Is there anything the comics companies can do to attract more female readers?

[Atlanta96]

If you're talking marketing? I'm not sure. Getting new readers period regardless of Gender can be a pain in this day and age. Maybe DVDs of Young Justice (A show that was cancelled partially because it appealed to *Gasp* girls) should come with gift certificates for comic downloads. Let the folks hooked by the cartoon themselves browse around and find what they like. Sure, a gift certificate might be a loss lead sort of thing, but if only 10% become dedicated readers it would help.
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Not true, YJ producer Greg Weisman has clarified (several times) that the show was not cancelled because of female viewers, but because merchandise for the show was not selling well. Since the animation and voice acting was expensive, the show was seen as a financial loss, so it was cancelled.

In all honesty, I had a much easier time writing about the YJ cancellation knowing that a 3rd season is a growing possibility. Hopefully they won't use overpriced merchandise as an excuse to cancel it again.

[Den]

Not true, YJ producer Greg Weisman has clarified (several times) that the show was not cancelled because of female viewers, but because merchandise for the show was not selling well. Since the animation and voice acting was expensive, the show was seen as a financial loss, so it was cancelled.

In all honesty, I had a much easier time writing about the YJ cancellation knowing that a 3rd season is a growing possibility. Hopefully they won't use overpriced merchandise as an excuse to cancel it again.

I thought that the two were inter related because they they thought girls weren't buying their stuff and it wasn't targeted towards them but I admit, I maybe the victim of, and spreading misinformation. Apologies if that's the case

[Lee Stone]

From an interview with Karen Berger:

"The Vertigo audience is different from typical comic book fans. We have more female readers than most DC titles. With Sandman alone, half of the readership was women and I think that a lot of the books since have a heavy female audience, especially Preacher and Books of Magic. We also have a lot of foreign readers. About 10% of the Vertigo audience is from the UK and other countries. Vertigo does very well in Europe and South America, especially Brazil, Germany, Italy, and France."

If you write it, they will come.

As for your football analogy, comics is not equal to NFL football. Comics is equal to tv, that thing NFL football is provided through.
The superhero genre may be more like NFL Football. And just like Football, superhero fiction still has a female audience. It's just way smaller than the male audience.
If the only thing that played on tv was football, then you'd see the same thing we've seen in comics happen.
Comics are not a genre but a medium. Superheroes are a genre (with several sub-genres).
There's potential for much more in comics outside of superheroes.

Some people say that books are predominantly read by females. But then when you factor in that a large chunk of fiction is romance, cozy mysteries and young adult, it's not all that surprising.
Genres that are thought to appeal more to men, like westerns and other action-adventure type stuff (which women like, as well, btw) see much less in the way of product.
Oh, and another btw... some men also read stuff that's considered female oriented. I, myself, like a good cozy mystery and young adult fiction. Just like I don't read strictly superhero stuff.

If it wasn't for the current superhero craze on tv and movies, I think the industry would look much different than it does right now.
Just prior to the superhero boom, I believe comics were edging back to a late Golden Age mentality.
Image (and Vertigo) have helped open the door to other genres... and the comics code, which is what's kept superheroes as the main focus of comics for decades, was done away with.
It's sort of like the direction comics were headed before the code and the birth of the Silver Age derailed the train and sent it riding on a tangent for over 50 years.
Now, things are getting back on track... But back then comics were quick to reflect whatever genre was popular in tv and movies at the time. And guess what happens to be popular in tv and movies right now..? Superheroes.
The stars have aligned and the thing that's popular now just happens to be what they've been in the business of making for so long.
I think it's really a blessing because when tv and movie tastes change again, comics will be more than capable now of following the same trends. They'll have a common point to move from.

[Tayswift]

DC and Marvel mainstream super hero comics aren't going to get more female readers without shedding some of the existing readership...because a different type of story would (to some extent) be needed.

It's like films...there are "chic flics" and war movies. Few women are stupid enough to want to watch war movies.

But a ton of existing comics are read by a shed load of women. There really isn't a problem, unless you're on a sacred mission to increase sale of DC super hero comics...then life is full of problems.

I don't know about that, because majority of women want good movies to watch despite of genre

From an interview with Karen Berger:



If you write it, they will come.

As for your football analogy, comics is not equal to NFL football. Comics is equal to tv, that thing NFL football is provided through.
The superhero genre may be more like NFL Football. And just like Football, superhero fiction still has a female audience. It's just way smaller than the male audience.
If the only thing that played on tv was football, then you'd see the same thing we've seen in comics happen.
Comics are not a genre but a medium. Superheroes are a genre (with several sub-genres).
There's potential for much more in comics outside of superheroes.

Some people say that books are predominantly read by females. But then when you factor in that a large chunk of fiction is romance, cozy mysteries and young adult, it's not all that surprising.
Genres that are thought to appeal more to men, like westerns and other action-adventure type stuff (which women like, as well, btw) see much less in the way of product.
Oh, and another btw... some men also read stuff that's considered female oriented. I, myself, like a good cozy mystery and young adult fiction. Just like I don't read strictly superhero stuff.

the reason for romances and YA is that is where most women write books and female characters are better represented. other genres are harder to female writers get gigs (even jk rowling used a pseudoname to write a crime novel).
It's a issue very complex

[JackDaw]

I don't know about that, because majority of women want good movies to watch despite of genre



the reason for romances and YA is that is where most women write books and female characters are better represented. other genres are harder to female writers get gigs (even jk rowling used a pseudoname to write a crime novel).
It's a issue very complex

Of course...everybody wants a "good" comic/ film/ book regardless of genre.

But equally its pretty obvious that there is some differentiation between sexes in types of genres/ stories each favours. I'd be amazed...for example...if readership of "50 shades of grey" split evenly between the sexes. And going back to a celebrated popular writer of my youth, I'd be surprised if Catherine Cookson didn't appeal much more to women readers than men...and she was certainly an excellent writer.

[vasir12]

The common thought is that comics are generally more for guys. And with the way women are drawn and dressed, it's very easy to show that message. Honestly, people aren't gonna invest in something if they believe they are being misrepresented. Comics companies should make the effort to contradict those views. The key here is to let comics be open for everybody and that's something that isn't the case in a lot of books and fanbases.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I don't think so. I think they've maxed out there But does anyone have a different idea?

No, I don't think there's any indication that they've maxed out the readership from any gender. As long as DC keeps diversifying their story telling and offering something for everyone, they should continue to see new readers. When the product becomes stale, they should try something new.

[Trey Strain]

Let me ask this. Is there any concrete evidence that the female demographic has enough interest in the product that very many more women can be persuaded to buy comics? That's what market research is supposed to determine.

[Starter Set]

The common thought is that comics are generally more for guys. And with the way women are drawn and dressed, it's very easy to show that message. Honestly, people aren't gonna invest in something if they believe they are being misrepresented

I certainly can agree with that but in the same time when you look at mangas for example, even shonen (aimed at boys mainly) have quite a large number of female readers and the way women are represented in that stuff is usually heavily sexualized. There is something about American super hero comic book who doesn't appeal to many women, and that's not only misrepresentation.

[vasir12]

Let me ask this. Is there any concrete evidence that the female demographic has enough interest in the product that very many more women can be persuaded to buy comics? That's what market research is supposed to determine.

Everyone is interested in good stories, dude. The thing is how inclusive are these stories and worlds to people who aren't straight, white, and men. If you give well represented stories, the information will practically spread themselves.

[scary harpy]

Would heroines who are not derived from heroes maybe attract females?

• Aquagirl
• Aquawoman
• Batgirl
• Batwoman
• Cyborgirl
• Hawkgirl
• Hawkwoman
• Ms. Martain
• Supergirl
• Superwoman
• Zatanna Zatara

Off the top of my head, we have Vixen and Wonder Woman. Would Lady Lunar/Moon Maiden, Tomorrow Woman and more like them interest females into reading more comics?

[Lee Stone]

Let me ask this. Is there any concrete evidence that the female demographic has enough interest in the product that very many more women can be persuaded to buy comics? That's what market research is supposed to determine.

I would rephrase it as "Is there any concrete evidence that the female demographic has enough interest in the superhero product that very many more women can be persuaded to buy superhero comics?"

The idea that comics is strictly superhero is what is most detrimental.
It's like thinking that tv is only football or soap operas.
The problem is that comics has long had the image of being synonymous with superhero stories, that outsiders have come to think of the two being the same.
If tv went five decades with 95% of the content (and 100% of the content of the big four) being strictly reality tv or sports, then the idea that tv could include content other than those would seem foreign.
People who would enjoy scripted dramas would turn instead to movies and radio plays and dismiss tv as a reality or sports thing. The genre would be so overwhelming that the medium, itself, would be assumed to have nothing else to offer.

At one time comics had the same problem with being synonymous with kiddie stuff. Funny animals, strip reprints and gag comics were all the rage. Back then, you may well have been asking, "Is there any concrete evidence that the adult demographic has enough interest in the product that very many more adults can be persuaded to buy comics?"
And boy, would you be surprised if you could see 70 years into the future.

[Starter Set]

Zatanna Zatara

The world needs more of her. Male, female, whatever else in between all the same.

And i sure hope to see more of her if they ever go all reanimator on the YJ cartoon.

[BohemiaDrinker]

Well, the data I've seen on this suggests that women account for about half of readership (the same with video-games). They just tend not to call attention for themselves.

Now, I work, among other things, for a comics related site here in Brazil. We have a Facebook page/discussion group about whatever is on the site, and for the longest time that group was just "there", no active moderation or whatnot. From last year or so, after some incidents, we instituted active moderation on it with the goal of making it a safer environment for anyone, and after as little as 1 or 2 months, women start to show up and engage. A lot of them.

And we didn't do anything outside the book, so my guess is that all the talk about objetification, characterization, etc, is probably right; we just have a long way to go. AS it s now, certain superhero comics may be more of a guilty pleasure for women than anything else.

Of course, I'm not a woman so I'm just guessing. This thread could benefit from a female perspective.

[JackDaw]

Would heroines who are not derived from heroes maybe attract females?

• Aquagirl
• Aquawoman
• Batgirl
• Batwoman
• Cyborgirl
• Hawkgirl
• Hawkwoman
• Ms. Martain
• Supergirl
• Superwoman
• Zatanna Zatara

Off the top of my head, we have Vixen and Wonder Woman. Would Lady Lunar/Moon Maiden, Tomorrow Woman and more like them interest females into reading more comics?

Unless those characters were written differently with a different range of interests why would it make any difference?

If "Tomorrow Woman" is shown as a character that is effectively just male eye candy, with a propensity to constantly get involved in fights, etc...then not going to be anymore attractive to female readership.

I'm really sceptical that "comics" (as Trey insists on calling mainstream super hero yarns...but which are really just a segment of the market) are ever going to appeal equally to men and women.

Present DC mainstream is pretty strongly geared to classic male escapist fantasy. Alter that too much and you will lose a chunk of existing audience. Yes...you might gain more readers than you'd lose...but personally I doubt it.

But...you could easily tell different stories using same art techniques that would appeal more to women than men. And most likely...you could produce comic stories (eg classic crime stories) that would appeal to both sexes almost equally.