we are in it

Great commentary.

fuckyeahspiderwife:

MARY JANE: I wish I had it all together like you do, Carol. Sometimes I feel so…out of it.
CAROL: I think once you decide what it is you want, nothing will stop you M.J.
MARY JANE: Yeah. I guess. But that’s the hard part.
CAROL: Behind that flighty facade, you’ve got a first class mind. You’ll find yourself, believe me.
MARY JANE: How about you, Carol? How’d you find yourself?

Ms. Marvel vol I #2 (Feb 1977). Writer: Gerry Conway. Penciller: John Buscema.

In the early days of Carol’s magazine career, Mary Jane — who’s been following her writing — seeks her out for friendship and advice. Carol has her “brainless party girl” mask rumbled right from the start, and recognizes a kindred spirit. Sadly, this mentorship wasn’t long to be: it only lasted the first three issues of a 23-issue run, and to the best of my knowledge hasn’t been acknowledged since, even after Carol befriended Peter in more recent years.

It’s a natural consequence of serialized, multi-author narratives that relationships get lost to attrition. Dropped subplots, creative transitions, changing tastes and characterizations all do their best to erode character history almost as fast as it accretes. This holds true whether you’re talking about Spider- or Demolition Man, but women characters seem to have it rougher across the board, especially for relationships with other women. They don’t have as many of their own titles and those that do get created rarely last as long, for starters. There’s also the fact that the industry remains dominated by male writers, many of whom don’t write relationships between women with the same nuance as they do relationships involving men, nor prioritize them as highly.

Segueing from the Spider-Verse, probably my favorite thing about Kelly Sue DeConnick’s current run on Captain Marvel is that so much of the story hinges on interaction between women: women who are friends with a history, women who’ve just met, women who are mentors and who learn from each other, women who are friendly rivals and women who are adversaries. It’s a delight to read, though a slightly bittersweet one. I shouldn’t be this happy to find a mainstream superhero comic in which the emotional lives of women are so richly textured; it shouldn’t be so uncommon. I’m glad it’s here, though, and I plan to keep supporting it with my wallet as long as it lasts.

And hey, if there’s ever an issue where Carol and her friends go clubbing, I know which new nightclub I’d like them to check out.