 Watching a History Channel special on the history of comics one day, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania sophomore Devin Nuhfer was struck by something—the uneven ratio of testosterone to estrogen.
"I noticed that they only mentioned Wonder Woman and Elektra, even though there had been countless other female characters that had been developed over the years," he recalled. Conferring with a professor at the school, Nuhfer—a history major—began sketching out plans to film a feature documentary on how females have been portrayed in comics.
The untitled project, Nuhfer said, will examine how society's views on women—from the stay-at-home mom archetype of the '50s to the objectified "Bad Girls" of the 1990s—impact how comics depict the fairer sex.
"In order to discuss how women were portrayed in comics, we need to look at how they were employed and perceived in real life. The two almost go hand in hand," he said.
While some artists and writers have already agreed to contribute, Nuhfer is still attempting to line up financing for the film, which he hopes to shoot over the summer in time for a March 2009 release. Anyone interested in contributing can contact Nuhfer at www.myspace.com/womenincomics. Presuming you're not a die-hard Archie fan, that is.
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