Feature Chance for Women’s History Month

https://tapas.io/series/Scissors12

Logline:
Working in retail can never be easy, and it doesn't come any harder than to Josie as she fights against coworkers and customers alike in order to make her statement on where she lies within a predominantly male company.

Quote:
"Sure, I can call my manager since you like hearing the same thing twice so much."

What Scissors means to me:
Scissors was originally made to be a coping mechanism for me while a worked at a certain office supply store. I'd doodle these little characters on sticky notes while working register, and it soon evolved into a still-developing series. It's a parody of the business I was in at the time, and highlights issues within the industry, as well as the retail atmosphere in general. While working there, I found myself facing disadvantages due to my gender, such as withholding positions from me because they needed a 'pretty girl on register.' While the series is mostly comedy now, I plan to ramp it up after awhile and highlight the deep issues rooted in most retail settings. There are so many problems I'm looking forward to bringing to light in my series.

1. Essence of Time: https://tapas.io/episode/20568191

2. Hyvan, the world of mortals, is protected by the Great Spirits of Mana. But what will happen to this once flourishing world if the last summoners able to call upon their powers go extinct?

3. If it needs to be from a published update: 'That's okay. Two guys shouldn't trust a lone girl in the forest alright.'
   If it can be from mini stories of the series: 'If we all just sit back and wait for someone to save us, we deserve to be lost.'

4. The story of EoT has accompanied me over half of my life. When I was a 12 year old child, I created my main character Ary for the first time as my role model: How did I want to be as an adolescent. A self confident, witty woman that is on the one hand grateful for the help she receives from the people around her that love and support her but also can stand her own ground when she needs to fight for herself. She was my super hero and gave me confidence when my real self felt weak and useless. Almost two decades later I am a different person, my story and characters evolved, but creating my comic is still my save haven. I have to work with a lot of difficult customers on a daily basis and creating my comic, the story and lore surrounding it and putting it down on virtual paper is my way of calming down and dealing with stressful life. The fact that I am able to share this story with others through the medium of comics is incredible. The resonance I am getting from people all around the globe is empowering and making me want to spread the characters and stories that used to be stuck in my mind with the world out there.

I don't have a comic ready for this year, but I do want to share something thematically relevant. "The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History" by Hope Nicholson is an amazing book. It even mentions webcomics in later chapters!

Logline:
Being a cosmic entity born from a star and a black hole is no easy feat, especially when she's the first one of her kind! However, her problems are merely just starting, as she accidentally falls in love with the most beautiful girl at her brand new school... Monsters and Heartbeats is a wholesome story about love, friendship and the curve-balls life can throw at us. Updates Thursdays

Quote:
I love you and only you, Kate!

I have absolutely no idea if I can put my webcomic here since I am a transwoman but I am giving it a shot since I believe every woman in Monsters and Heartbeats are strong and do not need any man around.

I've began writing and creating M&H when my life was in a slump, getting fired from my job for my life choice and general difficulties in going outside due to the other person opinions. Making this webcomic made my life have a meaning and helped me have positive interaction with others. Around 1 year later and stuff changed for the best for me but I am still going strong with my webcomic. I love cute stuff and I want to keep telling a story that will make people smile and happy!

1). https://tapas.io/series/Feral-Born-Viciously-Yours-12

2). Kaiya is a wolf shifter much different than others of her kind. Seen as monstrous and an abomination, she must fight against a group that wishes to see her kind extinct. Now, if only she didn’t have a confusing Beta causing her to feel things she doesn’t quite understand.

3). Pushing his head back roughly, I warned him, “I am not a domesticated shifter and I will not bend to your dominance.”

4). Creating a series to me means giving a voice to the under represented modern woman. Too often the main female lead allows herself to be talked down to or seen following along with the male lead, not to mention overly girly. Creating a series means I can showcase a modern female lead who is just as vocal and violent as her male counterpart. The women in my series don’t need saving and they don’t need a mate, they’re independent and not afraid to get their hands dirty. The damsel-in-distress characters have never appealed to me and I’m sure they don’t appeal to many other women either. Being a woman in the Webnovel industry means I can create novels with female leads that women are craving to read about but are having trouble finding like I was.

Logline:
Midori wakes up lost amidst the hi-tech metropolis of Centralia. Without memories, her only connection to this place is a mysterious girl from her dreams. As Midori searches for this girl, she finds the city is not what it seems…

Quote:
"And if things get bad... we're still a team, right?"

With the mainstream comic industry so traditionally geared towards a male audience, I believe webcomics are a key space for marginalized voices to shine. As a female creator working with the cyberpunk genre, I find this to be especially true. Cyberpunk has long been dominated by male, typically white and cisgendered voices. For a genre meant to explore and critique societal flaws, it doesn't make sense to repeatedly see stories from the least-marginalized groups. Centralia 2050 is a comic with a female lead who isn't a sexy badass action hero or brimming with "girl power", but is down-to-earth and more than capable in her own right. The comic features women who are powerful in different ways, showing that there's not a single "true" way to portray a strong female character.

Logline:
Violet, seeking a new, independent life, flees her hometown for the flashy lights of Las Vegas. Hoping to find herself, she instead finds a part time job full of quirky co-workers, cranky customers and... romance?

Quote:
"You are a strong, independent woman! You are awesome! You stopped yourself from eating a whole carton of ice cream last night!"

OR

"I'm not a damsel in distress okay?! I don't need you to save me or fix me or ANYTHING!"

My co-writer/sister and I are stay-at-home moms. Not only does the webcomic industry grant us the creative outlet to keep our sanity intact at home, but it also gives us the opportunity to pursue our dreams and have it all! (something I thought impossible until I discovered Tapas!) We've never met a more welcoming community that embraces and supports it's female creators- no matter what their background may be.

Quote: "I refuse to live in fear anymore, thrym." (from a future episode)
This quote was by Gunhild's younger half sister. She had been forced into an abusive marriage, and she refuses to be mistreated, and holds her abuser accountable for his actions.

As a woman in the webcomic industry, creating a series means a lot to me. Most stories about norse mythology are aimed at a male demographic, and most are just the author's power fantasy. I wanted to create something that everyone could enjoy, and to include a variety of characters, so everyone could see themselves in it. I wanted to write an empowering story about overcoming fear and adversity, and how individuality should not be feared. I included a range of female protagonists, all of which are individual. My main character is a lesbian (as a hetero ally to the LGBTQ+ community, always like to see representation.) To summarize, I want to be the change that I want to see in norse mythology based fiction, and write a story for all.

2) After hearing the Midnight Melody - a summoning song for young witches - our bubbly heroine Karta Kloss gets tossed into a completely new and magical world where she immediately gets into trouble on Day 1. Thank the Mother that pretty girl was there to help her at least...

3) Episode 28.2 "It might seem silly to be so invested in a newfound crush, but I've had enough of letting things just happen around me. I finally feel like I'm the one in the driver's seat."

4) I'm a little worried I might not be able to accurately articulate how much creating my comic means to me as a woman - one that loves other women at that. While I was writing and drawing the first drafts for Diamond Dive, I constantly felt like it's not gonna be successful, because it's "too feminine" "too soft" "too female-centered" "too emotional" "too me". Add into the mix that back then I was still in the closet and extremely over-analyzing every decision I made about my comic. "Is this too girly? Is there enough action? Should I add more male characters? Should I add a male main? I don't want to, but I feel like I should." Little did I know that I was in fact a lesbian, and compulsory heterosexuality exists, and it stems from the same societal expectations and limitations that we women experience in every single aspect of our lives. Creating my comic helped me overcome that and I slowly allowed myself to enjoy my life and my comic the way I wanted it to be. It's really true that your art is an extension of yourself, and every single time I look at my characters, I'm so thankful I didn't end up changing them to fit into a mainly male-dominated landscape. Women are great and I intend to create content that celebrates them for the rest of my days.

Quote: (I think, the biggest strength of a main character Aster is her intelligence, but it is really hard to find a quote to show this, because it's just shown throughout the story, and has a meaning mostly in context of a story, idk) "Fine, we are both nerds."

It's pretty common to hear something like "women don't belong in science/engineering" or "wow, it's so cool to see a woman in STEM", and I don't like both of this phrases, because I think, it should be seen as normal. When creating my stories, I show characters never questioning each other's qualities based on their sex/gender, because I think it should be that way. I want more people to see this possibility not to belittle or praise, but to see things as they are. Everyone can like or dislike something, to be good and bad at certain things. Women can like science and be good at engineering, and it's normal, and I would like to see more of this perspective in media.

We are sisters Rei and Amanda, we have a joint project.

1. Folie

https://m.tapas.io/series/Folie2

2. Logline: It's a story about working on relationships, being able to solve problems and finding compromises.

3.Quote Andrei: "There is no place for selfishness in relationships."

4. Rei: "I have dreamed of drawing comics since I was a teenager. I walked towards this dream for a long time. I had a different profession before I realized that I love drawing more than anything else. I think the comic book industry is one of those fields where women and men have equal rights and opportunities which is extremely rare in our world. And I am happy I can realize myself in this field. I think it's time for all of us to stop dividing people into black and white, men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, thin and fat, etc. We can only assess the actions of people, but not their gender or appearance. We must pay attention to ourselves first of all, develop ourselves, help others, inspire others, create something new, be an example. I try to convey all these ideas through my work."

Amanda: "Creating a manga is a way of self-expression and an opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings with others, to convey your ideals. This is an occupation that truly brings me pleasure and joy, I am passionate about it and want to devote my life to this. I hope that one day I will be able to succeed.
For me, it's also an exchange of energy with my readers, their feedbacks and comments help me get better, inspire me to work hard and I know I'm on the right track"

My series is about love/romance with drama, comedy. But I put a lot of effort into my female lead. Because I was used to in her situation.
She is just a normal girl, no strength, no power. For me, a strong girl doesn't necessarily have physical strength. Asha has a very strong spirit, despite being wrapped up in chains, she keeps shining.
Contrary to her innocent appearance, I have built her up with very high stamina and smart.

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Logline:
Asha is the youngest princess, she lives in the harem. She is always bullied by the queen and the princess. Her bigest wish is seeking for a chance to get out of here. She wanna live in freedom.

Quote:

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Logline: Her gifts set her apart, but are they enough to survive the Invisible War?

Quote: Nothing about this job was going to be easy. It was scary. It was awesome. Rose couldn't wait to get started.

Growing up, I loved to read. Books with dragons and spaceships were the best! But there were so few women on the page that I could look up to or emulate. It was so hard to find any characters like me. Professional success is one thing, but when my niece reads my book and loves it, I feel like I've done something incredible and given her something that I never got to have.

Logline: At 28 years old, Neera starts falling again for her high school sweetheart. Their love has a price, she soon finds out, but magical powers and a prophecy are not what stands in the way of their love.

Quote: “THEO!”
Everyone in the room held their breath and looked at Neera, who was trembling with fury.
Theo, though his eyes were aflame, tried to maintain a straight face. “What?”
“This is my choice.”

What drives me: I'm an Italian migrant and an English Literature graduate, among other things. During my degree I learned to dissect written media as well as other communication means; it's as if since I mastered literary analysis I can't take off this metaphoric pair of analytic glasses! And so I have started looking at things and reflect on them in a multilayer-way, leaving behind (or, better: revisiting and filing away in the 'learn from the past' drawer) prejudices and other conditioning ways to see the world that I have inherited from my parents, school, friends, etc.
I'll get to the point. One of the main takeaways from all this personal growth has been to say what I think without being afraid of being judged because whatever I believe should not get in the way of what you believe and viceversa. I'm still working on it of course, but I'm starting to shed all this fear of being judged I've always had. Breaking free from mummy-like bandages, it's what it feels like.
Writing helps me with that, because, although it can be frustrating and challenging, it's what makes me feel free the most: free to say what I want, the way I want, in the language I want.
It also makes me feel incredibly proud, because it doesn't matter I'm part of a minority (immigrant, woman): writing webnovels means I'm part of a larger community of passionate authors and readers from all ethnicities, backgrounds, believes, styles, etc. Each and every one of us reads/writes webnovels/webcomics to share, enjoy, laugh, feel, and we all deserve to be here.

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1. Series link
   Frankie and Hayley

2. Series logline
   When a struggling coffee shop owner receives aid from a shy artistic customer to host a creative event, their relationship becomes more than just friendly.

3. An inspiring/powerful quote that showcases the characters’ strengths (max 100 characters)
   “The only thing I’m seeing that no one wants is your fucking homophobia.”

4. Tell us what creating series means to you as a woman in the webcomic/webnovel industry.

Creating allows me to bring stories that are needed into the world. Not only am I a woman, where mainstream representation is only marginally beginning to improve (and continues to centre white women), but I’m also queer. Stories about queer women are few and far between, and when they do exist, they’re either traumatic, sexualised by male creators, or tell only the most palatable story to engage straight and cisgender audiences. I want to tell uplifting stories about queer women falling in love. I needed to see queer women falling in love when I was younger to help me realise my feelings were valid. I want my story to help people feel validated in their own identity. Creating means I can craft the story I’ve always wished to see, and it brings me the greatest comfort.

Megan x

Logline:
Gwynn is a happy-go-lucky young lady off on adventure with her grumpy elf companion, ready to befriend whomever or whatever crosses her path with her unyielding optimism.

Quote:
"Why are you all alone here in the dark?? It's ok, you're not alone anymore."

Artist:
Growing up I think it was hard to find female characters in media that I could relate to, or really look up to. Nowadays, it's wonderful to see the amount and diversity of strong, unique and realistic female characters, and I'm happy to be able to add to that. I think a larger diversity in anything is really a good thing, and with webcomics/webnovels it's great that anyone can put their own uncompromised work out there.

Logline: Sam, short for Samantha, was one of the many worker drones. Working to the end of her days that were rapidly approaching, however, in one moment Sam found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lucky her!

Quote: "So, what is your intention now? Do you wish do you return to Sulla?"
Sam felt her eyes strain as she held back the flood of emotion of her next statement. "No, I know that I'll never be able to return. Or at least never alive. I knew that the moment I stepped out of the tower. Please believe me when I say that I never intended to be a disruption in your home. I just wanted to help Marco, but I have nowhere else to go at this point. I have lost everything."

Reasons: I have always enjoyed writing stories but never felt that I was good enough. So after years and years of having these stories in my head, I decided to try and get one out... This is one that hit me as being different but shows who I am. As a female, I wanted to write a strong story that didn't centralize around romance but did have heavy topic in it like corruption and propaganda. Females can write these stories too and be amazing at it! So here is my leap with my story.

I am throwing my hat in the ring perhaps for a little exposure, even I don't get featured :3

Series link

Series logline
Two girls dragged into a battle for the future…

As modern civilization crumbles under the yoke of a genetic supremacist organization, fae folk and daemons begin to reemerge: some wish to aid in man’s struggle, others desire to bring mankind to its knees. From the ashes of man’s plight rise seven reluctant heroes imbued with the power to save, or destroy, all that exists.

(This series is for an adult audience)

An inspiring/powerful quote that showcases the characters’ strengths (max 100 characters)
I dunno if it's healthy, because we all need time to mourn, but thus far, Kanna's main "inspiring speech" is

"But we don't get to mourn! We soldier on. You need purpose? We'll give you purpose."
The context is that she's the person leading the country to rebuild following a...oh god, don't be mad, pandemic (I started writing this in the early 2000s, surprising relevant today). She is holding it together as an adult, in spite of being 18 at the time of this speech.

Tell us what creating series means to you as a woman in the webcomic/webnovel industry.
This is why it's important to me to be a woman and write and draw in the industry:

I want to, and it makes me feel good. It is the same, I assume, for any other person. I enjoy writing, and I have something to say. And that's enough for me.

But beyond this, I want others to enjoy it. I have chosen to tell this story with a primarily female cast, mostly because this is what I want to see, and because there had been a void of this before mangka authors like CLAMP entered my scope of existence. They, as well as Takeuchi, provided me with inspiration to create female lead stories told from our perspective, and including magic and action (something that growing up, outside of Heavy Metal and Wizards, and She-Ra, I found hard to find. Bless Patricia C. Wrede for her Enchanted Forest Chronicles. This author is SOOOOO over looked).

Being a women is a matter of happy coincidence, however, if my being a woman writing and succeeding, even in just a small way, inspires other women who are held down, or held back: then I've done my job as a person. I've made someone's life a little better, and given them the strength and inspiration to DO. To CREATE, regardless of gender. It's enough that you are human, and you want to create, and you want to share in the success and love of creation. You deserve to be heard, too.

If that inspires other women to take on their passions, then I'm glad, because we gotta pull together, inspire, and support each other.

Quote
"If you had tried to talk to me last night I would've told you to get lost... but I've had some time to cool down. And look, maybe your advice was bad, maybe not. It doesn't matter. I know you meant well. So, I forgive you"
-Iris to Amelia in Chapter 4

About Me
I've done a lot of struggling in my life to accept who I am, and overcome my challenges. For me, this has included my gender, can I like this traditionally girly things? Will people still take me seriously? It has also been a struggle with mental illness. In my art, I'm learning to express myself, as a strong, intelligent, and sometimes very feminine woman. I also want to bring light to the struggles of life, and speak candidly about issues like mental health without stigma. That's what I'm trying to do with TROL. We are not perfect, we are not alone, we are not defined by our worst thing.