About Chris Williams
Location: Dallas, Texas
Occupation: Web Designer
Bio: Webmaster for PopSyndicate.com and other sites. You can see more of his work at his web design site, Martini Lab, and his blog as well.
Posts: 163
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Podcasts fade all the time. Others shine on and on. I interview podcaster Lene Taylor of I Read Comics.
"I Read Comics" just posted its 50th podcast episode. Its host, Lene Taylor, explores comics from a feminist's perspective. But take the gender out of the show and your still left with a true comic nerd. The 50th episode is a spoiler laden review of Spider-Man 3. Having just left the theater, Lene, Logan and Dangermarc use a portable mic to talk about Raimi's latest Spidey smack-down while still recovering from their geek high. While the other blogs and podcasts whine about everything wrong with Spider-Man 3, this podcast spends the entire duration of the episode laughing and celebrating both good and bad aspects of the movie. And yes, Mary Jane comes up.
To call Lene Taylor anything other than a feminist in comics would be unfair. With each podcast episode, her thoughtful commentary on the new, old, recommended reads, and the occasional comic book movies sheds a much needed light on how the industry as whole affects women. The comics genre is so large, it easily ranges into movies and television as well as manga and anime. In fact, the internet community devoted to comics can easily be considered an industry unto itself. There's a lot of ground to cover in comics; a challenge Lene easily manages.
Just as wide ranging as her discussion topics, however, are her listeners' reactions. For some, her views are perceived as controversial--if you define unapologetic commentary from a gender-based perspective as controversial--and for that, the stimulus response knee jerkery of the interwebs respond with the same straight white male logic for which they are famous. Even my review for the top 5 choices for comic podcasts (I Read Comics was number one) garnered negative reactions for choosing such an "abrasive" show for the number one spot.
Questions like: how does Marvel's demographics justify drawing women without spines, or how come Ultimate Mary Jane has to show a six-pack mid-drift all the time, and Power Girl?! what is wrong with your boobs!, etc. Those may be fine questions, but when Lene Taylor asks them, she follows up with spot on answers. And for that, Lene is perceived as a man-hating "feminazi". But as any regular listener knows, with her raised eyebrow focus on yaoi, gay porn, and well drawn man packages (thank you, Brian Hitch!), not to mention her crossover in the "Look at his Butt" Star Trek podcast, Lene likes men just fine.
How did your podcast come about?
I'm an early adopter and started listening to podcasts in 2005. Five minutes after podcasts were invented, there were twelve devoted to comics, and yet none of them involved women. Doing my own show seemed like a good opportunity to talk about comics while providing a different perspective. Also, I'm a writer, and talking is so much easier than writing. (Ditto these reasons for starting the other show I do, "Look At His Butt!", which is about Star Trek.
What kind of challenges did you discover starting out? I know that sounds open ended, but I'm thinking about your initial goals and actual results to things like listener audience, community infrastructure (compared to now).
The technology was pretty easy to figure out (Thanks, Steve Jobs!) and there was already a small comic podcast community forming - both the listeners and the podcasters. I was lucky enough to tap into that at the time, though I've gone my own way, for the most part, since then. Two years ago, the feminist comic book community was just getting started and I'm very proud to be a part of that vocal, intelligent, and kick-ass movement.
I don't know if I had any goals, other than putting out a show pretty regularly and talking about both things that I love and things that I hate. To paraphrase Ricky Gervais, I'd rather be the favorite show of 10 people, rather than the 5th favorite show of 100 people. And I think that's right where I am.
Do you think your point gets across better on a podcast than a blog or forum?
It might be easier for people to understand what I'm talking about if they had illustrations in front of them. I don't think I'm very good at describing art or specific scenes, so I try to post examples to the blog. There is something more immediate and personal about the podcast; I think it helps to hear the passion or anger or humor in my voice. Forums aren't my thing - I like to read them, but I'm not interested in debating people, especially since a lot of unmoderated forums end up as "You shut up!" "No, you shut up!"
Here's what I've noticed about your show, and tell me if I'm wrong. You don't really focus on the new titles that come out each week. Instead of the rundown of what's new, the latest comic story event (like Civil War) that so many other podcasts cover quite well, you have this kind of discovery of old comics or what friends recommend as well as things you find online (that you may or may not like). And then you talk those things.
That's exactly right. There are lots of shows that cover the new stuff quite well, as you pointed out. I don't buy everything that's new (IMHO, most of the stuff that DC and Marvel put out is crap or 20 pages of tit/ass shots or both); I don't even have the time to read everything that I might be interested in. I'd rather take a more in-depth focus on stuff that's not well-known or that's taken for granted (again, IMHO, you can't love Jack Kirby enough. Rob Liefeld as the new Kirby? smurfin that shit). I do try to talk about news when I find it relevant. I think the mix of old/new, familiar/unknown, love/hate, and serious/funny is what makes the show interesting. Or it could be something else entirely - you'd have to ask the people who listen.
Which are your favorite episodes you've done so far?
I really enjoyed the "Boy and His Dog" media fest that I did with my friend Kathryne - it was fun and at the same time a little groundbreaking, as I don't think anyone's done that kind of cross-media analysis before. (Someone sent Harlan Ellison a copy of that show, but I never heard if he liked it or not. Maybe that's a good thing.)
About your listeners, how do you handle negative letters? Have you ever been threatened?
I do get negative email but I generally ignore the personal stuff. I'm open to criticism when it's thoughtful and supported by facts and reasoning. There have been really awful and offensive discussions about me and my show on various message boards and forums, which is why I don't participate in them anymore. The worst was over on BKV's own forum, regarding my negative review of Y the Last Man; he had to shut the thread down himself and tell the posters to STFU.
I haven't personally been threatened but I know women who have. And, while we're on the subject, let me just say: Why is ANYONE surprised by this? Outraged, angry, scared, appalled, yes - all of those things, but why the sudden shock? Do we not live on the same planet where men threaten, beat, rape, and kill women EVERY DAY to shut them up? And of course it's not just women - it's anyone who's not a straight white male. Gays, women, non-whites - all have to live daily with the knowledge that someone (probably a man) is willing to beat, rape, and kill them merely for existing, never mind getting "uppity".
And threats against women on the internet is nothing new. I was analyzing USENET discourse back in the 90s, specifically the group alt.feminism, and the men - who far outnumbered the women, how's that for irony - regularly threatened and insulted the women who posted.
I blame the patriarchy. I complain about sexism all the time, not just in comics; it just so happens that I have a podcast about comics, so that's where people hear it from me. It is worth complaining about, because comics can be a unique and amazing way to see and understand the world. They're worth fighting for.
But podcasters, columnists and bloggers tend to feed into an online personality type that makes them more accessible to their readers and listeners. Friend me on MySpace, visit my forums, and the like. Do you think that lends more direct criticism? Or is it just a given; the more popular a podcast, the more haters there are and it's just part of the territory?
Oh, of course - the more visible you are, the more you'll attract both the good and bad. Anyone who "publishes" (whether in print, online, broadcast media) has to accept the praise and the criticism as part of the territory, as you said. And you have to weigh the praise and criticism before you take any of it to heart. Consider the source.
But I'm mystified by the people who hate me (or any other podcaster) just because they don't like the podcast. I mean, I think Y the Last Man sucks, but I don't hate BKV. And I don't actually hate Erik Larsen, I just think he's stupid.
To get back to the rant, though, let's remember that even in the worst online bitching, men don't threaten other men with rape. They only threaten women with rape (and perhaps openly gay men? I don't know. I suspect they do). And given the level and acceptance of violence against women, I'd take men's threats against women pretty seriously; Kathy Sierra is absolutely right to be scared shitless.
It obviously hasn't stopped you (and we all appreciate that), but like the issue of BKV's forums users losing their collective minds, has it ever deterred or discouraged you from covering certain topics?
Nope. And that's another reason I don't do advertising - I don't want to feel that I'm beholden to anyone. But it does make me more protective of my privacy and my life outside comics.
You're into some LiveJournal Communities like Scans Daily (and who isn't). What are some of the other sites and podcasts you visit regularly?
Here's a sampling from my Bloglines. WFA is really my main source of news and commentary:
When Fangirls Attack
I Blame the Patriarchy
The Hackenblog (I sometimes blog there too)
Language Log
Girl Wonder
Dave's Long Box
Memoirs of a Skepchick
James Randi Educational Foundation
Go Fug Yourself
Podcasts:
Le Show
Point of Inquiry
Savage Love
SETI: Are We Alone?
Skepticality
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
Phantom Power Comics Podcast
Comic Makers
Two that I really miss:
The Penn Jillette show (despite the Libertarian crap)
The Ricky Gervais show
How to find me:
I Read Comics blog
Look at His Butt! (Trek podcast)
Troubled Science (my other writing)
The Lincoln Heights Literary Society (where I sometimes review things)
To call Lene Taylor anything other than a feminist in comics would be unfair. With each podcast episode, her thoughtful commentary on the new, old, recommended reads, and the occasional comic book movies sheds a much needed light on how the industry as whole affects women. The comics genre is so large, it easily ranges into movies and television as well as manga and anime. In fact, the internet community devoted to comics can easily be considered an industry unto itself. There's a lot of ground to cover in comics; a challenge Lene easily manages.
Just as wide ranging as her discussion topics, however, are her listeners' reactions. For some, her views are perceived as controversial--if you define unapologetic commentary from a gender-based perspective as controversial--and for that, the stimulus response knee jerkery of the interwebs respond with the same straight white male logic for which they are famous. Even my review for the top 5 choices for comic podcasts (I Read Comics was number one) garnered negative reactions for choosing such an "abrasive" show for the number one spot.
Questions like: how does Marvel's demographics justify drawing women without spines, or how come Ultimate Mary Jane has to show a six-pack mid-drift all the time, and Power Girl?! what is wrong with your boobs!, etc. Those may be fine questions, but when Lene Taylor asks them, she follows up with spot on answers. And for that, Lene is perceived as a man-hating "feminazi". But as any regular listener knows, with her raised eyebrow focus on yaoi, gay porn, and well drawn man packages (thank you, Brian Hitch!), not to mention her crossover in the "Look at his Butt" Star Trek podcast, Lene likes men just fine.
How did your podcast come about?
I'm an early adopter and started listening to podcasts in 2005. Five minutes after podcasts were invented, there were twelve devoted to comics, and yet none of them involved women. Doing my own show seemed like a good opportunity to talk about comics while providing a different perspective. Also, I'm a writer, and talking is so much easier than writing. (Ditto these reasons for starting the other show I do, "Look At His Butt!", which is about Star Trek.
What kind of challenges did you discover starting out? I know that sounds open ended, but I'm thinking about your initial goals and actual results to things like listener audience, community infrastructure (compared to now).
The technology was pretty easy to figure out (Thanks, Steve Jobs!) and there was already a small comic podcast community forming - both the listeners and the podcasters. I was lucky enough to tap into that at the time, though I've gone my own way, for the most part, since then. Two years ago, the feminist comic book community was just getting started and I'm very proud to be a part of that vocal, intelligent, and kick-ass movement.
I don't know if I had any goals, other than putting out a show pretty regularly and talking about both things that I love and things that I hate. To paraphrase Ricky Gervais, I'd rather be the favorite show of 10 people, rather than the 5th favorite show of 100 people. And I think that's right where I am.
Do you think your point gets across better on a podcast than a blog or forum?
It might be easier for people to understand what I'm talking about if they had illustrations in front of them. I don't think I'm very good at describing art or specific scenes, so I try to post examples to the blog. There is something more immediate and personal about the podcast; I think it helps to hear the passion or anger or humor in my voice. Forums aren't my thing - I like to read them, but I'm not interested in debating people, especially since a lot of unmoderated forums end up as "You shut up!" "No, you shut up!"
Here's what I've noticed about your show, and tell me if I'm wrong. You don't really focus on the new titles that come out each week. Instead of the rundown of what's new, the latest comic story event (like Civil War) that so many other podcasts cover quite well, you have this kind of discovery of old comics or what friends recommend as well as things you find online (that you may or may not like). And then you talk those things.
That's exactly right. There are lots of shows that cover the new stuff quite well, as you pointed out. I don't buy everything that's new (IMHO, most of the stuff that DC and Marvel put out is crap or 20 pages of tit/ass shots or both); I don't even have the time to read everything that I might be interested in. I'd rather take a more in-depth focus on stuff that's not well-known or that's taken for granted (again, IMHO, you can't love Jack Kirby enough. Rob Liefeld as the new Kirby? smurfin that shit). I do try to talk about news when I find it relevant. I think the mix of old/new, familiar/unknown, love/hate, and serious/funny is what makes the show interesting. Or it could be something else entirely - you'd have to ask the people who listen.
Which are your favorite episodes you've done so far?
I really enjoyed the "Boy and His Dog" media fest that I did with my friend Kathryne - it was fun and at the same time a little groundbreaking, as I don't think anyone's done that kind of cross-media analysis before. (Someone sent Harlan Ellison a copy of that show, but I never heard if he liked it or not. Maybe that's a good thing.)
About your listeners, how do you handle negative letters? Have you ever been threatened?
I do get negative email but I generally ignore the personal stuff. I'm open to criticism when it's thoughtful and supported by facts and reasoning. There have been really awful and offensive discussions about me and my show on various message boards and forums, which is why I don't participate in them anymore. The worst was over on BKV's own forum, regarding my negative review of Y the Last Man; he had to shut the thread down himself and tell the posters to STFU.
I haven't personally been threatened but I know women who have. And, while we're on the subject, let me just say: Why is ANYONE surprised by this? Outraged, angry, scared, appalled, yes - all of those things, but why the sudden shock? Do we not live on the same planet where men threaten, beat, rape, and kill women EVERY DAY to shut them up? And of course it's not just women - it's anyone who's not a straight white male. Gays, women, non-whites - all have to live daily with the knowledge that someone (probably a man) is willing to beat, rape, and kill them merely for existing, never mind getting "uppity".
And threats against women on the internet is nothing new. I was analyzing USENET discourse back in the 90s, specifically the group alt.feminism, and the men - who far outnumbered the women, how's that for irony - regularly threatened and insulted the women who posted.
I blame the patriarchy. I complain about sexism all the time, not just in comics; it just so happens that I have a podcast about comics, so that's where people hear it from me. It is worth complaining about, because comics can be a unique and amazing way to see and understand the world. They're worth fighting for.
But podcasters, columnists and bloggers tend to feed into an online personality type that makes them more accessible to their readers and listeners. Friend me on MySpace, visit my forums, and the like. Do you think that lends more direct criticism? Or is it just a given; the more popular a podcast, the more haters there are and it's just part of the territory?
Oh, of course - the more visible you are, the more you'll attract both the good and bad. Anyone who "publishes" (whether in print, online, broadcast media) has to accept the praise and the criticism as part of the territory, as you said. And you have to weigh the praise and criticism before you take any of it to heart. Consider the source.
But I'm mystified by the people who hate me (or any other podcaster) just because they don't like the podcast. I mean, I think Y the Last Man sucks, but I don't hate BKV. And I don't actually hate Erik Larsen, I just think he's stupid.
To get back to the rant, though, let's remember that even in the worst online bitching, men don't threaten other men with rape. They only threaten women with rape (and perhaps openly gay men? I don't know. I suspect they do). And given the level and acceptance of violence against women, I'd take men's threats against women pretty seriously; Kathy Sierra is absolutely right to be scared shitless.
It obviously hasn't stopped you (and we all appreciate that), but like the issue of BKV's forums users losing their collective minds, has it ever deterred or discouraged you from covering certain topics?
Nope. And that's another reason I don't do advertising - I don't want to feel that I'm beholden to anyone. But it does make me more protective of my privacy and my life outside comics.
You're into some LiveJournal Communities like Scans Daily (and who isn't). What are some of the other sites and podcasts you visit regularly?
Here's a sampling from my Bloglines. WFA is really my main source of news and commentary:
When Fangirls Attack
I Blame the Patriarchy
The Hackenblog (I sometimes blog there too)
Language Log
Girl Wonder
Dave's Long Box
Memoirs of a Skepchick
James Randi Educational Foundation
Go Fug Yourself
Podcasts:
Le Show
Point of Inquiry
Savage Love
SETI: Are We Alone?
Skepticality
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
Phantom Power Comics Podcast
Comic Makers
Two that I really miss:
The Penn Jillette show (despite the Libertarian crap)
The Ricky Gervais show
How to find me:
I Read Comics blog
Look at His Butt! (Trek podcast)
Troubled Science (my other writing)
The Lincoln Heights Literary Society (where I sometimes review things)
Chris Williams writes a weekly column for PopSyndicate.com. He also likes man porn.
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