Amazing Heroes Issue #141 pg. 21
Dublin Core
Title
Amazing Heroes Issue #141 pg. 21
Subject
Periodical
Comic strips
Comic strips
Description
The page that is most representative of Amazing Heroes Issue 141 is page 21. On this page, and in the article as a whole, Heidi MacDonald’s article “House of Semi-Raging Women” is featured. This article is written in a three-column format and has a comic with two panes in the top left corner of the page. This comic features a conversation between a man and a woman. The first panel shows the man speaking to the woman as she’s lying on a couch. The man is telling her: “I guess I don’t have to be tall and handsome to get a beautiful lady like you, Rea! Money has a great deal of fascination to pretty girls, doesn’t it?” The woman, now identified as Rea, responds: “Oh, you’re very fascinating, Mr. Lahr.” But, the mood shifts in the second panel as Rea continues: “You’re so rich and powerful I hardly notice what a worm you are!” Mr. Lahr responds to this off-panel by exclaiming “What?” This interaction suggests that Mr. Lahr believes “pretty girls”, in this case Rea, are shallow enough to lust after a man just because he has money. Rea plays along at first, but then shuts this interaction down as she exposes Mr. Lahr as a worm for holding this view.
This article zeroes in on the issue of misrepresentation and sexualization of women in comics. In this article, Heidi MacDonald touches on the fact that women aren’t being given roles that are equivalent to the roles that men are being given in the 1980s. While women did hold executive positions in the comic book industry, they were not given the opportunity to work as artists are creative writers, which greatly influences how women are portrayed in the comic book articles that are ultimately produced. In these articles, women are sexualized due to stereotypes and comically-disproportioned bodies. This misrepresentation causes women to become eroticized comic book characters rather than characters with a meaningful storyline. Oftentimes, the woman is only written into the storyline in the first place because the hero of the story, a man, needs somebody he can save in order to promote his masculinity. This feeds into the problem of male comic book readers seeing women as little more than an attractive object to be saved, instead of as a real person. In addition to being sexualized, women in comics are heavily idealized. Most women are drawn in ways that are anatomically incorrect, thus representing a type of standard that female comic book readers can never achieve. Heidi MacDonald is able to take a critical look at these prevalent issues in the comic book industry and demand that things should be changed. Instead of these women having superficial storylines where their only purpose is to be a piece of meat waiting to be rescued, MacDonald stresses that female comic book characters must be given a meaningful storyline in order to promote equality. This, as is the theme of “House of Semi-Raging Women” all begins with the writers. If they’re not women, things may never change, so it’s important to not discriminate when it comes to making important hiring decisions.
This article zeroes in on the issue of misrepresentation and sexualization of women in comics. In this article, Heidi MacDonald touches on the fact that women aren’t being given roles that are equivalent to the roles that men are being given in the 1980s. While women did hold executive positions in the comic book industry, they were not given the opportunity to work as artists are creative writers, which greatly influences how women are portrayed in the comic book articles that are ultimately produced. In these articles, women are sexualized due to stereotypes and comically-disproportioned bodies. This misrepresentation causes women to become eroticized comic book characters rather than characters with a meaningful storyline. Oftentimes, the woman is only written into the storyline in the first place because the hero of the story, a man, needs somebody he can save in order to promote his masculinity. This feeds into the problem of male comic book readers seeing women as little more than an attractive object to be saved, instead of as a real person. In addition to being sexualized, women in comics are heavily idealized. Most women are drawn in ways that are anatomically incorrect, thus representing a type of standard that female comic book readers can never achieve. Heidi MacDonald is able to take a critical look at these prevalent issues in the comic book industry and demand that things should be changed. Instead of these women having superficial storylines where their only purpose is to be a piece of meat waiting to be rescued, MacDonald stresses that female comic book characters must be given a meaningful storyline in order to promote equality. This, as is the theme of “House of Semi-Raging Women” all begins with the writers. If they’re not women, things may never change, so it’s important to not discriminate when it comes to making important hiring decisions.
Creator
Heidi MacDonald
Source
MSU Special Collection Comic Art, PN6725.A47
Publisher
Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
Date
1981-06
Contributor
Miranda Kalinowski
Rights
Rights Restrictions Apply
Format
10 and 1/4 inches by 6 and 5/8 inches
Language
English
Type
Periodical
Coverage
1981 - 1992
Files
Collection
Citation
Heidi MacDonald, “Amazing Heroes Issue #141 pg. 21,” Critical Fanscape, accessed October 17, 2026, https://chambl91.msu.domains/CriticalFanscape/items/show/61.