Kimberly Hutchison is one of the co-owners of Big Dog Ink and is a rarity in the most male-dominated market of comic book publishers. I am honored to have been granted her first interview.
Big Dog Ink
Larry Poupard: Do you face an uphill battle in the “old boys club” of the comic book industry?
Kimberly Hutchison: There is a certain lack of people taking a woman seriously, I suppose, but once they begin talking to you, they take you more seriously as a publisher. Of course, that is still not very much. I think that is a general consensus among many in the industry where they are more interested in “What you can do for me.” Until the mood changes among other publishers, that is going to remain the same for smaller publishers.
I personally seem to get overlooked more, so that is why I defer much of the business to Tom [her husband and the other co-owner of Big Dog Ink]. With Tom, he is male, and he is more of what everybody expects as the head of the company. We put him out there and he tends to be the one people see.
Larry Poupard: As a woman, what types of preconceptions do you face with potential fans when you are standing behind the booth at shows and conventions?
Kimberly Hutchison: This question is perfect. I think the best way to answer this is to describe an interaction I had with a fan about a month ago. We were at a small show and signed up with some other independent creators and someone with a few long boxes of comics.
A gentleman walks by and it was just Tom and I at the booth at the time. He saw me and did a double take before walking back.
He said, “So, you the artist’s girlfriend?”
I kind of rolled my eyes and said, “Nope.”
Then he said, “Sooo, you are the helper?”
“Nope”
I forget about what else he asked me, but it was equally condescending. It was something along the lines of being a female behind the table. Then he said, “What does a pretty young thing like you have to do with comic books?” I smiled and said, “Oh, I own the company.” He replied with, “Oh, well then. These [books] are nice looking,” and he walked away obviously feeling like a moron.
That is the general tendency, though. Usually when I am talking to fans they are really nice. Sometimes, though, I am asked what I do, or who I am married to. I find myself say, “Well, actually, I own the place.” I explain how I try to make sure everything runs smoothly in background. Sometimes they are surprised because I am a woman, but I sometimes get the reaction like I got from the gentleman at the show.
Larry Poupard: How do you think the industry would differ if there were more females in the front offices? [Diane Nelson is the president of DC Comics, but one or two do not equal equality]
Kimberly Hutchison: That is a hard question because I don’t know what we [Big Dog Ink] would do differently if we had a male CEO in charge of the company. I could see women being given more of an opportunity to create and publish in comics. For Big Dog Ink, Tom has a lot of say in female creators and he pushes for them too. Regardless of who comes through the door, if the person has talent and is good at art and is a good writer, you will get an opportunity.
I think we work with a lot of women in the company. As compared to men, I would have to do a count, but I think it is close to equal if not slightly tilting more on the women’s side. I think this is something which would change with more women in power.
I would love to see more female writers out there. I am really not sure why there are not more [female writers in the comic book industry]. In the literary world, there tends to be more female literary writers than male. For some reason that does not translate well to our field, and I don’t know why. I think more women in power could make that shift happen. I personally would love to see that happen as I would love to work with more female writers and read more. I think we [Big Dog Ink] are very good, though, at looking at all types of talent.
Larry Poupard: Do you think the problem resides in women not attempting to get their foot in the industry door, are they being overlooked, or that the “old boys club” just won’t allow them in?
Kimberly Hutchison: I think that there are so many male creators in the industry that many female writers are artists look at the industry as being a guy’s thing. I think right now more women are being invited in and back in as they are being show that these comics are for women as well. I think we are finding a new generation of readers with more women who are becoming readers. That is bringing them more into creative aspects. They are going to want to make comics and they are starting to pitch more.
I don’t like talking negatively about other companies. I think it is more a societal thing to discount women. I remember being at a show and hearing a certain comment. I applaud our creators for not saying anything to this gentleman.
We [Big Dog Ink] were at Wizard World Chicago last year and we had four artists with us. Three of them were women. I was talking to a gentleman who was buying a book and I told him that “We have some great artists here who are taking requests for commissions. Feel free to talk to them about that or anything else you might like.” He answered with “Oh, I am very picky about the art I have created for me from my women artists.” It was right in front of the artists. We said “Bless your heart” and let him go on his merry way.
I think the comic book industry can make women feel like they are silenced and they might want to contribute in some way. I still think the societal aspect comes into play. I don’t have a psychology degree so I don’t know where to start to break it down but there is still a barrier to entry.
Larry Poupard: Three years ago, a few women started “Women in Horror Recognition Month” as a way to encourage more women to look at creative aspects in horror. The goal was to stop the mentality that women should only be scream queens in horror movies. Do you believe the comic book industry needs a similar organized push or do you believe the current trends will continue on their own and provide more opportunities for women?
Kimberly Hutchison: I have not seen the numbers myself. I know that there are sites which track the number of minority creators and I believe they also track the number of women. The actual stats are not published and I believe the sites try to build these stats on their own by using their best guesses based on names. Since we have a gentleman who works here [Big Dog Ink] by the name of Shannon and a gentleman who worked here Alison, I can see how the statistics might be wrong if they are simply going by names. It would be pulling teeth to get a publisher to actually give up that information.
Just from working at shows and convention, I can tell you that most of the women I see in artists alley on a regular basis are pigeonholed into the fantasy genre. There are definitely other representations which are lost with artists and writers who work in other genres. It [an organized push for more females in the industry] is definitely something I would encourage.
Madame Xanadu, I believe the last volume to come out, had all female artists involved in the project. The originalregular artists, whose art got me interested in the book in the first place, was a woman. I did not even realize that until I was part of the way in. That was a very notable endeavor. I believe Gail Simone is doing the same thing right now with Red Sonja.
I am all for a push. A dedicated month or a single event might be hard, but I think projects like those I mentioned should be encouraged by publishers. They help to show women on an equal basis.
To learn more about Big Dog Ink, please follow this link.
