Women in Komiks
Women of komiks: The creative komikeras you should read right now
Last year there was a short list of several women who were pivotal in making komiks what it is today.
As komiks continued to be made, more women joined the ranks of those who create. Seeing the example of several forerunners and several komikeras who are also art teachers, a second and third wave of young women creators began to join and table at the Komikon.
As Komiket was organized, it encouraged even more women to join, thanks to its policies toward inclusivity in themes and identity, and policies against harassment.
When both major komik hubs Webkom.ph and Penlab were created, young women were pivotal in their creation and ongoing existence. Their very presence has helped attract other girls and young women to create and then to upload onto the komik platforms.
Overall this changed the atmosphere for all of komiks, making it more inclusive as a whole, and widening the scope of genres it covers.
This year we are presenting several more names that influence komiks, and this is far from all of them.
Hulyen
Hulyen is the voice of those who proudly refuse to be ordinary, while also being the voice of the frustrations of the female student and the young working adult.
As such her Ugh series, and the merchandise that have her content, have been popular for when we all just cannot with the world.
Chocnut-san
With an impressive command of traditional pen and ink, matched with a masterful sense for telling stories through komiks, Chocnut-san has told stories across several genres that emphasize the practical concerns and emotional problems of young women.
Jess Guanco
Also known as Grickenfish, she is best known for the Probinsyana Problems panel comics series, where Jess gives the daily adventures of a young probinsyana working in the capital, including the many macro- and micro-aggressions that people raised in the capital do not realize they impose.
Her zine, Congrats! You’re a girl!, discusses the many expectations of women and girls, particularly those set by a patriarchal culture.
In Things We Don’t Talk About (some SPG content), she effectively parses many scenarios and expectations that affect girls and women which are both unspoken and directly spoken, in attempts to maintain an image to the world.
Ren Galeno
Horror is usually done by male creators, but Ren Galeno is one of several female creators who see the terror in what women fear. Thus, her horror is presented through the eyes of women and girls, a different perspective that emphasizes their concerns.
Her pieces have tackled teenage pregnancy, the fear of isolation, and a mother’s fears in the environment of poverty and climate change.
Jhamycka
President and co-founder of the Webkom.ph website, and also one of its komikeras, Jhamycka's presence is one of the key reasons a good percentage of komikeros on Webkom are clearly female, and a key reason that female creators are welcomed on the site.
This has encouraged many stories that have capable female leads, stories of gentlemen respectful of women, and stories of love and romance in several genres as told by young women.
Her Aniture fantasy series is one of the best read on the platform.
Nina Torralba
As one of the co-creators of Kalabaw Kolektib and one of the maintainers of the Penlab website, Nina has helped in gathering female creators who are Komikon and Komiket regulars, as well as komikeras primarily placed on international webcomic sites Tapas and Webtoon.
This has balanced out the content on Penlab and showed the wide diversity of what stories women can create.
Marianie
Marianie is best known for Nagmamahal, Maria Clara, which is a funny while thought-provoking exploration of what it is to be a Filipina in the present, as influenced by our colonial past, and affected by many real problems like domestic abuse, control of knowledge, and conservative expectations.
As the Maria Clara of the book travels to the present, she questions both her past and the present, and takes us along as she does. Marianie’s other more introspective content explores the concerns of young women such as loneliness. She also assists in battling disinformation through her work.
Maria Mediarito
One of several komikeras bravely and unapologetically telling stories of lesbian love in all its iterations and in several genres, she also addresses uncomfortable topics in her komiks that are the concerns of young women.
A komik that won her a Komiket award tackled sexual harassment in schools. Another komik directly addressed caregiver fatigue in a young woman tired of caring for her grandmother.
Hiro Grageda
Known as HiroYuugi on Webkom.ph, this college student uses her phone to draw while minding a sari-sari store, in order to create one of the hit series on Webkom, Cyra: The Vampire Classes.
It has developed a wide cast of characters in a story with a solid fantasy worldbuild that addresses racial and economic discrimination. If a young lady minding a sari-sari can manage such a feat, anything is possible in komiks.
Again, this is only several of many female creators currently making komiks, and are only a representation of what is available from female creators. Many women are speaking their truths and widening our imaginations through komiks. Please seek them out and show all of them your support.