But here is what this initiative will do. It will create a new demographic – girls that will grow up knowing Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Katana and other DC characters. Girls that will be able to not hunt around to find the scraps of representation that they have received over the past fews years – the book here, the Playskool pre-school toy here. It will create an expectation that girls are superheroes too and I know it because I grew up with them.
There’s a folksy saying that applies here “You don’t write a check you can’t cash.”
Yesterday’s announcement was a check. It’s a major investment. And Warner Bros and DC Entertainment and Mattel and Lego and Random house are investing. Big time. They are writing the check.
And the cashee? A new generation of comic readers who will not accept token appearances and a “cooties” world of comics. **
And when they get to comic book reading age? There will more of them. The size of the female audience is growing. We know that. Digital is changing it and we’ve seen both DC Comics and Marvel, who I was once told would NEVER market to women, now talk about women as a desired demographic.
Toys, books and Batman EVERYWHERE has been a pipeline to new comic readers for years. But that desired reader wasn’t girls. Boys have had this stuff for years. Now girls will. That will change comics.
Sue at DC Women Kicking Ass manages to get everything I’m excited about in the DC Super Hero Girls announcement over in a far better way than I could.
That said, I fully expect Marvel/Disney’s inevitable response to be reported with “FINALLY SOMEONE IS DOING SUPERHEROES FOR GIRLS” headlines, just as the Captain Marvel movie announcement, made two weeks after Warners announced Wonder Woman, was given the “I can’t believe no-one’s ever announced a superhero movie starring a woman before! Marvel are so groundbreaking!” treatment.