Monday, May 19, 2008

Alanna Rocks

Thanks to "The woman who rides like a man" and Wendi Pini it never occurred to me that girls couldn't do comics. Alanna taught me that you can do anything. It may be hard as hell and kick your ass six ways to Sunday, but you can do it. And yes, I was "princess pink" with a pink dress that my mom made for me (or did dad make it?) with a silver star on the front. My older brothers still don't forgive me for the damage that I did to their comic collection. I was flipping through comics before I could read. And I still have Bunny. I think he's still got the red velvet dress that Dad made him to cover up all the batches and seems. I shared a big blue wrought iron bed with my two little sisters. We tied little hammocks to the bed for our dolls. One doll torso (I think it was Evil Lyn) was permanently tied with some yarn that we couldn't get off, the knots were so small and tight.

22 comments:

Unknown said...

It's funny. Comics is definitely a male dominated field of work, but at least in the indie scene (or is it just a sign of the changing times?) , there seems to be alot of women getting involved. My wife (Miriam) does jobnik! as well as her drawn essay pieces and it almost seems without fail that we sit next to another lady at all the conventions that we get out to. Off the top of my head (and apologies to those that I'm forgetting, it's late, and I'm at work. On Sunday.) :
Laurie Breitkreuz , (A Monk's Tale)
Camilla d'Errico , (Burn , Nightmares and FairyTales)
Debbie Huey (Bumperboy)
Molly Hahn (mollycules)
Amy Martin (Florridian)
and of course now my mind is drawing a blank. Miriam is also doing a panel on Tuesday with Ariel Schrag (Awkward, Definition, Potential)

And of course, to date, everything's been really really good.

Mike

(Erm, I'd add you to the list, but, well, that's just bloody obvious :D )

Wanderer said...

Yay for Doll Bondage :D

Laura Armstrong said...

This is an interesting insight into your past. Even though i've read through from start to present I must of never realised that you had quite a few siblings. I used to ruin my Dad's Calvin and Hobbes books as a kid, and write my name in them. He wasn't best pleased.

Unknown said...

Alanna does, indeedy, rock!

I remember finding my older brothers collection of comics and 'borrowing' them. He never did work out where they went. HeHe

Oh! And I am a big fan. I am corrupting my friends too! Thanks for that! I'm off LARPing this weekend *dances with excitement and burbles off to find sword and dagger*

Anonymous said...

I know it's not really about girl knights but...

http://www.paragonjousting.com/profiles/bcooper.shtml

Talk about your male dominated industries.

Rebecca said...

I love the Song of the Lioness and The Immortals series; I haven't read the rest, but those two have a permanent place on my shelf, even as an adult. Alanna and Daine for the win. :)

Anonymous said...

I also loved the Alanna series- it also inspired me to tackle the comic book world! That and, for a decent part of my childhood I thought I was Gambit.

Yeah, for serious.

I say, we're taking over the world, one entertainment industry at a time. ^_-

Anonymous said...

I think what made me really smile, is I knew you were talking about Alanna when I read the comic, then the blog. ^^ I am a HUGE fan of the peirce books. Those girls make me proud and not afraid to achieve things.

Caterpillar said...

I remember reading the Alanna quartet as a kid and also Pierce's Wild Magic series. I'd like to think that inspired me to join the Army... or maybe I just liked any excuse to wear boots?

Anonymous said...

OK this is a few strips old but I just got the chance to look at your Ren Faire pics. You are never EVER allowed to draw flabby tummy lines on you again. YUMMY! Heck even my girlfriend said you looked tasty and she's straight!

Anonymous said...

Alanna kicked serious butt.

I must have read and re-read her Tortall series hundreds of times. I still own dog-eared copies of them and still collect.

This comic really brought back some great memories. Maybe it's time for another re-read...

Doctor Sarcastic said...

I've read every single one of the Tortall series, and Immortals is definitely my favourite book of all time. All her Tortall series' are about girls going beyond what others expect, and I think every young girl should read them so they can realize that you can make your own way. Daine for the win!

Anonymous said...

Yes! Yes yes yes! Today's strip made me exceptionally happy, because I grew up on Tamora Pierce's Tortall series as well. Between Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey, I was never without a fierce and wonderful kickass female role model... and here I am today, getting ready for my brown belt testing in jiu jitsu! (And the only female senior member in our club, to boot.)

Thank you so much for today's comic-- it made my day, and I hope it introduces even more girls (and boys!) to Tamora Pierce's work. Whee!

Toward a Moral Life said...

If the Pinis hadn't chosen to screw over their artists when they voluntarily declared bankruptcy years ago, I'd have been happier.

Silverlion said...

Excellent. We need more mother's like yours. I know my younger sister's kids will have advantages because SHE has read to them.

Strong women rock, we need a culture that promotes more of them--both for themselves, and in business.

Meh said...

I've regrettably never read any of Tamora Pierce but have heard great things. What I thought of (and thank my overpriced "education" for this), is Silence (medieval French romance) translated by Sarah Roche-Madi. It's about a woman trying to be a man so she can be a knight. It's pretty interesting, especially if you're a book nerd like me!

Aaaaanyway, I love your comic & all the extra fun stuff that comes with it. I hope to be at WWChicago and see you, too!

Anonymous said...

Hey! When I first found out you read Tamora Pierce, I was like "Zomg!! I wish I could go to that con!" Because Tamora Pierce would be there. When I started reading this comic, Alanna was the first person I thought of.
I have read all of her books, aside from the circle of magic one's (I don't like those) and I'm currently waiting to get a hold of Bloodhound, Beka Cooper.
I love those books!!
Also, I've been a fan for a while, but never figured to comment.

Anonymous said...

Tamora Pierce's books are awesome! Once I found one of the Alanna books as a kid, I discovered the used of interlibrary loan so I could read the rest. :)
I still read all her books and collect them when they come out. Daine is great, but Keladry is my favorite. Nothing but a polite, "I'm sorry you feel that way" as she goes about her merry way.

Noel said...

Tamora Pierce rocks... I have always leaned toward books with strong, fallible female mains, and she's one of the best out there. I buy sets of her books for all of my younger females :)

Anonymous said...

Tamora Pierce was my favorite author when I was younger. The Song of the Lioness was one of my favorite series. Didn't like The Immortals so much. Protector of the Small was pure awesomeness.

Briana said...

Those books did the same thing for me and my sister. We loved them, and I used to read them all the time. I still have them on my bookshelf, and still read them from time to time. I also bought her Wild Magic series, the Protector of the Small series (to be honest, I was disappointed with that one) and her Trickster's books. All of those, coupled with, as you said, Elfquest, made me think that I could do great things. I never even questioned the fact that I could do anything I wanted until someone said "but you're a GIRL!" and I said "So what?"

profdad said...

My daughter, nine, I gave her four-volume set for Christmas (thanks, Ebay). This is by FAR her favorite set of books. She's read them 10 time each at least.

Just last week she brings home Alanna book she found herself at library -- very enthusiastic.

Disneyworld vacation last week, her words not mine: "I want to do Pirates, not Princesses."