Making Women’s History While Writing One
Kelly Sue DeConnick isn’t only making women’s history but writing her own as well.
The first thing you notice about Kelly Sue DeConnick is her striking red hair. It’s a bright, bold red meant to be noticed. It speaks almost for her saying, before she herself ever gets any words out, “I have arrived. You can’t miss me.” For those that don’t know, Kelly Sue DeConnick is a comic writer/creator whose work has literally changed the game for women and the comic industry simultaneously.
You’ve seen DeConnick’s work, though you may not have known she was behind it. The writer for Marvel’s Captain Marvel for three years she was on-set for the making of the film. But big-screen, big-budget adaptations is just the tip of the iceberg. Her resumé includes work on Detective Comics, Aquaman, The Adventures of Superman, Avengers Assemble, Bitch Planet and her current work on Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons.
It’s this last title, Wonder Woman Historia, where DeConnick is actually writing a history book of The Amazons, the warrior goddesses and the origin of Princess Diana AKA Wonder Woman. The book retells and adapts the creation story of DC’s Amazons, in which several Greek goddesses create a new race of female warriors from the souls of women who died violently at the hands of men. This time, though, it’s the voice of the Amazons who narrate the story, not some outsider who wasn’t there.
The comic is illustrated by Phil Jimenez and it dares to be second fiddle to the story that’s being told. Jiminez’s pages here are works of art, worthy of gallery shows. Each page needs to be poured over, explored. Jimenez is working here like this is the most important story he’s ever worked on. Which isn’t being heavy handed. This is a story that should carry with it such weight.
I think DeConnick knows that as well. Even though Wonder Woman Historia is about an ancient history where women had to struggle to right the wrongs against them and had to fight for their fair share, it’s also a story for our modern time. I’m not sure how the comic ends, but in the real world, women are still in the battle for fairness. This is something DeConnick doesn’t take lightly. A staunch warrior for women herself, she’s placed her stake into the ground when it comes to writing women for pop culture consumption and has proclaimed “land is for women just as much as it is for men.”
DeConnick is single handedly responsible for starting up the #visiblewomen hashtag. A hashtag used to give women a way to signal to the comic industry, I’m here and I’m making comics too. The comic book industry has always been (and still is) viewed as a sort of “boys club.” Those rules are changing though, changing for the better, and DeConnick is one of the women at the helm of that ship. The visible women hashtag is just one part. Wonder Women Historia: The Amazons is another.
During a month where we are all collectively highlighting women and how they’ve changed the world, DeConnick is leaving behind a modern legacy when it comes not just to comics, but the stories we tell with the focus being on who’s telling them. DeConnick is writing about women’s history while making women’s history. I was going to say something here like, “She’s definitely one to watch,” but it feels underserved because she’s already done so much for the industry. Rather, if you haven’t noticed DeConnick yet, better sit up and take notice.
Find Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons in comic shops right now.