Some people really misunderstood last week's column. A column that was simply trying to point out what great progress we seem to have made when it comes to women in comics, compared to 1995 (a formative year for a young Kelly Thompson). Some people mistakenly misunderstood it, some didn’t bother to read the piece in the first place, but felt delighted to share their thoughts any way, and others tried really really hard to misunderstand it. But I'm willing to admit to some writing fail in getting my point across. So here I am to clear things up. Ready?

Let’s talk about boobs.



I have exactly ZERO problems with big boobs. In fact, I am an owner of “big boobs” so I certainly have no problem with them. I don’t think big boobs makes it difficult for people to take someone seriously, obviously, since I frequently expect and even demand people to take me seriously, and I have the aforementioned big boobs. I even frequently wear low-cut shirts, since my job in no way involves fighting crime and because I,  like most people, know that boobs look pretty awesome. I also have no problem with sexuality in any way. In my life or in my media. Hell, I am not only happy to read about characters with big boobs, but I CREATE them (as evidenced above - and below - in the "Jilted League" comic strip you see here). I have no problem with boobs, I have no problem with jokes,



I have no problem with sex.

What I DO have a problem with is everything being the same.

Boobs are awesome. They're just not the ONLY thing that’s awesome. I like a little variety and so should we all.

Having only one type of thing, like only female characters with giant boobs (on tiny bodies) portrayed over and over again, almost to the exclusivity of everything else puts us in fetish territory. And while there's nothing wrong with fetish, I think comics in general are better than that. Comics should be broader and more open to all people. It should never cater to one tiny super specific group, and it especially shouldn’t give that tiny super specific group only vanilla to eat, forever. If it does those things it has no room to grow.

And with no room to grow it fucking dies.

Fetish has its place, it even has its place in comics. But looking at a wall of new comics should not feel like taking a peek inside one person’s very specific fetish. It should feel like throwing the doors open to the whole world. It should feel like a place where we can all simultaneously be welcomed and understood while learning new things and experiencing that which we've not yet even managed to imagine.

Yes to giant boobs. But also yes to small boobs and no boobs. Yes to short and tall, thin and fat and everything in between, yes to black and white and all other colors, yes to all genders, and faiths, to all sexual orientations. Yes to EVERYTHING.

This is OUR world, this little corner of comics, let’s demand it be, and even better, MAKE it be, as interesting as goddamn possible.

And so let’s all move on to something more worthy of us than accusing people of hating boobs, yes?