You have big-name guys in the comics business proactively “brand” themselves as feminists when *clearly* they are not…and noted industry females say they’re fighting sexism but then don’t “believe women”…HOW IS IT SAFE FOR WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY???

Here’s my “final takeaways” on the whole Neil Gaiman bit, just so I can “complete this thought”: 1. The mainstream comic book industry (such as it is) is too small, shaky, cliquey, and knee-deep in its own troubles to effectively grapple with issues like sexual harassment/violence towards women etc. 2. The above assessment is not just based on the attitudes of some men there, but also a number of women who have very ambivalent attitudes towards other females (who they may see as “competition”). These women, despite professing a “sisterhood of feminism,” may secretly feel a need to protect certain men/friends from accusations. 3. When the mainstream comics industry/media *did* attempt to make a coordinated & sustained public mass-stand on the issue, they tended to focus on a small group of conservative comic book creators rather than look in their own backyard filled with people like Neil Gaiman. By focusing on these smaller niche groups instead of cleaning house “at home,” they had far less personal investment or risk; and they could brag about how “progressive” they all were while at the same time protecting their friends & business contacts.* 4. Given the expose on Gaiman, and the overall political climate at present, my guess is that a number of these older entrenched comics industry/media people will quietly stop their public crusades and fall back into the old-school “way it was done.” They will barely, if at all, reference the Gaiman story. They will stay away from future topics or stories. They are old-school industry “survivors.” 5. Any woman who has experienced harassment, assault, or other injury from people in “Comics” (freelancers, editors, bloggers, etc) should not, in my opinion, go to the mainstream comics publishers, media, or even most industry folk for “help” in addressing the situation. They should instead go directly (where applicable) to Lawyers, Law Enforcement, Therapists, and, in the worst-case scenarios, members of the Mass-Media. I base this assessment not only on a couple decades of observation but several volumes-worth of personal experience. *Footnote: last year, the mainstream comics blogosphere/“egregore” *did* focus on & “call out” one smaller “indie” creator not a part of the conservative indie groups they usually target. They apparently drove this man to self-deletion, and then largely tried to pretend it didn’t happen.

Do you think a damn good lawyer could get Luigi Mangione free if we find out his motives were justified in a way? All I am reading about how shitty United Healthcare is and how many died because of their greedy practices...I mean, is there a case to be made here? Opinions?

Also, I have honest question about Blue Sky…I’m hardly a strict Christian & I entertain a variety of spiritual beliefs…but if I post something like “just dropped by the local church on my lunch break!,” is that going to be considered “incendiary speech?” And I ask this b/c I remember posting even on my own blog like 15 years ago & using the word “God” in passing, like “I should ask God about it” & then I would get *angry angry angry* responses from some of the online Comicsphere that I used the word “God,” as if it was like an “indoctrination,” like an “oppressive statement.” And I don’t want to deal with that either anymore. And for all I know, that doesn’t happen on Blue Sky. But if it does, it’s just not going to work. Because that’s me not trying to “indoctrinate” anyone, but simply relating my lived daily experience—relating a fact from my day. And a truly “safe” space means I can do that.

I think…that once the voting & tabulation on this current U.S. election is sorted out, things are going to get really contentious & ugly on standard social media as we know it. Like, it’s going to be worse than it is now, untenable. And I don’t want to be around any of it.

I feel the need to clear up a few things: b/c it’s been my experience that when you don’t do this & then you leave, some people just will push rumors as truth for years. So, 1) To the circle of fellow comic creatives & “friends” I knew & hung out with years ago: no, I did not divorce my husband in 2014ish, nor did I “disappear,” nor did I “move away,” nor did I have a sex change operation. I was living with him, under the assumption (which was legally correct, by the way) that we were still married (including sharing bills), until Summer of 2022. It would have been *awesome* if some of those “friends”—people I hung out with, people I gave work to, people I collaborated on projects with—had given the *littlest of shits* about my well-being & contacted me about this situation & to ask me how things were going or if I was even still alive. That would have been great, b/c I know most of you say you care about women in the industry and blah blah blah. But only a few people in the outer circle of that social circle made *any* attempt to contact me at all. So I was operating almost completely blind as to what was really going on—and what was really going on, year after year, without my knowledge, really f**ked up my life, emotionally & financially. 2) In the mid-Aughts I reached out to who I assumed were prominent “feminists” in the comic book industry/media in regards to a sexual harassment situation I had with a high-profile individual. I was “embraced” by them and used as a feminist “symbol.” Then I myself became “high-profile,” with comic book assignments at Marvel etc, many media interviews, etc. As I got more well-known I naturally got harassed & trolled online by conservatives, etc…that was just a “matter of course,” right? But what I did NOT expect, which really caught me off-guard, was the jealousy, cruelty, and close-mindedness (ESPECIALLY about perceived gender norms) of many the “feminists” themselves. And I also didn’t protect myself against the *continual* situation of some prominent “male feminists” being just about “on par” with the initial harasser I knew at DC Comics in the first place. This was a HUGE lesson I wish I never had to make. And the man I ended up marrying also professed to be very supportive of feminism. And so. 3) The woman who literally encouraged & convinced me “for the good of women in the comic book industry” to bring legal action against DC Comics is Heidi MacDonald. She is the person behind “The Beat” comic book blog, and largely considered to be a prominent feminist in the industry. Years after Heidi convinced me to go after DC—and reaped the blog hits on writing about the story—she told me that she believed I was lying. The person I accused, Mike Carlin (a person she would hang out with at convention bars) was, in her words, “just a guy who wanted people to love him.” Why did she tell me to sue DC, then? And why tell me, years after the fact, years after she got the blog hits & talking points she wanted, that she didn’t believe me anyway? And it sounds like a crazy story…only there are OTHER stories like this in the industry about her. And I have absolute screenshot proof that she summarily dismissed another woman who accused another one of her convention buddies…but yet she’s a “feminist.” Just like Neil Gaiman is a “feminist.” Right. Of course. As for this comic artist convention buddy she protected against accusations—and the accusations are apparently well known within the industry—his social media profile is FULL of feminist & progressive followers. Because, like Gaiman, he’s considered one of their circle…and any woman who would accuse one of their circle is obviously a liar. (continued in next X post…)