My So-Called Secret Identity Re-Invents Women in Comics

We’ve all seen the endless debates, arguments, and downright abuse surrounding the women in comics “issue”; whether it’s about visual representation (see the Hawkeye Initiative) or the staff of the books themselves (Gale Simone’s firing and re-hiring at Batgirl), there always seems to be something new for us ladies to feel at least vaguely insulted by. What we don’t see quite as often is someone actually doing something constructive about it. That’s where My So-Called Secret Identity comes in, a new comic series with an almost entirely female staff written about a woman with a back-story more well-developed than her body, the proportions of which stay healthily within the realm of physics.

MSCSI is the brainchild of Dr. Will Brooker, the Director of Research at Kingston's Film and Television Department and editor of Cinema Journal. Brooker is the author of a number of books and articles on popular geek culture and is most well known for his monograph Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon, published in 2001. He decided to create MSCSI to show the world that positive female representation in comic books can be done, rather than simply criticizing the mainstream for their current practices. Susan Shore and Dr. Sarah Zaidan were hired as illustrators and issue one was released online on February 17th.

The main protagonist of MSCSI is Cat, a red-headed cop’s daughter and student in her early twenties who lives in Gloria City. She thinks of herself as fairly average in most things, looks, sports, etc., but Cat just happens to be the smartest person in her city, remembering everything she reads and seeing how the world connects together in a manner vaguely reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes or C. Auguste Dupin. Gloria City itself is a world of celebrity superheroes and villains who use the city as a backdrop for their own self-promotion and care little about those who don’t wear costumes and masks. Issue one sees Cat becoming increasingly fed up with her life as people talk down to her, discount her, and even accuse her of cheating. We also get the first hint that Cat is not prepared to ignore the events going on around her in Gloria City and might be preparing to take a stand herself.

MSCSI is currently only available to read on the comic’s website, although plans are in motion to create an e-reader format and the creative team are hoping for a print version to be available soon. You can read issue one for free and subsequent issues are being funded by donations made via the website. The comic is a not-for-profit enterprise and a portion of the money raised for each issue is donated to a women’s charity; currently that charity is A Way Out, a British outreach charity working with vulnerable young women including victims of prostitution, homelessness, and substance abuse. You can see the current funding situation on the MSCSI website where Cat’s level up bars show how much has been raised, at this point issues two and three are fully funded and four is well on its way to completion.

I hope My So-Called Secret Identity can make its way into many households, especially those where young girls are being disillusioned by the scantily clad women posing all over their current comics. Issue one shows the promise of a multifaceted character who will be remembered for more than her costumes and facial expressions. If I were given a superpower, I think I’d be very happy with super intelligence.