Carol A. Strickland
Encyclopedia
Carol A. Strickland is an American fiction
writer, pop culture scholar, and comic book
fan
. While she is less well-known than influential Wonder Woman fans like Gloria Steinem
and Trina Robbins
, her scholarship on the DC Comics
series, as well as other series known for high appeal to female audiences, has made her something of a grande dame of superhero
fandom
.
includes:
of the Fantastic Four and the fanzine
LoC to point out what she considered egregious examples of sexism
in Marvel's treatment of the characters the Invisible Girl and Ms. Marvel
.
character Light Lass in the 1970s, which was adopted and used in the series by the artist Dave Cockrum
.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
writer, pop culture scholar, and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
. While she is less well-known than influential Wonder Woman fans like Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
and Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
, her scholarship on the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
series, as well as other series known for high appeal to female audiences, has made her something of a grande dame of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
.
Wonder Woman
Her unofficial background work on Wonder WomanWonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
includes:
- Detailed criticism of the history of the character;
- A proposed (but not accepted) revision of Wonder Woman;
- Wonder GirlWonder GirlWonder Girl is the name of three fictional characters featured as superheroes in comic books and other media produced by DC Comics. The original was a younger version of Wonder Woman...
and "Impossible Family" proto-fanon; more "personal canon" than fanonFanon (fiction)In works of fiction, fanon is a customary and unofficial canon established in a spontaneous manner by the community of fans at large, for example fan clubs, whenever the official canon is not clear on some points of its narrative....
, but then Wonder Woman’s official continuity has changed so often that the canonCanon (fiction)In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
lacks even the necessary substrate of consistency upon which a fanon can be based.
Invisible Girl and Ms. Marvel
Strickland also used the letters pagesComic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
of the Fantastic Four and the fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
LoC to point out what she considered egregious examples of sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
in Marvel's treatment of the characters the Invisible Girl and Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
.
- Her letters to the Fantastic Four caused a large debate among readers about the direction of the Invisible Girl/Susan Storm Richards, and may have brought about writer/artist's John Byrne's revamp of her character and eventual transformation into the Invisible Woman.
- Similarly, her essay about the rape of Ms. Marvel in the pages of The Avengers exposed what many considered to be the misogynist underpinnings of superhero comics.
Light Lass
Strickland designed a costume for the Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
character Light Lass in the 1970s, which was adopted and used in the series by the artist Dave Cockrum
Dave Cockrum
David Emmett Cockrum was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus...
.