I colored a new poster and an old poster, both featuring Josh Wood in them. Above are the colors with tweaks and color correcting by Josh Wood. And below are my original colors you can totally compare them to. I like some of the changes he made, but you can decide which ones are better.

I knocked the colors for these in one night! I’m so pumped about digital coloring now, I hope you guys are enjoying the fruits of my labor. This week, my bestie Josh needed the old January comedy poster colored, and I filled his request! And I’m glad he made me. Now I’m undertaking a project where I will be adding color to all the old comedy posters, with the hope that in the end they will be collected in a full-color hardcover Stand-Up Comic Book Gig Posters book.

I love doing these because they are so open, and I could experiment with color and images. They’ve evolved to a point where I’ve set certain rules on myself. Here are some of those rules that have been added over the months (and broke countless time):

1. Draw a comedian who performs regularly.

2. Do everything by hand, including typography.

3. Base posters around the comedian’s joke.

4. Best posters are ones that show the comedians personality best.

5. Best posters are of jokes that have a great visual component to them.

Future posters will just keep getting better and better!

I’ve got my feet in both comics culture and the culture of stand-up comedy, and I’m seeing two similar conversations happening. Female comedians and female comic readers both face similar issues being that stand-up and comic books are largely male dominated.

First off, I am not a woman. I do not claim to be an expert in feminism or femininity. Just check my dating track record with women.  (Hint: it’s non-existent.) But my audience is surprisingly mostly women. I’ve received more responses, comments, and e-mails from women than men. Most of the people who have approached me after a stand-up show are women. And the people who most get excited about seeing my work at conventions and end up buying my comic books and prints are women.

THE RESOURCES

• Graphic Novelist Hope Larson took a survey to gauge the thoughts of women who read comics.
• There have been a ton of follow-up thoughts sprouting up in response to her results, and some of them can be read here, and one from Kiel Phegley.
• Hope Larson even responds in an interview here with Kelly Thompson.

• Jessie Geller writes how she feels as a female comic.
• Here’s the article by Kate Hendricks linked to at the bottom of previous source, here. Also, here is the Vanity Fair article, “Who says Women Aren’t Funny?” from 2008.
• A new web documentary series called Welcome to the Stage recently just popped up. It’s about stand-up comedy in San Francisco, and though it hasn’t really brought up the issue of “female comedy”, it follows 4 female stand-up comedians exclusively.

THE COMMONALITIES

Most of these articles I’ve brought up tend to be written by women. Where are the guys who have an opinion about this subject? These are the recurring topics I found in both camps.

1. Female comedians feel outnumbered and mistreated when going to an open mic. Female comic book readers feel outnumbered and mistreated at a comic book store.

2. Comedy club bookers/owners tend to be male. Comic book store owners tend to be male.

3. Men generalize female comedians to only talk about boys, dating, and relationships. Men generalize female readers to like reading about boys, dating, and relationships. (and ponies and sparkly stuff)

Both parties think that stand-up comedy and comic books are a boy’s club. Women tend to think of themselves in relation to men. But I’ve noticed that men tend to ONLY think of themselves.

Also, I should bring up that a common issue in stand-up is that people assume “women are not funny”. But in comic books, there is no equivalent. Women are just as good as men at creating compelling stories and illustrating moving artwork. Women in comic books are completely competent, and are not met with the hostility that female comedians receive.

AUDIENCE AND NERDS

The comparison is a little disconnected, because female comic book bloggers talk more about readers and audiences than female comedians talk about their audience. Hope Larson mentions that her books appeal to young adult female readers. Do female creators write to appeal specifically to men without making assumptions as to ‘what men like’? I also want to know who the female stand-up comedians are targeting, without having to say “Am I right, ladies?” at the end of a joke. To be fair, I don’t even know if male comics target a gender-specific audience, so generally speaking, comedians may be gender-blind in developing an act. There are comic books that appeal strongly to women, but is there a specific kind of comedy that appeals to women?

When female comic creators get together for a panel or a singing, female readers flock to them. But when female comedians go on tour together, do females flock to their shows in droves? I might be able to relate because I watch a lot of Asian comedians, and I follow the work of Asian comic book creators. But do women really geek out about female comedy?

This may also be in part due to “nerd-dom” levels in either field. In comic books, female nerds are definitely growing in size with the help of manga’s influence in comic book culture. Zine and Mini-comics culture is very closely half-and-half. Nerd-dom in stand-up comedy is relatively new, and not quite as passionate as comic book nerddery. Comedy nerds may be few, and most of the times if there are any, it is largely male. But even that is changing with women attaching themselves to the likes of Tina Fey, Maria Bamford, Natasha Leggero, Garfunkel and Oates, etc. Even Patton Oswalt, Eugene Mirman, and Zach Galafianakis have a large fanbase, many of the passionate ones include women. But in my own life, rarely do I find a girl who is in the know of some of the latest stand-up comedy. It’s largely guys who geek out about it.

GET GIRLS INVOLVED

I’m a little disheartened that there aren’t many guys involved in the conversation. I think that Hope Larson calls retailers and publishers to action with her ten points to get girls reading comics, things that I’ve noticed and rooted for for a very long time. And I’m not saying it isn’t happening, because it is. I see a lot more women and girls attending conventions with their girlfriends, and not tagging along with their guy friends. And in comedy, well there’s always been female audience members, but I’m seeing more and more women express interest in performing at open mics. I’m happy to see that the female comic book creators and comedians are inspiring other women to join in, and I hope me being a guy doesn’t exclude me from inspiring them, too.

If you don’t want to admit that you stalk people, then I will. I have a Facebook account, a Twitter, and I’m subscribed to at least 50 blogs in my Google Reader. Among them are artists, designers, and even old funny men who don’t really know how to use the internet (like comedian Louis C.K.). Many of these blogs I found after reading one article on their site, and they continued to publish more and more valuable articles.

Some blogs I added to my list after their authors let me know they read mine. I like finding out who is viewing my website because usually they have content I’m interested in seeing myself. Here are 3 people who have checked me out, or who I’ve checked out, and now I follow to see what’s new in their worlds. They also happen to be Asian girls.

1. Michelle Nguyen of MengInspired -

Michelle and I have never formally met, but she reigns from my home city, San Francisco. She liked my work even before I got this website over a year ago, when I was still pressing “Publish Post” on my blogspot account. Her account, on the other hand, is perfect for her hilarious, quick-hitting comics. Frequently, Michelle will find a moment in her day when a clever quip is quipped or retort is retorted. Her comics are pure and simple, doesn’t even use panel borders, and shines a light on some of small conversations we have that don’t even matter. They will make you laugh out loud, not because they are stupid, but because they are cleverly absurd. And even though they are seemingly drawn with any writing utensil she has at the moment, her writing and timing shines in her comics.

See her work here, MengInspired!

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2. Heather-Lynn of Make Something Super -

Heather once told me my website was pretty hilarious. That’s always refreshing to hear, because I pour myself into this site. What I like about her is that she pours herself into her blog as well. Her illustrations are cute, bright, and very charming. They don’t hit you over the head with why they are made or what their are supposed to mean; they are simply made and made by her. She’s a student in motion graphics, and even her typographic designs shares the same qualities as her digital paintings. I’ve noticed how romantic her outlook on life is and its reflective in her work. There is something zen-like about it, and I imagine that “making something super” everyday is way for her to harness creativity in a short single session. Take a look through the blog and you’ll find yourself smiling on every page.

See her work here, Make Something Super!

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3. Ali Wong, comedian

I don’t know Ali Wong personally, but I definitely do watch her progress as a comedian. She was named the best comedian of San Francisco and has recently moved to New York to take over the scene. She’s pretty dirty, very dirty you might say. She does some great physical stuff, and definitely plenty of poignant outlooks on Asian culture. She touches plenty of Bay Area landmarks, but she’s got lots of material that isn’t area-specific that kill. Just judge for yourself:

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All three have web presences that rely a lot on handmade or hand-drawn designs. That’s the appeal that these blogs have for me, that DIY attitude that shows off the artist as the sole creator of everything on the site. I’ve been inspired by each one, and my personal work has adopted some of their techniques, if you’ve noticed. For more information about these artists, click their websites and see more. If you enjoy their work, feel free to stalk them, too!