It’s probably pretty clear by now that I really love comic books. Since I’m often stuck in bed due to my illness, I read a lot of them to keep from going insane. It happens. Currently, one of my all time favorite comic books is Raven the Pirate Princess, a Princeless comic series written by Jeremy Whitley. It’s not just a great comic, it’s also a very important comic.

When it comes to “Representation Matters” Raven has everything. Bisexuals, lesbians, disabilities, gender-identity questions, women of all shapes and colors and beliefs. And this is a comic book that, at least at my LCS, is found in the kids comic section. It’s family-friendly, honest, and sincere in its storytelling. Girls and grown women alike can find themselves in these pages. I’ve never read anything like it.

Unfortunately, Raven is in trouble. While this feminist series has a very loyal following, it’s a small one. And the numbers aren’t looking great. Jeremy wrote up the specifics on tumblr and it absolutely breaks my heart to see one of my favorite comics sinking because not enough people know about it. Which is why I’m writing this blog post. I want everyone to know how incredibly critical this comic is to little girls who need to know it’s okay to be who they are. To know that women can do and be all sorts of things. It’s an important reminder to those of us who are grown that we can still be strong and formidable in the face of adversity.

If the selection of pages I’ve posted hasn’t won you over, check out all the reviews and love being spouted for Raven on Jeremy’s tumblr and twitter. Those of us who have been fans since the beginning recognize the need for this comic to keep going.

So please, if you haven’t, read Raven the Pirate Princess. You can buy digital copies on Comixology and the physical volumes on Amazon. If you’ve already read Raven, buy copies for your friends. Get them hooked. Tell them to share with their friends. Share on social media. Share through word of mouth. Let’s just get the good word of Princeless out in the world. Everyone will be much better off with this comic book in their home.

I had mentioned before about the accountability swap I’m doing with my friend Meg. We were both absolutely swamped the last couple of weeks so it ended up falling off the radar, but we’re getting back at it. Our last topic was the Avengers (Meg’s choice) so I decided to do Lady Loki. Here’s the work in progress of it.

Lady Loki channeling her inner Xena

One of the things I’m hoping to get out of this project is to work on my anatomy skills and attempt to draw some more dynamic poses and more realistic styles. I felt like doing a super hero was the perfect time to try to push myself on both of these things. I’m somewhat happy with it, though I’m definitely still struggling with anatomy. I used a comic book reference of Loki himself for the pose. One thing this is teaching me though is that I’d really like to start going to figure drawing classes again. I think it’d be a good reminder on how the human body works and moves.

What this overall exercise is also teaching me is that I really need to start actively making more time to draw. It’s so easy to let work overrun everything and then just climb into bed and ignore the rest of the day. I have a full-time 9-5 job and a part-time job on weekends (and some evenings), so drawing tends to be the first thing that falls to the wayside. But when I make myself actually sit down and be creative and force myself to set aside time, I always feel better. There’s a certain zen to drawing that I don’t feel with anything else and so I’m thankful that this accountability is there.

Anyway. If you have some anatomy advice or anything else, feel free to comment and let me know! ♥

Growing up, I loved comic books.

Yeah, who am I kidding? I never grew up, and I still love comic books. Graphic novels. Writings with pictures. The works. It started with X-Men and Archie, became an obsession with Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and culminated into a fascination with how art evolved in comics throughout the years. I love learning about comic histories and back stories of superheroes. Really, I just love comic book heroes in general, so I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorites.

The Comic Book Heroes!

Storm (Marvel)
Best Known From: X-Men

Ororo Iqadi T’Challa, the daughter of a Kenyan Princess and an African photojournalist, was a promising thief in Cairo when she met Professor X of the X-Men. He saw within her great potential and took her under his wing. With the X-Men, she became one of its leaders and the beautifully dangerous Storm was born.

Beast Boy (DC Comics)
Best Known From: Teen Titans

Garfield Mark “Gar” Logan had the unfortunate mishap of being bitten by a green monkey when he was a boy, and due to the medicine given to him to save his life, his own skin turned green and his powers to shape-shift were established. Beast Boy (or Changeling as he was known as for awhile) was a part of the Doom Patrol and later the Teen Titans.

Batwoman (DC Comics)
Best Known From: Batman

Batwoman is the alter ego of Katherine “Kate” Kane and was originally the love interest of Batman in the 50s. The modern Batwoman, however, is a Jewish lesbian with several tattoos and a punk persona. Like Batman, her powers rely more on her feminine-disguised gadgets rather than any super human powers.

Abe Sapien (Dark Horse Comics)
Best Known From: Hellboy

Abraham “Abe” Sapien is an Icthyo sapien, which can best be described as a “merman.” Originally a man named Langdon Everett Caul who was turned into his current appearance by an underwater deity and a misplaced ritual, was saved by Hellboy a century later from curious scientists who named him Abraham after the date that was written on the side of the tube they found him in: April 14, 1865 (the day Lincoln was shot).

Death (Vertigo)
Best Known From: The Sandman

The second oldest of the family of Endless, Death is the only one not tied with limitations. She is portrayed as a young goth girl, perky, with an silver ankh around her neck. She comes to humans when they are born and when they die, and one day a century, she becomes a mortal doomed to die to better understand those she works with.

Who are your favorite comic book heroes?