We’re going to keep rolling with our stats this week, because we sure do have a lot of spare time now! We might even have the June numbers up next week, at this rate. Also, again, please support your local comic shops if you can during this time of self-isolation. See if they offer mail delivery or curbside pick, or pay for your books in advance via etransfer, PayPal, or credit card and then pick them up down the road. It’s a difficult time for small businesses, so consider helping them out, if you’re able. Now let’s dig into who’s doing what at DC this May, where the numbers are looking rough:
- Blake Northcott: Catwoman #23 (co-writer)
- Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #6 (writer)
- Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #47 (writer)
- Charlotte Fullerton: Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
- Dani: The Low, Low Woods #6 (interior art)
- Emanuela Lupacchino: Wonder Woman #758 (interior art)
- G. Willow Wilson: The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1 (writer)
- Jenny Frison: The Low, Low Woods #6 (variant cover)
- Jody Houser: Supergirl #42 (writer)
- Joelle Jones: Lois Lane #11 (variant cover)
- Kelly Sue DeConnick: Aquaman #60 (writer)
- Laura Marks: Daphne Byrne #5 (writer)
- Mariko Tamaki: Batman Secret Files #3 (co-writer), Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
- Michelle Delecki: Metal Men #8 (interior art)
- Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #21 (writer)
- Nicola Scott: Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (variant cover)
- Rachael Stott: Supergirl #42 (interior art)
- Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #47 (variant cover)
- Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #20 (cover)
- Vita Ayala: Batman Secret Files #3 (co-writer)
All together, there are 20 different female and non-binary creators scheduled to work on 14 different books at DC this May, nine fewer creators and seven fewer books than in April. Those are some big drops. There are fewer titles overall in May than in April, but not enough that this decline is proportional. Having female or non-binary creators on 14 of DC’s 56 books in May gives us representation across 25% of the line, a seven point fall from April’s 32%. That’s quite sizeable. Hopefully it’s just an off month, but this is rough stuff regardless.
In terms of new names, we’ve got Charlotte Fullerton writing a story in the Green Lantern 80th anniversary special. She’s worked in animation and comics for a while, but I think this is her first DC gig since we started keeping track. Also, it’s great to see some female creators working on an anniversary special with a male lead. That’s been rare lately. Elsewhere, Blake Northcott is co-writing Catwoman this month, which I am less excited about. She’s been ComicsGate adjacent for a while now, and I’m not terribly thrilled when anyone associated with that hate group lands a mainstream gig.
For new titles, DC’s big summer event Dark Nights: Death Metal is launching, with Wonder Woman set to play a big role with her weird chainsaw sword. There’s a Generation One special on the books as well, but that may be up in the air given that the books that were supposed to come out in June seem to have gone by the wayside. There’s not much new for female characters across the line, however, though I’ve got my fingers crossed for Batgirl and other Gotham greats to show up in Batman: The Adventures Continue, which is set in the iconic animated series.
Overall, May looks pretty bad for DC. Representation for creators of marginalized genders is way down, and there’s not a whole lot of be excited about in new names and books. At this stage, we’re not in a post-DiDio DC yet, so his exit doesn’t explain this drop. It’s just a decidedly subpar month, for no discernible reason. Not great, DC.
TIM HANLEY 