No-Woman manifesto into Mulan’s back….
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July 28th, 2011 at 8:40 am
I’ve been listening to the DC podcasts from Comic-Con. The writers and artists tend to make me feel good about the relaunch. DiDio and Jim Lee tend to make me want to cancel my DC subscriptions. DiDio should NOT be allowed to do PR. He sucks at it.
Also, Harley’s new costume only works if Joker is now a pimp with dated fashion sense.
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Danny Djeljosevic Reply:
July 29th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Maybe Harley and Voodoo work at the same strip club.
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July 28th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
[...] via Let’s Be Friends Again [...]
July 28th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Yeah, Didio seems like a real d-bag. It’s like he’s turning DC into a He-Man Woman Haters Club ala the Little Rascals movie.
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July 29th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
You guys have enough readers named Joe to start making personalized merch. Just a thought.
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July 29th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
I’M IN TOKYO! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
<3!
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July 29th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
This has totally inspired me to try adding a new karaoke song to my repertoire.
Also, even though I know next to nothing about comics, etc – this is totally one of my favorite strips you guys have ever done.
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July 30th, 2011 at 12:06 am
As an asian person, I approve of this comic.
But seriously, this is great. And DC, you guys just keep garnering goodwill from the fans!
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July 30th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
But Jim Lee’s Korean…
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chrishaley Reply:
July 30th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
So is Eugene.
I’m not sure what your point is.
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brainypirate Reply:
July 30th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I assume the point is that Fa Mulan is Chinese, not Korean, so it looks like you’ve conflated the two countries….
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Allegretto Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 2:03 pm
*GASP*
…
…could it be…?
…
…Racism!
Apodaca Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Nope. The joke is that Jim Lee is a woman in disguise, in the style of Mulan. Hence, the title “Mulanese”. The ethnicity of either character is irrelevant.
August 1st, 2011 at 4:21 am
[...] the bad from the SDCC ‘Oh, You Sexy Geek!’ panel. -Female creators are having to go to extreme lengths to get a writing gig at DC these days… -Answering Dan DiDio. -Not only has DC’s [...]
August 3rd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
There’s definitely a great gender-bender romantic comedy to be told about a girl that cross-dresses to publish comics. As a female, I approve of that.
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