Comic conventions have a reputation for having reputations. Some of them are good: A convention is a place where thousands of people who have been picked on and bullied their whole lives for being nerds can come together to celebrate their fandoms openly. Some of them are bad: If you’re a woman or a minority, you’re probably still going to encounter at least some bullying or harassment. This is not to say that being a geek is still the same tired, old boys club it used to be, but women and minorities still often have to prove themselves before being taken seriously as a “real” geek, and representation is still something we have to fight for. This is why seeing panel discussions about diversity and representation in comics, movies, gaming, etc. at a convention has such a deep meaning. Recently, however, one such panel at the well-respected Gen Con in Indianapolis (you may remember earlier this year when the convention threatened to leave Indiana over their ‘Religious Freedom Bill’) has received quite a bit of controversy.
From the moment it was announced, the Writing Women Friendly Comics panel at Gen Con was getting press.
While the panel sounded both interesting and compelling, it lacked a pretty
essential component – women. The panel moderator, Bill Willingham, author of Fables comics (a series praised for its
inclusiveness and popularity with female readers), and every other panelist
were male. Thankfully, after The Mary Sue brought this issue to light,
female writers Delilah Dawson and Alina Pete were added to the panel. It felt a
lot like a win. Rejoicing occurred. At least, that is, until the panel actually
happened.
Apparently, Willingham took issue with the panel being
modified, and was not at all shy about voicing his contempt. From the moment he
opened the panel, Willingham set the tone by making his feelings about The Mary Sue’s article crystal clear:
“This is NOT a women in comics panel…A certain rabble-rousing website with no journalistic integrity whatsoever tried to redefine this as a women in comics panel…”
From there, he moderated the panel with an iron fist:
repeatedly interrupting any woman who spoke, refusing to call on women or
people of color for audience questions, and defensively rebutted any mention of
male, white privilege. Several first-hand accounts of the panel from shocked
audience members immediately began popping up online. One in particular, a
blog post by Candice Huber, has not only been shared repeatedly, but has
caught the attention of journalists and internet trolls alike. In addition to
being a woman and a geek, Huber also happens to be the owner of the popular,
geek-centric bookstore, Tubby & Coo’s
in New Orleans (you can read more about the bookstore in the article I wrote when they opened). She was so upset by Willingham’s behavior at the panel that she
has made the decision as a small business owner to pull his books off her
shelves. I spoke with Huber to get a bit of clarification on her decision and
how it’s been received:
