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.

I don’t do this often, but this post has a bonus illest-tration! I’ve just been making lots of work and you get to see both for the price of one visit! First, this Wednesday is another Coffee House event, with David Stine and Melissa Hagerty performing! I will probably be in attendance, so stop by and say hello to me.

Secondly, the “Sensual Sounds of an Arousing Evening” Comedy Show is THIS THURSDAY at the Sentient Bean, 8 to 10PM. It’s going to be a crazy fun show, because it is our Valentine’s Day-themed show. I will be covering topics revolving around dating relationship, and my specialty, SEX. It’s sure to be a fun, revealing event, and one that will make you cringe at how horrible some of the things in my life go. Bring a date, so that you can both share a moment of complete awkwardness and make love to afterwords.

BONUS: Here’s the thumbnail to this week’s coffeehouse poster. It was a poster I originally conceived for a gallery show I was putting on with my friends. Then it evolved into a poster that I can still use when that gallery show comes around. Note that the dates and information on the thumbnail aren’t real!

Scott Aukerman is the host of Comedy Death Ray at the UCB Theater and the podcast radio show of the same name. My impression of him is that people love him and he’s a comedian’s comedian. He’s always doing things to help other comedians get their names out there and is always creating opportunities for comedians to be part of something. His radio show gives airtime to comedians to plug upcoming shows and appearances, as well as just have fun cracking jokes and finding new fans.

The comic book anthology is another outlet for comedians to tell stories that they wouldn’t be able to do onstage. Some comedians involved are Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Fred Armisen of SNL, BJ Novak of The Office, and vocal long-time comics fans Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn. There are some big name talented comic artists attached that have not yet been announced.

So what does this mean? It means that comics are going to be funny again! Its not that he doesn’t enjoy comics with superhero action and mythology, he just knows that comedy is lost in this generation of dark and dramatic stories. We were treated to one Amazing Spider-man one-shot earlier this year written by Seth Meyers and Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live, but it was still a action-oriented book told with a sitcom-y feel. Aukerman really wants to tell self-contained comedic stories and bring funny back to funnybooks.

Demetri Martin is premiering his new show tonight, Important Things with Demetri Martin, at 10:30PM on Comedy Central. Some cool tidbits about the show is that it is produced by Busboy Productions owned by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. Jon also produces the Colbert Report. It seems like he’s got his hands in some great properties and at a good time, too. In this economic meltdown, comedy is definitely a needed escapism, and Demetri brings a show that isn’t full of political and social commentary. He presents his observations on the smaller but important things in life.

Read a review by Punchline Magazine.

Read a review by the comic’s comic.

Enjoy my comic and enjoy the show!