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Biographies: Gotham Girls | Biographies: Tourists | Reviews & Recommendations |
Points of View | Fan Fiction | Original Fiction |
I used to invite site visitors to suggest Gotham women as subjects for biographies. However, I discovered that the hours in my day do not allow for hunting through the internet and comic books to research every character people suggest. Thus, Women of Gotham now operates under this rule: you suggest it, you write it. Look, I've already done the biggies!
As the above title implies, these biographies should cover comic book women who have either lived in Gotham or appear predominantly in Batman-related books. For non-Gotham women, see the Tourists section below.
I will provide a picture of the character to go with the article; however, if you wish, you may send a picture along -- provided that it is a reasonable size (which means NOT 1000x1000 pixels).
As above, I want pieces that are interpretive (ie. what you think) as well as informative. Any non-Gotham fictional female that has appeared in print form (either comic books or prose novels) is eligible as a subject. However, only one biographical essay per character will be published on the site. So before you write a single word, be sure to follow this very important submission procedure:
Sounds unnecessarily complicated? Well, perhaps. Call me paranoid, but in my mind's eye I see the Buffy queue starting already.
And speaking of our beloved vampire slayer, please note that characters from movies and television are eligible ONLY if they have appeared in either novel or comic book form.
I hope these are pretty self-explanatory. Pick a comic or book, and tell us what you think about it. Or recommend one of your favourite books, and tell us why we should read it. However, some elaboration is necessary on a few points.
Any comic book or prose book can be reviewed or recommended, with the exception of works of a pornographic or obscene nature. If it isn't obvious in the article, please indicate whether what you're reviewing is a comic or a prose book. Though the field is wide open, I prefer reviews of books that have a strong female focus, and/or are created by women. This is a site about women, after all.
What is the difference between a review and a recommendation? Recommendations differ in that you generally like what you recommend, whereas you may not like what you review. This does not mean that you cannot criticize a book in a recommendation; it merely means that if you are recommending the book, you probably don't hate it, unless you're INTO punishment, if you know what I mean. A recommendation will outline the strengths and weaknesses of a book, why you like it, and why you think the reader might like it: you are encouraging the reader to try the book. A review will also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a book, but will often get into more specifics, and approach the material with a more neutral, critical stance.
In this kind of article, you can express your opinion on any topic that is at least loosely related to comics. This is where discussion sparks and thoughts provoke.
What do I mean by "loosely related to comics"? This is primarily a comics site, so the opinion pieces should be somewhat related to comic books. But I intend to be fairly generous in my interpretation of this requirement.
Think of it this way: comics are a filter through which we can view the whole wide world -- life, the universe, everything. Write with your eyes peering through that filter. You can write a piece about free speech, global culture, music, morality, economics, politics, you name it, through the filter of comics. Comics are that rich as a medium. You could write an article connecting Oracle and Marshall McLuhan, or Batman and gun control; I'd love to read a piece about Black Canary and post-feminism, Supergirl and free speech, Meridian and civil disobedience.
Women of Gotham publishes short or serialized fan fiction stories. These are original short stories by fans that use trademarked characters (like Huntress, Catwoman, etc.). Fan fic is illegal (violative of copyright laws and international copyright conventions), but it's tolerated, presumably because it doesn't usually put a dent in the creators' profits.
The focus of this website is on the women of the Bat-books, but I encourage discussion and fan fic of all female comic book characters -- including other DC women, Marvel, CrossGen, Image, Dark Horse, etc. And if you've got something that stars one of the male Bat-book characters, I'll consider that, too. Hey, I love Nightwing as much as the next girl. Guys outside of the Bat-books? Well... no. I have to draw the line somewhere.
But please note: I am not in the business of posting pornography. Keep your stories and pictures clean. If you've got a great story and I think it's not suitable for a general audience, I may post it, but with a rating warning readers of the more mature content. But this is an exception, and it would have to be a FANTASTIC story. The rule is, keep it PG or PG-13.
The main difference between this and fan fiction, as you can no doubt figure out but I will state anyway in my obsessive and maddening drive for thoroughness, is that original fiction includes material that is wholly your own creation -- no using other people's fictional characters or settings. Oh, heck -- you get the idea.
As I said before, I am not in the business of posting pornography. If you've got a great story and I think it's not suitable for a general audience, I may post it, but with a rating warning readers of the more mature content. But this is an exception, and it would have to be a FANTASTIC story. The rule is, keep it PG or PG-13.
The articles should be free of racism, sexism, bigotry, profanity, defamation, and obscenity.
