Within the past couple of decades, creators have been creating comics and posting them to the web for everyone to see, making the internet the latest frontier to a format that is ultimately the new place for underground comics. But unlike the underground comics of previous decades (I’m thinking particularly of the sixties and the popularization of gritty, mature comics like Fritz the Cat) these comics have the unique flavor of there being so many different kinds! We have so many comics online, web-comics that encompass plotlines about transgender high school boys (Venus Envy), comics revolving around popular hobbies like gaming (PVP, Ctrl+Alt+Del) and many many more than I can list here. Notable are comics with strong female protagonists like Nahast: Lands of Strife, Grrl Power, and the topic of today which is “The Adventures of Gyno-Star”
Subtitled “Fighting the forces of evil and male chauvinism,” one pretty much knows what they’re getting into when reading Rebecca Cohen’s superhero web-comic. Of course, the intent is to create a feminist super-heroine. “Gyno-Star” has villains like “The Stay-At-Home-Mommy” and “The Objectifier,” and she specializes in fighting social issue related “crimes” alongside her side-kick, the Lesbian teenager “Little-Sappho.” What’s eye-catching about this comic is that it combines a typical fantasy and often silly superhero escapades (there are ray guns and fights on the moon) with a hero whose sole purpose is to fight for women’s issues. Below is one of the earlier black and white comics where she fights the Libertarian superweapon, the “Glibertarian”
The comic, of course, has what many would call a “Liberal bias” (she fights tea partiers as well), but the true purpose of the comic is to poke fun of chauvinist viewpoints. Such as below where she realizes an ugly truth.
And here, when trapped in a beer commercial, she comes face to face with the very stereotypes she despises.
And when she isn’t stretching what is talked about or addressed in comic books, Rebecca Cohen also gives us plenty to laugh at, never taking herself too seriously (this is from the arc where the Stay-At-Home-Mommy brainwashes women to be housewives.)
I would definitely recommend Gyno-Star to anyone who, when they get home from classes and want something fresh and different with a pro-women angle, can feel good about, even if the intent of this comic about serious issues is not to be serious at all (did I mention the that the spirit of Georgia O’Keeffe makes an appearance for magical assistance?) Disclaimer though, the comic does have a strong bent towards the political left and does have some exaggerated violence that make it unsuitable for children. Now that you’ve been educated, consider going to http://www.gynostar.com/ and give it a go!
Image one- http://www.gynostar.com/archives/comic/you-crow-too-like-a-craven
Image two- http://www.gynostar.com/archives/comic/everyones-a-critic
Image three- http://www.gynostar.com/archives/comic/french-provincial-or-casual-conte…
Image four- http://www.gynostar.com/archives/comic/action-expresses-priorities